Reverend Doctor John Troutbeck (November 12, 1832, Blencowe–October 11, 1899, London) was an English clergyman, translator and musicologist, a
Canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western ca ...
Precentor
A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...
of
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 ...
and
Chaplain-in-Ordinary to
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
, whose renown rests on his translation into
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 ...
of various continental choral texts including the major works of
J.S. Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...
. He additionally translated oratorios by
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...
,
Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...
,
Dvořák,
Gounod
Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...
,
Liszt
Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...
,
Saint-Saëns,
Schumann
Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...
and
Weber,
as well as secular operas by
Mozart,
Gluck
Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire, he g ...
and
Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...
. He also compiled
psalters and
hymnal
A hymnal or hymnary is a collection of hymns, usually in the form of a book, called a hymnbook (or hymn book). Hymnals are used in congregational singing. A hymnal may contain only hymn texts (normal for most hymnals for most centuries of Chr ...
s and worked on the
Revised Version translation of the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...
.
Origins
Troutbeck was born in the village of
Blencowe in the parish of
Dacre in
Cumberland on 12 November 1832.
He was the son of a country gentleman, George Troutbeck (1795-1848), and his wife Eliza Stephenson (1799-1877). He had a plaque erected in the Troutbeck Chapel, built in 1443 in the church of
St Mary's-on-the-Hill in
Chester, which acknowledged his ancestors buried there, including Sir William Troutbeck, Chamberlain of Chester, killed at the
Battle of Blore Heath in 1459.
Career
He was educated at
Rugby and at
University College, Oxford
University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the unive ...
, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1856, a Master of Arts in 1858, and was later awarded a Doctorate in Divinity in 1883.
Ordained in 1855, he was
vicar
A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...
of Dacre to 1864, Precentor of
Manchester Cathedral from 1865 to 1869, a Minor Canon and later Canon Precentor at Westminster Abbey from 1869, and a Chaplain in Ordinary to Queen Victoria.
Translations
Troutbeck has been credited as a "prolific" and "indefatigable" translator of continental European
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 ...
and
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 libr ...
texts.
All of J.S.Bach's major choral works, including the
Christmas Oratorio
The ''Christmas Oratorio'' (German: ''Weihnachtsoratorium''), , is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It is in six parts, each part a cantata intended for performance on one of ...
(1874), the
Magnificat
The Magnificat (Latin for " y soulmagnifies he Lord) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary, the Canticle of Mary and, in the Byzantine tradition, the Ode of the Theotokos (). It is traditionally incorporated into the liturgical servic ...
(1874), and the
St Matthew and
St John Passions (1894 and 1896 respectively), were translated by him for the music publisher
Novello. He also translated nine of Bach's cantatas, with the same publisher.
Until 1999 Troutbeck's Christmas Oratorio (1874) was the only complete English version,
as was his Magnificat until a new edition was published in 2000.
Also brought by him to English-speaking singers and audiences were, amongst others, Beethoven's ''Mount of Olives'',
Karel Bendl's ''Water Sprite's Revenge'', Brahms's ''Song of Destiny'',
Félicien David
Félicien-César David (13 April 1810 – 29 August 1876) was a French composer.
Biography
Félicien David was born in Cadenet, and began to study music at the age of five under his father, whose death when the boy was six left him an impoverish ...
's ''The Desert'', Dvořák's ''Mass in D'', ''Patriotic Hymn'', ''Spectre's Bride'' and ''St Ludmilla'', Gounod's ''Redemption'', and Weber's ''Jubilee Cantata''.
His opera translations included Mozart's ''
Cosi fan tutte
Cosi, COSI or CoSi may refer to:
* '' Così'', a 1992 play by Louis Nowra
** ''Cosi'' (film), 1996, based on the play
* Così (restaurant), an American fast-casual restaurant chain
* Compton Spectrometer and Imager, or COSI, a NASA telescope to ...
'' and ''
Die Entführung aus dem Serail
' () ( K. 384; ''The Abduction from the Seraglio''; also known as ') is a singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Gottlieb Stephanie, based on Christoph Friedrich Bretzner's ''Belmont und Constanze, oder Di ...
'', Gluck's ''
Orfeo ed Euridice'', ''
Iphigénie en Tauride'', and ''
Iphigénie en Aulide
''Iphigénie en Aulide'' ('' Iphigeneia in Aulis'') is an opera in three acts by Christoph Willibald Gluck, the first work he wrote for the Paris stage. The libretto was written by François-Louis Gand Le Bland Du Roullet and was based on Jean ...
'', and Wagner's ''
Der fliegende Holländer
' (''The Flying Dutchman''), WWV 63, is a German-language opera, with libretto and music by Richard Wagner. The central theme is redemption through love. Wagner conducted the premiere at the Königliches Hoftheater Dresden in 1843.
Wagner cla ...
''.
Troutbeck was also a compiler of psalters and hymnals including the ''Manchester Psalter and Chant Book'' (1867), the ''Westminster Abbey Hymn Book'' (1883) and the ''Catholic Paragraph Psalter'' (1894).
and from 1870 to 1881 was secretary of the committee translating the
Revised Version of the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...
.
Family
On 3 September 1856 in
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 populat ...
, he married Elizabeth, daughter of businessman Robinson Duckworth. They had four children:
:Georgina (1858-1947).
:
John
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
* Secon ...
(1860-1912), who was the father of the diplomat Sir
John Monro Troutbeck.
:Edith (1862-1937), who married the academic and musicologist Sir
William Henry Hadow
Sir William Henry Hadow (27 December 1859 – 8 April 1937) was a leading educational reformer in Great Britain, a musicologist and a composer.
Life
Born at Ebrington in Gloucestershire and baptised there on 29 January 1860 by his father, ...
.
:Henry (1866-1923).
Death
Dying on 11 October 1899, at 4 Dean's Yard,
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, B ...
,
he was buried beside his wife in the cloisters of Westminster Abbey. His will, leaving effects of over 22,000 pounds, was proved on 18 November by his four children.
Troutbeck’s son – the Coroner
John Troutbeck's son, also named
John Troutbeck
Reverend Doctor John Troutbeck (November 12, 1832, Blencowe–October 11, 1899, London) was an English clergyman, translator and musicologist, a Canon (priest), Canon Precentor of Westminster Abbey and Chaplain-in-Ordinary to Queen Victoria, whos ...
, was the
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, B ...
Coroner who opened the inquest, in October 1888, on the remains of a woman discovered in a vault of a new police office on the
Thames Embankment
The Thames Embankment is a work of 19th-century civil engineering that reclaimed marshy land next to the River Thames in central London. It consists of the Victoria Embankment and Chelsea Embankment.
History
There had been a long history of ...
– the case known as the
Whitehall Mystery.
Troutbeck, the Coroner, who was appointed by the Dean and Chapter of Westminster, was, like his father, an accomplished linguist who often “dispensed with the services of interpreters at his enquiries.” He was a skilled musician, playing the
viola
; german: Bratsche
, alt=Viola shown from the front and the side
, image=Bratsche.jpg
, caption=
, background=string
, hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71
, hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow
, range=
, related=
*Violin family ...
in the
orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families.
There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...
at the
coronation
A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of ot ...
of
King George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...
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 ...
in June 1911.
References
External links
*Partial index of works available in IMSLP: http://imslp.org/wiki/Troutbeck,_John
*YouTube reference for ''Maria wallt zum Heiligtum" by Johannes Eccar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Troutbeck, John
19th-century English Anglican priests
Translators to English
1832 births
1899 deaths
19th-century translators
People from Blencow