Michael Arne
Encyclopedia
Michael Arne was an English composer
, harpsichordist
, organist
, singer
, and actor
. He was the son of composer Thomas Arne and lauded soprano
Cecilia Young
, the latter of which belonged to the famous Young family of musicians of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Like his father, Arne worked primarily as a composer of stage music and vocal art song, contributing little to other genres of music. He wrote several songs for London
's pleasure gardens, the most famous of which is Lass with the Delicate Air (1762). A moderately prolific composer, Arne wrote nine opera
s and collaborated on at least 15 others. His most successful opera, Cymon
(1767), enjoyed several revivals during his lifetime and into the early nineteenth century.
Michael Arne was born in either late 1740 or early 1741 in the Covent Garden
area of London
. Music historian Charles Burney
, a close friend of the Arne family, indicates that he was Thomas Arne's natural son but there is some speculation among modern scholars that he may have been adopted. There is no record for Michael Arne at St Paul's, Covent Garden
, where most of the Arne family were christened. His father, Thomas Arne, was the most important English composer of the eighteenth century and is considered the catalyst for the revival of English opera in the early 1730s. His mother, Cecilia Young, was one of the greatest English sopranos of the century and part of the famous Young family of musicians. Both Michael's grandfather, Charles Young
, and his great-uncle, Anthony Young
, were well known organist
s and minor composer
s. His Aunt Isabella
was a successful soprano and the wife of composer John Frederick Lampe
. His other aunt, Esther Young
, was a contralto
and the wife of music publisher Charles Jones. His cousins, Isabella
, Elizabeth
, and Polly
, were all successful singers in their own right.
After 1745 Michael spent the majority of his childhood in the care of his aunt and celebrated actress Susannah Maria Cibber due to his mother's frequent illnesses and his father's busy career. It is likely that he received his earliest musical training from his aunt. It was also under her mentorship that he made his stage début as the Page in Thomas Otway
’s tragedy The Orphan
in the late 1740s. He began his musical career as a singer appearing in Francesco Onofrio Manfredini’s concert on 20 February 1750. This was followed by several singing appearances at the Vauxhall Gardens
in the summer of 1750 where his father was the resident composer. However, Michael's career as a vocalist and actor was not prolonged for much longer. Charles Burney
wrote that Michael's father "tried to make him a singer, but he was naturally idle and not very quick. However, he acquired a powerful hand on the harpsichord". Michael's obvious lack of enthusiasm for singing pervailed and he focused primarily on music composition and organ and harpsichord performance after the summer of 1750. On 5 February 1751 he gave his first solo organ concert which featured one of his father’s organ concertos; he went on to be the principal exponent of his father's organ works for the next thirty years. Arne also showed an early talent as a composer and his first collection of vocal art songs entitled The Floweret was published in 1750. The collection included the Scottish style song "The Highland Laddie" which became popular and as late as 1775 was adapted by Thomas Linley the elder in The Duenna
.
During the 1750s and 1760s, Arne worked as an organist and harpsichordist and composer to the theatres and pleasure gardens of London. He married in the 1750s to a now unknown woman who died only a few years into their marriage. From 1756 onwards he composed a considerable amount of music for the stage, much in the same vein as his father. He wrote several successful operas, a significant amount of incidental music for plays, and published several song collections. Several of his songs were written for performance in London's pleasure gardens. One of his best-known songs is Lass with the Delicate Air, which premiered in 1762. In 1764 he collaborated with Jonathan Battishill
in setting Richard Rolt’s Almena, which was a theatrical flop but praised for its fine music. The previous year he had met soprano
Elizabeth Wright after hearing her perform at Ranelagh Gardens
. The two became romantically involved and married in 1766. The following year Elizabeth sang the title role in his opera Cymon. The work used a libretto by David Garrick
and was the greatest success of his career. Arne's wife sang in several more of his stage works as well as other productions in leading roles at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
throughout the 1760s.
In 1766 Arne built a laboratory at Chelsea in order to pursue his interest in alchemy
. His hobby quickly turned into an obsession and he was soon suffering financially due to the expenses of this pursuit. These financial problems caused a considerable amount of stress and tension in his marriage and Arne ended up in debtor's prison
in early 1769. Elizabeth died on 1 May 1769 while he was in prison and Charles Burney
blamed Arne for his wife's early death due to the overwork and stress he had subjected her to. Somewhat humbled, Arne abandoned his pursuit of alchemy and by the early 1770s was financially stable again.
Up until this point Arne had spent his entire career working in London. However, in 1771–1772 he traveled to Germany, touring the country in a series of concerts with his pupil Ann Venables. He notably conducted the German premiere of Handel
's Messiah
in Hamburg on 21 May 1772. After returning to England in the Fall of 1772 he married Miss Venables. He also spent some time working in Dublin, Ireland
in 1775-1776. His opera The Maid of the Vale premiered at the Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin on 12 February 1775, and in December 1776 he was engaged by Thomas Ryder to produce Cymon in Dublin. Both productions featured his wife in leading roles and she became a highly popular attraction to the Dublin community.
While in Ireland, Arne began to pursue alchemy once more and he took a house at Clontarf in the hopes of discovering the philosopher's stone
. His pursuits again led him into debt and he was arrested and confined to a Dublin sponging-house
. While there he was assisted by the father of Michael Kelly, later a famous tenor, who provided him with a piano in return for young Kelly’s daily lesson. In this way Arne was able to teach students and thereby earn money to pay off his creditors.
The Arnes returned to London in 1777 and Michael was engaged as composer at Covent Garden
for several seasons. In 1781 he was notably hired to provide a harpsichord accompaniment for Eidophusikon, a display of moving pictures. In 1784–5 he worked at the Haymarket Theatre
as the director and conductor of the Lenten
Oratorio
s. Upon his father’s death in 1778, Michael inherited the majority of his father's assets which included a number of unpublished manuscripts. Included among these were several organ concertos written in 1750s, and in 1784 Michael announced his intention to publish them. However, Michael died in poverty without having done so, leaving his wife destitute. The organ concertos were preserved and later published in 1787 by John Groombridge.
Michael Arne had a daughter Sarah who was a leading singer at Drury Lane from 1795 to 1800. It is uncertain as to whether she was a daughter from his second or third marriage. Records also indicate that he had a daughter known as Jemima who nursed him while he was ill at the end of his life. It is possible that Jemima and Sarah may be the same person, or that they are indeed two different people.
of the day and utilized both rudiments of English folk music and Italian opera in his compositions. The following is a complete list of his stage works and published works.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, harpsichordist
Harpsichordist
A harpsichordist is a person who plays the harpsichord.Many baroque composers played the harpsichord, including Johann Sebastian Bach, Domenico Scarlatti, George Frideric Handel, François Couperin and Jean-Philippe Rameau...
, organist
Organist
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...
, singer
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He was the son of composer Thomas Arne and lauded soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
Cecilia Young
Cecilia Young
Cecilia Young was one of the greatest English sopranos of the eighteenth century, the wife of composer Thomas Arne, and the mother of composer Michael Arne...
, the latter of which belonged to the famous Young family of musicians of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Like his father, Arne worked primarily as a composer of stage music and vocal art song, contributing little to other genres of music. He wrote several songs for London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's pleasure gardens, the most famous of which is Lass with the Delicate Air (1762). A moderately prolific composer, Arne wrote nine 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 collaborated on at least 15 others. His most successful opera, Cymon
Cymon
Cymon is a five-act opera composed by Michael Arne, with a libretto by David Garrick.Based on the poem Cymon and Iphigenia by John Dryden, Cymon tells the story of a captive prince who falls in love with a shepherdess named Sylvia...
(1767), enjoyed several revivals during his lifetime and into the early nineteenth century.
Early life and career
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...
area of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Music historian Charles Burney
Charles Burney
Charles Burney FRS was an English music historian and father of authors Frances Burney and Sarah Burney.-Life and career:...
, a close friend of the Arne family, indicates that he was Thomas Arne's natural son but there is some speculation among modern scholars that he may have been adopted. There is no record for Michael Arne at St Paul's, Covent Garden
St Paul's, Covent Garden
St Paul's Church, also commonly known as the Actors' Church, is a church designed by Inigo Jones as part of a commission by Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford in 1631 to create "houses and buildings fitt for the habitacons of Gentlemen and men of ability" in Covent Garden, London, England.As well...
, where most of the Arne family were christened. His father, Thomas Arne, was the most important English composer of the eighteenth century and is considered the catalyst for the revival of English opera in the early 1730s. His mother, Cecilia Young, was one of the greatest English sopranos of the century and part of the famous Young family of musicians. Both Michael's grandfather, Charles Young
Charles Young (musician)
Charles Young was an English organist and composer. He was part of a well-known English family of musicians that included several professional singers and organists during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries....
, and his great-uncle, Anthony Young
Anthony Young (musician)
Anthony Young was an English organist and composer. He was part of a well-known English family of musicians that included several professional singers and organists during the 17th and 18th centuries.-Biography:...
, were well known organist
Organist
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...
s and minor composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
s. His Aunt Isabella
Isabella Lampe
Isabella Lampe was an English operatic soprano and the wife of composer John Frederick Lampe...
was a successful soprano and the wife of composer John Frederick Lampe
John Frederick Lampe
John Frederick Lampe was a musician.He was born in Saxony, but came to England in 1724 and played the bassoon in opera houses. His wife, Isabella Lampe, was sister-in-law to the composer Thomas Arne with whom Lampe collaborated on a number of concert seasons...
. His other aunt, Esther Young
Esther Young
Esther Young was an English operatic contralto and the wife of music publisher Charles Jones...
, was a contralto
Contralto
Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...
and the wife of music publisher Charles Jones. His cousins, Isabella
Isabella Young
Isabella Young was an English mezzo-soprano and organist who had a successful career as a concert performer and opera singer during the latter half of the eighteenth century...
, Elizabeth
Elizabeth Young (contralto)
Elizabeth Young was an English contralto and actress. She was part of a well-known English family of musicians that included several professional singers and organists during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries....
, and Polly
Polly Young
Polly Young was an English soprano, composer and keyboard player. She was part of a well-known English family of musicians that included several professional singers and organists during the 17th and 18th centuries...
, were all successful singers in their own right.
After 1745 Michael spent the majority of his childhood in the care of his aunt and celebrated actress Susannah Maria Cibber due to his mother's frequent illnesses and his father's busy career. It is likely that he received his earliest musical training from his aunt. It was also under her mentorship that he made his stage début as the Page in Thomas Otway
Thomas Otway
Thomas Otway was an English dramatist of the Restoration period, best known for Venice Preserv'd, or A Plot Discover'd .-Life:...
’s tragedy The Orphan
The Orphan
This article is about the play. For the 2009 horror film, see Orphan .The Orphan, or The Unhappy Marriage is a domestic tragedy, written by Thomas Otway in 1680. It was first produced at the Dorset Garden Theatre, and starred Mrs. Barry as Monimia, Thomas Betterton as Castalio and Mr. Jo. Williams...
in the late 1740s. He began his musical career as a singer appearing in Francesco Onofrio Manfredini’s concert on 20 February 1750. This was followed by several singing appearances at the 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...
in the summer of 1750 where his father was the resident composer. However, Michael's career as a vocalist and actor was not prolonged for much longer. Charles Burney
Charles Burney
Charles Burney FRS was an English music historian and father of authors Frances Burney and Sarah Burney.-Life and career:...
wrote that Michael's father "tried to make him a singer, but he was naturally idle and not very quick. However, he acquired a powerful hand on the harpsichord". Michael's obvious lack of enthusiasm for singing pervailed and he focused primarily on music composition and organ and harpsichord performance after the summer of 1750. On 5 February 1751 he gave his first solo organ concert which featured one of his father’s organ concertos; he went on to be the principal exponent of his father's organ works for the next thirty years. Arne also showed an early talent as a composer and his first collection of vocal art songs entitled The Floweret was published in 1750. The collection included the Scottish style song "The Highland Laddie" which became popular and as late as 1775 was adapted by Thomas Linley the elder in The Duenna
The Duenna
The Duenna is a three-act comic opera, mostly composed by Thomas Linley the elder and his son, Thomas Linley the younger, to an English-language libretto by Richard Brinsley Sheridan...
.
Mid life and career
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...
in setting Richard Rolt’s Almena, which was a theatrical flop but praised for its fine music. The previous year he had met soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
Elizabeth Wright after hearing her perform at Ranelagh Gardens
Ranelagh Gardens
Ranelagh Gardens were public pleasure gardens located in Chelsea, then just outside London, England in the 18th century.-History:The Ranelagh Gardens were so called because they occupied the site of Ranelagh House, built in 1688-89 by the first Earl of Ranelagh, Treasurer of Chelsea Hospital ,...
. The two became romantically involved and married in 1766. The following year Elizabeth sang the title role in his opera Cymon. The work used a libretto by David Garrick
David Garrick
David Garrick was an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of theatrical practice throughout the 18th century and was a pupil and friend of Dr Samuel Johnson...
and was the greatest success of his career. Arne's wife sang in several more of his stage works as well as other productions in leading roles at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
throughout the 1760s.
In 1766 Arne built a laboratory at Chelsea in order to pursue his interest in alchemy
Alchemy
Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...
. His hobby quickly turned into an obsession and he was soon suffering financially due to the expenses of this pursuit. These financial problems caused a considerable amount of stress and tension in his marriage and Arne ended up in debtor's prison
Debtor's prison
A debtors' prison is a prison for those who are unable to pay a debt.Prior to the mid 19th century debtors' prisons were a common way to deal with unpaid debt.-Debt bondage in ancient Greece and Rome:...
in early 1769. Elizabeth died on 1 May 1769 while he was in prison and Charles Burney
Charles Burney
Charles Burney FRS was an English music historian and father of authors Frances Burney and Sarah Burney.-Life and career:...
blamed Arne for his wife's early death due to the overwork and stress he had subjected her to. Somewhat humbled, Arne abandoned his pursuit of alchemy and by the early 1770s was financially stable again.
Later life and career
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....
's Messiah
Messiah (Handel)
Messiah is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, with a scriptural text compiled by Charles Jennens from the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer. It was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742, and received its London premiere nearly a year later...
in Hamburg on 21 May 1772. After returning to England in the Fall of 1772 he married Miss Venables. He also spent some time working in Dublin, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
in 1775-1776. His opera The Maid of the Vale premiered at the Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin on 12 February 1775, and in December 1776 he was engaged by Thomas Ryder to produce Cymon in Dublin. Both productions featured his wife in leading roles and she became a highly popular attraction to the Dublin community.
While in Ireland, Arne began to pursue alchemy once more and he took a house at Clontarf in the hopes of discovering the philosopher's stone
Philosopher's stone
The philosopher's stone is a legendary alchemical substance said to be capable of turning base metals into gold or silver. It was also sometimes believed to be an elixir of life, useful for rejuvenation and possibly for achieving immortality. For many centuries, it was the most sought-after goal...
. His pursuits again led him into debt and he was arrested and confined to a Dublin sponging-house
Sponging-house
A sponging-house was a place of temporary confinement for debtors in the United Kingdom. If someone were to get into debt, their creditor would lay a complaint with the sheriff, the sheriff sent his bailiffs, and the debtor would be taken to the local sponging-house. This was not a debtor's prison,...
. While there he was assisted by the father of Michael Kelly, later a famous tenor, who provided him with a piano in return for young Kelly’s daily lesson. In this way Arne was able to teach students and thereby earn money to pay off his creditors.
The Arnes returned to London in 1777 and Michael was engaged as composer at Covent Garden
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
for several seasons. In 1781 he was notably hired to provide a harpsichord accompaniment for Eidophusikon, a display of moving pictures. In 1784–5 he worked at the Haymarket Theatre
Haymarket Theatre
The Theatre Royal Haymarket is a West End theatre in the Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use...
as the director and conductor of the Lenten
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
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...
s. Upon his father’s death in 1778, Michael inherited the majority of his father's assets which included a number of unpublished manuscripts. Included among these were several organ concertos written in 1750s, and in 1784 Michael announced his intention to publish them. However, Michael died in poverty without having done so, leaving his wife destitute. The organ concertos were preserved and later published in 1787 by John Groombridge.
Michael Arne had a daughter Sarah who was a leading singer at Drury Lane from 1795 to 1800. It is uncertain as to whether she was a daughter from his second or third marriage. Records also indicate that he had a daughter known as Jemima who nursed him while he was ill at the end of his life. It is possible that Jemima and Sarah may be the same person, or that they are indeed two different people.
Works
Arne was a moderately prolific composer. He wrote nine operas, collaborated on at least 15 others, wrote a small amount of incidental music for plays, and published seven song collections. He also wrote a small amount of music for the harpsichord and organ, some of which was published in 1761. Like his father, Arne wrote in the popular galante styleGalante music
A new style of classical music, fashionable from the 1720s to the 1770s, was called Galante music. It consciously simplified contrapuntal texture and intense composing techniques that realized a pattern on the page and substituted a clear leading voice with a transparent accompaniment....
of the day and utilized both rudiments of English folk music and Italian opera in his compositions. The following is a complete list of his stage works and published works.
Stage works
- Florizel and Perdita, or The Winter's Tale (21 January 1756, Drury Lane, London)
- The Humorous Lieutenant (10 December 1756, Covent Garden, London)
- Harlequin Sorceror (1757, Covent Garden, London)
- Harlequin's Invasion (31 December 1759, Drury Lane, London)
- The Heiress or the Antigallican (21 May 1759, Drury Lane, London)
- Edgar and Emmeline (31 January 1761 Drury Lane, London)
- A Midsummer Night's Dream (23 November 1763, Drury Lane, London)
- Hymen (23 January 1764, Drury Lane, London)
- Almena (2 November 1764, Drury Lane, London)
- CymonCymonCymon is a five-act opera composed by Michael Arne, with a libretto by David Garrick.Based on the poem Cymon and Iphigenia by John Dryden, Cymon tells the story of a captive prince who falls in love with a shepherdess named Sylvia...
(2 January 1767, Drury Lane, London) - Linco's Travels (6 April 1767, Drury Lane, London)
- Tom Jones (14 January 1769, Covent Garden, London)
- The Maid of the Vale (15 February 1775, Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin)
- Emperor of the Moon (22 March 1777, Patagonian, London)
- The Fairy Tale (18 July 1777, Haymarket, London)
- The Fathers, or the Good-natured Man (30 November 1778, Covent Garden, London)
- Love in a Village (13 February 1779, Covent Garden, London)
- All alive at Jersey (22 May 1779, Sadler's Wells, London)
- The Conscious Lovers (27 September 1779, Covent Garden, London)
- The Belle's Stratagem (22 February 1780, Covent Garden, London)
- The Artifice (14 April 1780, Drury Lane, London)
- The Choice of Harlequin, or the Indian Chief (26 December 1781 Covent Garden, London)
- Vertumnus and Pomona (21 February 1782, Covent Garden, London)
- The Positive Man (16 March 1782, Covent Garden, London)
- The Maid of the Mill (25 September 1782, Covent Garden, London)
- The Capricious Lady (17 January 1783, Covent Garden, London)
- Tristram Shandy (26 April 1783, Covent Garden, London)
Song collections
Arne wrote close to two hundred vocal songs during his career, the majority of which were written for performance at London's pleasure gardens. Many of these songs were published in anthologies but at least some fifty or more songs were never published.- The Floweret (London, 1750)
- The Violet (London, 1756)
- A Favourite Collection of English Songs (London, 1757)
- New Songs and Ballads (London, 1765)
- New Songs sung by Miss Wright at Vauxhall (London, c1765)
- A Collection of Favourite Songs sung by Mrs. Arne (London, 1773)
- Ranelagh Songs (London, 1780)