Charles John Stanley (17 January 1712
Old Style
Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, this is the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various European countries between 158 ...
– 19 May 1786) 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 ...
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
and
organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...
.
Biography
John Stanley was born in London on 17 January 1712. At about the age of two, he fell on a marble hearth with a china basin in his hand, an accident which left him almost blind.
He began studying music at the age of seven. Under the guidance of
Maurice Greene, composer and organist at St. Paul's Cathedral, he studied "with great diligence, and a success that was astonishing" (Burney). At the age of nine he played the organ, probably as an occasional deputy, at
All Hallows, Bread Street
All Hallows Bread Street was a parish church in the Bread Street ward of the City of London, England. It stood on the east side of Bread Street, on the corner with Watling Street. First mentioned in the 13th century, the church was destroyed in ...
. When he was eleven years old, Stanley was appointed organist to the church at a salary of £20 per annum.
When he was fourteen "in preference to a great number of candidates" (Burney) he was chosen as organist at
St Andrew Holborn, and at the age of seventeen became the youngest person ever to obtain the Bachelor of Music degree (B.Mus.) from the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
.
In 1734 he was appointed organist to the
Society of the Inner Temple, a position which he held until his death in 1786. It was at the ancient Temple Church that his brilliant playing upon the organ and harpsichord attracted the attention of many fine musicians including
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...
, who regularly visited the church to hear him. Stanley was also an outstanding violinist.
In 1738 Stanley married Sarah Arlond (daughter of Captain Edward Arlond 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 Southea ...
), who brought him a dowry of £7,000 per annum. Sarah's sister Ann, who at this time lived with them, became the blind composer's copyist.
Though virtually blind, Stanley had a remarkable memory, which helped him direct many of Handel's oratorios and to enjoy music-making and card games with his many friends. If he had to accompany a new oratorio he would ask his sister-in-law to play it through just once – enough to commit it to memory. He frequently played the organ at the
Vauxhall Gardens
Vauxhall Gardens is a public park in Kennington in the London Borough of Lambeth, England, on the south bank of the River Thames.
Originally known as New Spring Gardens, it is believed to have opened before the Restoration of 1660, being ...
and was first choice to play at charity events and at the launch of any newly built church organs. He even found time to teach. His oratorio ''Jephthah'' was first performed in 1757.
After Handel's death in 1759, in 1760 Stanley began a partnership with the composer
John Christopher Smith
John Christopher Smith (born Johann Christoph Schmidt; 1712, Ansbach3 October 1795, Bath, Somerset, Bath) was an English composer who, following in his father's footsteps, became George Frideric Handel's secretary and amanuensis.
Life
John Chri ...
and later with
Thomas Linley, in order to continue with the series of
oratorio
An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...
performances at
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...
. For the first season Stanley composed ''Zimri.'' Stanley accompanied all oratorios, and played a concerto during each interval. Also in 1760 he composed an ode in memory of
George II George II or 2 may refer to:
People
* George II of Antioch (seventh century AD)
* George II of Armenia (late ninth century)
* George II of Abkhazia (916–960)
* Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051)
* George II of Georgia (1072–1089)
* ...
and as homage to
George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
; it was first performed at the
Drury Lane Theatre
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Drur ...
. On the occasion of the King's wedding in 1762 he composed a dramatic pastoral oratorio, ''Arcadia.''
Handel had been a governor of the
Foundling Hospital
The Foundling Hospital in London, England, was founded in 1739 by the philanthropic sea captain Thomas Coram. It was a children's home established for the "education and maintenance of exposed and deserted young children." The word "hospital" w ...
, London. The hospital's chapel organ was Handel's gift, and Handel himself directed eleven performances of ''
Messiah
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of ''mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach'' ...
'' there, so raising £7,000 for the charity. Continuing yet again in Handel's footsteps, Stanley was elected a governor of the Hospital in 1770, and from 1775 until 1777 he directed the annual performance of Handel's ''Messiah'' in aid of the hospital funds.
In 1779 Stanley succeeded
William Boyce William Boyce may refer to:
*William Boyce (composer) (1711–1779), English-born composer and Master of the King's Musick
* William Binnington Boyce (1804–1889), English-born philologist and clergyman, active in Australia
*William Waters Boyce ( ...
as
Master of the King's Band of musicians. In this capacity he composed many New Year and birthday odes to the king but this music has not survived. Stanley's last work was probably an ode written for the king's birthday (4 June 1786). Stanley never heard its performance as he died at his home in Hatton Garden on 19 May 1786, aged 74.
Stanley's works include the
opera
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 librett ...
''Teraminta'', the dramatic
cantata
A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir.
The meaning of ...
''The Choice of Hercules'', twelve other cantatas with texts by
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 ...
, the
oratorio
An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...
s ''Jephtha'', ''The Fall of Egypt'' and ''Zimri'', and instrumental music, notably three volumes of voluntaries for organ (1748, 1752, and 1754). Nearly all of the voluntaries feature a short, slow introduction followed by either a solo-stop movement (such as the so-called
trumpet voluntaries) or a fugue. Some of the former have been arranged in modern times for string chamber orchestra and trumpet.
Works
*Opus 1: Eight Solos for Flute and Continuo (1740)
*Opus 2: Six Concertos for strings (or organ & strings or flute & continuo) (1742/1745)
*Opus 3: Six Cantatas (1742)
*Opus 4: Six Solos for Flute and Continuo (1745)
*Opus 5: Ten Voluntaries for Organ (1748)
*Opus 6: Ten Voluntaries for Organ (1752)
*Opus 7: Ten Voluntaries for Organ (1754)
*Opus 8: Six Cantatas (1748)
*Opus 9: Three Cantatas (1751)
* ''Jephthah'', oratorio (1757)
*Opus 10: Six Concertos for Organ or Harpsichord solo (1775)
* ''Zimri'', oratorio (1760)
* ''Arcadia'', dramatic pastoral oratorio (1762)
* ''The Fall of Egypt'', oratorio (1774)
References
External links
John Stanley (1712-1786)Eighteenth Century English Music, Composers at
a
at
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanley, John
1712 births
1786 deaths
English Baroque composers
Classical-period composers
Blind classical musicians
English classical composers
English opera composers
Male opera composers
Masters of the King's Music
English classical organists
British male organists
Pupils of Johann Christoph Pepusch
18th-century classical composers
18th-century British male musicians
18th-century keyboardists
English male classical composers
Male classical organists