Samuel Wesley

Samuel Wesley

Samuel Wesley (24 February 1766 – 11 October 1837) was an English organist and composer in the late Georgian period. Wesley was a contemporary of Mozart (1756 – 1791) and was called by some "the English Mozart."

Personal life

Born in Bristol, England, he was the son of noted Methodist and hymn-writer Charles Wesley, the grandson of Samuel Wesley (a poet of the late Stuart period) and the nephew of John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist church.

Samuel informed his mother of his philosophical conviction that his marriage had been constituted by sexual intercourse, precluding any civil or religious ceremony, but after a scandalous delay he married Charlotte Louise Martin in 1793, and they had 3 children. A book published in 2001 provides a fascinating account of how Samuel Wesley's marriage to Charlotte finally broke up with her discovery of Samuel's affair with the teenage domestic servant Sarah Suter. Samuel and Sarah never married but had 7 children together, among them Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810-1876) who was a cathedral organist.

Career

Samuel showed his musical talent early in life. He played the violin as well as the organ, and worked as a conductor as well as a music lecturer. Many of his best-known compositions were written for the church; they include the motet "In exitu Israel". His secular compositions include the five part madrigal "O singe unto mie roundelaie" set to the well known poem by Thomas Chatterton.

In 1788 Wesley was initiated into freemasonry in the Lodge of Antiquity. The Duke of Sussex appointed him Grand Organist in 1812, but he resigned the appointment in 1818.

Samuel died in 1837 and was buried in Saint Marylebone Old Parish Church, London.

References

* "Samuel Wesley (1766-1837): A Source Book" (by Michael Kassler and Philip Olleson, published 2001 by Ashgate)

*"The Letters of Samuel Wesley: Professional and Social Correspondence, 1797-1837" (edited by Philip Olleson and published 2001 by Oxford University Press)

External links

*ChoralWiki
*WIMA|idx=S.Wesley|name=Samuel Wesley
* [http://www.musicweb-international.com/Redcliffe/wesley.htm Works by Samuel Wesley (1766-1837)]
* [http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=sjm2004&id=I0134 Family tree of Methodist founder John Wesley (link starts with Samuel Wesley)]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Samuel Wesley — (* 24. Februar 1766 in Bristol; † 11. Oktober 1837) war ein englischer Organist und Komponist. Er wurde als Sohn von Charles Wesley und als Neffe von John Wesley geboren. Wesley hat sich einen beachtlichen Ruf als Organist erworben, unter seinen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Samuel Wesley — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Wesley. Samuel Wesley …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Samuel Wesley Stratton — (1861 1931) was a U.S. administrator and educator. In March 1901, President William McKinley appointed him as the first director of the Bureau of Standards. He served until 1923. He also served as the president of MIT from January 1923 until 1930 …   Wikipedia

  • Samuel Wesley (poète) — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Wesley. Samuel Wesley (17 décembre 1662 – 15 avril 1735) est un poète et écrivain de prose anglais. Biographie Le père de Samuel Wesley est le révérend non conformiste John Westley. Il se… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Samuel Wesley (poet) — ; in his own time he was known to many as a poet and a writer of controversial prose.FamilyThe father of Samuel Wesley was the Rev. John Westley, rector of Winterborne Whitechurch, Dorset. His mother was the daughter of Rev. John White… …   Wikipedia

  • Wesley — may refer to: urname*The Wesley family, founders of Methodism and noted musicians, including: **Samuel Wesley (poet) (1662 1735), minister and Stuart poet **John Wesley (1703 1791), son of the above, the Founder of the Methodist denomination of… …   Wikipedia

  • Samuel Sebastian Wesley — (14 August 1810 ndash; 19 April 1876) was an English organist and composer.He was born in London, the son of the composer Samuel Wesley and his partner Sarah Suter, and grandson of Charles Wesley. After singing in the choir of the Chapel Royal as …   Wikipedia

  • Wesley — ist der Familiennamen folgender Personen: Charles Wesley (1707–1788), englischer Theologe Fred Wesley (* 1944), US amerikanischer Posaunist Glen Wesley (* 1968), kanadischer Eishockeyspieler James Paul Wesley (1921–2007), US amerikanischer… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Samuel S. Stratton — Samuel Stratton redirects here. For the MIT President, see Samuel Wesley Stratton. For the Middlebury President, see Samuel Somerville Stratton.Samuel Studdiford Stratton (September 27, 1916–September 13, 1990) was a United States congressman,… …   Wikipedia

  • Samuel Calvert — Samuel Wesley Calvert was a soldier and municipal politician and a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.In World War I Samuel Calvert saw combat action as a member of the 19th Alberta Dragoons.Samuel served as Mayor of Chipman,… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”