The Chaplin Trio was a trio of musicians: sisters Eleanor Mary (or Nellie) Chaplin, pianist and harpsichordist; Kate Chaplin, violinist and player of the

viola d'amore The viola d'amore (; ) is a 7- or 6- stringed musical instrument with additional sympathetic strings used chiefly in the baroque period. It is played under the chin in the same manner as the violin. Structure and sound The viola d'amore shar ...

; and Mabel Chaplin, cellist and player of the

viola da gamba The viola da gamba (), or viol, or informally gamba, is a bowed and fretted string instrument that is played (i.e. "on the leg"). It is distinct from the later violin family, violin, or ; and it is any one of the earlier viol family of bow (m ...

. They are particularly known for contributing to the revival of early music. Percy A. Scholes. ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music''. OUP, 1964.

Careers

The sisters were born in London. Nellie Chaplin (11 February 1857 – 16 April 1930) studied at the London Academy of Music with Henry Wylde, and in Hamburg with Elise Timm."Chaplin Familie: Schwestern Nellie (1), Kate (2) und Mabel (3)"
Sophie Drinker Institut. Retrieved 24 September 2019. Kate Chaplin (3 July 1865 – 9 December 1948) studied at the London Academy of Music with Adolf Pollitzer, and from 1892 to 1894 at the

Royal Conservatory of Brussels The Royal Conservatory of Brussels (, ) is a historic conservatory in Brussels, Belgium. Starting its activities in 1813, it received its official name in 1832. Providing performing music and drama courses, the institution became renowned par ...

with

Eugène Ysaÿe Eugène-Auguste Ysaÿe (; 16 July 185812 May 1931) was a Belgian virtuoso violinist, composer, and conductor. He was regarded as "The King of the Violin", or, as Nathan Milstein put it, the "tsar". Early years Born in Liège, Ysaÿe began ...

."Kate Chaplin"
Musik und Gender im Internet. Retrieved 24 September 2019. Mabel Chaplin (19 October 1870 – 6 November 1960) studied at the London Academy of Music with the cellist , and at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels with

Édouard Jacobs Édouard Jacobs (born 1851 in Halle, Belgium; died 1925Edouard Jacobs (1851-1925 ; vio ...

. Nellie and Kate Chaplin gave concerts together from 1882. In 1889, the sisters formed the Chaplin Trio. With other performers, they gave concerts in London (in venues including the

Queen's Hall The Queen's Hall was a concert hall in Langham Place, London, Langham Place, London, opened in 1893. Designed by the architect Thomas Knightley, it had room for an audience of about 2,500 people. It became London's principal concert venue. Fro ...

St James's Hall St. James's Hall was a concert hall in London that opened on 25 March 1858, designed by architect and artist Owen Jones (architect), Owen Jones, who had decorated the interior of the Crystal Palace. It was situated between the Quadrant in Regen ...

and the

Steinway Hall Steinway Hall (German: ) is the name of buildings housing concert halls, showrooms and sales departments for Steinway & Sons pianos. The first Steinway Hall was opened in 1866 in New York City. Today, Steinway Halls and are located in cities suc ...

) and elsewhere in Britain and Ireland. In the early years of the trio, they played music of the classical period and of the 19th century. A reviewer of a concert given in St James's Hall in May 1902, during which they played a trio by Brahms, wrote that the trio "have long since made a name for themselves as intelligent and interesting players.... The effects of continuous practice are very evident in their playing, and their ensemble was excellent." (''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 17 May 1902). The sisters were also teachers.

Early music

From the early twentieth century they played early music. One such concert, in 1906, of works by J. S. Bach,

Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version of Shakespeare's ...

, William Boyce,

Domenico Scarlatti Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti (26 October 1685 – 23 July 1757) was an Italian composer. He is classified primarily as a Baroque music, Baroque composer chronologically, although his music was influential in the development of the Classical peri ...

and others, took place in the Broadwood Rooms in London. A reviewer wrote that the music was played "with just the right feeling, quite simply and straightforwardly, like everything else that these players gave us, and without the slightest pose or attempt at archaism...." (''The Times'', 19 May 1906). They sometimes played on early instruments: Kate Chaplin played a

(named "The Dragon") made by

George Saint-George George Saint-George (1841 – 5 January 1924) was a British musical instrument maker and composer. Biography He was born in Leipzig, Germany to English parents, and studied violin, piano and theory in Prague and Dresden.Born in Dresden according t ...

in 1899, and Mabel Chaplin played a

. In a revival in 1920 of ''

The Beggar's Opera ''The Beggar's Opera'' is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of sati ...

'', at the

Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a nonprofit theatre on Lyric Square, off King Street, Hammersmith, London."About the Lyric" > "History" ''Lyric'' official website. Retrieved January 2024. Background The Lyric Theatre ...

, the sisters, playing harpsichord, viola d'amore e viola da gamba, and other musicians formed the orchestra. The production ran until 1923. The

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

transmitted concerts given by the trio: broadcasts on 17 August 1927 and on 13 September 1929 are known. Concerts by the trio are known until 1929, shortly before Nellie Chaplin's death in 1930.

References

{{authority control Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art British early music ensembles Sibling musical trios Piano trios