Abrams, Harriett (c. 1758–1821), singer and composer, was, according to her niece's husband, Thomas Adolphus Trollope, the daughter of a man who came to England 'in the suite of some Hanoverian minister, in what capacity I never heard' (Trollope, 151...
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Abrams, Harriett (c. 1758–1821), singer and composer
Olive Baldwin and Thelma Wilson
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Adson, John (bap. 1587?, d. 1640), musician and composer
David Lasocki
Adson, John (bap. 1587
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Alcock, John (bap. 1740, d. 1791)
See Alcock, John
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Alcock, John (1715–1806), organist and composer chorister
H. Diack Johnstone
Alcock, John (1715–1806), organist and composer, was born at the family home, Crane Court, St Peter's Hill, London, on 11 April 1715, the third of the eight children of Daniel Alcock (bap. 1686) and his wife, Mary. They lived only a stone's throw from ...
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Alexander [née Humphreys], Cecil Frances [Fanny] (1818–1895), hymn writer and poet
Leon Litvack
Alexander [née Humphreys], Cecil Frances [Fanny] (1818–1895), hymn writer and poet, was born at 25 Eccles Street, Dublin. She was the second daughter of John Humphreys, a second lieutenant in the Royal Marines and later brigade major in the Tyrone yeomanry, and his wife, ...
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Alexander, Cecil Frances (1818–1895)
Maker: Charles Napier Kennedy
In
Cecil Frances Alexander (1818–1895) by Charles Napier Kennedy, 1894 photograph © Ulster Museum. Photograph reproduced with the kind permission of the Trustees of the National Museums & Galleries of Northern Ireland
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Allitsen, Frances [real name Mary Frances Bumpus] (1848–1912), composer
Sophie Fuller
Allitsen, Frances [real name Mary Frances Bumpus] (1848–1912), composer, was born on 30 December 1848 at 159 Oxford Street, London, one of the seven children of John Bumpus (1817/18–1880), a bookseller, and his wife, Emma Louisa Barton (1824/5–1892). She was baptized Mary Frances Bumpus...
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Amner, John (d. 1641), composer and organist
John Morehen
Amner, John (d. 1641), composer and organist, came from a family which was intimately associated with the music at Ely Cathedral for over half a century. Michael Amner, his uncle, was a lay clerk at the cathedral (1576–88), as was also Ralph Amner...
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Anstice, Joseph (1808–1836), classical scholar and hymn writer
Alexander Gordon
revised by M. C. Curthoys
Anstice, Joseph (1808–1836), classical scholar and hymn writer, the second son of William Anstice (1769/70–1850) and his wife, Penelope Polly Isbell (bap. 1772, d. 1857), daughter of John Poole of Over Stowey, Somerset, was born on 21 December 1808 at ...
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Arnold, George Benjamin (1832–1902), organist and composer
Frederick Corder
revised by Nilanjana Banerji
Arnold, George Benjamin (1832–1902), organist and composer, born on 22 December 1832 at Petworth, Sussex, was the son of George Frederick Handel Arnold (1795–1883), organist of the parish church of Petworth, and his wife, Mary, née Cooper (1797/8–1864). He was articled to ...
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Arnold, John (1720–1792), psalmodist and composer
Olive Baldwin and Thelma Wilson
Arnold, John (1720–1792), psalmodist and composer, was baptized on 10 November 1720 in the village of Great Warley, Essex, the son of John Arnold (bap. 1689, d. 1762), yeoman farmer, and his wife, Penelope, née Brecknock (d. 1728). As a gentleman farmer he was active on the parish vestry from the age of twenty-one until a few years before his death, but he put most of his considerable energy into music. He signed the preface of his first publication, ...
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Arnold, Samuel (1740–1802)
Maker: George Dance
In
Samuel Arnold (1740–1802) by George Dance, 1795 © National Portrait Gallery, London
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Arnold, Samuel (1740–1802), composer
Eva Zöllner
Arnold, Samuel (1740–1802), composer, was born in London on 10 August 1740, the son of Thomas Arnold; he may have been the Samuel Arnull, son of Thomas and Mary Arnull, baptized at St Martin-in-the-Fields on 21 August that year. During his time as a choirboy in the ...
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Attwood, Thomas (1765–1838)
Maker: unknown artist
In
Thomas Attwood (1765–1838) by unknown artist, c. 1815 Royal College of Music, London; photograph National Portrait Gallery, London
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Attwood, Thomas (1765–1838), composer and organist
Philip Olleson
Attwood, Thomas (1765–1838), composer and organist, was born on 23 November 1765, probably at 20 Eaton Street, Pimlico, Middlesex. He was the second of the six children of Thomas Attwood (d. 1825), a coal merchant and musician who played trumpet, horn, and viola in the king's band, and his wife, ...
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Avison, Charles (bap. 1709, d. 1770), composer and writer on music
Bennett Mitchell Zon
Avison, Charles (bap. 1709, d. 1770), composer and writer on music, was baptized on 16 February 1709 at St John's, Newcastle upon Tyne, the sixth of nine children of Richard Avison (d. 1721) and his wife, Ann. His parents seem to have had associations with ...
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Ayleward, Richard (1626–1669), composer and organist
Ian Spink
Ayleward, Richard (1626–1669), composer and organist, was born at Winchester, the son of Richard Ayleward, a minor canon at the cathedral. He sang there as a chorister under Christopher Gibbons in 1638 and 1639. Nothing is known of his whereabouts during the interregnum. At the Restoration he was appointed organist and master of the choristers at ...
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Ayrton, Edmund (1734–1808), composer and musician
Claire M. Nelson
Ayrton, Edmund (1734–1808), composer and musician, was born on 21 October 1734 at Ripon, Yorkshire, the third of the four surviving children of Edward Ayrton (1698–1774), alderman and later mayor and magistrate of the borough of Ripon, and his wife, Catherine (1701?–1781), daughter of ...
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Babell, William (1689/90–1723), musical arranger and harpsichordist
J. A. F. Maitland
revised by K. D. Reynolds
Babell, William (1689/90–1723), musical arranger and harpsichordist, was the son of a bassoonist in the Drury Lane Theatre orchestra, and was taught by his father, by John Christopher Pepusch, and possibly by Handel. A proficient violinist, harpsichordist, and organist, he was active in ...
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Bache, Francis Edward (1833–1858), composer and organist
W. B. Squire
revised by Clive Brown
Bache, Francis Edward (1833–1858), composer and organist, was born on 14 September 1833 at Birmingham, the eldest of the seven children of Samuel Bache (1804–1876), a Unitarian minister, and his wife, Emily, née Higginson (d. 1855). From a very early age he showed extraordinary talent for music, learning the piano, organ, and violin. On the last instrument, which he studied with ...
