Page:Dictionary of National Biography, Second Supplement, volume 3.djvu/38

 churches of Stapleton, Stoke Bishop, and Frampton Cotterell in Gloucestershire; those at Bourton, High Bridge, and Congresbury in Somersetshire. At Bristol he was responsible for St. Luke's, St. Matthias, Emmanuel (Clifton), and the parish church of Bedminster; and in Wales and Monmouthshire for those at Pontypridd, Neath, Rheola, Ebbw Vale, Blaina, Abertillery, Ystrad Mynach, Penmaen, Llwyn Madoc, Dyffryn, Cwm, and Ysfra. Norton designed St. Matthew's, Brighton; Christ Church, Finchley; St. John's, Middlesbrough ; churches at Croxley Green (since increased in size); Lundy Island; Powerscourt, Wicklow; Chevington, near Howick; Bagnères de Bigorre; and Bishop Hannington's Memorial Church, Frere Town, Africa. The C.M.S. Children's Home at Limpsfield, the Royal Normal College for the Blind at Norwood, the County Courts at Williton, Dunster, and Long Ashton in Somerset, and the High Cross at Bristol were also Norton's work. Norton died on 10 Nov. 1904, and was buried at Bournemouth. He married in 1857 Helen Mary, only daughter of Peter Le Neve Aldous Arnold, by whom he had eight daughters and two sons. The younger son, Mr. C. Harrold Norton, succeeded to his father's practice.

 NOVELLO, CLARA ANASTASIA, (1818–1908), oratorio and operatic prima donna, born in Oxford Street, London, on 10 June 1818, was fourth daughter of Vincent Novello [q. v.] by his wife Mary Sabilla Hehl. Mrs. Mary Victoria Cowden Clarke [q. v. Suppl. I] was her eldest sister. Clara was taken in childhood to York, and was placed under Miss Hill, the leading singer, and John Robinson, organist of the Roman catholic chapel there. Her talents were at once displayed ; and on Easter Sunday, when Miss Hill was suddenly indisposed, Clara offered to sing all her solos from memory, and succeeded. In 1829 she became a pupil of Choron's academy in Paris. She always retained the strongest appreciation of her training there ; Palestrina's music was much sung, and Clara ascribed her perfect sostenuto to having sung in Ms motets, and being obliged to hold the suspensions. The academy declined after the revolution of 1830, and Clara, who had had unpleasant experiences of the fighting, returned to England. On 22 Oct. 1832 she made her first public appearance, in a concert at Windsor, with full success ; and in December she took the soprano part in Beethoven's 'Missa Solennis,' a remarkable feat for a girl of fourteen. She was soon among the first singers of the day, being engaged at the whole series of Ancient Concerts, at the Philharmonic Concerts, and the Three Choirs Festival. She sang in a sestet, Grisi leading, at the Handel commemoration in June 1834 ; Lord Mount-Edgcumbe (Musical Reminiscences, p. 278) describes her as 'a very young girl with a clear good voice.' Her father's friend, Charles Lamb, though quite unmusical, wrote the lines 'To Clara N.' published in the 'Athenæum,' 26 July 1834. She was left without a rival on the retirement of Catherine Stephens, afterwards countess of Essex [q. v.], in 1835, and took the leading soprano part at all important English concerts. Her voice was a pure clear soprano, extending to D in alt, perfectly trained, perfectly under control, and used with musical science as well as with feeling expression. Handel's music was particularly adapted to her style. Her appearance was attractive ; she had exceptionally luxuriant hair, and to lessen the load she cut off half a yard. At the Manchester Festival in September 1836 she had much useful advice from the dying Malibran. Next year Mendelssohn invited her to the Gewandhaus Concerts, Leipzig, where she appeared on 2 Nov. 1837, and several times later. She was well received, and succeeded in making German audiences appreciate Handel's solos. Schumann declared that nothing for years past had given him so much pleasure as Miss Novello's voice, 'every note sharply defined as on the keyboard.' (Neue Zeilschrift für Musik : Das Musikleben . ., 1837-8). Mendelssohn wrote that Clara Novello and Mrs. Shaw (her successor next winter) 'are the best concert singers we have heard in Germany for a long time.' She sang also at Berlin, Dresden, Prague (, My Musical Recollections, p. 26), Vienna (, Letter to Fischhof), and Munich. Then visiting Rossini at Bologna, she was advised to study opera for a year ; she took lessons of Micheroux at Milan. In 1839 she once more made a concert tour, travelling down the Rhine to Düsseldorf, through North Germany to Berlin, and thence to St. Petersburg. Her first appearance on the stage was at Padua in Rossini's 'Semiramide,' on 6 July 1841. Unqualified successes in Rome, Genoa, and other large Italian cities followed; Rossini sent 