Thomas Arne

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Thomas Arne (after Francesco Bartolozzi )

Thomas Augustine Arne (* 12. March 1710 in London , † 5. March 1778 ) was an English composer of the pre-classical period . His most famous work is Rule, Britannia! .

He was married to at the time very popular soprano is shown in Cecilia Young , which also helped many of his works to success.

Live and act

Thomas Arne comes from a Catholic family of craftsmen. His father Thomas Arne (1682–1736), an upholsterer, sent him to Eton to study law . There he also studied violin playing and composition with Michael Christian Festing . Ultimately, he devoted himself entirely to art. His first work was the opera Rosamond (based on a libretto by Joseph Addison ), which was already very successful; This was even more the case with Thumb, or the opera of operas and in 1738 with the opera Comus (text by John Milton ), in which Arne introduced many national-British melodies, which he cleverly interwoven with newly invented motifs in the Italian and German styles. In 1740 he had the part of Venus and Emma performed in the premiere of his opera Alfred by the actress and singer Kitty Clive , who was very popular at the time .

Friedrich (Prince of Wales) and his sisters play Thomas Arnes music

In 1741 he led a lawsuit against a leading London bookseller, which he accused of violating his copyrights. The legal dispute was ended by an out-of-court settlement. This makes Arne one of the first artists to take legal action against their copyright.

After performing with applause in Ireland for two years with his wife Cecilia Arne, née Young, an excellent singer and student of Francesco Geminiani , he was employed in London in 1745 as a composer for Vauxhall Gardens , where he developed his individuality at The purest vocal pieces caused a sensation. In 1755 he separated from Cecilia because he believed she was insane (!) And began a love affair with Charlotte Brent , one of his students. His ability to write in the Italian style is demonstrated by his opera Artaxerxes (after Metastasio ), performed in 1762 . In addition to operas, of which he wrote a total of 30 (serious and comical), he has composed several oratorios , which, however, appear colorless and meager alongside the Handel ones. Arne also wrote the melody of an unofficial English national anthem: Rule, Britannia! is the final chant from the Masque of Alfred .

In addition, 4 symphonies have survived, and his trio sonatas (No. 1 to 7) are also available in full.

Music historian and composer Charles Burney was one of his students .

Thomas Augustine Arne died in London on March 5, 1778. He was buried in St Paul's Church with his wife († 1789), with whom he was reconciled shortly before his death . His illegitimate son Michael Arne (1740 / 41–1786) was also an esteemed composer.

Vocal works

Year of publication Title!
1737 The British Musical Miscellany, vol. vi
1741 The Songs and Duetto in The Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green
1743 The British Orpheus, vol. iii
1743-1745 Universal Harmony
1744 The Death of Abel
1745 Lyric Harmony, vol. i
1745 The Music in The Judgment of Paris
1746 Lyric Harmony, vol. ii
1747 Peter Prelleur 's An Introduction to Singing
1749 Vocal Melody, vol. i
1750 Vocal Melody, vol. ii
1751 Vocal Melody, vol. iii
1752 Vocal Melody, vol. iv
1753 Willem Defesch 's songs Sung at Mary-bon Gardens
1753 The Agreeable Musical Choice, vol. v
1754 The Agreeable Musical Choice, vol. vi
1755 A Collection of Poems in Four Volumes by Several Hands
1756 The Agreeable Musical Choice, vol. vii
1757 A Favorite Collection of English Songs
1758 The Agreeable Musical Choice, vol. viii
1760 The Monthly Melody
1760 British Melody, vol. xi
1761 A Choice Collection of Songs, vol. xii
1761 The Winter's Amusement, vol. xiii
1762 British amusement
1764 The Royal Magazine, vol. xi
1764 A Favorite Collection of Songs, vol. xiv
1765 The New Songs Sung at Vauxhall
1766 Summer amusement
1768 New Favorite Songs
1774 The Vocal Grove
1777 The Syren

Odes and cantatas

Thomas Arne in older years
  • A Grand Epithalamium , 1736, missing
  • Black-Ey'd Susan (cant., R. Leveridge), 1740, missing
  • God bless our noble king , A, T, B, ATB, 2 hn, 2 ob, str, bc, 1745, GB-Lbl, ed. C. Bartlett (Wyton, 1985)
  • Fair Celia love pretended (cant., W. Congreve), 1v, vns, bc, singing cantata, i (1749)
  • Chaucer's Recantation (cant.), 1v, str, bc, singing cantata, ii (1750)
  • Ode to Chearfulness , 1750, lost
  • Cymon and Iphigenia (cant., J. Dryden), 1v, str, bc, vs (1750), pts Bu
  • Six Cantatas , fs (1755): Bacchus and Ariadne , 1v, 2 fl, 2 ob, 2 hn, str, bc; Delia , 1v, str, bc; Frolick and Free (G. Granville), 1v, 2 ob, str, bc; Lydia (after Sappho ), 1v, 2 bn, str, bc; The Morning , 1v, fl / rec, str, bc; The School of Anacreon , 1v, 2 hn, str, bc; Lydia and The Morning , both ed. R. Hufstader (New York, 1971)
  • 5 odes in Del Canzionere d'Orazio (1757): Delle muse all'almo core , 1v, str, bc; Finche fedele il core , 2vv, 2 fl, str, bc; Finche fedele il core , 2vv, 2 vn, bc; Se vanti in Telefo , 1v, 2 hn, str, bc; Tu mi fuggi schizzinosa , 1v, 2 vn, bc [= Advice to Chloe]
  • The Spring (cant.), 1v, str, bc, British Melody (1760)
  • Love and Resentment (cant.), 1v, 2 cl, 2 vn, bc, Summer Amusement (1766)
  • The Lover's Recantation (cant.), 1v, 2 fl, 2 ob, str, bc; vs in The Winter's Amusement (1761), fs, Lbl, ed.P. Young (Leipzig, 1988)
  • Advice to Chloe (cant.), 1v, vns, bc, New Favorite Songs (1768)
  • An Ode upon Dedicating a Building to Shakespeare (D. Garrick), 1769, speaker, S, S, S, S, T, Bar, SATB, orch; 9 nos. in vs (1769)
  • Love and Resolution (musical dialogue), 1770, lost
  • Reffley Spring (cant.), 2vv, 2vn, bc, vs (1772)
  • Diana (cant.), 1v, 2 fl, 2 ob, 2 cl, 2 hn, 2 vn, bc; vs in The Vocal Grove (1774)
  • Whittington's Feast (secular orat, Arne, after Dryden: Alexander's Feast), 1776, S, S, T, B, SATB, 2 fl, 2 ob, 2bn, 2 tpt, 2 hn, timps, drum, str, bc, fs , US toilet
  • A wretch long tortured with disdain (cant.), 1v, 2 fl, 2 ob, 2 hn, str, bc, full score GB-Lbl

literature

Web links

Commons : Thomas Augustine Arne  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Arne, Thomas
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Arne, Thomas Augustine
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English composer
DATE OF BIRTH March 12, 1710
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH March 5, 1778
Place of death London