Frederick William Nicholls Crouch (30 July 1808 – 18 August 1896) was an English composer and cellist.

Biography

Crouch was born in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it me ...

in London. He emigrated to the United States in 1849 and settled in Richmond, Virginia. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, Crouch took up arms for the Richmond Grays and the 1st Richmond Howitzers, Confederacy. Crouch was noted as a fine cellist, having played in the King's Theatre as well as St Paul's Cathedral in London, before relocating to the United States, but the majority of his compositions were not successful. His most famous song is " Kathleen Mavourneen". During his years in the United States, Crouch composed two operas and unsuccessfully tried various musical undertakings (i.e., conducting, singing and teaching). Well traveled after the Civil War, Crouch eventually settled in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, Maryland. He was married four times, and was the father of 27 children, including the famous French courtesan

Cora Pearl Cora Pearl (born Eliza Emma Crouch; December 1836 – 8 July 1886) was an English courtesan or cocotte of the French demimonde who became most well known during the period of the Second French Empire. Early life Eliza Emma Crouch was born in Ply ...

. He died on 18 August 1896 in

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...

, and was buried on Confederate Hill in Baltimore's

Loudon Park Cemetery Loudon Park Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland. It was incorporated on January 27, 1853, on of the site of the "Loudon" estate, previously owned by James Carey, a local merchant and politician. The entrance to the cemetery i ...

.''Greene's Biographical Encyclopedia of Composers''
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References

External links

* Frederick Nicholls Crouch on allmusic* * English Romantic composers English classical composers English classical cellists 1808 births 1896 deaths 19th-century classical composers English male classical composers 19th-century English musicians 19th-century British composers 19th-century British male musicians Burials at Loudon Park Cemetery 20th-century cellists {{UK-composer-stub