'In talent of the first rank; in inclination totally deficient'

John Mather, 1781-1850, First organist of St John's Episcopal Church, Edinburgh

If in Edinburgh around the time of Waterloo you passed a 'lusty man with spectacles' on the steep New Town streets, it might be John Mather, hurrying to visit his mistress, rehearse a chorus of 200 voices, give an organ lesson, escape an angry creditor or beat his unfortunate wife.

This lecture by Eleanor Harris marking the 200th anniversary of the concert series which launched his career introduces this colourful character of Regency Edinburgh. It explores the exalted aspirations and subsequent shambles in which John Mather launched the first Edinburgh Festival, the Choir of St John's, and the Edinburgh Institution for the Improvement of Sacred Music. It examines how the community of the New Town of Edinburgh dealt with a talented member who destroyed his own career through financial incompetence and domestic violence.

It includes a new edition by Anthony Mudge of John Mather's only extant composition, Hail to the Chief, a glee for three voices and keyboard, performed at the lecture.

Available for £4 from St John's Church Office, Princes Street, Edinburgh, 0131 229 7565, office@stjohns-edinburgh.org.uk