Robert Lucas de Pearsall
Encyclopedia
Robert Lucas Pearsall was an English
composer
.
on 14 March 1795 into a rich, Quaker family. His father, Richard Pearsall (died 1813), was an army officer and amateur musician. He was privately educated.
Pearsall's mother, born Elizabeth Lucas, managed in 1816 to buy the Pearsall family house at Willsbridge
, Gloucestershire
from her brother-in-law, Thomas Pearsall, after the failure of an iron mill which had been in the family since 1712. However, Pearsall sold the house in 1837 after his mother died. The iron mill was converted by others into a flour mill, which still stands.
Pearsall married in 1817 Harriet Eliza Hobday, daughter of a once-famous portrait painter, William Armfield Hobday
(1771-1831). They had four children, but separated finally in 1842. He initially practised as a barrister
based in Bristol, but on suffering a mild stroke
in 1825, he went with his family first to Mainz
, then to Karlsruhe
(1830-42), and later to Schloss Wartensee near Rorschach in Switzerland, where he remained until 1854. After falling ill at nearby St Gallen, where he had been living, he was taken back to Schloss Wartensee, where he was received by his son and estranged wife, and was nursed by his daughter Philippa. He died at Wartensee on 5 August 1856, and was buried in the vault of the chapel at the castle. When the chapel was deconsecrated in 1957, his remains were removed and reinterred at the Roman Catholic church at Wilen-Wartegg.
, most of his early attempts would appear to have been self taught. There is little evidence to support a claim made by Hubert Hunt that his early works included the Duetto Buffo di Due Gatti, published under the pseudonym G Berthold and often attributed to Rossini. Though resident abroad, he kept in touch with his home city of Bristol. Pearsall's last visit to Willsbridge in 1836–37 coincided with the foundation and earliest meetings of the Bristol Madrigal Society, for which many of the madrigals and partsongs he wrote in the period 1836–1841 were composed. The success of his earliest works for the society encouraged him to write others, including 'The Hardy Norseman' and 'Sir Patrick Spens' (in ten parts), and eight-part settings of 'Great God of Love' and 'Lay a Garland'. His setting of 'In dulci jubilo' (in his original version for eight solo and five chorus parts) is still performed frequently at Christmas.
Pearsall was an amateur composer. Many of his compositions were not published until after his death, and even now, many remain in manuscript. The particle de often added to his name is largely a posthumous affectation, propagated by his daughter Philippa, possibly to encourage sales of his work or to ennoble his memory - or both.
Pearsall was the author of several articles and letters that contributed to scholarly understanding of early music in the Roman Catholic and Anglican traditions and helped to re-establish plainsong, Renaissance polyphony, and ancient church hymns in German and English-speaking countries. His antiquarian interests, including history, heraldry
and genealogy
, his rejection of industrialisation, and his search for clarity in musical composition derived from earlier models, places him firmly in the Romantic movement. He also composed poetry, some of which he used for his madrigals, such as 'Why Do the Roses' (1842). In the 1830s, he made accomplished verse translations into English of Schiller's play William Tell
in 1829 and Goethe's Faust
.
Edward-Rhys Harry, until recently director of Bristol Chamber Choir (formerly the Bristol Madrigal Society mentioned earlier), was responsible for a landmark recording of Pearsall's setting of the Requiem Mass in 2009. Using Christopher Brown's edition (typeset by OUP in 2006), which was published by the Church Music Society, he created a new revised version which sought to address many of the issues raised by the original manuscript - specifically Pearsall's lack of definition regarding verbal underlay. The recording remains available from the Bristol Chamber Choir.
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...
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...
.
Biography
Pearsall was born at Clifton in BristolBristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
on 14 March 1795 into a rich, Quaker family. His father, Richard Pearsall (died 1813), was an army officer and amateur musician. He was privately educated.
Pearsall's mother, born Elizabeth Lucas, managed in 1816 to buy the Pearsall family house at Willsbridge
Willsbridge
Willsbridge is a village in the unitary authority of South Gloucestershire, England, located on the outskirts of Bristol. Willsbridge Castle, situated on a prominent hillside site, was built c1730, with crenellations added in the nineteenth century....
, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
from her brother-in-law, Thomas Pearsall, after the failure of an iron mill which had been in the family since 1712. However, Pearsall sold the house in 1837 after his mother died. The iron mill was converted by others into a flour mill, which still stands.
Pearsall married in 1817 Harriet Eliza Hobday, daughter of a once-famous portrait painter, William Armfield Hobday
William Armfield Hobday
William Armfield Hobday was an English portrait painter and miniaturist whose clientele included royalty and the Rothschild family.-Life:...
(1771-1831). They had four children, but separated finally in 1842. He initially practised as a barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
based in Bristol, but on suffering a mild stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
in 1825, he went with his family first to Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
, then to Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
(1830-42), and later to Schloss Wartensee near Rorschach in Switzerland, where he remained until 1854. After falling ill at nearby St Gallen, where he had been living, he was taken back to Schloss Wartensee, where he was received by his son and estranged wife, and was nursed by his daughter Philippa. He died at Wartensee on 5 August 1856, and was buried in the vault of the chapel at the castle. When the chapel was deconsecrated in 1957, his remains were removed and reinterred at the Roman Catholic church at Wilen-Wartegg.
Composer
Pearsall's move abroad brought opportunities to develop his interests as a composer. Although it seems likely he had some instruction, or at least received advice, in composition from the Austrian violinist and composer Joseph PannyJoseph Panny
Joseph Panny was an Austrian composer and violinist who lived primarily in Vienna. A contemporary of Ludwig van Beethoven, very few of his works remain in the active repertoire today.- Compositions :...
, most of his early attempts would appear to have been self taught. There is little evidence to support a claim made by Hubert Hunt that his early works included the Duetto Buffo di Due Gatti, published under the pseudonym G Berthold and often attributed to Rossini. Though resident abroad, he kept in touch with his home city of Bristol. Pearsall's last visit to Willsbridge in 1836–37 coincided with the foundation and earliest meetings of the Bristol Madrigal Society, for which many of the madrigals and partsongs he wrote in the period 1836–1841 were composed. The success of his earliest works for the society encouraged him to write others, including 'The Hardy Norseman' and 'Sir Patrick Spens' (in ten parts), and eight-part settings of 'Great God of Love' and 'Lay a Garland'. His setting of 'In dulci jubilo' (in his original version for eight solo and five chorus parts) is still performed frequently at Christmas.
Pearsall was an amateur composer. Many of his compositions were not published until after his death, and even now, many remain in manuscript. The particle de often added to his name is largely a posthumous affectation, propagated by his daughter Philippa, possibly to encourage sales of his work or to ennoble his memory - or both.
Pearsall was the author of several articles and letters that contributed to scholarly understanding of early music in the Roman Catholic and Anglican traditions and helped to re-establish plainsong, Renaissance polyphony, and ancient church hymns in German and English-speaking countries. His antiquarian interests, including history, heraldry
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
and genealogy
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
, his rejection of industrialisation, and his search for clarity in musical composition derived from earlier models, places him firmly in the Romantic movement. He also composed poetry, some of which he used for his madrigals, such as 'Why Do the Roses' (1842). In the 1830s, he made accomplished verse translations into English of Schiller's play William Tell
William Tell
William Tell is a folk hero of Switzerland. His legend is recorded in a late 15th century Swiss chronicle....
in 1829 and Goethe's Faust
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...
.
Present appreciations
The composer Robert Cummings writes, "While Robert Lucas Pearsall wrote instrumental and orchestral music, he is best known for his vocal works, particularly for his madrigals and part songs, which he composed as a means of reviving Renaissance-era styles. He expanded on, rather than copied, them, adding structural features from the Classical period to forge a unique pastiche style, which yielded several masterly works, including the madrigals 'Great god of love' and 'Lay a garland'."Edward-Rhys Harry, until recently director of Bristol Chamber Choir (formerly the Bristol Madrigal Society mentioned earlier), was responsible for a landmark recording of Pearsall's setting of the Requiem Mass in 2009. Using Christopher Brown's edition (typeset by OUP in 2006), which was published by the Church Music Society, he created a new revised version which sought to address many of the issues raised by the original manuscript - specifically Pearsall's lack of definition regarding verbal underlay. The recording remains available from the Bristol Chamber Choir.
External links
- Three video recordings: Retrieved 18 May 2011.