Jonathan Battishill
Encyclopedia
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
. He is considered one of the outstanding 18th century English
composers of church music and is best remembered today for his seven-part anthem
Call to Remembrance, which has long survived in the repertoires of cathedral choirs.
. Beginning at the age of nine, he sang as a chorister at St. Paul's Cathedral initially under the direction of composer Charles King
. After his voice broke he studied organ, music composition, and singing under William Savage
, almoner and master of the choristers. He became a highly skilled organist and was particularly talented at extempore
playing; a skill that soon attracted attention and led to his appointment as William Boyce’s deputy at the Chapel Royal
.
During the mid 1750s he began appearing as a tenor soloist in London concerts. One of his earliest engagements was on 16 March 1756 in a concert of Handel
’s Alexander’s Feast
at the Great Room, Dean Street
, where he was described as ‘Mr Batichel’. That same year he became the conductor and harpsichordist
at the Covent Garden Theatre
. While there he composed incidental song
s and chorus
es for play
s and pantomime
music for both Covent Garden and the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
. In 1758 he became a member of the Madrigal Society and in 1761 a member of the Royal Society of Musicians
. He was also a of the Noblemen’s and Gentlemen’s Catch Club from c1762, but lost his membership twice for not attending meetings. In 1771 his glee Come bind my hair, ye wood nymphs fair won the club’s gold medal.
In 1764 Battishill was appointed organist
of St Clement Eastcheap
, which had recently united with the parish at St Martin Orgar
. Three years later he became organist at Christ Church, Newgate Street
as well and served at both St Clement and Christ Church until his death in 1801. During this time he periodically gave organ concerts and he particularly became known for his performances of Handel’s keyboard works. He also would still occasionally perform in concerts as a singer. He possessed an exceptional memory which was displayed in one concert where he played and sang from memory several airs from Samuel Arnold
's oratorio
The Prodigal Son without the sheet music, and after not hearing the work for more than 20 years.
While working at Covent Garden, Battishill met singing actress Elizabeth Davies who had originated the role of Margery in Thomas Arne's Love in a Village. The two became romantically involved and on 19 December 1765 they married. However the marriage was unsuccessful, and Elizabeth had a publicly known affair with actor Anthony Webster, with whom she eventually moved to Ireland in 1776. Elizabeth died in Cork
in October 1777. Battishill also had an affair with a woman who called herself Ann Battishill at the time of his death. They apparently lived together from about 1775 until the end of Battishill's life. Although Battishill was involved with another woman, his wife's desertion caused a deep depression from which he never recovered. He declined into alcoholism
and his compositional output became minimal for the rest of his life. His alcoholism also resulted in his not being appointed organist of St Paul’s on the death of John Jones in 1796.
From 1777 on Battishill devoted himself mainly to his book collection. From the time he was a boy he was an avid reader, and throughout his life he had collected some 6000 to 7000 volumes in his personal library. He was mostly interested in theological works and the works of classical authors. In 1801 Battishill was buried in St Paul’s near the grave of William Boyce in keeping with his own wishes.
, The Rites of Hecate, which used a text by poet James Love
. It premiered at Drury Lane on 26 December 1763. He also notably co-composed the music to the three act opera
Almena with Michael Arne
, the son of Thomas Arne, which premiered in 1764 at Drury Lane. The opera was a theatrical failure, but critics of the day attributed its lack of success to dramatic faults on the part of the librettist Rolt, rather than to problems with the music. He also wrote several songs for London's pleasure gardens
, of which Kate of Aberdeen is probably his best known.
Upon taking his first organist post in 1764, Battishill composed chiefly church music, glees
, catch
es, madrigal
s, and part-songs. He was particularly prolific in his output of Anglican chant
(used for the psalms
and canticles), hymn
s, and anthems. His anthems are considered his most exemplary work and are admired for employing rich blends in a multi-voiced arrangement. His anthems included O Lord, Look Down from Heaven and Call to Remembrance, the latter of which was sung at his own funeral and is still performed in cathedrals today. Of his glees, I Loved Thee Beautiful and Kind is probably his best known work. His chants also remain in use.
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...
, keyboard player, and concert tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
. He began his career as a composer writing theatre music but later devoted himself to working as an 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...
and composer for the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. He is considered one of the outstanding 18th century English
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...
composers of church music and is best remembered today for his seven-part anthem
Anthem
The term anthem means either a specific form of Anglican church music , or more generally, a song of celebration, usually acting as a symbol for a distinct group of people, as in the term "national anthem" or "sports anthem".-Etymology:The word is derived from the Greek via Old English , a word...
Call to Remembrance, which has long survived in the repertoires of cathedral choirs.
Biography
Battishill was born in LondonLondon
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...
. Beginning at the age of nine, he sang as a chorister at St. Paul's Cathedral initially under the direction of composer Charles King
Charles King (composer)
Charles King was an English composer and musician of the 17th and 18th centuries who at one time held the post of Almoner and Master of Choristers for St. Paul's Cathedral under John Blow and Jeremiah Clarke.-Biography:...
. After his voice broke he studied organ, music composition, and singing under William Savage
William Savage
William Savage was an English composer, organist, and singer of the 18th century. He sang as a boy treble and alto, a countertenor, and as a bass...
, almoner and master of the choristers. He became a highly skilled organist and was particularly talented at extempore
Ex tempore
Ex tempore has two meanings:-Performance:"Extempore" or "ex tempore" refers to a stage or theater performance that is carried out without preparation or forethought. Most often the term is used in the context of speech, singing and stage acting...
playing; a skill that soon attracted attention and led to his appointment as William Boyce’s deputy at the Chapel Royal
Chapel Royal
A Chapel Royal is a body of priests and singers who serve the spiritual needs of their sovereign wherever they are called upon to do so.-Austria:...
.
During the mid 1750s he began appearing as a tenor soloist in London concerts. One of his earliest engagements was on 16 March 1756 in a concert of 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....
’s Alexander’s Feast
Alexander's Feast (Handel)
Alexander's Feast is an ode with music by George Frideric Handel set to a libretto by Newburgh Hamilton. Hamilton adapted his libretto from John Dryden's ode Alexander's Feast, or the Power of Music which had been written to celebrate Saint Cecilia's Day...
at the Great Room, Dean Street
Dean Street
Dean Street is a street in Soho, London, England, running between Oxford Street to the north and Shaftesbury Avenue to the south.-Historical figures:The street has a rich history. In 1764 a young Mozart gave a recital at 21 Dean Street...
, where he was described as ‘Mr Batichel’. That same year he became the conductor and 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...
at the Covent Garden Theatre
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...
. While there he composed incidental song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
s and chorus
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
es for play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
s and pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
music for both Covent Garden and 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,...
. In 1758 he became a member of the Madrigal Society and in 1761 a member of the Royal Society of Musicians
Royal Society of Musicians
The Royal Society of Musicians of Great Britain is a charity in the United Kingdom that supports musicians. It is the oldest music-related charity in Great Britain, founded in 1738 as the "Fund for Decay'd Musicians" by a declaration of trust signed by 228 musicians, including Edward Purcell ,...
. He was also a of the Noblemen’s and Gentlemen’s Catch Club from c1762, but lost his membership twice for not attending meetings. In 1771 his glee Come bind my hair, ye wood nymphs fair won the club’s gold medal.
In 1764 Battishill was appointed 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...
of St Clement Eastcheap
St Clement Eastcheap
St. Clement Eastcheap is a Church of England parish church in Candlewick Ward of the City of London. It is located on Clement's Lane, off King William Street, and close to London Bridge and the River Thames....
, which had recently united with the parish at St Martin Orgar
St Martin Orgar
St Martin Orgar was a church in the City of London in Martin Lane, off Cannon Street, most famous as being one of the churches mentioned in the nursery rhyme "Oranges and Lemons". Most of the building was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666, but the tower and part of the nave were left...
. Three years later he became organist at Christ Church, Newgate Street
Christ Church Greyfriars
Christ Church Greyfriars, also known as Christ Church Newgate, was an Anglican church located on Newgate Street, opposite St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London. Built first in the gothic style, then in the English Baroque style by Sir Christopher Wren, it ranked among the City's most notable...
as well and served at both St Clement and Christ Church until his death in 1801. During this time he periodically gave organ concerts and he particularly became known for his performances of Handel’s keyboard works. He also would still occasionally perform in concerts as a singer. He possessed an exceptional memory which was displayed in one concert where he played and sang from memory several airs from Samuel Arnold
Samuel Arnold (composer)
Samuel Arnold was an English composer and organist.Arnold was born in London , and began writing music for the theatre in about 1764. A few years later he became director of music at the Marylebone Gardens, for which much of his popular music was written...
's 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...
The Prodigal Son without the sheet music, and after not hearing the work for more than 20 years.
While working at Covent Garden, Battishill met singing actress Elizabeth Davies who had originated the role of Margery in Thomas Arne's Love in a Village. The two became romantically involved and on 19 December 1765 they married. However the marriage was unsuccessful, and Elizabeth had a publicly known affair with actor Anthony Webster, with whom she eventually moved to Ireland in 1776. Elizabeth died in Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
in October 1777. Battishill also had an affair with a woman who called herself Ann Battishill at the time of his death. They apparently lived together from about 1775 until the end of Battishill's life. Although Battishill was involved with another woman, his wife's desertion caused a deep depression from which he never recovered. He declined into alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
and his compositional output became minimal for the rest of his life. His alcoholism also resulted in his not being appointed organist of St Paul’s on the death of John Jones in 1796.
From 1777 on Battishill devoted himself mainly to his book collection. From the time he was a boy he was an avid reader, and throughout his life he had collected some 6000 to 7000 volumes in his personal library. He was mostly interested in theological works and the works of classical authors. In 1801 Battishill was buried in St Paul’s near the grave of William Boyce in keeping with his own wishes.
Works
Most of Battishill’s compositions date from the period 1760–1775, and reflect his diverse employments during this time. He began his career primarily as a composer of theatre music; writing mostly incidental music for plays. He composed the music for one pantomimePantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
, The Rites of Hecate, which used a text by poet James Love
James Love (poet)
James Love was the pseudonym of British poet, playwright and actor James Dance. He is famous within sporting circles for his Cricket: An Heroic Poem , whose line "The strokes re-echo o'er the spacious ground" has been quoted in the Oxford English Dictionary. Its subtitle reads thus:Illustrated...
. It premiered at Drury Lane on 26 December 1763. He also notably co-composed the music to the three act 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...
Almena with Michael Arne
Michael Arne
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...
, the son of Thomas Arne, which premiered in 1764 at Drury Lane. The opera was a theatrical failure, but critics of the day attributed its lack of success to dramatic faults on the part of the librettist Rolt, rather than to problems with the music. He also wrote several songs for London's pleasure gardens
Pleasure gardens
A pleasure garden is usually a garden that is open to the public for recreation. They differ from other public gardens in that they serve as venues for entertainment, variously featuring concert halls or bandstands, rides, zoos, and menageries.-History:...
, of which Kate of Aberdeen is probably his best known.
Upon taking his first organist post in 1764, Battishill composed chiefly church music, glees
Glee (music)
A glee is an English type of part song spanning the late baroque, classical and early romantic periods. It is usually scored for at least three voices, and generally intended to be sung unaccompanied. Glees often consist of a number of short, musically contrasted movements and their texts can be...
, catch
Catch (music)
In music, a catch or trick canon is a type of round - a musical composition in which two or more voices repeatedly sing the same melody or sometimes slightly different melodies, beginning at different times. In a catch, the lines of lyrics interact so that a word or phrase is produced that does...
es, 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....
s, and part-songs. He was particularly prolific in his output of Anglican chant
Anglican chant
Anglican chant is a way to sing un-metrical texts, such as prose translations of the psalms, canticles, and other, similar biblical texts by matching the natural speech-rhythm of the words in each verse to a short piece of metrical music. It may be fairly described as "harmonized recitative"...
(used for the psalms
Psalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
and canticles), hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
s, and anthems. His anthems are considered his most exemplary work and are admired for employing rich blends in a multi-voiced arrangement. His anthems included O Lord, Look Down from Heaven and Call to Remembrance, the latter of which was sung at his own funeral and is still performed in cathedrals today. Of his glees, I Loved Thee Beautiful and Kind is probably his best known work. His chants also remain in use.