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Novello & Co
London-born in 1781, Vincent Novello became a chorister, organist, conductor and teacher. He was notable for introducing to England a number of unknown compositions by the great masters including Haydn and Mozart. Perhaps Vincent Novello’s most enduring legacy was to be the name Novello & Company which he established in 1811 in order to publish editions of his own church music. It was left to his son, Joseph Alfred Novello, to turn the enterprise into a flourishing and pioneering publishing company that almost single-handedly moved printed music away from the predominant subscription model.Joseph Alfred took over in 1829 and established a virtual monopoly in low-cost mass sales of choral music. It brought the English-speaking world performing editions of Bach, Handel, Mendelssohn and many others. Novello was at the heart of the boom in printed sheet music and its use in public performance but in particular home entertainment, singing round the piano.
Next to choral publishing, educational publishing constituted an important part of the Novello catalogue throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Novello became the principal publisher of Elgar, Holst and Howells. Novello acquired Elkin & Co in 1961 and Paterson’s Publications in 1989. These brought Malcolm Arnold to the catalogue. In the 1970s the list grew to include more contemporary British choral composers and today includes names such as Paul Mealor, Tarik O'Regan and Thea Musgrave; remaining a major choral publisher and champion of new music.