Sidney Nelson (1 January 1800 – 7 April 1862) was an English composer, particularly of songs, including the popular "

Rose of Allendale A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be e ...

" and "Mary of Argyle".

Life

Nelson was born in London in 1800, son of Solomon Nelson. Showing musical ability when quite young, he was adopted by a gentleman who gave him a good musical and general education. He was for some time a pupil of Sir George Smart, and eventually became a teacher in London. He was in partnership with Charles Jefferys as a music-seller until 1843, when he was elected an associate of the Philharmonic Society. Subsequently he became a music publisher, but, being unsuccessful, he arranged a musical and dramatic entertainment with members of his family, and went on tour in North America, Canada, and Australia. He married Sarah Moss, and had several children, including actresses and singers: Mrs Eliza Craven, Carrie Nelson, Sarah Nelson, and Maria Nelson, mother of

Effie Adelaide Rowlands Effie Adelaide Maria Henderson (later Rowlands and Albanesi; c.1859 – 16 October 1936) was a British novelist, better known under the pen names Effie Adelaide Rowlands, E. Maria Albanesi and Madame Albanesi. She was the author of more than 1 ...

and Carrie Sidney. He died in

Russell Square Russell Square is a large garden square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden, built predominantly by the firm of James Burton (property developer), James Burton. It is near the University of London's main buildings and the British Mus ...

, London on 7 April 1862, and was buried at

West Ham West Ham is a district in East London, England and is in the London Borough of Newham. It is an inner-city suburb located east of Charing Cross. The area was originally an ancient parish formed to serve parts of the older Manor of Ham, a ...

; he left a widow, Sarah, and son Alfred Nelson.

Compositions

Nelson was a prolific composer, and claimed to have written about eight hundred pieces, some of which were published under an assumed name. He composed a

burletta In theater and music history, a burletta (Italian, meaning "little joke", sometimes burla or burlettina) is a brief comic opera. In eighteenth-century Italy, a burletta was the comic intermezzo between the acts of an ''opera seria''. The extended w ...

, ''The Grenadier'', produced by Madame Vestris at the Olympic Theatre; ''The Cadi's Daughter'', performed after ''Macbeth'' for William Macready's farewell benefit; and ''The Village Nightingale'', words by Henry Thornton Craven, his son-in-law. He had a grand opera, ''Ulrica'', in rehearsal at the

Princess's Theatre, London The Princess's Theatre or Princess Theatre was a theatre in Oxford Street, London. The building opened in 1828 as the "Queen's Bazaar" and housed a diorama by Clarkson Stanfield and David Roberts. It was converted into a theatre and opened in 18 ...

under John Medex Maddox's management, but, owing to some dispute, it was not produced. He was the author of ''Instructions in the Art of Singing'' and composed many duets, trios, piano pieces, and songs; some of the latter, such as "The Pilot" and "

", attained considerable popularity. "Mary of Argyle" also became popular."Mary of Argyle"
National Jukebox at

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

. Retrieved 16 February 2018.

References

Attribution *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Sydney 1800 births 1862 deaths 19th-century English composers