Abel, Karl Friedrich (1723–1787), composer and concert impresario, was born on 22 December 1723 in Cöthen, Saxony, one of six children. His father, Christian Ferdinand Abel (c.1683–1737), served as violinist for Johann Sebastian Bach, under whom Karl Friedrich may have studied at the ...
Article
Abel, Karl Friedrich (1723–1787), composer and concert impresario
Stephen M. Buhler
Image
Abel, Karl Friedrich (1723–1787)
Maker: Thomas Gainsborough
In
Karl Friedrich Abel (1723–1787) by Thomas Gainsborough, exh. RA 1777 The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, CA, USA
Article
Abell, John (b. 1653, d. in or after 1716), singer and composer
W. B. Squire
revised by Nicholas Salwey
Abell, John (b. 1653, d. in or after 1716), singer and composer, was born in Aberdeenshire and was admitted as a 'gentleman of his majesty's chapel extraordinary' on 1 May 1679, about which time he is listed among the musicians of the king's private music, as singer, lutenist, and violinist. ...
Article
Abrahams, Doris Caroline [pseud. Caryl Brahms] (1901–1982), writer and songwriter
Ned Sherrin
revised
Abrahams, Doris Caroline [pseud. Caryl Brahms] (1901–1982), writer and songwriter, was born at 28 Morland Road, Croydon, Surrey, on 8 December 1901, the only child of Henry Clarence Abrahams, a wholesale jeweller, and his wife, Pearl, one of the twenty-one children of ...
Article
Abrams, Harriett (c. 1758–1821), singer and composer
Olive Baldwin and Thelma Wilson
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...
Article
Addinsell, Richard Stewart (1904–1977), composer and pianist
Andrew Lamb
Addinsell, Richard Stewart (1904–1977), composer and pianist, was born at 31 Woburn Square, London, on 13 January 1904, the younger of the two sons of William Arthur Addinsell, chartered accountant, and his wife, Annie Beatrice Richards. His adoring mother arranged for him to be educated at home, and this seemingly made him allergic to institutions thereafter. He went to ...
Article
Addison, John (c. 1766–1844), double bass player and composer
W. B. Squire
revised by David J. Golby
Addison, John (c. 1766–1844), double bass player and composer, was born in London, the son of a village mechanic. As a child he showed considerable musical ability, learning to play a variety of instruments, including the flageolet, flute, bassoon, and violin. He was also self-taught in composition, and his early works include a set of ...
Article
Adler, Lawrence Cecil [Larry] (1914–2001), harmonica player and composer
Raymond Holden
Adler, Lawrence Cecil [Larry] (1914–2001), harmonica player and composer, was born on 10 February 1914 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, the son of Louis Adler, plumber, and his wife, Sadie Hack. His family were of Russian descent and changed their name from Zelakovitch to ...
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![Cover Adler, Lawrence Cecil [Larry] (1914–2001)](/cover/searchableMedia/odnb-9780198614128-e-1013083-graphic-1-thumbnail.jpg)
Adler, Lawrence Cecil [Larry] (1914–2001)
Maker: Ida Kar
In
Lawrence Cecil Adler (1914–2001) by Ida Kar, 1950s © National Portrait Gallery, London
Article
Adson, John (bap. 1587?, d. 1640), musician and composer
David Lasocki
Adson, John (bap. 1587
Article
Aitken, Laurel [real name Oliver Anthony Stephens] (1925–2005), singer, songwriter, and record producer
Steve Barker
Aitken, Laurel [real name Oliver Anthony Stephens] (1925–2005), singer, songwriter, and record producer, was born on 22 April 1925, in Jamaica, one of six children of a Jamaican father and a Cuban mother. His early years were spent in Havana, Cuba, but the family moved to ...
Article
Alcock, John (bap. 1740, d. 1791)
See Alcock, John
Article
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 ...
Article
Aldridge, Amanda Christina Elizabeth [pseud. Montague Ring] (1866–1956), singer and composer
Stephen Bourne
Aldridge, Amanda Christina Elizabeth [pseud. Montague Ring] (1866–1956), singer and composer, was born on 10 March 1866 at Luranah Villa, Hamlet Road, Penge, Surrey, the second of three daughters and third of four children of Ira Frederick Aldridge (1807?–1867), the distinguished African-American tragedian, and his second wife, Swedish opera singer ...
Article
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
Article
Aleyn, John [J. Alanus] (d. 1373), composer
Andrew Wathey
Aleyn, John [J. Alanus] (d. 1373), composer, probably came from Pattishall, Northamptonshire. He is first recorded on 29 April 1361 in possession of a chantry in the church of St James Garlickhythe, London. By Michaelmas 1362 he was a clerk and chaplain in the household chapel of ...
Article
Allen, Henry Robinson (c. 1809–1876), singer, teacher, and composer
Andrew Lamb
Allen, Henry Robinson (c. 1809–1876), singer, teacher, and composer, was born in Cork around 1809, the son of William Allen, gentleman. In Cork he studied music with a Mr Shaw, organist of St Peter’s Church, where he attracted attention as a boy soprano. At fourteen he was apprenticed to ...
Article
Alline, Henry (1748–1784), evangelist and hymn writer
J. M. Bumsted
Alline, Henry (1748–1784), evangelist and hymn writer, was born in Newport, Rhode Island, on 14 June 1748, the second son of William Alline and Rebecca Clark. His father, who was probably a miller, responded to the announcements of free land in Nova Scotia...
Article
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...
