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Charles Burney听(1781)
听 By Sir Joshua Reynolds
听 Born:听April 7, 1726
听 Died:听April 12, 1814
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Works (musical):
- Six Sonatas for Two Violins, with a Bass for the Violoncello or Harpsichord听(1748)
- Six Songs with a Cantata op. 2
- Songs for听A Midsummer Night's Dream听(1763)
- The Cunning Man听(1766)
- I will Love thee, O Lord my Strength听(1769)
For online recordings of Charles Burney's compositions, see Online Resources below.
Percy A. Scholes lists听and discusses听Charles Burney's musical compositions on pp 340-353 of Vol 2 of The Great Dr Burney, 1948. (Thanks to Tony Woolrich for this resource and many of the musical links below)
Works (literary):
- An Essay towards a History of Comets听(1769)
- The Present State of Music in France and Italy听(1771)
- The Present State of Music in Germany, the Netherlands and United Provinces听(1773)
- A General History of Music, 4 vols听(1776-1789)
- Memoirs of the Life and Writings of the Abate Metastasio听(1796)听
Birth
Charles Burney was born on April 7, 1726 in Raven Street, Shrewsbury. He was the fourth child of James Macburney (1678-1749) and his second wife, Anne (n茅e Cooper) (c.1690-1775). The family name of Macburney was changed to Burney about the time that Charles was born.
Youth and Education
Charles, along with his elder brother Richard, attended Shrewsbury Free School from 1737-1739. In 1739, Charles went to his father in Chester and began studies at Chester Free School. He had already showed musical ability and continued to learn. By 1742, he returned to Shrewsbury to be an assistant to his half-brother James, who was an organist at St Mary's Church. Charles enjoyed his exposure to musical performances at St Mary's. The following year he returned to Chester and continued to devote himself to further musical study.
Musical Apprenticeship
In 1744, Charles was introduced to Thomas Arne (one of London's top composers) and became his apprentice. As an apprentice, Charles gave lessons to Arne's students, copied out musical scores and parts, and occasionally played in the orchestra at Drury Lane Theatre. Burney was not personally fond of Arne: he felt that his master was selfish and immoral. In 1746, Charles encountered Fulke Greville, an aristocrat who engaged Burney in the capacity of a musical companion. Burney accompanied Greville to Bath and to Wilbury, Greville's country home. Greville paid Thomas Arne 拢300 in 1748 to release Burney from his apprenticeship. In early 1749, Greville was preparing for a lengthy stay in Europe and expected Burney to accompany him. Burney, however, had fallen in love with Esther Sleepe (c.1725-1762), and didn't wish to leave her, as she was pregnant with their first child. Burney requested, and was granted, leave to be released from Greville's employ so that he could marry Esther.
Marriage
Charles and Esther were married on June 25, 1749. Since his release from Greville's employ, Charles had no money or home to offer his wife, so he applied for the post of organist at St Dionis Backchurch, London. This position paid him 拢30 per year and also helped him to find music students. During this time Charles made his reputation as a performer on the organ, giving concerts and networking with London musicians. He and Esther became parents to a growing family, which included daughter Esther and son听James (1750-1821).
Musical Composition
Though Charles Burney has not been remembered for his composition skills, he did write music consistently from the late 1740s through the 1760s, and occasionally after that. In addition to stand-alone compositions, he composed some songs for the stage. Much of his work was done in conjunction with his friend James Oswald (1711-1779), a violinist and publisher.
Move to King's Lynn
In 1751, Charles contracted a severe fever which made him bed-ridden for thirteen weeks. During his convalescence, the Burney family moved out of London, to King's Lynn, Norfolk, in the hopes of further improving his health. Charles found a position there as organist for St Margaret's Church. A number of the Burney children were born in King's Lynn, including听Frances (1752-1840),听Susanna (1755-1800), and听Charles (1757-1817). Though Charles found friends in King's Lynn, he visited London every winter, and clearly missed life in the metropolis. In 1760, the Burney family moved back to London.
Remarriage
In September 1762, Esther Burney died after a long illness, and Charles remained a widower for five years. In October 1767, he married Elizabeth Allen (1728-1796), the widow of Stephen Allen, a wealthy merchant from King's Lynn. The couple eventually had two children: Richard Thomas (1768-1808) and听Sarah Harriet (1772-1844).听
European Tours and听A General History of Music
In 1769, Charles received the degree of DMus from Oxford University. The following year, he went on a tour of Europe, during which he visited France, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands. His tour was motivated by a desire to collect material for what was to become the four-volume听A General History of Music听(1776-1789), but some of which was first published as听The Present State of Music in France and Italy听(1771) and听The Present State of Music in Germany, the Netherlands and United Provinces(1773). After the success of these books, Charles invited readers to subscribe to his forthcoming听A General History of Music. The first volume was originally scheduled for 1774, but was actually published in 1776, and the fourth and final volume was issued in 1789. His history was praised for its elegant writing style and for the fact that its author was in fact a practising professional musician.
Other Endeavours
While much of Charles' intellectual life was devoted to听A General History of Music听during this period, he did continue to give music lessons, present a paper to the Royal Society, and deepen a friendship with Samuel Johnson. In 1783, Charles was appointed organist at Chelsea College. He also had ambitions to succeed at the royal court. He dedicated the first volume of听A General History of Music听to Queen Charlotte, and was very pleased when his daughter听Frances听was appointed keeper of the robes to the queen in 1786.
Further Works
After the publication of the final volumes of听A General History of Music听in 1789, Charles turned his attention to other literary endeavours. He was a contributor to the Monthly Review and to Abraham Rees's听Cyclopaedia, and published the听Memoirs of the Life and Writings of the Abate Metastasio(1796).听
Final Years and Death
In 1793, a serious attack of rheumatism sent Charles to Bath. In 1807, he visited Bath again, this time due to a stroke which paralysed his left hand. From 1813 onwards, he was largely confined to his rooms at Chelsea College. On April 12, 1814, Charles died. He was buried in the grounds of the College, along with his second wife, who had died in 1796. A memorial in Westminster Abbey was later installed, which has a glowing epitaph from his daughter听Frances.
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Further Reading
Online Resources
Audio
Made available online by
On the rivalry between Charles Burney and Sir John Hawkins. Featuring Simon Callow as Burney and John Fortune as Hawkins, with contributions from Alvaro Ribeiro, Rosemary Sweet, William 'Bill' Weber, and Kate Chisholm.
Charles Burney: Selected Preludes, Fugues, and Cornet Pieces, by Fernando De Luca -
Charles Burney: Sonatas for Four Hands, by Anna Clemente and Suzanna Piolanti -
'Overture,' The Cunning Man: A Musical Entertainment (1766) -
Alfred听(most music by Burney) (1745/51) -听
Aria. Affettuoso [sonata op. IV, n.1] -
Sonata I in la mag -
Sonata n.1 per piano a 4 mani -
Sonata V in sol mag -
Sonata VI in re mag -
Cornet Pieces (1751) -
Introduction and Cornet Voluntary I -
Cornet Voluntary III -
Cornet Voluntary IV -
Cornet Voluntary - ,
Cornet Piece in A Minor - ,
Piece for Organ -
Pieces for the听Queen Mab听pantomime: ,
Hark the Herald Angels Sing -
Tell Us, O Women - Dialogue Hymn -
Fugue -
Prelude Fuga c minor -
Introduction and Fugue I -
Introduction and Fugue in A Minor -
Fugue in F Minor for Organ - , ,
Fughetta in A -
Introduction and Fuga -
Introduction and Fuga, D-dur [c1787] -
Text
Made available online by the听
Dr Charles Burney DNB entry
By John Wagstaff
Available to online subscribers to the听
By Peter Sabor
Available online at the
Texts by Dr Charles Burney available online
Links compiled by the Burney Centre
The 听(HathiTrust)
A contemporary parody:听.听Third edition on听HathiTrust.
Print Resources
Bander, Elaine. Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies (21 July 2021): 1-18.
Brofsky, Howard.听听65.3 (July 1979): 313-345.
Burney, Charles. "The Cunning Man: A Musical Entertainment in Two Acts."听.听Ed. Noel Chevalier. Peterborough, ON: Broadview听Press, 1995. 165-185.
---.听Music, Men, and Manners in France and Italy 1770.听Ed. H. Edmund Poole. London: Eulenburg Books, 1969.
---.听Dr. Burney's Musical Tours in Europe: An Eighteenth-Century Musical Tour in France and Italy.听Ed. Percy A. Scholes. London: Oxford University Press, 1959.
---.听Dr. Burney's Musical Tours in Europe: An Eighteenth-Century Musical Tour in Central Europe and the Netherlands.听Ed. Percy A. Scholes. London: Oxford University Press, 1959.
Burney, Frances.听Memoirs of Doctor Burney: Arranged from his own Manuscripts, from Family听Papers, and from Personal Recollections, by his Daughter, Madame d'Arblay.听London:听Edward Moxon, 1832.
Grant, Kerry S.听Dr Burney as Critic and Historian of Music.听Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press, 1983.
Highfield, Philip H. Jr., Kalman A. Burmin and Edward A. Langhand, (eds). A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers,and other Stage Personnel in London, (1660-1800): Vol. 2, Belfort to Byzand. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1973, pp. 425-427 [Charles Burney], 427-428 [ Charles Rousseau Burney], 428-429 [Esther Burney].
Klima, Slava, Garry Bowers, and Kerry S. Grant.听Memoirs of Dr. Charles Burney, 1726-1769.听Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1988.
Lonsdale, Roger.听听Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986.
Ribeiro, SJ, Alvaro. "The 'Chit-Chat way': The Letters of Mrs. Thrale and Dr. Burney."听Tradition in听Transition: Women Writers, Marginal Texts, and the Eighteenth-Century Canon.听Ed. Alvaro听Ribeiro, SJ and James G. Basker. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996, pp. 25-40.
---. "Real Business, Elegant Civility, and Rhetorical Structure in Two Letters by Charles Burney."听Sent as a Gift: Eight Correspondences from the Eighteenth Century.听Ed. Alan T. McKenzie.听Athens and London: U of Georgia P, 1993, pp. 90-108.
---. "Prattling upon Paper: The Correspondence of Hester Lynch Thrale and Dr. Charles Burney."听Studies on Voltaire and the Eighteenth Century听304 (1992): 934-37.
---.听The Letters of Dr Charles Burney, Volume I (1751-1784).听New York: Oxford University Press,听1991.
Rogal, J. Samuel. 听The Hymn. New York: Hymn Society of America, 1975-76, pp. 50-56.
Sands, Mollie. "An Oxford Companion to Eighteenth Century Music" [Review of听The Great Doctor Burney]听The Musical Times, vol 89, No. 1267, (Sept 1948): 265-268.
Scholes, P. A.听The Great Dr Burney: his life, his travels, his works, his family and his friends.听London: Oxford University Press, 1948.
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