MACLEAN, QUENTIN, 1896-1962
MUS 143

Quentin Maclean fonds.  - 1909-1962.  - 4 m of textual records.  - 245 photographs.  - 18 negatives.  - 1 audio disc.  - 1 audio tape reel. 

Biographical sketch
Born in London, England, Maclean went to Leipzig in 1912 to complete his musical studies with organist Karl Straube and composer Max Reger.  In England he performed as an organist, chiefly at Westminster Cathedral, in cinema halls, and on the BBC, where the artist performed the British première of Hindemith's Concerto for organ.  He moved to Toronto in 1939, where he found employment as an organist at Holy Rosary Church, Shea's Hippodrome, the Victoria Theatre and on CBC radio, among other places.  His work, traditional in style, reflects the diversity of his musical tastes:  classical music, music for religious services, and music for radio were all part of Maclean's repertoire.  The Stabat Mater, the Algonquin Legend for orchestra, the Concerto grosso for four electric instruments and the String Quartet are among his best-known works. 

Scope and content
The fonds contains records pertaining to the life and musical career of Quentin Maclean:  birth certificate; prizes; contracts; business cards; correspondence; writings by Maclean (notably an unpublished manuscript of the work Organ Tone and Terminology ); articles on Maclean; collection of articles on organ keyboards; promotional material; radio and concert programmes; file pertaining to the International Congress of Organists Conference held in 1967; manuscript compositions, most autograph, for organ, voice, orchestra, band and chamber ensemble; arrangements which include transcriptions for cinema organ; manuscript and published scores (annotated) by various composers, including Karl Straube, Max Reger, Thomas J. Crawford and members of the Maclean family; photographs of Quentin Maclean and personalities of the music world; sound recordings of works by Maclean. 

Immediate source of acquisition:  acquired from Alick Mayhew, nephew of Quentin Maclean, in 1982, and from the Canadian Music Centre (Toronto) in 1984. 

Restrictions:  none. 

Finding aids:  computerized inventory.