Janet Monach Patey
Encyclopedia
Janet Monach Patey was an English concert and oratorio contralto
Contralto
Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...
.
Career
She had a fine alto voice, which developed into a contraltoContralto
Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...
, and she studied singing under J. Wass, Ciro Pinsuti
Ciro Pinsuti
Ciro Pinsuti was an Anglo-Italian composer.He was born in Sinalunga , Italy, and educated in music, for a career as a pianist, partly in London and partly at Bologna, where he was a pupil of Rossini. From 1848 he made his home in England, where he became a teacher of singing, and in 1856 he was...
and Mrs Sims Reeves
Sims Reeves
John Sims Reeves , usually called simply Sims Reeves, was the foremost English operatic, oratorio and ballad tenor vocalist of the mid-Victorian era....
(i.e. Emma Lucombe). Miss Whytock's first appearance, as a child, was made at Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, and her first regular engagement was in 1865, in the provinces.
From 1866, in which year she sang at the Worcester
Worcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
festival, and married John Patey, a bass singer, she was recognized as one of the leading contraltos; and on the retirement of Mme Helen Sainton-Dolby
Charlotte Helen Sainton-Dolby
Charlotte Helen Sainton-Dolby , was an English contralto.She was born in London, studied at the Royal Academy of Music from 1832 to 1837, Crivelli being her principal singing-master. In 1837 she was elected to a King's scholarship, and first appeared at a Philharmonic concert in 1841...
in 1870 Mme Patey was without a rival whether in oratorio
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
or in ballad music.
She toured in America in 1871, sang in Paris in 1875, Australia in 1890, and New Zealand in 1891.
Her daughter was Ethel Patey, the artist, who under her married name, Ethel Jackson, gave the portrait of her mother Madam Patey to the Tate Gallery.
Later life
She died at Sheffield on the 28 February 1894 and is buried in Brompton CemeteryBrompton Cemetery
Brompton Cemetery is located near Earl's Court in South West London, England . It is managed by The Royal Parks and is one of the Magnificent Seven...
, London.