Polly Young
Polly Young (also known as Mary Young, Maria Young, Polly Barthélemon and Maria Barthélemon) (7 July 1749 – 20 September 1799) 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. Her husband, François-Hippolyte Barthélémon, was a composer and violinist, and their daughter, Cecilia Maria Barthélemon, was also a composer and opera singer.[1]
Biography
Polly Young was born in Covent Garden, London on 7 July 1749. Her father, Charles Young, was a clerk at the Treasury.[2] She was the youngest of three daughters, her oldest sister Isabella becoming a successful soprano and her other sister Elizabeth a successful contralto. Both her grandfather, Charles Young, and her great-uncle, Anthony Young, were notable organists and composers. She also had three famous aunts who were all notable singers. Her aunt Cecilia (1712–1789) was one of the greatest English sopranos of the 18th century and the wife of composer Thomas Arne. Their son, Michael Arne, was also a successful composer. Her aunt Isabella was a successful soprano and the wife of composer John Frederick Lampe, while her aunt Esther was a well-known contralto and wife to Charles Jones, a successful music publisher in England during the 18th century.[3]
Young was a
In September 1762 Young returned to London to make her début on the London stage at the
Following her marriage, Young mostly appeared in performances with her husband at the Italian opera, in oratorios and in performances at the pleasure gardens. Young also began to compose and publish music; most notably a set of six sonatas for harpsichord or piano and violin was published in 1776 under the name Maria Barthélemon. The Barthélemons travelled to Ireland to perform fairly often and had a highly successful tour of Europe in 1776–77. While on tour, Young sang in her husband's oratorio Jefte in Florence and gave concerts before Marie Antoinette and her sister Maria Carolina of Austria, the de facto Queen of Naples. The Barthélemons' daughter, Cecilia Maria, also sang in these performances. The family continued to prosper after returning to London in 1777, giving numerous lauded concerts in venues throughout the city.
In the 1780s the Barthélemons' careers became less successful and they found work increasingly hard to get. Young complained in a letter to The Morning Post on 2 November 1784 that she was refused engagements, styling herself "an English Woman, of an unblemished reputation". Regardless, the Barthélemons managed to scrape by and were never outside of the important music circles in London. Haydn visited the couple while he was in England in 1792. In May of that year he accompanied Young in airs by Handel and Sacchini in a London concert.[4]
In 1786 Young published a set of six English and Italian songs, Op. 2. Subsequently the Barthélemons began attending the chapel at the
Works
- 6 Sonatas for Keyboard and Violin, Op.1 (1776)
- 6 English and Italian Songs, Op.2 (1786)
- 3 Hymns and 3 Anthems, Op.3 (1795)
- The Weaver's Prayer, Op.4 (1795)
- Ode on the Preservation of the King, Op.5 (1795)
References
- ^ D Hayes, "Maria Barthelemon: Introduction," in Women Composers: Music Through the Ages (G.K. Hall, 1995– ), vol. 5: 69–87.
- ^ Olive Baldwin, Thelma Wilson: "Charles Young", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 12 January 2009), (subscription access)
- ^ Olive Baldwin, Thelma Wilson: "Cecilia Young", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 12 January 2009), (subscription access)
- ^ a b c d e Olive Baldwin, Thelma Wilson: "Polly Young", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 12 January 2009), (subscription access)
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