William Horsley (18 November 177412 June 1858) was an English musician. His compositions were numerous, and include amongst other instrumental pieces three

symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

for full orchestra. More important are his glees, of which he published five books (1801–1807) besides contributing many detached glees and part songs to various collections. His glees include "By Celia's Arbour," "O, Nightingale," and "Now the storm begins to lower", and his

hymn tune A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part (or more) harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm (chords change frequently), with or without refrain ...

s Horsley usually set to

There is a green hill far away "There is a green hill far away" is a Christian hymn, originally written as a children's hymn but now usually sung for Passiontide. The words are by Cecil Frances Alexander, and the most popular tune by William Horsley. History The text was firs ...

History

In 1790, Horsley became the pupil of Theodore Smith, who taught him sufficiently well to obtain the position of organist at Ely Chapel, Holborn, in 1794. He resigned this post in 1798 to become the organist at the Asylum for Female Orphans as well as the assistant to

John Wall Callcott John Wall Callcott (20 November 1766 – 15 May 1821) was an eminent English composer. Callcott was born in Kensington, London. He was a pupil of Haydn, and is celebrated mainly for his glee compositions and catches. In the best known of his ...

, with whom he had long been on terms of personal and artistic intimacy, and whose eldest daughter, Elizabeth Hutchins Callcott, he married. In 1802 he became his friend's successor upon the latter's resignation. Besides holding this appointment he became the organist of Belgrave Chapel,

Halkin Street Halkin Street is a street in Belgravia, London, running south-west to north-east from the north-east corner of Belgrave Square to Grosvenor Place Grosvenor Place is a street in Belgravia, London, running from Hyde Park Corner down the we ...

, in 1812 and of the Charter House in 1838. Horsley studied in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

under

Moritz Hauptmann Moritz Hauptmann (13 October 1792, Dresden – 3 January 1868, Leipzig), was a German music theorist, teacher and composer. His principal theoretical work is the 1853 ''Die Natur der Harmonie und der Metrik'' explores numerous topics, particular ...

and

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...

, and on his return to England composed several

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 and other pieces. None of them had lasting success.

Family

The Horsley family were friendly with Mendelssohn and, according to

L T C Rolt Lionel Thomas Caswall Rolt (usually abbreviated to Tom Rolt or L. T. C. Rolt) (11 February 1910 – 9 May 1974) was a prolific English writer and the biographer of major civil engineering figures including Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Thomas Tel ...

, were the first to hear his music for ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

'', played by him on the piano at their home at No 1 High Row (now 128 Church Street) in Kensington. Horsley was one of the founders of the Philharmonic Society of London, which became the Royal Philharmonic Society. His son

Charles Edward Charles Edward may refer to: *Charles Edward (horse), a racehorse *Charles Edward Stuart, aka Bonnie Prince Charlie *Charles E. Stuart, Charles Edward Stuart, American politician *Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha *Charles Edward Callwe ...

also enjoyed a certain reputation as a musician. Another son John Callcott was a painter, who is reputed to have designed the first Christmas card in 1843. Horsley's eldest daughter Mary Elizabeth (born 1813) married the engineer

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "one ...

References

External links

* *
Papers of the Horsley family, 18th–20th cent.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horsley, William 1774 births 1858 deaths English classical composers Glee composers Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery English male classical composers William Horsley family