Richard Jones (1680? - died 20 January 1744) was an English

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and violinist. Jones's first publication appeared in 1720, a solo cantata ''While in a Lovely Rurall Seat''. He was associated with the

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the boundary between the Covent Garden and Holborn areas of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of London Borough of Camden, Camden and the southern part in the City o ...

Theater Orchestra in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

possibly as early as 1723; according to John Hawkins, in 1730 he succeeded Stefano Carbonelli as the orchestra's leader. He taught violin as well;

Michael Christian Festing Michael Christian Festing (29 November 1705 – 24 July 1752) was an English violinist and composer. His reputation lies mostly on his work as a violin virtuoso. Biography Michael Christian Festing was born in London to parents John and Elizabet ...

was one of his pupils. He was a stage composer at a time when

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 ...

's music dominated the British stage, and much of his music, or what of it survives, shows clear Italianate influence. He died in 1744, of which his position in Drury Lane was succeeded by Richard Clarke. Like the details of his life, little of Jones's music survives. His

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

stage works and

ballad opera The ballad opera is a genre of England, English ''comic opera'' stage play that originated in the early 18th century, and continued to develop over the following century and later. Like the earlier ''comédie en vaudeville'' and the later ''Sings ...

s are all lost except for a keyboard reduction of the overture to ''The Miser'' and 18 pieces which are probably from the same work. His keyboard and violin suites have been noted for their wide, angular leaps and unconventional structure.

Works

;Stage *''Apollo and Daphne'', masque (1725, music lost) (Written with John Thurmond, and

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), ...

*''The Miser'', pantomime (1726, music lost; keyboard reduction survives in part) (Written with John Thurmond) *''The Mock Doctor'', ballad opera (1732, music lost) *''Hymen's Triumph'', pantomime (1737, music lost) ;Other *''While in a Lovely Rurall Seat'', cantata (1720) *''6 Suits or Setts of Lessons'' for keyboard (1732) *''8 Chamber Air's'' for violin and

basso continuo Basso continuo parts, almost universal in the Baroque era (1600–1750), provided the harmonic structure of the music by supplying a bassline and a chord progression. The phrase is often shortened to continuo, and the instrumentalists playing th ...

, op. 2 (1735) *''6 Suites of Lessons'' for violin and basso continuo, op. 3 (1741) *''Sonata in A minor''

References

*Richard Platt, "Richard Jones". ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and t ...

'' online. * Richard Jonesat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

1744 deaths English Baroque composers Year of birth unknown 18th-century English classical composers 18th-century English male musicians English male classical composers English classical violinists 18th-century violinists English male violinists English male classical violinists Year of birth uncertain {{England-musician-stub