Thomas Carter (May 1769 – 8 November 1800) was an Irish composer resident in London during the most creative years of his short life.

Life

Carter probably belonged to an extended family of

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 ...

musicians including, among others, Timothy Carter (c. 1715–1772) and (Charles) Thomas Carter (c. 1735–1804), with whose works his were often confused as both published music 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 ...

in the 1790s and used to abbreviate their name as "T. Carter". Other sources suggest that he was an illegitimate son of the

Earl of Inchiquin Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The titl ...

. He was born in Dublin and seems to have shown an exceptional musical talent since his childhood. Sponsored by the Earl of Inchiquin, he went to study music in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, around 1788, where he became a protégé of Sir William Hamilton. He then went to

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, to become the theatre's music director, but had to relocate to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in July 1789 for health reasons. He married Mary Wells from

Cookham Cookham is a historic River Thames, Thames-side village and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the north-eastern edge of Berkshire, England, north-north-east of Maidenhead and opposite the village of Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, Bourne ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

, in 1793. When he died in London at age 31, the ''

Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1907, ceasing publication altogether in 1922. It was the first to use the term '' ...

'' described him as "a victim, in early life, to the fatal ravages of the liver complaint".

Music

In ''

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 ...

'' (1980 edition), Roger Fiske made the first attempt to distinguish between the works of Thomas Carter and his near-namesake (Charles) Thomas Carter. According to him, many songs published after 1793 can be attributed to Thomas, including the duet ''Goodman White and Gaffer Grey'' op. 24 (c. 1796) and a ''Canzonet'' op. 25 (c. 1796) for one or two voices, as well as the collection ''Songs, Duos, Trios, Catches, Glees and Canons'' op. 27 (n.d.). These pieces were published "for the composer" (that is, at his own expense), with Fiske assuming that the marriage to Miss Wells brought him money. The list would also include the ''Six Easy Lessons for the Harpsichord or Pianoforte'' op. 3 (n.d.). As his wife was from Berkshire, the ''Berkshire Militia March'' (c. 1795) may also be his.Boydell/Klein (2013), p. 166.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Thomas 1769 births 1800 deaths 18th-century Irish classical composers 18th-century British male musicians Composers for piano Deaths from liver disease Glee composers Irish classical composers Irish expatriates in the United Kingdom Irish male classical composers Composers from Dublin (city)