In 1878 Caldicott graduated from Cambridge University as a Bachelor of Music and began to achieve success with a series of glees based on nursery rhymes.
[2][3] Later pieces in the same humorous vein included "This Is the House That Jack Built" (1880),[4] "The Spider and the Fly",[5] "The Boy and the Bee",[6] "Poor Little Tomee!
He chose the story of the Widow of Nain as subject, writing both libretto and music himself, and on 12 September 1881 realised his boyhood dream by conducting his oratorio in the cathedral.
Reed produced twelve others, including A Moss Rose Rent, 1883; Old Knockles, 1884; In Cupid's Court, 1885; A United Pair, 1886; The Bosun's Mate, 1888; The Friar; Wanted an Heir; In Possession; Brittany Folk; Tally Ho!
[11] When the Albert Palace in Battersea Park was opened with ambitious intentions a full orchestra was engaged, and Caldicott was appointed conductor.
But in the year following his death, Caldicott's continuing reputation ensured that his glee, then titled "Little Jacky Horner", had the distinction of being performed as part of the series of what were then known as Mr Robert Newman’s Promenade Concerts in the Queen’s Hall.