James Sauvage (born James Savage), (9 May 1849 – 27 November 1922) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

singer.

Early life

Sauvage grew up in the mining community of Penrhos,

Rhosllannerchrugog RhosllanerchrugogDavies, Jenkins and Baines (eds) ''The Welsh Academy Encyclopedia of Wales'', 2008, p.752 (also spelled Rhosllannerchrugog, or simply Rhos) is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It lies within the histor ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, the son of Thomas and Mary Savage of The Square. Before he was nine years old, he began working in one of the local collieries, the Brandie Pit No. 6 at

Ruabon Ruabon ( cy, Rhiwabon ) is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. The name comes from ''Rhiw Fabon'', ''rhiw'' being the Welsh word for "slope" or "hillside" and ''Fabon'' being a mutation from St Mabon, the original church ...

, working twelve-hour days. His musical talents appeared at an early age and as a child his voice was highly appreciated in local concerts and

eisteddfod In Welsh culture, an ''eisteddfod'' is an institution and festival with several ranked competitions, including in poetry and music. The term ''eisteddfod'', which is formed from the Welsh morphemes: , meaning 'sit', and , meaning 'be', means, a ...

au, and he sang

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...

in the choir at the

Calvinistic Methodist Calvinistic Methodists were born out of the 18th-century Welsh Methodist revival and survive as a body of Christians now forming the Presbyterian Church of Wales. Calvinistic Methodism became a major denomination in Wales, growing rapidly in the 1 ...

Capel Mawr (literally "Big Chapel") in Rhos. At the age of eighteen, he left to seek work in the coalfields of

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

with several other young men from Rhos. A few years later, in the town of

Jackson, Ohio Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Ohio, United States approximately 27 mi (43 km) SE of Chillicothe. The population was 6,239 at the 2020 census. History Established in 1817, residents named the to ...

, he met Lewis William Lewis (known by his

bardic name A bardic name (, ) is a pseudonym used in Wales, Cornwall, or Brittany by poets and other artists, especially those involved in the eisteddfod movement. The Welsh term bardd ("poet") originally referred to the Welsh poets of the Middle Ages, who m ...

of 'Llew Llwyfo') of

Penysarn Penysarn (; ) is a small village located within Llaneilian Community, in the north-eastern corner of Anglesey, Wales, and on the north-eastern side of Parys Mountain, at approximately 140–150 feet above sea level. The settlement expanded in th ...

, Llanwenllwyfo,

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

, Wales. Lewis was touring the Welsh communities of the US with a concert party he had brought over from Wales. Llew Llwyfo managed to persuade James Savage to give up his job in the mines and join the concert party, a decision which changed the course of his life.

Musical career

On returning to Wales, Sauvage began to make a name for himself in the musical world, and was frequently called upon to perform at the

National Eisteddfod The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competitors ...

. He later gained a place at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

, London, England and in two years, the shortest time in record there for a student, won the bronze, silver, and gold medals. He was later elected associate of the institution and soon after became a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the Royal Academy. Although he started his singing career as a

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

he later developed as a world-famous

. He was widely known as an

operatic Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libretti ...

singer, and for a number of years was a member of the

Carl Rosa Opera Company The Carl Rosa Opera Company was founded in 1873 by Carl Rosa, a German-born musical impresario, and his wife, British operatic soprano Euphrosyne Parepa-Rosa to present opera in English in London and the British provinces. The company premiere ...

, and his repertoire included the standard English, French and Italian works. Sauvage continued to make regular visits to the United States and eventually the family settled there in Lincoln Park,

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

of Singing at

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. James Sauvage eventually became a

naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the i ...

United States citizen. Every summer James made an annual 'pilgrimage' back to Rhosllannerchrugog, travelling in some style between New York and

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

on the best of the

Cunard Line Cunard () is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its three ships have been registered in Hamilton, Berm ...

liners. He made his last visit to Rhos in the summer of 1922.

Death and legacy

Professor James Sauvage died in November 1922 at Newark, New Jersey at the age of 73.

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...

, the former

British Prime Minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern p ...

, wrote of James Sauvage:

About thirty five year ago he was the principal vocalist in the
Criccieth Criccieth ( cy, Criccieth ) is a town and community on the Llŷn Peninsula in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd in Wales. The town lies west of Porthmadog, east of Pwllheli and south of Caernarfon. It had a population of 1,826 in 2001, reducing ...
Eisteddfod. After having charmed the thousands who came to listen to him from the hills and valleys, he came home with me for a cup of tea. When he learned that my mother could not attend the eisteddfod, owing to ill health, he sang to her all of his programme of songs and encores, with the same vigour and enthusiasm that he displayed in singing to the thousands. What pleasure this gave to my dear old mother. Ever since, there has been a warm spot in my heart for the famous musician.

Personal life

James Savage married Eleanor Lewis, the daughter of his mentor Llew Llwyfo, on 11 December 1871 at

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

. They had six children. Their first child Lillian was born in St. Louis in 1872. Their second child Thomas (always to be known as 'Tonzo') was born in

Rhyl Rhyl (; cy, Y Rhyl, ) is a seaside town and community (Wales), community in Denbighshire, Wales. The town lies within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Flintshire (historic), Flintshire, on the north-east coast of Wales at ...

, Wales in 1874 and in 1898 married Elsie Peddie in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician

Thomas Baldwin Peddie Thomas Baldwin Peddie (February 11, 1808 – February 16, 1889) was an American Republican politician who represented in the United States House of Representatives from 1877 to 1879. Earlier he was a member of the New Jersey General Assem ...

. Their third child, Vilda, was born in

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...

, Wales in 1875 while James was studying at

Aberystwyth University , mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all , established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'') , former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth , type = Public , endowment = ...

. James and Eleanor's fourth child, Mary Blodwen, was born in

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

, London, England in 1877. They had two more children, Louis Idris born in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

, London, England in 1885 and James Elwyn born in 1890 in Newark, New Jersey.

Sources

*Obituary of James Sauvage, "Rhos Herald", Rhosllannerchrog, Wales, 1922 *Obituary of James Sauvage, "Newark Call", Newark, New Jersey, USA, 1922 *Ellis Island Records *UK Census Records *USA Census Records *Missouri Marriage Records, 1805-2002 at Ancestry.com

External links

Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sauvage, James Welsh operatic baritones People from Rhosllanerchrugog Welsh emigrants to the United States 1849 births 1922 deaths 20th-century American male opera singers 19th-century Welsh male opera singers