John Crosdill (1751–1825) was an English musician, cellist and
viol
The viol (), viola da gamba (), or informally gamba, is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, and stringed instruments with hollow wooden bodies and pegboxes where the tension on the strings can be increased or decreased to adjust the pitc ...
ist.
Biography
Crosdill was born in London, England and was the son of violoncellist Richard Crosdill (1698–1790) with whom he is sometimes confused. John Crosdill, along with
James Cervetto
James Cervetto (8 January 1748 – 5 February 1837) was an English cellist, playing in aristocratic venues and in important concerts of the day. He was the soloist for the premiere of Haydn’s second cello concerto.
Life
Cervetto was born in Lo ...
(1747–1837), son of Italian émigré
Giacobbe Cervetto
Giacobbe Basevi, known as Giacobbe Cervetto (1680 – 14 January 1783)Speare, Marija Đurić (2001)"Cervetto, Giacobbe Basevi" ''New Grove Dictionary of Musicians''. Retrieved 11 September 2018 (subscription required for full access). was an Anglo- ...
(1682–1783), was one of the most visible cellists in London during the 1770s and 1780s. Crosdill was a skilled performer but not a strong composer. He played concertos, concertinas, continuo sonatas and chamber music; both solos and orchestral parts.
Crosdill's musical training began when, at a young age, he became a chorister at
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...
under the direction of John Robinson and
Benjamin Cooke. He later took up violoncello under his father's tutelage.
Musical career
Crosdill made his first public appearance as a violoncellist at age nine when
Emanuel Siprutini (1730–1790), his probable teacher, presented him in a duo. He was accepted into the
Royal Society of Musicians The Royal Society of Musicians of Great Britain is a charity in the United Kingdom that supports musicians. It is the oldest music-related charity in Great Britain, founded in 1738 as the ''Fund for Decay'd Musicians'' by a declaration of trust sig ...
in 1768, at the age of seventeen.
In the spring of 1775, Crosdill played at the
King's Theatre in the oratorios sponsored by
Johann Christian Bach (1735–1782). He subsequently played for the oratorios at
Covent Garden in 1777 and at
Drury Lane in 1779, 1782 and 1784.
Crosdill was the principal cellist for the
Three Choirs Festival
200px, Worcester cathedral
200px, Gloucester cathedral
The Three Choirs Festival is a music festival held annually at the end of July, rotating among the cathedrals of the Three Counties (Hereford, Gloucester and Worcester) and originally featu ...
, each year from 1769, (except 1778) and was principal violoncellist for the Concerts of Ancient Music from its establishment in 1776 until his retirement. On 10 March 1778 Crosdill became violist in the
Chapel Royal.
In 1782, Crosdill was appointed chamber musician to
Queen Charlotte
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and of Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until the union of the two kingdoms ...
and violoncello instructor to the
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
(later George IV). It was this appointment that made Crosdill the most fashionable violoncello teacher of his day. His resulting acclaim led to the performance of many private concerts for nobility including the Friday afternoon ladies' concerts which he organised.
Crosdill's 1784 appointment to Composer and Master of the King's Band in Ireland by the Duke of Rutland, was controversial. Many elite professional musicians, including Dr
Charles Burney (1726–1814), thought Crosdill unworthy of this sinecure. Crosdill played in the annual productions of ''Messiah'' and was principal violoncellist for the 1784
Handel commemorative concerts given at
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...
.
During his prime, Crosdill made many sojourns to Paris where he was a favourite of
Marie Antoinette. There he studied with and became close friends with the Duport brothers,
Jean-Pierre Duport
Jean-Pierre Duport (27 November 1741 – 31 December 1818) was a cellist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Along with his brother, Jean-Louis Duport (also a cellist), he was active in the musical life of France and Germany. Jean-Pierre w ...
(1741–1818), and
Jean-Louis Duport
Jean-Louis Duport (4 October 17497 September 1819), sometimes known as Duport the Younger to distinguish him from his older brother (and teacher) Jean-Pierre (1741-1818), was a cellist, pedagogue, and composer.
He is perhaps best known today fo ...
(1749–1819). He was member of
Giovanni Batista Viotti's (1755–1825) orchestra for the
Concert de la Loge Olympique in 1780. Crosdill returned to England permanently in 1785. That year he spent the Spring concert season performing in the Pantheon Series and organised competition with Hanover Square Series for which James Cervetto (1747–1837) played. The Pantheon series included numerous performances by the Maras; vocalist
Gertrud Elisabeth Mara
Gertrud Elisabeth Mara (née Schmeling) (23 February 1749 – 20 January 1833) was a German operatic soprano.
Life
She was born in Kassel, the daughter of a poor musician, Johann Schmeling. From him she learnt to play the violin, and while ...
and her husband violoncellist Johann Baptist Mara (1744–1808). It was through his association with the Maras that Crosdill met Haydn in 1791 and purchased the "Mara" Stradivari in 1802. Crosdill taught many of the next generation of violoncellists, including
Robert Lindley (1776–1855).
Marriage
Social eyebrows were raised when Crosdill married Elizabeth, née Thresher, the wealthy widow of Robert Colebrook, (brother of
Sir George Colebrooke), on 31 May 1785 at St. Marylebone Church, London. Elizabeth was many years Crosdill's senior and her comfortable income from interests in
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
, allowed him to retire from public performance. He did, however, perform two years at the
Three Choirs Festival
200px, Worcester cathedral
200px, Gloucester cathedral
The Three Choirs Festival is a music festival held annually at the end of July, rotating among the cathedrals of the Three Counties (Hereford, Gloucester and Worcester) and originally featu ...
in
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
and the coronation of
George IV
George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...
on 19 July 1821. His wife, who died in 1807, bequeathed all her estates to her surviving sisters, with Crosdill's name only mentioned in the probate note. Sources give conflicting information about his death in early October 1825. Most say he died in Escrick,
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
, at the home of a nephew of his friend Beilby Thompson. Others maintain that he died at his house in London.
By his will signed at 45
Berners Street
Berners Street is a thoroughfare located to the north of Oxford Street in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, originally developed as a residential street in the mid-18th century by property developer William Berners, and later ...
on 30 August 1825 and proved at London on 25 October 1825, his son from a subsequent marriage, Lieutenant Colonel John Crosdill of the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...
, inherited a substantial fortune. Crosdill left bequests of 19 guineas each for remembrance rings to numerous friends including the musicians
Benjamin Blake
Benjamin Blake (22 February 1751, in Hackney, London – 1827 in London) was an English violinist, viola player and composer.
Most of what is known about him comes from information he supplied for Sainsbury's dictionary in 1824. As a boy he was ...
and
William Shield
William Shield (5 March 1748 – 25 January 1829) was an English composer, violinist and violist. His music earned the respect of Haydn and Beethoven.
Life and musical career
Shield was born in Swalwell near Gateshead, County Durham, the so ...
, his Berners Street neighbour. Lieut-Col Crosdill presented the
Royal Society of Musicians The Royal Society of Musicians of Great Britain is a charity in the United Kingdom that supports musicians. It is the oldest music-related charity in Great Britain, founded in 1738 as the ''Fund for Decay'd Musicians'' by a declaration of trust sig ...
with £1000 in accordance with his father's will.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Crosdill, John
English classical cellists
1751 births
1825 deaths
Members of the Royal Society of Musicians
Choristers at Westminster Abbey
English classical violists
Musicians from London
18th-century classical musicians
18th-century English musicians
19th-century English musicians
19th-century classical musicians