Frederick Rosse (1867 – 20 June 1940) was an English composer of light music and

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

. After studying music in Germany and elsewhere, he began his career as a musical director at London theatres. He composed suites of

incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as t ...

for several plays, orchestral suites and songs. His "Doge's March" from his music for ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...

'' was his most enduring piece.

Early life and career

Rosse was born on the

Isle of Jersey An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms. Isle may refer to: Geography * Is ...

.Scowcroft, Philip
"A First Garland of British Light Music Composers"
MusicWeb-International, accessed 10 November 2014 He was a godson of the celebrated actress

Lillie Langtry Emilie Charlotte, Lady de Bathe (née Le Breton, formerly Langtry; 13 October 1853 – 12 February 1929), known as Lillie (or Lily) Langtry and nicknamed "The Jersey Lily", was a British socialite, stage actress and producer. Born on the isl ...

, although she was only thirteen years old when she was given this responsibility. Rosse attended Harrow, a private boarding school in London, and studied music at the

Conservatoire A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...

in Leipzig, Germany, as well as in Dresden, Brussel and Vienna. While in Leipzig, he shared lodgings with composer

Frederick Delius Delius, photographed in 1907 Frederick Theodore Albert Delius ( 29 January 1862 – 10 June 1934), originally Fritz Delius, was an English composer. Born in Bradford in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family, he resisted atte ...

. He began his musical career singing the minor role of Takemine (Sergeant of the Governor's Guard) in the popular musical ''

The Geisha ''The Geisha, a story of a tea house'' is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts. The score was composed by Sidney Jones to a libretto by Owen Hall, with lyrics by Harry Greenbank. Additional songs were written by Lionel Monckton and James Ph ...

'' at

Daly's Theatre Daly's Theatre was a theatre in the City of Westminster. It was located at 2 Cranbourn Street, just off Leicester Square. It opened on 27 June 1893, and was demolished in 1937. The theatre was built for and named after the American impresar ...

in London. He was eventually promoted to chorus master there and then became a musical director in several other London theaters. He began to compose music by 1895, soon writing suites of

for several stage plays. His "Doge's March" for ''

'', produced by

Arthur Bourchier Arthur Bourchier (22 June 186314 September 1927) was an English actor and Actor-manager, theatre manager. He married and later divorced the actress Violet Vanbrugh. Bourchier was noted for roles both in classical drama, particularly William S ...

at the

Garrick Theatre The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play ...

in 1905, was popular for many years. He also wrote orchestral suites that were not meant for the theatre, although some were inspired by plays. By 1920, Rosse was the musical director of the Waldorf Theatre (which later became the

Novello Theatre The Novello Theatre is a West End theatre on Aldwych, in the City of Westminster. It was known as the Strand Theatre between 1913 and 2005. History The theatre was built as one of a pair with the Aldwych Theatre on either side of The Waldo ...

Personal life and death

Rosse married Edith Marion, who had been in the cast of a touring company at the theatre, and they lived in a bungalow in Staines, Middlesex. His friend and business manager was

Maundy Gregory Arthur John Maundy Gregory, who later used the name Arthur John Peter Michael Maundy Gregory (1 July 1877 – 28 September 1941) was a British theatre producer and political fixer who is best remembered for selling honours for Prime Minister David ...

who often lodged with the couple. Later, the three moved to a house in St. John's Wood called Abbey Lodge. It was later converted into

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...

. He wrote one song each for the musicals ''Sergeant Brue'', with lyrics by

P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeev ...

(1905), and ''

King of Cadonia ''King of Cadonia'' is an English musical in two acts with a book by Frederick Lonsdale, lyrics by Adrian Ross and Arthur Wimperis and music by Sidney Jones and Frederick Rosse. It opened at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London on 3 September 19 ...

'', with lyrics by

Arthur Wimperis Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...

(1908). In 1923, he and Edith formally separated. She continued to live in the Abbey Lodge with Gregory, but not in an intimate relationship. On 15 September 1932, Edith died suddenly after refusing Gregory's request for a loan. It is speculated that she was murdered by Gregory, although no charges were ever filed against him. Rosse died in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

on 20 June 1940.

Selected compositions

* "All Aboard" (1895 – published by Chappell) * Incidental music to an adaptation of ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight f ...

'' (1898) * Incidental music to ''Monsieur Beaucaire'' (1902) (Rosse did not write the 1919 operetta of the same name.) * Incidental music to ''The Water Babies'' (1902), by

Rutland Barrington Rutland Barrington (15 January 1853 – 31 May 1922) was an English singer, actor, comedian and Edwardian musical comedy star. Best remembered for originating the lyric baritone roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas from 1877 to 1896, his ...

, based on

Charles Kingsley Charles Kingsley (12 June 1819 – 23 January 1875) was a broad church priest of the Church of England, a university professor, social reformer, historian, novelist and poet. He is particularly associated with Christian socialism, the working ...

's ''

The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby ''The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby'' is a children's novel by Charles Kingsley. Written in 1862–63 as a serial for ''Macmillan's Magazine'', it was first published in its entirety in 1863. It was written as part satire in ...

'' * Incidental music to "Almond Eye". * Incidental music to "

" (1905) * "Petite Suite Moderne" (1908) for orchestra * "Childhood's Memories" * "Suite Gabrielle" Op. 101 (1916) for orchestra * "Suite Dansante," Op.110 (1920) for piano * "Melodie solennelle in D" * "Cyrano de Bergerac" (1923) orchestral suite

Songs

* The Refractory Monk * Put Me In My Little Cell (1905, written for "Sergeant Brue" to lyrics by

) * Almond Eye (1923) * Nobody Seems to Want to Love Me Now * Still I'd Have Faith * Oki Dearie Me * In the Old Countrie Some of his songs, such as "Put Me In My Little Cell" were included in musicals by other composers.

Recordings

"An Album of Military Band Music," an early stereo recording by The Band of the Grenadier Guards, has been reissued as a digital download. It includes the movements "Portia" and "Doge's March" from Rosse's ''The Merchant of Venice'' suite. Five Movements from ''The Merchant of Venice'' suite in a 1921 reduction for violin and piano by

Albert Sammons Albert Edward Sammons CBE (23 February 188624 August 1957) was an English violinist, composer and later violin teacher. Almost self-taught on the violin, he had a wide repertoire as both chamber musician and soloist, although his reputation rest ...

are included on the 2002 CD "Trails of Creativity 1918-1938" featuring violinist

David Frühwirth David Frühwirth (born 15 June 1974) is an Austrian classical violinist. He has played internationally as a soloist and chamber musician, with a focus on contemporary music which he also recorded. He has given international master classes. Life a ...

accompanied by pianist Henri Sigfridsson; AVIE CD0009; UPC 8 22252 0009 2 4. The "Doge's March" movement from the same suite in its orchestral form can be heard performed by The New London Orchestra conducted by

Ronald Corp Ronald Geoffrey Corp, (born 4 January 1951) is a composer, conductor and Anglican priest. He is founder and artistic director of the New London Orchestra (NLO) and the New London Children's Choir. Corp is musical director of the London Chorus, a ...

on a Hyperion Records CD (British Light Music Classics 4) from 2002. His music had some representation on acetate and LP, including an appearance in a Folkways Records compilation of "The theatre lyrics of

" released in 1961.bu
sung in 1905
with Billy Murray singing "Put me in my little cell" from "Sergeant Brue", the 1905 London musical that contained Wodehouse's earliest lyrics.

References

External links

1895 feature on Rosse

Rosse at Hyperion
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosse, Frederick English composers 1867 births 1940 deaths