‘Innocent social delight’: Glee club life in Bath, 1782–1853

ABSTRACT Bath’s glee clubs of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries played an important democratizing role in bringing together the city’s fashionable visitors with its resident musicians. Differences in class and expectations, however, could cause friction between these respective groups, in some cases leading to a club’s division or demise. The quest of these clubs to find a model that honoured both amateur and professional members is explored in this essay. As Bath’s society evolved over the opening decades of the nineteenth century, in what is generally considered to be the decline of its fashionable status, the glee clubs’ varying responses to these changes, coupled with broad shifts in musical taste, are considered and analysed, with special attention given to the status of their professional members. This article expands our knowledge of Bath’s glee clubs while clarifying their purpose in society and correcting prior misconstructions.