1710–78 English composer Arne was the son of an upholsterer in Covent Garden. As a Roman Catholic in a largely Protestant country, he had no access to the usual opportunities for advancement as a musician through a church appointment. In the 1730s, he became involved with putting on English-language opera performances in London, earning a reputation as a ...
1710–78, English Arne was born in Covent Garden, so it is not surprising that he spent most of his life providing music for the theatre. In 1732 he formed an English opera company with Lampe and Carey, and their first production Amelia (1732) featured his sister Susanna (later Mrs Cibber, for whom Handel composed ‘He was despised’). ...
1567–1620 English poet and composer Campion first distinguished himself as a poet and poetic theorist. His treatise, Observations in the Art of English Poesie (1602), included controversial opinions regarding metre and rhyme, revealing the musical basis of his poetry. He published four books of lute-songs. Some are humanist experiments in setting classically accentuated poetry, but the best are ...
c. 1557–1602 English composer and theorist Morley was the most important composer involved in developing the English Elizabethan madrigal from its Italian counterpart. In the 1580s and 1590s he published some English translations of Italian madrigals with newly composed English works of his own, which imitated the Italian style. His most famous works are the ‘fa la la’ madrigals: pieces ...
1505–85 English composer Athough undoubtedly a fine composer, Tallis is also worth mentioning for his amazing ability to sustain a successful career spanning the religious upheavals of the reigns of Henry VIII and his three children. Beginning as a good Catholic, he composed Latin Masses and motets. When change came, he changed too and turned out to be ...
1576–1623 English composer Weelkes was one of the leading composers of the English madrigal. The unusual text of ‘Thule the Period of Cosmographie’ (1660) is a list of marvels, each of which he matches with appropriately descriptive music. Also famous is ‘As Vesta Was, from Latmos hill descending’ (1601), his contribution to The Triumphs of Oriana, a book ...
(Am-brwaz’ To-mas’) 1811–96 French composer Thomas studied with Le Sueur at the Paris Conservatoire, where he became Director in 1871. After winning the 1832 Prix de Rome, he composed the first of his 20 operas, La double échelle (‘The Double Ladder’, 1837). His first successes, Le Caïd (‘The Cadi’, 1849) and Songe d’une nuit d’été (‘A Midsummer Night’s ...
(Vocals, quills, guitar, 1874–1930) A son of former slaves, Henry ‘Ragtime’ Thomas specialized in the quills, a panpipe-like instrument made from hollow reeds. He was itinerant for most of his life, a fact reflected in songs such as ‘Railroadin’, in which Thomas names train stops from Fort Worth to Chicago. His ‘Bull Doze Blues’, renamed ‘Goin’ ...
(Various saxophones, 1913–91) Charlie Barnet led a successful big band from 1933 until the late 1940s and was one of the earliest white bandleaders to employ black musicians, beginning with Benny Carter as a guest soloist and arranger in 1934. He introduced singer Lena Horne as an unknown in 1941 and featured many notable musicians in his line-ups. His ...
(Guitar, 1923–2004) Barney Kessel took inspiration from his fellow Oklahoman, guitarist Charlie Christian, and developed an electric-guitar style that straddled swing and bop in effective fashion. He was featured in the Oscar-nominated short film Jammin’ The Blues (1944), and recorded with Charlie Parker in 1947. A stint with the Oscar Peterson Trio in 1952–53 led to recordings as ...
(Vocals, 1917–2001) Rufus Thomas Jr. was born in Cayce, Mississippi and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. He worked with tent and minstrel shows throughout the 1930s. He recorded for Sun Records in the early 1950s and had the label’s first hit with ‘Bear Cat’ in 1953; he also worked as a disc jockey at WDIA, Memphis. He began ...
(Guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, vocals, b. 1964) Multi-talented King began in the footsteps of his father – Baton Rouge, Louisiana juke bluesman Tabby Thomas. King has mastered traditional electric and acoustic blues. He also performs and records rock- and rap-blues hybrids. In 2000 he appeared as Tommy Johnson in O Brother, Where Art Thou ...
(Vocals, songwriter, b. 1941) Conley’s first big break came in 1975, when Mel Street recorded his song ‘Smokey Mountain Memories’. Conway Twitty took his song ‘This Time I Have Hurt Her More Than She Loves Me’ to the top of the US country chart in 1976. On moving to Nashville, his first No. 1 hit, ‘Fire ...
1811–96, French The French composer Ambroise Thomas was a staunch anti-Wagnerian, regarding this and other ‘modern’ influences as dangerous to French music. Thomas’s music, which included nine stage works written between 1837 and 1843, was firmly in the French musical tradition. Of these works, the most successful was La double échelle (‘The Double Ladder’, 1837). Thomas ...
b. 1971, British A celebrated composer, conductor, pianist and curator, Thomas Adès has already inspired retrospectives of his work. His operas, Powder Her Face (1995) and The Tempest (2004) received critical and audience acclaim and both have entered the contemporary repertoire. Performances of The Tempest include the 2004 production at the Metropolitan Opera, directed by ...
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