Richard Clark (musician)
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Richard Clark (1780–1856) was an English musician and writer.


Life

Clark was born at
Datchet Datchet is a village and civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England, on the north bank of the River Thames. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Buckinghamshire, and the Stoke Hundred, the vi ...
on 5 April 1780; his mother Elizabeth (b. abt 1753) was a daughter of John Sale the elder (b. 1724 Gainsborough, according to his Grave Stone at St Georges Chapel, Windsor) a lay clerk of
St. George's Chapel, Windsor St George's Chapel, formally titled The King's Free Chapel of the College of St George, Windsor Castle, at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is a Royal Peculiar (a church und ...
, where Clark was admitted at an early age as chorister, under Theodore Aylward. He also sang at
Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...
, under Stephen Heather. In 1802, on the death of his grandfather, Clark succeeded him as lay clerk at St. George's Chapel and Eton College, holding both appointments to 1811. In 1805 he was appointed secretary of the Glee Club, and about the same period occasionally acted as deputy at the
Chapel Royal A chapel royal is an establishment in the British and Canadian royal households serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the royal family. Historically, the chapel royal was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarc ...
for
James Bartleman James Karl Bartleman (24 December 1939 – 14 August 2023) was a Canadian diplomat and author who served as the 27th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 2002 to 2007. Bartleman was a son of Percy Scott Bartleman and Maureen Florence Bartlem ...
; at
St. Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...
for his uncle John Sale; and at Westminster for his cousin, John Bernard Sale. On 3 July 1814 he was elected a member of the
Royal Society of Musicians The Royal Society of Musicians of Great Britain is a Charitable organization, charity in the United Kingdom that supports musicians. It is the oldest music-related charity in Great Britain, founded in 1738 as the ''Fund for Decay'd Musicians'' by a ...
. On 1 October 1820 Clark was appointed a gentleman of the Chapel Royal, in the place of Joseph Corfe. He also acted as deputy-organist for J. Stafford Smith. In 1827 he became a vicar choral of St. Paul's Cathedral and in the following year a lay clerk at
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
. He advocated that the singing men and choristers of cathedrals should regain ancient privileges, of which over time they had been deprived. During his life, Clark kept a scrapbook which is held at the Westminster Abbey Archives. This large scrapbook with a blue outer covering contains letters, and details of various committee meetings held concerning the planning of the Coronation of
William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...
,
George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...
,
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 ...
, and the Installation of the
Knights of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior military officers or senior civil servants, and the monarch awards it on the advice of His ...
. Clark died suddenly at the Litlington Tower, Westminster Abbey, on 5 October 1856.


Marriage and Family

Clark's first wife was Jane Wright also born in 1780.Call Number: ''DL/T/091/027'' By Jane, Richard had five daughters and one son. Caroline Francis b. 1804 Sophia Louise b. 1805; d. 1861 Emma Jane b. 1806 Harriet b. 1809 Susanna b. 1812 Richard Spencer b. 1814; d. 1818 Clark's first wife Jane died in 1821 at the age of 41. On 30 December 1822 Clark married his second wife Harriot Batkin b. 1795.


Works

In 1814 Clark published a collection of poetry selected from the glees and catches sung at the Catch Club and other similar meetings. In the preface to this book was an account of ''
God Save the King "God Save the King" ("God Save the Queen" when the monarch is female) is ''de facto'' the national anthem of the United Kingdom. It is one of national anthems of New Zealand, two national anthems of New Zealand and the royal anthem of the Isle ...
'', the British national anthem, in which the authorship was attributed to
Henry Carey Henry Carey may refer to: *Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon (1526–1596), politician, general, and potential illegitimate son of Henry VIII *Henry Carey, 1st Earl of Dover (1580–1666), English peer *Henry Carey, 2nd Earl of Monmouth (1596–1661), ...
. A second edition appeared in 1824, in which this account was omitted, two years after Clark had started a controversy as to the authorship of the national anthem by publishing a pamphlet upon the subject, in which he attributed it to the Elizabethan composer
John Bull John Bull is a national personification of England, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged, country-dwelling, jolly and matter-of-fact man. He originated in satirical works of ...
. In 1836 Clark brought out ''Reminiscences of Handel''. In it he claimed that the air known as ''
The Harmonious Blacksmith ''The Harmonious Blacksmith'' is the popular name of the final movement, ''Air and variations'', of George Frideric Handel's Suite No. 5 in E major, HWV 430, for harpsichord. This instrumental air was one of the first works for harpsichord pu ...
'' had been sung by a blacksmith at
Cannons A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during t ...
, near
Edgware Edgware () is a suburban town in northwest London. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex east of the ancient Watling Street in what is now the London Borough of Barnet but it is now informally considered to cover a wider area, inc ...
, of the name of Powell, and overheard by
Georg Frideric 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, Han ...
. He set up memorials to Powell, and bought an anvil on which (he claimed) the blacksmith accompanied his song. In 1841 Clark returned to the subject of John Bull, and issued a prospectus for the publication of all the extant works of the Elizabethan composer. In 1843 he published an arrangement of an organ or virginal '' Miserere'' of Bull's, to which he fitted words; it was performed at
Christ Church, Newgate Street Christ Church Greyfriars, also known as Christ Church Newgate Street, was a church in Newgate Street, opposite St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London. Established as a monastic church in the thirteenth century, it became a parish church afte ...
, on 3 August 1843, before the
King of Hanover The King of Hanover () was the official title of the head of state and Hereditary monarchy, hereditary ruler of the Kingdom of Hanover, beginning with the proclamation of List of British monarchs, King George III of the United Kingdom, as "King o ...
. In 1847 Clark advocated the erection of a monument to
William Caxton William Caxton () was an English merchant, diplomat and writer. He is thought to be the first person to introduce a printing press into Kingdom of England, England in 1476, and as a Printer (publishing), printer to be the first English retailer ...
; his letters on this subject to the ''
Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
'' were republished in pamphlet form. In 1852 he printed a short essay on the derivation of the word "
madrigal A madrigal is a form of secular vocal music most typical of the Renaissance (15th–16th centuries) and early Baroque (1580–1650) periods, although revisited by some later European composers. The polyphonic madrigal is unaccompanied, and the ...
". Clark was also the composer of a number of anthems.


Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Richard 1780 births 1856 deaths English singers People from Datchet 19th-century English musicians