Samuel Thomas Champnes (died 1803) was the first person to sing " Heart of Oak" in '' Harlequin's Invasion'' at the Garrick Theatre in Drury lane. A former Westminster Chorister, probably owing to his maternal grandfather being John Weldon an apprentice to Purcell and a Royal Organist at St George's Chapel. (This connection was made using John's will.) Champnes went on to be one 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 concertos. Handel received his training i ...

's soloists. According to Peter Ward Jones, music librarian of the Bodleian Library, "Champness had sung in Handel performances as a boy treble in the 1740s (according to the article on him in the ''Biographical Dictionary of Actors'' ), and Handel had apparently written several arias for the part of the young Benjamin in his oratorio ''

Joseph and his Brethren ''Joseph'' ( HWV 59) is an oratorio by George Frideric Handel completed in the summer of 1743. ''Joseph'' is composed to an English language libretto by the Reverend James Miller, based on Apostolo Zeno's Italian language libretto for ''Gius ...

'' for Champness in 1744, and he may well have sung in the choruses of '' Messiah'' as a boy."''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Champnes, Samuel Thomas Year of birth missing 1803 deaths English male singers Members of the Royal Society of Musicians