Matthias Hawdon (1732–1789) was an English composer and organist based in the

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire t ...

and

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is a ...

Life

He was the son of Thomas Hawdon, and christened on 24 October 1732 in All Saints' Church, Newcastle upon Tyne. He studied organ under Charles Avison. He married Mary Browne on 6 March 1760 in

Holy Trinity Church, Hull Hull Minster is the Anglican minster and the parish church of Kingston upon Hull in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The church was called Holy Trinity Church until 13 May 2017 when it became Hull Minster. History It is the largest pa ...

. His son, Thomas Hawdon, was also an organist, and followed in his footsteps as organist of

in 1787. In 1776 he returned to Newcastle after the death of Edward Avison (son of his teacher, Charles Avison) from whom he took over the promotion of a concert subscription series in the city, but this bankrupted him in 1781. He was also organist of St. Nicholas' Church, Newcastle.

Appointments

*Organist at

1751 – 1769Hull Daily Mail – Monday 4 April 1927 *Organist at

Beverley Minster Beverley Minster, otherwise known as the Parish Church of Saint John and Saint Martin, in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire, is a parish church in the Church of England. It is one of the largest parish churches in the UK, larger than one-thi ...

1769 – 1776 *Organist at St. Nicholas' Church, Newcastle 1776 – 1789

Compositions

He wrote: *A new song 1755 *Beauty's power 1765 *Innocence and love 1770 *Six conversion sonatas for the harpsichord or pianoforte, with accompaniments for two violins and violoncello, opera second 1775 *Fancy sung by Mr. Morgan 1780 *Two concertos: for the organ or harpsichord with instrumental parts. 1780 *Six Sonatas Spirituale or Voluntaries – Opus 4, 1784

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawdon, Matthias 1732 births 1789 deaths English organists British male organists English composers 18th-century composers 18th-century British male musicians 18th-century keyboardists