Nicholas Comyn Gatty (13 September 1874 – 10 November 1946) 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 and music critic. As a composer his major output was opera, which was generally musically undistinguished but well-presented theatrically. As a critic he worked for the

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and

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, and served as assistant editor for the second and third editions of Grove. He was born in Bradfield,

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, the second son of the Revd Reginald Gatty, and the nephew of composer Alfred Scott-Gatty. He was educated at Downing College, Cambridge (BA 1896, Mus B 1898, Mus D 1927) and at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including performanc ...

where he studied under

Charles Villiers Stanford Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (30 September 1852 – 29 March 1924) was an Anglo-Irish composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Romantic era. Born to a well-off and highly musical family in Dublin, Stanford was educated at the ...

. From the beginning of the 20th century he was assistant conductor at Covent Garden, and at some time organist to the

Duke of York's Royal Military School The Duke of York's Royal Military School, more commonly called the Duke of York's, is a co-educational academy (for students aged 11 to 18) with military traditions in Guston, Kent. Since becoming an academy in 2010, the school is now sponsor ...

in Chelsea. At Grove's Dictionary of Music he wrote many anonymous contributions under the editors Fuller Maitland and H C Colles. His compositions include the operas ''Prince Ferelon'' (1919) written to his own libretto, which was published as part of the Carnegie Collection of British Music and was staged at the

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in 1921, and ''The Tempest'', (composed in 1914, with a libretto adapted by his brother Reginald Arthur Allix Gatty) which followed at the Old Vic in 1922. Edward Dent found in ''The Tempest'' "a wonderful Purcellian beauty". Gatty's orchestral ''Concert Allegro'' for piano and orchestra was premiered at the Proms on 6 October 1903 and his ambitious choral and orchestral work ''Fly, envious time'' (setting Milton's "Ode on Time") was commissioned for the 1905

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

Festival. ''The Shropshire Songbook'', folksong arrangements made by Gatty and

Alan Gray Alan Gray (23 December 1855 – 27 September 1935) was an English organist and composer. Life and career Gray was born in into a well-known York family (the Grays of Grays Court). His father William Gray was a solicitor and (in 1844) Lord ...

, was published in 1922. Gatty was a close contemporary and friend of Ralph Vaughan Williams, and from around 1900 the latter was to spend summer holidays with the Gattys at

Hooton Roberts Hooton Roberts is a village and civil parish situated in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England. The village was home to the Gatty family of Ecclesfield. Nicholas Comyn Gatty, son of the Rev. Reginald Gatty, was born ...

, between

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

and

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

, where Gatty's father was rector. He died in

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, aged 72. The Nicolas Gatty archive is held at the University of Exeter.Papers of Nicholas Gatty
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List of works

* ''Variations on Old King Cole'' for orchestra (1899) * ''Concert Allegro'' for piano and orchestra (Proms, 1903) * ''Fly, envious time'', chorus and orchestra (1905) * ''Greysteel'', opera ( Moody-Manners Company, 1906) * ''Duke or Devil'', opera (Moody-Manners Company, 1909) * ''Prince Ferelon'', opera (1910) (first public performance, Old Vic, May 1921) * ''The Tempest'', opera (1914) (first performance, Surrey Theatre, April 1920) * ''The Shropshire Songbook'', folksong arrangements (1922) * ''King Alfred and the Cakes'', light opera (Royal College of Music, 1930) * Piano Trio in Ab (unpublished)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gatty, Nicholas English composers 1874 births 1946 deaths