Samuel Arnold (composer) facts for kids
Samuel Arnold (born August 10, 1740 – died October 22, 1802) was a talented English composer and organist. He wrote lots of music, especially for the theatre, and was a very important musician in his time.
Samuel Arnold was born in London. Some people believed his mother was Princess Amelia. His father was Thomas Arnold. Samuel started writing music for plays and shows around 1764. A few years later, he became the music director at Marylebone Gardens. He wrote many popular songs for this place.
In 1777, he worked for George Colman the Elder at the Little Theatre in Haymarket. Later, in 1783, he became an organist at the Chapel Royal. Then, in 1793, he became the main organist at Westminster Abbey. This is a very famous church where he was later buried. Samuel Arnold also wrote the first known version of the popular nursery rhyme, "Humpty Dumpty"! He was also a close friend of the famous composer Haydn.
His Famous Music
Samuel Arnold created many musical works. Here are some of his best-known pieces:
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- The Maid of the Mill (1765)
- Abimelech (1768)
- The Prodigal Son (1773)
- Music for the play Macbeth (1778)
- The Baron Kinkvervankotsdorsprakingatchdern (1781)
- The Castle of Andalusia (1782)
- Two to One (1784), with words by George Colman. This includes the song "Pensive I Mourn."
- Turk and No Turk (1785)
- Inkle and Yarico (1787)
- Juvenile Amusements (1797)
Arnold is also famous for collecting all the works of another great composer, George Frideric Handel. He published this huge collection between 1787 and 1797. It came out in 180 parts! This was the most complete collection of Handel's music until a new one, called the Händel-Gesellschaft edition, came out much later.
