William Henry Kearns (1794 – 28 December 1846) was an Irish violinist, conductor and composer active mainly in England.

Biography

Kearns was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

and, like many of his Irish contemporaries, emigrated to England where he settled at least since 1817. Nothing is known about his musical education, but in London he was employed as a violinist in the orchestra of the

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 ...

opera house (principal first violin for the season 1818–9) and as organist at the Verulam Episcopal Chapel,

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area e ...

. On 16 July 1817 his operetta ''Bachelor's Wives, or The British at Brussels'' received its first performance at the English Opera House (EOH) and "enjoyed a substantial run". Kearns did not compose any further operas, but was later employed at the EOH as musical advisor to the directors,

Samuel James Arnold Samuel James Arnold (1774–1852) was an English dramatist and theatrical manager. Under his management the Lyceum Theatre, London became the English Opera House, and staged the first English productions of many operas, including in 1824 Carl M ...

and William Hawes. He also conducted noteworthy performances of

Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (18 or 19 November 17865 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and critic who was one of the first significant composers of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas, ...

's ''

Der Freischütz ' ( J. 277, Op. 77 ''The Marksman'' or ''The Freeshooter'') is a German opera with spoken dialogue in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind, based on a story by Johann August Apel and Friedrich Laun from their 1810 ...

'',

Louis Spohr Louis Spohr (, 5 April 178422 October 1859), baptized Ludewig Spohr, later often in the modern German form of the name Ludwig, was a German composer, violinist and conductor. Highly regarded during his lifetime, Spohr composed ten symphonies, t ...

's ''Zemire und Azor'' and

Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera '' Robert le ...

's ''

Robert le diable ''Robert le diable'' (''Robert the Devil'') is an opera in five acts composed by Giacomo Meyerbeer between 1827 and 1831, to a libretto written by Eugène Scribe and Germain Delavigne. ''Robert le diable'' is regarded as one of the first grand o ...

''. Weber's original copy of the overture to ''Oberon'' was given to Kearns by William Hawes in 1827 "as a token of regard and friendship". He also didn't give up the violin; among other events he played at the Royal Musical Festival held 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 United ...

in 1834. For George Smart's 1831 adaptation of Spohr's opera, Kearns composed the piano accompaniments, later having the same role for an 1839 London performance of Joseph Haydn's ''The Seasons'' and an 1837 performance of August Ferdinand Haeser's oratorio ''The Triumph of Faith''. In 1845, he produced an adaptation of ''Deh prendi un dolce amplesso'' from

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

's ''

La clemenza di Tito ' (''The Clemency of Titus''), K. 621, is an ''opera seria'' in two acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Caterino Mazzolà, after Pietro Metastasio. It was started after most of ' (''The Magic Flute''), the last o ...

'', which became ''The Young Protestant's Hymn'' ("We won't give up the bible").Biddlecombe (2001), see above. Kearns also composed additional wind accompaniments to

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

's ''

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 ...

'' and ''

Israel in Egypt ''Israel in Egypt'', HWV 54, is a biblical oratorio by the composer George Frideric Handel. Most scholars believe the libretto was prepared by Charles Jennens, who also compiled the biblical texts for Handel's '' Messiah''. It is composed ...

''. Together with

Henry John Gauntlett Henry John Gauntlett (9 July 1805 in Wellington, Shropshire – 21 February 1876 in London) was an English organist and songwriter known in British music circles for his authorship of many hymns and other pieces for the organ. Biography He ...

, he was co-editor of ''The Comprehensive Tune Book'' (London, 1846). Kearns died in London.

Bibliography

* John Parry: ''An Account of the Royal Musical Festival held in Westminster Abbey 1834'' (London, 1834), p. 34. * Theodore Fenner: ''Opera in London. Views of the Press, 1785–1830'' (Carbondale, Illinois: SIU Press, 1994), p. 378.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kearns, Wiliam Henry 1794 births 1846 deaths 19th-century Irish classical composers 19th-century Irish male musicians 19th-century Irish conductors (music) Irish expatriates in the United Kingdom Irish male classical composers Irish opera composers 19th-century Irish violinists Male opera composers Irish male violinists Musicians from Dublin (city)