Andrew Black (15 January 1859 – 15 September 1920) was a Scottish

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

who was primarily known for his performances in

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

s and other works from the concert repertoire. He was particularly admired for his performances of

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions inc ...

's ''

Elijah Elijah ( ) or Elias was a prophet and miracle worker who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Ahab (9th century BC), according to the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible. In 1 Kings 18, Elijah defended the worsh ...

'' which he first performed at the

Birmingham Triennial Music Festival The Birmingham Triennial Musical Festival, in Birmingham, England, founded in 1784, was the longest-running European classical music, classical music festival of its kind. It last took place in 1912. History The first music festival, over th ...

in 1894. He made several recordings for the

Gramophone Company The Gramophone Company Limited was a British phonograph manufacturer and record label, founded in April 1898 by Emil Berliner. It was one of the earliest record labels. The company purchased the His Master's Voice painting and trademark righ ...

in London from 1901-1906 which are chronicled in volume one of '' The Record of Singing''.

Biography

Andrew Black was born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

on 15 January 1859. He began his career as a church organist with the United Presbyterian Church in Glasgow. He then studied singing with

Alberto Randegger Alberto Randegger (13 April 1832 – 18 December 1911) was an Italian-born composer, conductor and singing teacher, best known for promoting opera and new works of British music in England during the Victorian era and for his widely used textbook ...

and John B. Welch in London, and later with Domenico Scafati in Milan. He began his career as a concert singer in Scotland, and had his first major critical success in 1887 at

The Crystal Palace The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibitors from around ...

in London. In 1892 he made his debut at the

Leeds Festival The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading, Berkshire, Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend ...

as the Spectre in

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8September 18411May 1904) was a Czech composer. He frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predec ...

's '' The Spectre's Bride''. In 1893 he was the tenor soloist in the world premiere of Dvořák's ''Mass in D major'', and in 1903 he sang the role of Judas in the world premiere of

Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

's '' The Apostles''. He was appointed to the staff of the

Royal Northern College of Music The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) is a conservatoire located in Manchester, England. It is one of four conservatoires associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. In addition to being a centre of music education ...

in 1893. Following the death of his wife, a sister of

Ivan Caryll Félix Marie Henri Tilkin (12 May 1861 – 29 November 1921), better known by his pen name Ivan Caryll, was a Belgian-born composer of operettas and Edwardian musical comedies in the English language, who made his career in London and later N ...

, Black left for Australia on account of his health, and settled in Sydney. He subsequently toured Australia to great acclaim. He married a widow, Mrs Lichtscheindel. He died on the morning of 15 September 1920 at his residence, the Cafe Français,

George Street, Sydney George Street is a street in the Sydney central business district, central business district of Sydney. It was Sydney's original high street, and remains one of the busiest streets in the city centre. It connects a number of the city's most im ...

. His remains were buried at the South Head Cemetery. Mrs Black was among those at the funeral.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Black, Andrew 1859 births 1920 deaths Scottish operatic baritones 20th-century Scottish male opera singers 19th-century Scottish male opera singers Academics of the Royal Northern College of Music