Thomas Norris (baptised 15 August 1741 – 5 September 1790) was an English musician, known as a singer and composer.

Life

The son of John Norris of

Mere, Wiltshire Mere is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It lies at the extreme southwestern tip of Salisbury Plain, close to the borders of Somerset and Dorset. The parish includes the Hamlet (place), hamlets of ...

, he was baptised there on 15 August 1741. He became a chorister in

Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Salisbury, England. The cathedral is regarded as one of the leading examples of Early English architecture, ...

under John Stephens. James Harris wrote a pastoral operetta to introduce Norris to the public. He then sang as a soprano at the Worcester and Hereford festivals of 1761–62, and at

Drury Lane Theatre The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dru ...

in a ''

pasticcio In music, a ''pasticcio'' or ''pastiche'' is an opera or other musical work composed of works by different composers who may or may not have been working together, or an adaptation or localization of an existing work that is loose, unauthorized, ...

'', ''The Spring''. In 1765 he was appointed organist of Christ Church and of

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...

, and in the same year graduated Mus. Bac.; in 1771 he was admitted a lay clerk of

Magdalen College Magdalen College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and one of the strongest academically, se ...

. He appeared as a tenor at the Gloucester festival in 1766, and sang at the

Three Choirs festival 200px, Worcester cathedral 200px, Gloucester cathedral The Three Choirs Festival is a music festival held annually at the end of July, rotating among the cathedrals of the Three Counties (Hereford, Gloucester, and Worcester) and originally fe ...

s until 1788. He was one of the principal singers at the first Handel commemoration festival in 1784, and his success there led to engagements for

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

parts in London. Norris was a drinker. His last appearance was at the Birmingham festival of 1790; he died at Himley Hall, near

Stourbridge Stourbridge () is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Situated on the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour, the town lies around west of Birmingham, at the southwester ...

, on 5 September that year.

Works

Norris composed mostly church music, including several anthems, one of which was printed, as well as catches, canons and glees, some of which are included in

Thomas Warren Thomas Warren (fl. 1727–1767) was an English bookseller, printer, publisher and businessman. Warren was an influential figure in Birmingham at a time when it was a hotbed of creative activity, opening a bookshop in High Street, Birmingham arou ...

's ''Collections''. His instrumental works included six symphonies for strings, oboes, and horns, published around 1772, and an overture for ''

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

'', written in 1774. Jürgen Schaarwächter says that "his compositions are neither melodically nor harmonically especially interesting; consequently they - and he - have been nearly entirely forgotten".Jürgen Schaarwächter. ''Two Centuries of British Symphonism'' (2015), p. 41

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Norris, Thomas 1741 births 1790 deaths English singers Musicians from Wiltshire 18th-century English composers 18th-century English male musicians 18th-century English singers People from Mere, Wiltshire