Thomas Busby (composer)
Encyclopedia
Thomas Busby was an English musical composer. He was the son of a coach-painter. He was born at Westminster
in December 1755.
, the organist of Westminster Abbey
, turned down young Busby (at age 12-13) as too old for a chorister; he was placed under Samuel Champness for singing, and Charles Knyvett for the harpsichord. Subsequently he studied under Jonathan Battishill
.
Inn the summer of 1769 Busby was engaged to sing at Vauxhall Gardens
at a salary of ten guineas a week. On his voice breaking, he was articled to Battishill for three years, and worked on both his musical and his general education. On the expiration of his articles he returned to his father's house, and set himself to earn his living by music and literature.
, The Man the Master, but this was never finished. He then turned his attention to oratorio
, and began a setting of Alexander Pope
's Messiah, at which he worked intermittently for several years. Busby was more successful with literary pursuits than with musical. He was for some time parliamentary reporter of the London Courant, and assisted in editing the Morning Post, besides acting as musical critic to the European Magazine and Joseph Johnson
's Analytical Review
, and contributing to the Celtic Miscellany and Whitehall Evening Post
. In 1785 he wrote a poem called The Age of Genius, a satire in the style of Charles Churchill, containing nearly 1,000 lines. About five years after the expiration of his articles Busby was elected organist of St Mary, Newington.
. In 1798 he was elected organist of St Mary Woolnoth
.
In the spring of 1799 his early oratorio was produced by Wilhelm Cramer
under the name of The Prophecy, perhaps to avoid comparison with Georg Handel
's 'Messiah.' Busby then set to work on settings of Thomas Gray
's 'Progress of Poesy,' Pope's 'Ode on St. Cecilia's Day,' and a cantata from Ossian
, 'Comala;' but it is not clear whether any of these were performed. A secular "oratorio", 'Britannia' (words by John Gretton), was sung at Covent Garden in 1801 with Gertrud Elisabeth Mara
as the principal soprano. Busby also wrote music for Richard Cumberland's version of Kotzebue
's 'Joanna,' which was produced at Covent Garden 16 January 1800, without much success.
In June 1801 Busby obtained the degree of Mus. Doc. at Cambridge, for which purpose he entered at Magdalen College. His exercise on this occasion was 'A Thanksgiving Ode on the Naval Victories,' the words of which were written by Mrs. Crespigny. In 1802 he wrote music to Thomas Holcroft
's melodrama, 'A Tale of Mystery,' the first play of this type which appeared on the English stage. It was produced at Covent Garden 13 November 1802, and was very successful. In the following year Busby wrote music for Anna Maria Porter
's musical entertainment, The Fair Fugitives (Covent Garden, 16 May 1803); but this was a failure. His connection with the stage ceased with Matthew Lewis's Rugantino (Covent Garden, 18 October 1805). The music to all these plays was published.
, where he died, aged eighty-four, on Monday, 28 May 1838. According to an obituary notice of him he was eccentric, and held 'loose notions on religious subjects.'
brought out a Musical Dictionary. Busby went on to issue a serial entitled The Divine Harmonist, consisting of twelve folio numbers of music, partly selected and partly original. In this work are included some fragments of his oratorio 'The Creation.' The 'Divine Harmonist' was followed by 'Melodia Britannica,' which was to be a collection of English music, but the work was unsuccessful, and was never completed. About the same time Busby completed a translation of Lucretius
into rhymed verse. Around 1800 he brought out 'A New and Complete Musical Dictionary,' and started the first musical periodical in England, 'The Monthly Musical Journal,' of which four numbers were produced.
His translation of Lucretius
was published in 1813, and was followed by an attempt to prove that the Letters of Junius were written by J. L. de Lolme (1816), 'A Grammar of Music' (1818), 'A Dictionary of Musical Terms,' 'A History of Music,' 2 vols. (1819) (a compilation from the Histories of Charles Burney
and Sir John Hawkins
), 'Concert-room Anecdotes,' 3 vols. (1825), and a 'Musical Manual' (1828).
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
in December 1755.
Early life
His father was musical, and sang himself; when his son developed a fine treble voice, he decided to bring him up as a musician. Benjamin CookeBenjamin Cooke
Benjamin Cooke was an English composer, organist and teacher.Cooke was born in London and named after his father, a music publisher based in Covent Garden...
, the organist of Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
, turned down young Busby (at age 12-13) as too old for a chorister; he was placed under Samuel Champness for singing, and Charles Knyvett for the harpsichord. Subsequently he studied under Jonathan Battishill
Jonathan Battishill
Jonathan Battishill was an English composer, keyboard player, and concert tenor. He began his career as a composer writing theatre music but later devoted himself to working as an organist and composer for the Church of England...
.
Inn the summer of 1769 Busby was engaged to sing at Vauxhall Gardens
Vauxhall Gardens
Vauxhall Gardens was a pleasure garden, one of the leading venues for public entertainment in London, England from the mid 17th century to the mid 19th century. Originally known as New Spring Gardens, the site was believed to have opened before the Restoration of 1660 with the first mention being...
at a salary of ten guineas a week. On his voice breaking, he was articled to Battishill for three years, and worked on both his musical and his general education. On the expiration of his articles he returned to his father's house, and set himself to earn his living by music and literature.
Early works
His first venture was the composition of music to a play by William KenrickWilliam Kenrick (writer)
William Kenrick was an English novelist, playwright, translator and satirist, who spent much of his career libelling and lampooning his fellow writers.- Life and career :Kenrick was born at Watford, Hertfordshire, son of a stay-maker...
, The Man the Master, but this was never finished. He then turned his attention to 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...
, and began a setting of Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope was an 18th-century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the third-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson...
's Messiah, at which he worked intermittently for several years. Busby was more successful with literary pursuits than with musical. He was for some time parliamentary reporter of the London Courant, and assisted in editing the Morning Post, besides acting as musical critic to the European Magazine and Joseph Johnson
Joseph Johnson (publisher)
Joseph Johnson was an influential 18th-century London bookseller and publisher. His publications covered a wide variety of genres and a broad spectrum of opinions on important issues...
's Analytical Review
Analytical Review
The Analytical Review was a periodical established in London in 1788 by the publisher Joseph Johnson and the writer Thomas Christie. Part of the Republic of Letters, it was a gadfly publication, which offered readers summaries and analyses of the many new publications issued at the end of the...
, and contributing to the Celtic Miscellany and Whitehall Evening Post
Whitehall Evening Post
The Whitehall Evening Post was a London newspaper, founded in 1718.It was started in September 1718 by Daniel Defoe; and was then published on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Defoe left it in June 1720, but it continued to exist until the end of the century. It closed in 1801, with issue...
. In 1785 he wrote a poem called The Age of Genius, a satire in the style of Charles Churchill, containing nearly 1,000 lines. About five years after the expiration of his articles Busby was elected organist of St Mary, Newington.
Marriage and later years
In July 1786 he married a Miss Angier, daughter of Charles Angier of Earl's Court, Kensington. After his marriage he lived in Poland Street, where he was sought after as a teacher of Latin, French, and music. A few years later he moved to BatterseaBattersea
Battersea is an area of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is an inner-city district of South London, situated on the south side of the River Thames, 2.9 miles south-west of Charing Cross. Battersea spans from Fairfield in the west to Queenstown in the east...
. In 1798 he was elected organist of St Mary Woolnoth
St Mary Woolnoth
St. Mary Woolnoth is an Anglican church in the City of London, designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, located on the corner of Lombard Street and King William Street near the Bank of England.- Early history :...
.
In the spring of 1799 his early oratorio was produced by Wilhelm Cramer
Wilhelm Cramer
Wilhelm Cramer was a famous London violinist and musical conductor of German origin. He was one of a numerous family who were identified with the progress of music during the 18th and 19th centuries...
under the name of The Prophecy, perhaps to avoid comparison with Georg Handel
Georg Händel
Georg Händel was a barber-surgeon and the father of Georg Frideric Handel. As a young man he had to stop attending grammar school when his father Valentin died and had to give up his aspirations to become a lawyer...
's 'Messiah.' Busby then set to work on settings of Thomas Gray
Thomas Gray
Thomas Gray was a poet, letter-writer, classical scholar and professor at Cambridge University.-Early life and education:...
's 'Progress of Poesy,' Pope's 'Ode on St. Cecilia's Day,' and a cantata from Ossian
Ossian
Ossian is the narrator and supposed author of a cycle of poems which the Scottish poet James Macpherson claimed to have translated from ancient sources in the Scots Gaelic. He is based on Oisín, son of Finn or Fionn mac Cumhaill, anglicised to Finn McCool, a character from Irish mythology...
, 'Comala;' but it is not clear whether any of these were performed. A secular "oratorio", 'Britannia' (words by John Gretton), was sung at Covent Garden in 1801 with Gertrud Elisabeth Mara
Gertrud Elisabeth Mara
Gertrud Elisabeth Mara [née Schmeling] was a German operatic soprano.She was born in Kassel, the daughter of a poor musician, Johann Schmeling. From him she learnt to play the violin, and while still a child, her playing at the fair at Frankfurt was so remarkable that money was collected to...
as the principal soprano. Busby also wrote music for Richard Cumberland's version of Kotzebue
Kotzebue
Kotzebue is the name of the following people:*August von Kotzebue, dramatist*Otto von Kotzebue, navigatorKotzebue is also the name of a place:*Kotzebue, Alaska*Kotzebue Sound...
's 'Joanna,' which was produced at Covent Garden 16 January 1800, without much success.
In June 1801 Busby obtained the degree of Mus. Doc. at Cambridge, for which purpose he entered at Magdalen College. His exercise on this occasion was 'A Thanksgiving Ode on the Naval Victories,' the words of which were written by Mrs. Crespigny. In 1802 he wrote music to Thomas Holcroft
Thomas Holcroft
Thomas Holcroft was an English dramatist and miscellaneous writer.-Early life:He was born in Orange Court, Leicester Fields, London. His father had a shoemaker's shop, and kept riding horses for hire; but having fallen into difficulties was reduced to the status of hawking peddler...
's melodrama, 'A Tale of Mystery,' the first play of this type which appeared on the English stage. It was produced at Covent Garden 13 November 1802, and was very successful. In the following year Busby wrote music for Anna Maria Porter
Anna Maria Porter
Anna Maria Porter , poet, novelist and sister of Jane Porter, was born in the Bailey in Durham, the posthumous child of William Porter , who had served as an army surgeon for 23 years. He is buried in St Oswald's church, Durham....
's musical entertainment, The Fair Fugitives (Covent Garden, 16 May 1803); but this was a failure. His connection with the stage ceased with Matthew Lewis's Rugantino (Covent Garden, 18 October 1805). The music to all these plays was published.
Final years
In his latter years Busby lived with a married daughter at Queen's Row, PentonvillePentonville
Pentonville is an area of north-central London in the London Borough of Islington, centred on the Pentonville Road. The area is named after Henry Penton, who developed a number of streets in the 1770s in what was open countryside adjacent to the New Road...
, where he died, aged eighty-four, on Monday, 28 May 1838. According to an obituary notice of him he was eccentric, and held 'loose notions on religious subjects.'
Publications
In 1786 Busby and Samuel ArnoldSamuel Arnold
Samuel Arnold may refer to:*Samuel Arnold , English composer and organist*Samuel James Arnold , dramatist*Samuel Arnold , U.S. Representative from Connecticut...
brought out a Musical Dictionary. Busby went on to issue a serial entitled The Divine Harmonist, consisting of twelve folio numbers of music, partly selected and partly original. In this work are included some fragments of his oratorio 'The Creation.' The 'Divine Harmonist' was followed by 'Melodia Britannica,' which was to be a collection of English music, but the work was unsuccessful, and was never completed. About the same time Busby completed a translation of Lucretius
Lucretius
Titus Lucretius Carus was a Roman poet and philosopher. His only known work is an epic philosophical poem laying out the beliefs of Epicureanism, De rerum natura, translated into English as On the Nature of Things or "On the Nature of the Universe".Virtually no details have come down concerning...
into rhymed verse. Around 1800 he brought out 'A New and Complete Musical Dictionary,' and started the first musical periodical in England, 'The Monthly Musical Journal,' of which four numbers were produced.
His translation of Lucretius
Lucretius
Titus Lucretius Carus was a Roman poet and philosopher. His only known work is an epic philosophical poem laying out the beliefs of Epicureanism, De rerum natura, translated into English as On the Nature of Things or "On the Nature of the Universe".Virtually no details have come down concerning...
was published in 1813, and was followed by an attempt to prove that the Letters of Junius were written by J. L. de Lolme (1816), 'A Grammar of Music' (1818), 'A Dictionary of Musical Terms,' 'A History of Music,' 2 vols. (1819) (a compilation from the Histories of Charles Burney
Charles Burney
Charles Burney FRS was an English music historian and father of authors Frances Burney and Sarah Burney.-Life and career:...
and Sir John Hawkins
John Hawkins (author)
Sir John Hawkins was an English author and friend of Dr Samuel Johnson and Horace Walpole. He was part of Johnson's various clubs but later left The Literary Club after a disagreement with some of Johnson's other friends. His friendship with Johnson continued and he was made one of the executors...
), 'Concert-room Anecdotes,' 3 vols. (1825), and a 'Musical Manual' (1828).