Charles Edward Horsley (16 December 1822 – 28 February 1876),

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

musician, was the son of

William Horsley William Horsley (18 November 177412 June 1858) was an English musician. His compositions were numerous, and include amongst other instrumental pieces three symphonies for full orchestra. More important are his glees, of which he published f ...

. He studied in Germany under

Hauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian, and Swiss armies. While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has and originally had the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literally ...

and

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sym ...

, and on his return to England composed several

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 mus ...

s and other pieces, none of which had permanent success. In 1849 he was invited by

William Sterndale Bennett Sir William Sterndale Bennett (13 April 18161 February 1875) was an English composer, pianist, conductor and music educator. At the age of ten Bennett was admitted to the London Royal Academy of Music (RAM), where he remained for ten years. B ...

to become a founder member of the Bach Society. In 1860 he was appointed to arrange the music for the 1862 International Exhibition. In the following year he emigrated to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, where he worked as a choral and orchestral conductor. He was appointed as the organist at

Christ Church, South Yarra Christ Church, South Yarra is the Anglican parish church of the suburb of South Yarra in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The parish is in the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne and dates from 1856. The parish is well known as belonging to the Angl ...

, but resigned after six months, frustrated by Bishop Perry's injunctions against music, Perry being an extreme Evangelical. In 1872 went to

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Three weeks after landing in America, he was appointed organist of St John's Chapel, New York at a salary of £500 a year, which position he filled to the day of his death. His wife, Georgina, to carry out his wishes, placed him to rest near and with his own people in

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederick ...

, London. His works include the oratorio ''Gideon'', Op.50, written for the Glasgow Music Festival in January 1860. There is also a

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

in C major, the manuscript of which is dated March 1861, shortly after his arrival in Australia; this is probably the first work for this combination to have been written on Australian soil. In 1870 Horsley was commissioned to compose a cantata ''Euterpe'' to a poem by Henry Kendall, performed at the Melbourne Town Hall opening in 1876. In the United States he wrote sentimental and patriotic songs, which continued to appear until the last year of his life. The world première of his Mendelssohnian violin concerto op. 29 (1849) was performed on October 11, 2016, in Fayetteville, Arkansas by violinist Selim Giray and University of Arkansas Symphony Orchestra under the direction of conductor Robert K. Mueller. Horsley was depicted as the composer Auchester in

Elizabeth Sara Sheppard Elizabeth Sara Sheppard (1830–1862) was a 19th-century British novelist. Life Sheppard was born in 1830 in Blackheath, London. Her father, of Jewish descent on his mother's side, was a clergyman of the Church of England. He died soon after Sh ...

's novel ''Charles Auchester'' (1853).Weliver, Phyllis. ''The Musical Crowd in English Fiction'' (2006)

References

External links

*
Free scores
at the Mutopia Project * {{DEFAULTSORT:Horsley, Charles Edward 1822 births 1876 deaths English composers Australian male composers Australian composers 19th-century British composers 19th-century English musicians 19th-century British male musicians William Horsley family