City of Armadale - History House > Records

METRONOME

« Prev Item Next Item »

c. 1947

Overview

The Metronome is triangular in shape and made of timber. At the front it has a small door on a hinge with a latch. The plaque on the front of the door is diamond-shaped with the text around the edge and in the middle. Also in the middle are two flowers. The pinnacle is pointed. It is mounted on three small wooden stands. Inside are the workings with a key.

Historical information

The metronome was made in France and possibly purchased by John Christmass when at the Melbourne Music Conservatory in the late 1940s. He used it through his music career which ended in 2016 when he retired. It was used by John when working on his own music studies and with his choirs and students in his Kelmscott studio right up to 2016.
The first successful metronome was invented in 1696 by Etienne Loulie, a French musician, music teacher and music theoriest.
John Christmass moved to the Kelmscott area in the 1970s. John had taught music since the 1940s and later joined the Department of Education and was in charge of their choral music program.
In 1985 he retired from the education department and focussed his time on teaching and promoting music from his Kelmscott office. From there he managed the I Voci Choir which was made up of past students from Perth Modern School aged 18-30.
John was the musical director for the Perth Anzac Day Services from 1971 to the early 2000s, he started the 1st Vienna Pops concert and the Best of British concert at the Perth Concert Hall in c1987 and 1991 respectively to help raise money for Rotary. He directed his last in 2013 and 2012. He was presented with the Order of Australia in 2012, for his services to music, plus many other local and state awards over the years.
Locally he directed many concerts, taught music, advocated for a concert venue in the City of Armadale and was a strong advocate for the local art and culture scene.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-33-COA2016.69

Item type

Musical instruments

Themes

People
Social History

Material

Timber

Width

110 mm

Height or length

225 mm

Inscriptions and markings

[ANGLETERRE FRANCE AMERIQUE / METRONOME / MAELZEL / BELOIQUE PARIS HOLLANDE]

Keywords

Year

Statement of significance

This object is part of a collection of items that tells the story of the creativity and ingenuity of members of the local community in relation to art, design and engineering/construction. The collection relates to expressions of creativity that impacted an individual or small group of people to objects that have been enjoyed around the world.

Comparative significance criteria

Interpretive capacity

Object’s condition or completeness

Well provenanced

City of Armadale - History House

Organisation Details
View Collection
Item Feedback