James Sanderson (or ''Saunderson'' 1769–c.1841) was an English musician, now remembered as a composer. The tune for "

Hail to the Chief "Hail to the Chief" is the personal anthem of the president of the United States, adapted by James Sanderson from an original Scottish Gaelic melody. The song's playing accompanies the appearance of the president of the United States at many ...

", the presidential anthem of the United States, is attributed to him, taken from a Scottish Gaelic melody.

Life

Sanderson was born at

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The town was historically in Cumberland. At the 2011 census it had a population of 25,207. Loca ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

. He taught himself the violin, and at age 14 was taken on at the Sunderland Theatre. In 1784 he established himself at

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...

as a teacher, and in 1787 became leader at the Newcastle Theatre. In 1788 Sanderson went to London and led the orchestra at Astley's Theatre. He was engaged in 1793 by the

Royal Circus The Surrey Theatre, London began life in 1782 as the Royal Circus and Equestrian Philharmonic Academy, one of the many circuses that provided entertainment of both horsemanship and drama (hippodrama). It stood in Blackfriars Road, near the jun ...

as composer and musical director; he remained there many years, producing

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 dramas, and vocal and instrumental pieces. Sanderson worked closely with John Cartwright Cross, who usually provided words for a long series of

burletta In theater and music history, a burletta (Italian, meaning "little joke", sometimes burla or burlettina) is a brief comic opera. In eighteenth-century Italy, a burletta was the comic intermezzo between the acts of an ''opera seria''. The extended w ...

melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...

s and

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

s. Cross devised a way for the Royal Circus, which became the Surrey Theatre, to get round restrictions on the classic plays they could show: it involved rendering the lines into

rhymed couplet A couplet is a pair of successive lines of metre in poetry. A couplet usually consists of two successive lines that rhyme and have the same metre. A couplet may be formal (closed) or run-on (open). In a formal (or closed) couplet, each of the ...

s, and adding musical accompaniment. Sanderson died about 1841.

Works

Sanderson began as a composer with instrumental accompaniment to William Collins's ''Ode on the Passions'', which

George Frederick Cooke George Frederick Cooke (17 April 1756 in London – 26 September 1812 in New York City) was an England, English actor. As famous for his erratic habits as for his acting, he was largely responsible for initiating the romantic style in acting t ...

recited at his benefit in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

. The accepted tune for the

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

poem ''

Comin' Thro' the Rye "Comin' Thro' the Rye" is a poem written in 1782 by Robert Burns (1759–1796). The words are put to the melody of the Scottish Minstrel "Common' Frae The Town". This is a variant of the tune to which " Auld Lang Syne" is usually sung—the melodi ...

'' was composed by him. A ballad, ''Bound 'Prentice to a Waterman'', sung in the drama ''Sir Francis Drake'' (1800), was regularly introduced into nautical plays for half a century. Two of Sanderson's ballads were still reprinted in the ''Musical Bouquet'' of 1874.

Notes

External links

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanderson, James 1769 births 1840s deaths English composers English male composers English violinists Male violinists People from Workington