John Christopher Smith
John Christopher Smith (born Johann Christoph Schmidt; 1712, Ansbach – 3 October 1795, Bath) was an English composer who, following in his father's footsteps, became George Frideric Handel's secretary and amanuensis.
Life
John Christopher Smith was the son of Johann Christoph Schmidt (John Christopher Smith Sr.) (died 1763), Handel's first copyist in London. His father, known to Handel from Halle, was summoned from Germany in 1716. He brought his family to London around 1720.
John Christopher Smith Jr. had a few lessons from Handel and Johann Christoph Pepusch but studied mostly with Thomas Roseingrave. He later became Handel's secretary, musical assistant and amanuensis, when blindness prevented Handel from writing or conducting in his later years. The last year when Handel conducted performances of his oratorios was 1752.
Handel fell out with Smith Sr. in the 1750s, but remained on good terms with the son. From 1753 to the composer's death in 1759, Smith conducted Handel's oratorios that were to be performed in those years. Handel bequeathed to Smith the keyboard instruments in his house at
There was interest in reproducing Handel's music mechanically, using clocks for example. After Handel's death Smith was involved with John Langshaw in a project to transcribe pieces by the composer for barrel organ.[1]
In 1760, he married Martha Coxe, through whom he became step-father to William Coxe.[2]
After the success of his oratorio Paradise Lost in 1760, he became artistic director of the Covent Garden Royal Theatre, a position that he was forced to relinquish due to health reasons in 1772. When granted an annual pension by the King in 1774, Smith retired to Bath.[3]
When his wife died in 1785, he moved to Carlisle Street in London's Soho district, where he died in 1795.[2] A blue plaque stands on the site in commemoration.
Works
Smith's first opera was the Italian-style Teraminta on a libretto by
On the oratorio front, David's Lamentation over Saul and Jonathan on
Among his other works are five volumes of harpsichord music (1732–1763):
- Suites de pièces pour le clavecin, Op. 1 (John Walsh senior, 1732); 6 suites
- Suites de pièces pour le clavecin, Op. 2 (John Walsh senior, 1735); 6 suites
- Six Suits of Lessons for the Harpsicord, Op. 3 (John Walsh junior, 1755)
- A Collection of Lessons for the Harpsicord, Op. 4 (John Walsh junior, 1757)
- XII Sonatas for the Harpsichord, Op. 5 (John Walsh junior, 1765)
a book of hymns (1765), a funeral service (1772) for the dowager Princess of Wales, who was his harpsichord pupil, and two cantatas: Winter, or Daphne on Pope's Fourth Pastoral (1746) and Thamesi, Isi, e Proteo in honor of Frederick, Prince of Wales.[4]
References
- ^ LANMS (2008). "A Chamber Barrel Organ made by John Langshaw of Lancaster c. 1790". LANMS.2003.22. Lancashire County Museum Service. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
- ^ a b Michael Burden, ‘Smith, John Christopher (1712–1795)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 3 Nov 2014
- ^ John Christopher Smith Bath-Heritage.co.uk, the website for Bath's Heritage Plaques.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-108-07094-2
- JSTOR 854953
- Beechey, Gwilym (1970), "The Keyboard Suites of John Christopher Smith (1712-1795)", Revue belge de Musicologie / Belgisch Tijdschrift voor Muziekwetenschap, 24 (1/4): 52–80, JSTOR 3686111
- Hall, James S. (1955), "John Christopher Smith. Handel's Friend and Secretary", The Musical Times, 96 (1345): 132–134, JSTOR 937143
- Van Til, Maria (2007), George Frideric Handel: A Music Lover's Guide to His Life, His Faith & the Development of Messiah and His Other Oratorios, WordPower Publishing, ISBN 978-0-9794785-0-5
- Smith & Handel Julian Perkins (Chandos CHAN 0807). The world-première recording of John Christopher Smith's Six Suites of Lessons for the Harpsichord, op. 3 (London, 1755).
External links
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
