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William Russell (organist)
William Russell (6 October 1777 – 21 November 1813) was an English organist and composer. Life He was the son of William Russell, an organ-builder, and was born in London on 6 October 1777. From age seven Russell was taught by the organists William Cope, William Shrubsole, and John Groombridge. Between 1789 and 1793 he was deputy to his father, who was organist to St. Mary's, Aldermanbury. In 1793, Russell was appointed organist to the Great Queen Street chapel; cathedral services were performed there until 1798, when the chapel became a Wesleyan meeting-house. On 2 September 1798 he was elected organist at St. Anne's, Limehouse. In 1801 he was elected to a similar post at the Foundling Hospital. About the same time he resumed musical studies under Samuel Arnold. In 1808, Russell graduated Mus. Bac. at Oxford. He died on 21 November 1813 at Cobham Row, Coldbath Fields, in Clerkenwell. Works Russell's organ voluntaries were in suite form. He published ''Twelve Volunta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational hymn-singing and play liturgical music. Classical and church organists The majority of organists, amateur and professional, are principally involved in church music, playing in churches and cathedrals. The pipe organ still plays a large part in the leading of traditional western Christian worship, with roles including the accompaniment of hymns, choral anthems and other parts of the worship. The degree to which the organ is involved varies depending on the church and denomination. It also may depend on the standard of the organist. In more provincial settings, organists may be more accurately described as pianists obliged to play the organ for worship services; nevertheless, some churches are fortunate to have trained organists capable ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christopher Smart
Christopher Smart (11 April 1722 – 20 May 1771) was an English poet. He was a major contributor to two popular magazines, ''The Midwife'' and ''The Student'', and a friend to influential cultural icons like Samuel Johnson and Henry Fielding. Smart, a high church Anglican, was widely known throughout London. Smart was infamous as the pseudonymous midwife "Mrs. Mary Midnight" and for widespread accounts of his father-in-law, John Newbery, locking him away in a mental asylum for many years over Smart's supposed religious "mania". Even after Smart's eventual release, a negative reputation continued to pursue him as he was known for incurring more debt than he could repay; this ultimately led to his confinement in debtors' prison until his death. His two most widely known works are '' A Song to David'' and '' Jubilate Agno'', which are believed to have been written during his confinement in St. Luke's Asylum, although this is still debated by scholars as there is no record o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1813 Deaths
Events January–March * January 18–January 23 – War of 1812: The Battle of Frenchtown is fought in modern-day Monroe, Michigan between the United States and a British and Native American alliance. * January 24 – The Philharmonic Society (later the Royal Philharmonic Society) is founded in London. * January 28 – Jane Austen's ''Pride and Prejudice'' is published anonymously in London. * January 31 – The Assembly of the Year XIII is inaugurated in Buenos Aires. * February – War of 1812 in North America: General William Henry Harrison sends out an expedition to burn the British vessels at Fort Malden by going across Lake Erie via the Bass Islands in sleighs, but the ice is not hard enough, and the expedition returns. * February 3 – Argentine War of Independence: José de San Martín and his Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers gain a largely symbolic victory against a Spanish royalist army in the Battle of San Lorenzo. * Febr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1777 Births
Events January–March * January 2 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of the Assunpink Creek: American general George Washington's army repulses a British attack by Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis, in a second battle at Trenton, New Jersey. * January 3 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Princeton: American general George Washington's army defeats British troops. * January 13 – Mission Santa Clara de Asís is founded in what becomes Santa Clara, California. * January 15 – Vermont declares its independence from New York, becoming the Vermont Republic, an independent country, a status it retains until it joins the United States as the 14th state in 1791. * January 21 – The Continental Congress approves a resolution "that an unauthentic copy, with names of the signers of the Declaration of independence, be sent to each of the United States. *February 5 – Under the 1st Constitution of Georgia, 8 counti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Circus
The Surrey Theatre, London began life in 1782 as the Royal Circus and Equestrian Philharmonic Academy, one of the many circuses that provided entertainment of both horsemanship and drama ( hippodrama). It stood in Blackfriars Road, near the junction with Westminster Bridge Road, just south of the River Thames in what is now the London Borough of Southwark. History The ''Royal Circus'' was opened on 4 November 1782 by the composer and song writer, Charles Dibdin (who coined the term "circus" for that usage), aided by Charles Hughes, a well-known equestrian performer. The entertainments were at first performed by children with the goal of its being a nursery for young actors. Delphini, a celebrated buffo, became manager in 1788 and produced a spectacle including a real stag-hunt. Other animal acts followed, including the popular dog act ''Gelert and Victor'', lecture pieces, pantomimes and local spectacles. The popular comedian John Palmer then managed the theatre until 17 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Busby (composer)
Thomas Busby (26 December 1755 – 28 May 1838) was an English composer. Early life Busby was the son of a coach-painter. He was born at Westminster, London, in December 1755. His father was musical, and sang himself; when his son developed a fine treble voice, he decided to bring him up as a musician. Benjamin Cooke, the organist of Westminster Abbey, turned down young Busby (at age 12-13) as too old for a chorister; he was placed under Samuel Champness for singing, and Charles Knyvett for the harpsichord. Subsequently he studied under Jonathan Battishill. In the summer of 1769 Busby was engaged to sing at Vauxhall Gardens at a salary of ten guineas a week. On his voice breaking, he was articled to Battishill for three years, and worked on both his musical and his general education. On the expiration of his training he returned to his father's house, and set himself to earn his living by music and literature. Early works His first venture was the composition of music to a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Covent Garden Theatre
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. The first theatre on the site, the Theatre Royal (1732), served primarily as a playhouse for the first hundred years of its history. In 1734, the first ballet was presented. A year later, the first season of operas, by George Frideric Handel, began. Many of his operas and oratorios were specifically written for Covent Garden and had their premieres there. The current building is the third theatre on the site, following disastrous fires in 1808 and 1856 to previous buildings. The façade, foyer, and auditorium date from 1858, but almost every other element of the present complex dates from an extensive reconstruction in the 1990s. The main auditorium seats 2,256 people, mak ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sadler's Wells
Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England located on Rosebery Avenue next to New River Head. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500-seat main auditorium and the Lilian Baylis Studio, with extensive rehearsal rooms and technical facilities also housed within the site. Sadler's Wells is renowned as one of the world's leading dance venues. As well as a stage for visiting companies, the theatre is also a producing house, with a number of associated artists and companies that produce original works for the theatre. Sadler's Wells is also responsible for the management of the Peacock Theatre in the West End, during times not used by the London School of Economics. History First theatre and pleasure gardens Richard Sadler opened a "Musick House" in 1683, the second public theatre newly opened in London after the Restoration, the first being the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samuel Wesley (composer, Born 1766)
Samuel Wesley (24 February 1766 – 11 October 1837) was an English organist and composer in the late Georgian period. Wesley was a contemporary of Mozart (1756–1791) and was called by some "the English Mozart".Kassler, Michael & Olleson, Philip (2001). ''Samuel Wesley (1766–1837): A Source Book''. Ashgate. Personal life Born in Bristol, he was the son of noted Methodist and hymnodist Charles Wesley, the grandson of Samuel Wesley (a poet of the late Stuart period) and the nephew of John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church. His early musical education mostly took place in the family home in Bristol, where Sarah Wesley, his mother, sang and played the harpsichord. Hymn tunes and the works of Handel were the family's favourite pieces. Samuel also had lessons from David Williams, the organist of All Saints' Church, Bristol. In 1771 his father acquired a second house, in Chesterfield Street, Marylebone, London. Samuel left Bristol for the house in London by 1778 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Definition The term is descended from Latin, ''compōnō''; literally "one who puts together". The earliest use of the term in a musical context given by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' is from Thomas Morley's 1597 ''A Plain and Easy Introduction to Practical Music'', where he says "Some wil be good descanters ..and yet wil be but bad composers". 'Composer' is a loose term that generally refers to any person who writes music. More specifically, it is often used to denote people who are composers by occupation, or those who in the tradition of Western classical music. Writers of exclusively or primarily songs may be called composers, but since the 20th century the terms 'songwriter' or ' singer-songwriter' are more often used, particul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oratorio
An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is musical theatre, while oratorio is strictly a concert piece – though oratorios are sometimes staged as operas, and operas are sometimes presented in concert form. In an oratorio, the choir often plays a central role, and there is generally little or no interaction between the characters, and no props or elaborate costumes. A particularly important difference is in the typical subject matter of the text. Opera tends to deal with history and mythology, including age-old devices of romance, deception, and murder, whereas the plot of an oratorio often deals with sacred topics, making it appropriate for performance in the church. Protestant composers took their stories from the Bible, while Catholic composers looked to the lives of saints ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clerkenwell
Clerkenwell () is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an ancient parish from the mediaeval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The well after which it was named was rediscovered in 1924. The watchmaking and watch repairing trades were once of great importance. Geography Goswell Street formed the eastern boundary of the Clerkenwell parishes, with the River Fleet, now buried beneath Farringdon Road and other streets, forming the western boundary with Holborn and, in part, St Pancras. This western boundary with both neighbouring areas is now used as part of the London Borough of Islington’s western boundary with the London Borough of Camden. Pentonville is a part of northern Clerkenwell, while the southern part is sometimes referred to as Farringdon, after the railway station of that name – which was named after Farringdon Road (an extension of Farringdon Street) and originally named Farringdon Street ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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