Charles Jane Ashley (1773 – 29 August 1843) was an English cellist. Ashley was born in London, the third son of musician John Ashley. He was a performer on the

violoncello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D ...

, and also for some time carried on the Covent Garden

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 with his brother, General Charles Ashley, a violinist. He was also the brother of

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...

and John James Ashley. According to the official book commemorating the 300th anniversary of the Worshipful Company of Musicians (published in 1904/5), he was one of the founders of the Glee Club in 1793 and an original member of the

Philharmonic Society The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a membe ...

of London. On 2 May 1811, he was elected secretary of the

Royal Society of Musicians The Royal Society of Musicians of Great Britain is a charity in the United Kingdom that supports musicians. It is the oldest music-related charity in Great Britain, founded in 1738 as the ''Fund for Decay'd Musicians'' by a declaration of trust sign ...

, of which he had been a member since 4 May 1794. In 1791 and from 1794 to 1801, he was named by the Governors to play for the clergy of St. Paul's Cathedral, at the society's annual May benefits concert. After his father's death in 1805, he and his brother Christopher continued the oratorios, and by 1817 he was a violoncellist in a band at the King's Theatre. In the latter part of his life he was for some seasons manager of the

Tivoli Gardens Tivoli Gardens, also known simply as Tivoli, is an amusement park and pleasure garden in Copenhagen, Denmark. The park opened on 15 August 1843 and is the third-oldest operating amusement park in the world, after Dyrehavsbakken in nearby Klampe ...

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and Westbrook, Kent, ...

, where he died on 29 August 1843. During his later years, before his death in 1843, Charles became quite weak in health, which may have been due to the 19 years he spent in prison over debt. The payments that were made to him for medical assistance from 1835, were recorded in ''The Minute Books'' of the Royal Society of Musicians.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashley, Charles Jane 1773 births 1843 deaths 18th-century English musicians 19th-century English musicians 18th-century English men 19th-century English men Members of the Royal Society of Musicians Musicians from London