Isaac Nathan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Isaac Nathan
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Isaac Nathan c. 1820; artist unknown, probably one of Lord Byron's portraitists.
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| Born | c. 1791 |
| Died | January 15, 1864 |
| Occupation | Composer, musicologist, journalist |
| Relatives | Barnett Nathan (brother) |
Isaac Nathan (1792–1864) was an English composer, music expert, and journalist. He is often called the "father of Australian music." Nathan helped many musicians in Australia during his 20 years there.
He was best known for his successful Hebrew Melodies (1815-1840) in London. He also taught singing and wrote music history. Later, in Australia, Nathan wrote the country's first operas. He also created Australia's first modern song cycle, mixing Aboriginal song traditions with European music. Nathan was a great teacher, helping students like Mary Anne Lucy Chambers and Dame Marie Carandini. These students later taught Dame Nellie Melba, a very famous singer.
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Early Musical Success
Isaac Nathan was born around 1791 or 1792 in Canterbury, England. His father was a chazzan (a Jewish cantor, or singer in a synagogue) from Poland. His mother was English Jewish. Isaac was first meant to follow his father's path and studied at a Jewish night school.
As a child, Nathan played the violin, piano, and organ. He loved music and became a student of Domenico Corri, a famous Italian singing teacher in London. Corri taught Nathan the Neapolitan bel canto style, a beautiful way of singing opera.
In 1813, Nathan had an idea to publish music based on synagogue tunes. He convinced the famous poet Lord Byron to write the words for these songs. The result was Byron's well-known Hebrew Melodies. Nathan's musical settings of these poems were printed for most of the 1800s. New versions were still being published even in 1861.
The Hebrew Melodies mostly used tunes from synagogue services. Nathan claimed these tunes came from ancient times, but many were actually European folk songs. These folk songs had become part of synagogue services over many years, with new religious words added. However, this was the first time traditional synagogue music was shared with the general public. To help sell the music, Nathan got the famous Jewish singer John Braham to put his name on the cover. Braham got a share of the profits, even though he didn't help create the Melodies.
The success of the Melodies made Nathan quite famous. For a time, he taught singing at St James Palace. He claimed that one of his students was Princess Charlotte, the Princess Royal. He also said he was the music librarian to the Prince Regent, who later became King George IV. There is proof of this claim. Nathan's sheet music has been found in the Royal Archives in Princess Sophia Augusta's music collection. It's likely that the princess's singing teacher chose the music she sang. It's also unlikely another teacher would have chosen Nathan's music, as he protected his copyrights. His edition of the Hebrew Melodies was even dedicated to the Princess with royal permission.
Challenges and Return to London
In 1816, Lord Byron left England and never returned. Nathan lost his support. In 1817, Princess Charlotte, his royal student, died. Nathan had now lost two important people who supported his work.
Nathan faced financial problems. He gambled on boxing matches, which caused money troubles. He may have even spent time in prison because of debts. His copyright for Hebrew Melodies should have brought him money. At one point, he sold it to his married sister to keep it from being lost due to bankruptcy. But it became caught up in complicated legal fights. He tried a publishing business with his brother Barnett Nathan. Isaac Nathan even had to hide from people he owed money to.
In 1823, Nathan's father passed away. Nathan returned to London, possibly with money he inherited. He published a history of music in 1823. This book was dedicated to King George IV. It showed his deep understanding of the Bible and Jewish traditions in its section on Jewish music. The book, called Essay on the History and Theory of Music, included 90 pages of singing exercises. These exercises were based on the Neapolitan bel canto tradition that Nathan taught.
This work was meant to be a plan for the new Royal Academy of Music. Nathan probably hoped to become the Professor of Singing there. He wanted to teach the old Italian opera singing style in London. Nathan didn't get the job, but he was given a different opportunity. He was asked to write operas for the Royal Theatres. Nathan wrote at least five operas between 1823 and 1833. Many of his songs became very popular. He also wrote often for London newspapers about boxing and music.
By the 1830s, Nathan was one of the best singing teachers in the world. In 1836, his book Musurgia Vocalis (a second edition of his music history) made him a top expert on the bel canto tradition. One of his students was a young Robert Browning, who later became a great English poet. Sixty years later, Browning remembered Nathan as his best singing teacher. He said Nathan used "certain traditional Jewish methods of developing the voice."
A Royal Mission
From 1837 to 1839, King William IV gave Nathan a secret mission. He was given a letter with the Royal Seal, which protected him. Nathan's task was to use his charm to convince a writer named Sarah Woodward to hand over copies of a book. This book, called "The Secret History," claimed to reveal the true identity of a second child of King George IV. This child had never claimed to be the rightful heir to the throne, ahead of Queen Victoria. The story was seen as a trick, but revealing it could have caused trouble with a group called the Chartists, who were planning protests.
Nathan successfully got the documents, including a birth certificate and copies of the books. However, King William IV died a month before Nathan could return them to the Palace. Lord Melbourne, the Prime Minister, wanted Nathan to give him the documents. But Nathan didn't trust him. Instead, he secretly gave the documents to the King's brother. These documents are still in the Royal Archives at Windsor Palace today.
When Nathan went to claim his expenses for the mission, Lord Melbourne stepped in. He took the letter with King William IV's Seal and refused to pay Nathan. This left Nathan in financial ruin. He sold everything he owned, gathered his family, and moved to Australia.
New Life in Australia
Nathan moved to Australia with his children, arriving in April 1841. There, he became a leader in the local music scene. He advised both the synagogue and the Roman Catholic cathedral in Sydney on music. He was the first to perform many works by Mozart and Beethoven in Australia.
On May 3, 1847, his opera Don John of Austria was performed in Sydney. This was the first opera written, composed, and produced in Australia. Nathan was also the first person to study and write down Australian Aboriginal music. He also set poems by the writer Eliza Hamilton Dunlop to music.
Nathan wrote Australia's first operas, Merry Freaks in Troublous Times (1843) and Don John of Austria (1847). He also created Australia's first modern song cycle, "The Australian Melodies." He made important contributions as a singing teacher and as one of the country's first music journalists. Nathan wrote many announcements, advertisements, music analyses, and reviews for newspapers.
Death and Family
The London Jewish Chronicle newspaper reported on March 25, 1864, from Sydney: "Mr. Nathan was a passenger by No. 2 tramway car […] [he] got off the car at the southern end, but before he got clear of the rails the car moved onwards […] he was thus whirled round by the sudden motion of the carriage and his body was brought under the front wheel."
This horse-drawn tram was the first in Sydney. Isaac Nathan was the first person to die in a tram accident in Australia, and even in the Southern Hemisphere.
He was buried in Sydney at Camperdown Cemetery.
Many of Nathan's family members became important Australian citizens. Later descendants include four brothers: the conductor Sir Charles Mackerras; the election expert Malcolm Mackerras; the headmaster of Sydney Grammar School Alastair Mackerras; and the China expert Colin Mackerras. Their nephew, Alexander Briger, is also a conductor.
Legacy and Influence
Nathan's Hebrew Melodies were printed in England until at least the 1850s and were known across Europe. They were especially popular among Jewish communities. This was probably because they fit with the ideas of the Jewish Enlightenment (Haskalah), which promoted Jewish culture.
Nathan can be credited with inspiring Lord Byron's poems. These poems helped spread a positive view of Jewish people in educated circles. They also became one of Byron's most popular works. Many other composers in the 1800s used them as a basis for their own music. These composers included Jewish musicians like Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn and Joachim. Non-Jewish composers like Schumann, Loewe, Bruch, Mussorgsky, and Balakirev also used them.
Nathan's writings on music did not have a huge direct impact. They didn't sell many copies and didn't get many serious reviews. However, he was one of the first to focus on and promote a true Jewish culture. This was a major interest for Jewish thinkers in Germany at the time. The same spirit seems to have driven his groundbreaking work with the music of the Aboriginal Australians.
Nathan never gave up, even when living far from his home. He saw himself as similar to his hero, Lord Byron. Because of his concerts and writings on Aboriginal music, Australian music experts rightly remember him as "the father of Australian music."
Tribute
Peter Sculthorpe wrote an orchestral piece in 1988 called "At the Grave of Isaac Nathan."
Portrait
Portrait of Isaac Nathan held by the National Library of Australia.
