James Bartleman (1769–1821), was an

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 ...

bass singer who performed at the

Concerts of Ancient Music The Concerts of Antient Music, also known as the ''Ancient Concerts'' or ''The King's Concerts'', were an influential concert series put on annually in London from 1776 to 1848. The concerts consisted solely of music composed at least twenty year ...

and revived the solo songs of

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer. Purcell's style of Baroque music was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest E ...

Life

Bartleman was born 19 September 1769. He was educated under Dr. Cooke, of

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

, and became a

chorister A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

in the

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

. He distinguished himself even as a boy singer, and by his gentle, amiable disposition, became a great favourite not only with his master, but also with Sir

John Hawkins John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, whose daughter Laetitia mentions him frequently in her ''Anecdotes'', and always with the highest admiration, both of his talents, but of his character. He made his first appearance as a bass singer in 1788 at the Concerts of Ancient Music, and he kept up his connection with that institution, with only one break, until compelled by ill-health to resign. In 1792, he sang the lead in the premiere of

Harriet Wainwright Harriet Wainwright Stewart (c. 1766–1843) was a British composer, singer, and writer. A musical entrepreneur, she developed a subscription list of several hundred people and sold at least two of her compositions (''Comala'' and ''Seringapatam'') ...

's opera ''Comala''. During the seasons 1792–4 he quit the Ancient Concerts for the concerts newly established by

Harrison Harrison may refer to: People * Harrison (name) * Harrison family of Virginia, United States Places In Australia: * Harrison, Australian Capital Territory, suburb in the Canberra district of Gungahlin In Canada: * Inukjuak, Quebec, or "Po ...

and

Knyvett Knyvett is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Carey Frederick Knyvett (1885–1967), second Bishop of Selby *Charles Knyvett (1752–1822), English musician *Thomas Knyvett (died 1512), young English nobleman who was a close assoc ...

, where he held the post of leading bass. Though he is usually called a bass singer, his voice seems to have had rather the character of a baritone, for a contemporary critic, in the ''London Magazine'' for 1820 speaks of its being incomparably more agreeable and effective than a bass, and also compares it to the violoncello. His compass was of unusual extent, from E below the bass stave to G above it. The same critic tells us that his intonation was wonderfully true, and that his richness and equality of tone resulted in part from his peculiarities of pronunciation; as instances of which, the words "die" and "smile" are given as "doy"’ and "smawele". Bartleman greatly admired Purcell's solos, and, at the 1796 season of the Ancient Concerts, revived nearly all those bass songs which later became the best known specimens of the composer's work, including the Frost Scene from ''

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

'' and "Let the dreadful engines of eternal will" from ''

Cardenio ''The History of Cardenio'', often referred to as simply ''Cardenio'', is a lost play, known to have been performed by the King's Men, a London theatre company, in 1613. The play is attributed to William Shakespeare and John Fletcher in a Stat ...

''.

John Wall Callcott John Wall Callcott (20 November 1766 – 15 May 1821) was an eminent English composer. Callcott was born in Kensington, London. He was a pupil of Haydn, and is celebrated mainly for his glee compositions and catches. In the best known of his ...

and

William Crotch William Crotch (5 July 177529 December 1847) was an English composer and organist. According to the American musicologist Nicholas Temperley, Crotchwas "a child prodigy without parallel in the history of music", and was certainly the most disti ...

wrote songs especially for him. He was a beautiful copyist of music, as is shown by a copy of Marenzio's madrigals made by him, which is now in the British Museum. The ''London Magazine'' of April 1821 reported that he was too ill to sing, but that hopes were held out of his recovery from the disease to which he had long been subject. However, he died on 15 April, and was buried in the cloisters of Westminster Abbey.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartleman, James 1769 births 1821 deaths Burials at Westminster Abbey 18th-century English singers 19th-century English singers Choristers at Westminster Abbey