George Frederick Perry (1793 – 4 March 1862) was a British violinist and organist, and composer of operas and

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. He was musical director of the

Haymarket Theatre The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre in Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in ...

, and later was leader of the orchestra of the Sacred Harmonic Society.

Early years

Perry was born in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

in 1793; his father was a turner and an amateur bass singer who took part in the annual performance of an oratorio at the cathedral, under John Christmas Beckwith. Through Beckwith, Perry became a member of the cathedral choir, and his musical ability was noticed. Perry locally learned violin and piano, also harmony and composition. About 1818 Perry became leader of the orchestra at the

Theatre Royal, Norwich The Theatre Royal is a theatre in Norwich, England. It is one of the country's oldest established theatres, founded in 1758. It was rebuilt in 1801 and 1826. It burnt down in 1934 and was bombed during World War II. Peter Wilson ran the theat ...

, then an institution enjoying a high reputation. Perry wrote an oratorio, ''The Death of Abel'' (text by George Bennett of the Norwich Theatre), which was first performed in Norwich, and afterwards repeated by the Sacred Harmonic Society in 1841 and 1845. Shortly after his appointment to the theatre he wrote another oratorio, ''Elijah and the Priests of Baal'', to a text by James Plumptre, which was first performed in Norwich on 12 March 1819.

Haymarket Theatre

About 1822 Perry was appointed musical director of the

in London, where he wrote a number of operas. His comic opera ''Morning, Noon, and Night'', with libretto by Thomas John Dibdin, included Madame Vestris in the cast; its opening night was 9 September 1822. A few years later he produced the oratorio ''The Fall of Jerusalem'', the text compiled from a poem by

Henry Hart Milman Henry Hart Milman (10 February 1791 – 24 September 1868) was an English historian and ecclesiastic. Life He was born in London, the third son of Sir Francis Milman, 1st Baronet, physician to King George III (see Milman Baronets). Educa ...

. A song from the oratorio, "Fair are the flowers", was reviewed in 1828: "The song perhaps cannot be said to contain either novel or striking ideas, yet it is by no means commonplace, for there is a prevailing good taste which uniformly preserves it from falling into the beaten track of everyday compositions." While still holding his appointment at the Haymarket, Perry became organist of the Quebec Chapel, and later, from 1846, organist of Trinity Church, Gray's Inn Road.

Sacred Harmonic Society

In 1832 the Sacred Harmonic Society, an amateur choral society, was founded in London, and Perry was chosen as leader of the orchestra. It performed sacred works, particular those of

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

. At their first concert, on 15 January 1833, the programme contained a selection from Perry's oratorios ''The Fall of Jerusalem'' and ''The Death of Abel''. From 1836 the Society gave concerts in the

Exeter Hall Exeter Hall was a large public meeting place on the north side of the Strand in central London, opposite where the Savoy Hotel now stands. From 1831 until 1907 Exeter Hall was the venue for many great gatherings of activists for various cause ...

in London. Perry was connected with the society until 1848; during his time there, Perry was never absent from a performance. In 1847 he led the orchestra in the first performance in London of the revised version of

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 period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonie ...

's ''Elijah'' with the composer conducting. The Times said: "Mr. Perry, the leader, was constantly beating time with his fiddle-stick in such a manner as to obstruct the views of the Conductor and confuse the attention of the instrumentalists." A performance in 1838 of ''The Fall of Jerusalem'' by the Society at the Exeter Hall, with Perry "the zealous and enthusiastic leader" of the orchestra, was reviewed: "The prevailing defect is an absence of dramatic feeling.... The music is too tame, too sluggish, for the due expression of the passions, which the characters embody.... The style in which the composition is written, supplies evident proofs of Mr. Perry's intimate acquaintance with choral music.... Many of the movements, if they reveal no striking beauties, present no glaring defects.... The choral fugues are not elaborately worked; but yet there are displayed in them a steadiness of purpose, and simplicity of outline, which demand commendation...." Perry also wrote an oratorio, ''Hezekiah'' (1847); a sacred cantata, ''Belshazzar's Feast'' (1836); a festival anthem with orchestral accompaniment; and ''Blessed be the Lord thy God'', for

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

's accession (1838). His ''Thanksgiving Anthem for the Birth of the Princess Royal'' (1840) was performed with great success by the Sacred Harmonic Society, the orchestra and chorus numbering five hundred, Caradori Allan being the solo vocalist. He also wrote additional accompaniments to a number of Handel's works, and made scores for piano of several more. Perry died on 4 March 1862, and was buried at

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of North Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in P ...

Composing method

Perry's undoubted gifts enabled him to imitate rather than to create. His fluency proved disastrous to the character of his work. It is said that he was in the habit of writing out the instrumental parts of his large compositions from memory before he had made a full orchestral score, and he frequently composed as many as four or five works simultaneously, writing a page of one while the ink of another was drying.

References

Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, George 1793 births 1862 deaths 19th-century British classical composers 19th-century English musicians Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery English opera composers British male opera composers Oratorio composers 19th-century British composers 19th-century British male musicians