John Liptrot Hatton
Encyclopedia
John Liptrot Hatton was an English
musical composer, conductor, pianist and singer.
in Liverpool, appeared as an actor on the Liverpool stage, subsequently finding his way to London as a member of Macready's company at Drury Lane
in 1832.
Ten years after this he was appointed conductor at the same theatre for a series of English opera
s, and in 1843 his own first operetta
, Queen of the Thames, was given with success. Josef Staudigl
, the eminent German bass, was a member of the company, and at his suggestion Hatton wrote a more ambitious work, Pascal Bruno, which, in a German translation, was presented at Vienna
, with Staudigl in the principal part; the opera contained a song, "Revenge", which the basso made very popular in England, though the piece as a whole was not successful enough to be produced there.
Hatton's excellent piano
playing attracted much attention in Vienna; he took the opportunity of studying counterpoint
under Sechter
, and wrote a number of songs, obviously modelled on the style of German classics. In 1846 he appeared at the Hereford
festival as a singer, and also played a piano concerto of Mozart. He undertook concert tours about this time with Sivori
, Vieuxtemps
and others.
From 1848 to 1850 he was in America. In her book on the diarist George Templeton Strong
, Vera Brodsky Lawrence reports that Hatton gave several public and private concerts in New York City in 1848. For example, on September 12, at the Apollo Theatre, he performed his own comic songs, as well as Handel
, Field
and Scarlatti
. Notably, also in 1848, he shared the stage in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
with Stephen C. Foster.
Lawrence states: "[C]ontemporary [American] critics deplored the failure of the public to appreciate his great art." He did pander to the public on occasion: in Boston, he performed Bach
and Mendelssohn
, but also sang "Christmas Sleigh Ride" while he played the piano and jangled sleigh bells, all to the great amusement of the crowd.
On his return he became conductor of the Glee and Madrigal Union, and from about 1853 was engaged at the Princess's Theatre, London
to provide and conduct the music for Charles Kean
's Shakespearean revivals. He seems to have kept this appointment for about five years. In 1856 a cantata, Robin Hood, was given at the Bradford
festival, and a third opera, Rose, or Love's Ransom, at Covent Garden
in 1864, without much success. In 1866 he went again to America, and from this year Hatton held the post of accompanist at the Ballad Concerts, St James's Hall, for nine seasons.
In 1875 he went to Stuttgart
, and wrote an oratorio
, Hezekiah, given at The Crystal Palace
in 1877; like all his larger works it met with moderate success. Hatton excelled in the lyrical forms of music, and, in spite of his distinct skill in the severer styles of the madrigal
, etc., he won popularity by such songs as "To Anthea", "Good-bye, Sweetheart", and "Simon the Cellarer", the first of which may be called a classic in its own way.
His glees and part-songs, such as "When Evening's Twilight", were reckoned among the best of their class; and he might have gained a place of higher distinction among English composers had it not been for his irresistible animal spirits and a want of artistic reverence, which made it uncertain in his younger days whether, when he appeared at a concert, he would play a fugue of Bach or sing a comic song. He died at Margate
on 20 September 1886.
Hatton's daughter, Frances J. Hatton, emigrated to Canada in 1869, where she became a respected composer and the singing instructor at the Hellmuth Ladies College in London, Ontario
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
musical composer, conductor, pianist and singer.
Biography
He was virtually a self-taught musician, and besides holding several appointments as organistOrganist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...
in Liverpool, appeared as an actor on the Liverpool stage, subsequently finding his way to London as a member of Macready's company at Drury Lane
Drury Lane
Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster....
in 1832.
Ten years after this he was appointed conductor at the same theatre for a series of English opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s, and in 1843 his own first operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
, Queen of the Thames, was given with success. Josef Staudigl
Josef Staudigl
Josef Staudigl was an Austrian bass singer.- Life :Staudigl attended the school in Wiener Neustadt and, from 1825, was a novice in the Benedictine monastery of Stift Melk. In 1827 he went to Vienna to study surgery there...
, the eminent German bass, was a member of the company, and at his suggestion Hatton wrote a more ambitious work, Pascal Bruno, which, in a German translation, was presented at Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, with Staudigl in the principal part; the opera contained a song, "Revenge", which the basso made very popular in England, though the piece as a whole was not successful enough to be produced there.
Hatton's excellent piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
playing attracted much attention in Vienna; he took the opportunity of studying counterpoint
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
under Sechter
Simon Sechter
Simon Sechter was an Austrian music theorist, teacher, organist, conductor and composer.Sechter was born in Friedberg , Bohemia, then part of the Austrian Empire, and moved to Vienna in 1804, succeeding Jan Václav Voříšek as court organist there in 1824. In 1810 he began teaching piano and voice...
, and wrote a number of songs, obviously modelled on the style of German classics. In 1846 he appeared at the Hereford
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
festival as a singer, and also played a piano concerto of Mozart. He undertook concert tours about this time with Sivori
Camillo Sivori
Ernesto Camillo Sivori, was an Italian virtuoso violinist and composer.Born in Genoa, he was the only pupil of Paganini. He also studied with Restano, Giacomo Costa and Dellepiane....
, Vieuxtemps
Henri Vieuxtemps
Henri François Joseph Vieuxtemps was a Belgian composer and violinist. He occupies an important place in the history of the violin as a prominent exponent of the Franco-Belgian violin school during the mid-19th century....
and others.
From 1848 to 1850 he was in America. In her book on the diarist George Templeton Strong
George Templeton Strong
George Templeton Strong was an American lawyer and diarist. His 2,250-page diary, discovered in the 1930s, provides a striking personal account of life in the 19th century, especially during the events of the American Civil War...
, Vera Brodsky Lawrence reports that Hatton gave several public and private concerts in New York City in 1848. For example, on September 12, at the Apollo Theatre, he performed his own comic songs, as well as Handel
HANDEL
HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
, Field
John Field (composer)
John Field was an Irish pianist, composer, and teacher. He was born in Dublin into a musical family, and received his early education there. The Fields soon moved to London, where Field studied under Muzio Clementi...
and Scarlatti
Scarlatti
Scarlatti was the name of several Italian composers:*Alessandro Scarlatti , Baroque composer known for operas and chamber cantatas*Francesco Scarlatti , Baroque composer and musician, brother of Alessandro Scarlatti...
. Notably, also in 1848, he shared the stage in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
with Stephen C. Foster.
Lawrence states: "[C]ontemporary [American] critics deplored the failure of the public to appreciate his great art." He did pander to the public on occasion: in Boston, he performed Bach
Bạch
Bạch is a Vietnamese surname. The name is transliterated as Bai in Chinese and Baek, in Korean.Bach is the anglicized variation of the surname Bạch.-Notable people with the surname Bạch:* Bạch Liêu...
and Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
, but also sang "Christmas Sleigh Ride" while he played the piano and jangled sleigh bells, all to the great amusement of the crowd.
On his return he became conductor of the Glee and Madrigal Union, and from about 1853 was engaged at the Princess's Theatre, London
Princess's Theatre, London
The Princess's Theatre or Princess Theatre was a theatre in Oxford Street, London. The building opened in 1828 as the "Queen's Bazaar" and housed a diorama by Clarkson Stanfield and David Roberts. It was converted into a theatre and opened in 1836 as the Princess's Theatre, named for then Princess...
to provide and conduct the music for Charles Kean
Charles Kean
Charles John Kean , was born at Waterford, Ireland, the son of the actor Edmund Kean.After preparatory education at Worplesdon and at Greenford, near Harrow, he was sent to Eton College, where he remained three years...
's Shakespearean revivals. He seems to have kept this appointment for about five years. In 1856 a cantata, Robin Hood, was given at the Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
festival, and a third opera, Rose, or Love's Ransom, at Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
in 1864, without much success. In 1866 he went again to America, and from this year Hatton held the post of accompanist at the Ballad Concerts, St James's Hall, for nine seasons.
In 1875 he went to Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, and wrote an 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...
, Hezekiah, given at The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in the Palace's of exhibition space to display examples of the latest technology developed in...
in 1877; like all his larger works it met with moderate success. Hatton excelled in the lyrical forms of music, and, in spite of his distinct skill in the severer styles of the madrigal
Madrigal (music)
A madrigal is a secular vocal music composition, usually a partsong, of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Traditionally, polyphonic madrigals are unaccompanied; the number of voices varies from two to eight, and most frequently from three to six....
, etc., he won popularity by such songs as "To Anthea", "Good-bye, Sweetheart", and "Simon the Cellarer", the first of which may be called a classic in its own way.
His glees and part-songs, such as "When Evening's Twilight", were reckoned among the best of their class; and he might have gained a place of higher distinction among English composers had it not been for his irresistible animal spirits and a want of artistic reverence, which made it uncertain in his younger days whether, when he appeared at a concert, he would play a fugue of Bach or sing a comic song. He died at Margate
Margate
-Demography:As of the 2001 UK census, Margate had a population of 40,386.The ethnicity of the town was 97.1% white, 1.0% mixed race, 0.5% black, 0.8% Asian, 0.6% Chinese or other ethnicity....
on 20 September 1886.
Hatton's daughter, Frances J. Hatton, emigrated to Canada in 1869, where she became a respected composer and the singing instructor at the Hellmuth Ladies College in London, Ontario
London, Ontario
London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...
.
Media
Sources and references
- Foster Hall Collection at the University of Pittsburgh
- Carleton College Music Department website
- Hatton's portrait
- Hatton's work at the Princess's Theatre in London is well documented by the playbill collection of the University of Kent at Canterbury
- Vera Brodsky Lawrence, Strong on Music: The New York Music Scene in the Days of George Templeton Strong, pp. 538-89 (1995)