Matlock has a strong tradition of music and has produced some very fine musicians. Amongst the names that stand out is that of Harry Douglas, for many years the manager of Smedley's Hydro.

Harry Douglas was a very fine organist and played the organ of Matlock's Congregational Church for over fifty years. There used to be a plaque in the church commemorating this but it was given to his family when the church was demolished. Mr. (later Captain and then Major) Douglas gave many organ recitals at the Congregational Church, as well as at other churches in the district. He played the organ wherever he went, seeking out church organs that he could play on even whilst on active service during the First World War in both Ireland and France^[1].

He kept all the programmes for his recitals, which he pasted into two albums. The older of the albums is shown on the right. There were just a handful of his performances for which there was no printed record, including his very first concert on 7 October 1906 at the Congregational Church. Although the programmes on this page show only the Matlock churches where Harry Douglas played, he also gave performances at several other Derbyshire churches before the First War. These additional concerts were at at the Wesleyan Church at Cromford, Farley Church, the Congregational Church at Middleton-by-Wirksworth, the Congregational Church in Riddings, Salem Chapel in Somercotes and at Bakewell Congregational Church for both its 124th anniversary in 1912 and 125th anniversary in 1913.

He also "composed several pieces for the organ under the name of John Masson^[2]" which were published by Novello & Co^[3]. Perhaps he chose the pseudonym after the impressive mountain he would have looked at on an almost daily basis from both his home and his workplace.

Selection of programmes from before World War I: