VULGAR SPEECHIFYING, EXETER, 1845.

Mr. Vinning was a professor of music who had truly remarkable musical children.  When "The Infant Sappho", also known as Louisa Vinning, came to Exeter in January 1845 she was eight years old and had already been performing in public for five years.  The Exeter Flying Post (16th January, 1845) reported favourably on her precocious performance as a singer but was not impressed by the way her father, Mr. Vinning, dumbed the evening down with references to empty benches and bill-stickers and other such humbug.  This so chimed with my own prejudice that there are few things quite so aggravating as vulgar speechifying during presentations of songs and instrumental performances that I copy this section of the Post's review :   

"We are perfectly aware that country audiences require a certain degree of what is vulgarly called, "humbug," to be practised upon them.  In our judgement however, Mr. Vinning carries this to an absurd extent.

"He indulges in what, to use the slang of the Commom Showmen is termed "patter," not only in lauding the  powers of the "Infant Sappho" almost before every song.  but in talking to his audience about the songs that have been written for her, the verses in praise of her, the crowds that have thronged to listen to her, and the empty benches, there were not many, that these ought to and would have been filled, if due dilligence had been exercised on the part of the bill-sticker.   We are convinced that sensible people (and those are many among every audience) must be disgusted with all this vulgar speechifying, and we assure Mr. Vinning that the talent of his very interesting and highly gifted child is quite high enough to be appreciated every where without the aid of any false excitement among the audience."

The biggest offender of vulgar speechifying today with which I an familiar is BBC Radio 3.  The presenters' (and their guests'!) patter has become unbearable and grows more trivial and more vulgar with the years.  I guess it is the common fault of our national institutions that they feel they must be popular. (a  close synonym of vulgar!).  The consequence, it seems to me, is that it becomes increasingly tempting to switch off from the broadcasts.  Okay, a certain degree of  false excitement and what is vulgarly called "humbug" is necessarily practised upon us, but BBC Radio 3, I would argue, carries humbug, as did, reportedly, Mr. Vinning,  to an absurd extent. 

P.S.  Free Example! I switched on yesterday and heard no music but the words, deliberately spoken by a woman presenter, something like:   "Laura - I think I would be right in saying  - that politics have been a thread throughout your life."  I switched off before 'Laura' made answer.   Humbug, humbug!!!