Samuel Lover (24 February 1797 – 6 July 1868), also known as "Ben Trovato" ("well invented"), was an Irish songwriter, composer and novelist, and a portrait painter, chiefly in miniatures. He was the grandfather of

Victor Herbert Victor August Herbert (February 1, 1859 – May 26, 1924) was an American composer, Cello, cellist and conducting, conductor of English and Irish ancestry and German training. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and co ...

Life

Lover was born at No. 60

Grafton Street Grafton Street () is one of the two principal shopping streets in Dublin city centre — the other being Henry Street. It runs from St Stephen's Green in the south (at the highest point of the street) to College Green in the north (the low ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

and went to school at Samuel Whyte's at No. 79, which now houses

Bewley's Bewley's is an Irish hot beverage company, located in Dublin and founded in 1840, which operates internationally. Its primary business operations are the production of tea and coffee, and the operations of cafés. Bewley's has operations in Ire ...

Café. By 1830 he was Secretary of the

Royal Hibernian Academy The Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts (RHA) is an artist-based and artist-oriented institution in Ireland, founded in Dublin in 1823. Like many other Irish institutions, such as the Royal Irish Academy, the academy retained the word "Royal" after mo ...

and living at No. 9

D'Olier Street D'Olier Street ( ; ) is a street in the southern city-centre of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. It and Westmoreland Street are two broad streets whose northern ends meet at the southern end of O'Connell Bridge over the River Liffey. Its sout ...

. In 1835 he moved to London and began composing music for a series of comic stage works. For some, like the operetta ''Il Paddy Whack in Italia'' (1841), he contributed libretto and music, for others just a few songs. Before committing himself to a literary career, he enjoyed considerable success as a miniature painter. Lover produced many Irish songs, of which several, such as ''The Angel's Whisper'', ''Molly Bawn'', and ''The Four-leaved Shamrock'', gained popularity. He also wrote novels, of which ''

Rory O'Moore Sir Rory O'Moore (; c. 1600 – 16 February 1655), also known Sir Roger O'Moore or O'More or Sir Roger Moore, was an Irish landowner, and is most notable for being one of the four principal organisers of the Irish Rebellion of 1641. Early life ...

'' (in its first form a ballad), and ''Handy Andy'' are best known, and short Irish sketches, which with his songs he combined into a popular entertainment called ''Irish Nights'' or ''Irish Evenings'', with which he toured North America in 1846–1848. He joined

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

in founding ''Bentley's Magazine''.

"When once the itch of literature comes over a man, nothing can cure it but the scratching of a pen." – Samuel Lover

Lover's daughter Fanny was mother to

, a composer remembered for many musicals and operettas premièred on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

. As a child he lived with the Lovers in a musical environment after the divorce of his mother.

Death and legacy

Lover died on 6 July 1868 in

Saint Helier St Helier (; Jèrriais: ; ) is the Capital city, capital of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. It is the most populous of the twelve parishes of Jersey, with a population of 35,822, over one-third of the island' ...

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

. A memorial in

St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin Saint Patrick's Cathedral () in Dublin, Ireland is the national cathedral of the Church of Ireland. Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Christ Church Cathedral, also a Church of Ireland cathedral in Dublin, is designated as the local cathedral of ...

marks his achievements: "Poet, painter, novelist and composer, who, in the exercise of a genius as distinguished in its versatility as in its power, by his pen and pencil illustrated so happily the characteristics of the peasantry of his country that his name will ever be honourably identified with Ireland."

In popular culture

In the 2013 computer game "BioShock Infinite", the Lover piece "Saddle The Pony" (from ''Rory O'More''), is heard in Battleship Bay, where Elizabeth is seen dancing to it. It is performed by an accordion player, a violinist and a pianist.

Selected writings

*''Songs and Legends of the Irish People'' (1831) *''Legends and Stories of Ireland'' (London: Richard Edward King, n.d. 834 *''Rory O'More: A National Romance''. Novel (London: R. Bentley, 1837; repr. London: F. Warne & Co., 1879) *''Songs and Ballads'' (London: Chapman and Hall, 1839) *''Handy Andy. A Tale of Irish Life'' (London: George Routledge and Sons, 1841) *''Treasure Trove/He Would Be a Gentleman''

Selected compositions

Stage (to his own librettos) *''Rory O'More'', comic opera (1837) *''The White Horse of the Peppers'', dramatic romance (1838) *''Snap Apple Night, or A Kick-up in Kerry'', musical drama (1839) *''The Greek Boy'', musical drama (1840) *''Il Paddy Whack in Italia'', 1-act-operetta (1841) *''The Irish Tourist's Ticket'' usic only, text by P.H. Hatch(1853)

Bibliography

*William Bayle Bernard: ''Life of Samuel Lover'' (London: H.S. King & Co. and New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1874) *Andrew James Symington: ''Samuel Lover: A Biographical Sketch'' (London: Blackie & Son, 1880)

References

External links

* * * *

Interpretations

* performed by Sydney Children's Choir; arranged by Jessica Wells
"The Angels Whisper", from "Storm and Calm" by Hawp
and available on YouTube. Original melody and arrangement by Andy Webster. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lover, Samuel 1797 births 1868 deaths 19th-century Irish classical composers 19th-century Irish novelists 19th-century Irish painters 19th-century Irish male artists 19th-century Irish male musicians 19th-century Irish male writers Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery Irish expatriates in the United Kingdom Irish folklorists Irish librettists Irish male novelists Irish male painters Irish male songwriters Irish opera composers Irish male opera composers Musicians from Dublin (city) Painters from Dublin (city) Writers from Dublin (city) 19th-century Irish songwriters Irish historical novelists Writers of historical fiction set in the early modern period 19th-century pseudonymous writers