John Worgan (1724–1790) was an organist and composer of Welsh descent. He is best known for playing the organ at
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 ...
, the London public
pleasure garden
A pleasure garden is a park or garden that is open to the public for recreation and entertainment. Pleasure gardens differ from other public gardens by serving as venues for entertainment, variously featuring such attractions as concert halls, ...
in the mid 18th century.
Life
Worgan was born in London in 1724. He was one of six children to John Worgan and Mary Lambert.
Their father was a surveyor of Welsh or
Cambria
Cambria is a name for Wales, being the Latinised form of the Welsh name for the country, . The term was not in use during the Roman period (when Wales had not come into existence as a distinct entity). It emerged later, in the medieval period, a ...
n ancestry.
[
He graduated with a bachelor's degree in music at ]St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...
in 1748, and gained a doctorate in 1775.[
Worgan married three times over his lifetime. He married, firstly, Sarah Mackelcan at St Peter le Poer, London, in 1753. He had nine children with his wife; among whom was ]George Bouchier Worgan
George Bouchier Worgan (May 1757 – 4 March 1838) was an English naval surgeon who accompanied the First Fleet to Australia. He made several expeditions to the Hawkesbury River and Broken Bay areas north of Sydney and spent a year on Norfolk Isl ...
(bapt. 3 May 1757 at St Andrew's Church, Holborn), who was the naval surgeon on board the H.M.S. ''Sirius'' in the First Fleet to Australia, and Charlotte Sophia Worgan (bapt. 2 September 1761 at St Andrew's, Holborn) who married (at St Mary's church, Marylebone, in 1778) (Sir) Charles Parsons (d. 1817), later Master of the King's Band. Worgan obtained an Act of Parliament
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
(9 Geo III c.57) in 1769 to divorce his wife for her adultery. He married, secondly, Eleanor Baston in 1770 (at St Andrew's, Holborn). He had two more children with Eleanor, the elder of whom was Thomas Danvers Worgan, subsequently a musicologist. He married, thirdly, Martha Cooke, a widow, in 1779 at St Mary, Aldermanbury.
John Worgan died at age 66 at Gower Street on 24 August 1790[ after "an operation for the stone."][ He was buried at ]St. Andrew Undershaft
St Andrew Undershaft is a Church of England church in the City of London, the historic nucleus and modern financial centre of London. It is located on St Mary Axe, within the Aldgate ward, and is a rare example of a City church that survived both ...
on 31 August. One of his favourite pupils, Charles Wesley
Charles Wesley (18 December 1707 – 29 March 1788) was an English leader of the Methodist movement. Wesley was a prolific hymnwriter who wrote over 6,500 hymns during his lifetime. His works include " And Can It Be", " Christ the Lord Is Risen ...
[ (1757–1834), presided at the organ.
A grandson, George Worgan (bapt. 18 January 1803 at St James's church, Chipping Campden, died 2 Apr 1888 at Tinakori Road, Wellington, New Zealand), was a musician of sufficient calibre to warrant a notice in the ''Musical Times'' upon his death.] George was an organist and pianoforte teacher, with a roster of students that included musicians' children and English nobility.[ After retiring around 1850, he emigrated to New Zealand, where he raised sheep and taught music until his death at age 86.][
]
Organist
John became a pupil of his brother, James, with instruction in harpsichord[ and organ. James Worgan (1715–1753) was an organist and cello player, including at ]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 ...
from 1737 to 1751. John subsequently studied under organist Thomas Roseingrave
Thomas Roseingrave (1690 or 1691 – 23 June 1766), like his father Daniel Roseingrave, was an English-born Irish composer and organist.
Early years
He was born at Winchester, where his father Daniel Roseingrave was the Cathedral organist, b ...
and musical theorist/composer Francesco Geminiani. He also greatly admired the work of Domenico Scarlatti
Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti, also known as Domingo or Doménico Scarlatti (26 October 1685-23 July 1757), was an Italian composer. He is classified primarily as a Baroque composer chronologically, although his music was influential in the deve ...
.[
John Worgan became a skilful organist with many appointments. He succeeded his brother James as organist at ]St Andrew Undershaft
St Andrew Undershaft is a Church of England church in the City of London, the historic nucleus and modern financial centre of London. It is located on St Mary Axe, within the Aldgate ward, and is a rare example of a City church that survived both ...
with St Mary Axe
St Mary Axe was a medieval parish in the City of London whose name survives as that of the street which formerly occupied it. The Church of St Mary Axe was demolished in 1561 and its parish united with that of St Andrew Undershaft, which is ...
in 1749; at Vauxhall Gardens, in 1751;[ and at St. Botolph, Aldgate,] upon his brother's death in 1753.[ (Their sister Mary succeeded James as the organist at ]St Dunstan-in-the-East
St Dunstan-in-the-East was a Church of England parish church on St Dunstan's Hill, halfway between London Bridge and the Tower of London in the City of London. The church was largely destroyed in the Second World War and the ruins are now a publi ...
.)[ He subsequently became organist of St. John's Chapel, Bedford Row in 1760. He held the post of "composer" to Vauxhall Gardens from 1753 to 1761,][ and again from 1770][ to 1774.][
He also acted as music editor for a number of his contemporaries.] British composer Harriet Wainwright
Harriet Wainwright Stewart (c. 1766–1843) was a British composer, singer, and writer. A musical entrepreneur, she developed a subscription list of several hundred people and sold at least two of her compositions (''Comala'' and ''Seringapatam'') ...
was one of his students.
Worgan was a founder of the Royal Society of Musicians of Great Britain 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 ...
.
Compositions
John Worgan's compositions include two oratorios: ‘Hannah’ (King's Theatre, Haymarket
Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, ...
, 3 April 1, 1764) and 'Manasseh' ( Lock Hospital Chapel, 30 April 1766); 'We will rejoice in Thy salvation,' a thanksgiving anthem for victories (29 Nov 1759); many songs for Vauxhall Gardens, of which thirteen books (at least) were published; psalm tunes, glees, organ music, and sonatas and other pieces for the harpsichord. Some of his manuscripts are in the British Library (Add MSS 31670, 31693, 34609 and 35038).
Worgan is persistently credited with having composed the Easter hymn ' Christ the Lord Is Risen Today.' The tune, however, appeared anonymously in ''Lyra Davidica
The ''Lyra Davidica'' ("the harp of David"; expanded title: ''Lyra Davidica, or a Collection of Divine Songs and Hymns, Partly New yComposed, Partly Translated from the High-German and Latin Hymns'') is a collection of hymns and tunes first publis ...
'' (1708), sixteen years before Worgan was born.
Tributes
Four interesting tributes demonstrate Worgan's remarkable powers as an organist, whose performances always attracted great crowds both of professors and amateurs:
*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, ...
said: "Mr. Worgan shall sit by me; he plays my music very well at Vauxhall."
* Richard Cecil wrote: "Admiration and feeling are very distinct from each other. Some music and oratory enchant and astonish, but they speak not to the heart... Dr. Worgan has so touched the organ at St. John's that I have been turning backward and forward over the prayer-book for the first lesson in Isaiah and wondered that I could not find Isaiah there!".[Richard Watson et al., ''The Christian library: A reprint of popular religious works, Volume 8'', Publisher Thomas George, Jr., 1836]
page 68
/ref>
*Martin Madan
Martin Madan (1726 – 2 May 1790) was an English barrister, clergyman and writer, known for his contribution to Methodist music, 'The Lock Hospital Collection,' and later controversial views on marriage expressed in his book ''Thelyphthora''.
...
, in a satirical song upon Joah Bates, issued anonymously, and set to music by Samuel Wesley
Samuel Wesley (24 February 1766 – 11 October 1837) was an English organist and composer in the late Georgian period. Wesley was a contemporary of Mozart (1756–1791) and was called by some "the English Mozart".Kassler, Michael & Olleson, Ph ...
, entitled 'The Organ laid open, &c.,' placed him as a player upon an equality with Handel: "Let Handel or Worgan go thresh at the organ".
* Burney refers to him as "a very masterly and learned fugueist on the organ."[
]
Recordings
* Complete Harpsichord Music, played by Julian Perkins
Julian Perkins is a British conductor and keyboard player ( harpsichord, fortepiano and clavichord). Shortlisted for the Gramophone Award in 2021, he is Artistic Director of the Portland Baroque Orchestra in the USA. He lives in London, Englan ...
and Timothy Roberts
Toccata Classics
* Complete Organ Music, played by Timothy Roberts
Toccata Classics
References
*
*Brit. Mus. Cat.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Worgan, John
1724 births
1790 deaths
Musicians from London
English classical organists
British male organists
English composers
Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
18th-century composers
18th-century British male musicians
18th-century keyboardists
Male classical organists