 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
|
|||||
|
 |
 |
Biography of Thomas Augustine ArneName: Thomas Augustine ArneBirth Date: March 12, 1710 Death Date: March 5, 1778 Place of Birth: London, England Nationality: English Gender: Male Occupations: composer, musician Thomas Augustine Arne At a time when musical life of England was dominated by foreign music and musicians, Thomas Augustine Arne (1710-1778) was the most successful and popular native composer, keeping alive and advancing the traditions of the English baroque school.Thomas Arne was born in London on March 12, 1710, the son of an upholsterer and coffin-maker. Educated at Eton, he spent 3 years apprenticed to an attorney before his obvious talents in music persuaded his father to allow him to pursue a career in this field. Arne's first major composition was a setting of Joseph Addison's Rosamond (1733). Arne's sister Susannah Maria, 4 years his junior, sang a leading role; later, as Mrs. Cibber, she was a famous dramatic actress and singer. In 1736 Arne married Cecelia Young, a soprano who later gave remarkable performances of music by her husband and by George Frederick Handel.Arne quickly established himself as a major talent with music to three masques …showed first 150 words…
…showed last 150 words…Purcell to that of Arne, a period of more than fourscore years, no candidate for musical fame among our countrymen had appeared, who was equally admired by the nation at large.... In secular music, he must be allowed to have surpassed him [Purcell] in ease, grace, and variety." Further Reading Brief biographies of Arne are Burnham W. Horner, Life and Works of Dr. Arne, 1710-1778 (1893), and Hubert Langley, Doctor Arne (1938), neither of which is scholarly. Arne's place in the history of music in England is noted in Frank Howes, The English Musical Renaissance (1966). There is a discussion of some aspects of Arne's life and works in Charles Burney, A General History of Music: From the Earliest Ages to the Present Period (4 vols., 1786-1789; new ed., with notes by Frank Mercer, 1957).Burden, Michael, Garrick, Arne, and the masque of Alfred: a case study in national, theatrical, and musical politics, Lewiston: Edwin Mellen Press, 1994. |