Thomas Busby (composer) facts for kids

Thomas Busby was an English composer who lived a long time ago, from 1755 to 1838. He wrote many different kinds of music and was also a writer.

Early Life and Music Training

Thomas Busby was born in December 1755 in Westminster, London. His father was a coach-painter who loved music and sang. When Thomas was young, he had a beautiful singing voice. His father decided to help him become a musician.

Thomas started learning music at a young age. He learned singing from Samuel Champness and how to play the harpsichord from Charles Knyvett. Later, he continued his studies with a famous musician named Jonathan Battishill.

When he was about 14, Thomas sang at a popular place called Vauxhall Gardens. After his voice changed, he continued his music studies with Jonathan Battishill for three more years. He also worked on his general education during this time. After his training, he started working as a musician and writer to earn a living.

First Compositions and Writing

Thomas tried to write music for a play called The Man the Master, but he never finished it. He then started working on a longer piece of music called an oratorio, based on a poem by Alexander Pope called Messiah. He worked on this for several years.

Thomas was also very good at writing. He worked as a reporter for a newspaper called the London Courant. He also helped edit The Morning Post and wrote music reviews for other magazines. In 1785, he wrote a long poem called The Age of Genius. Around this time, he became the organist at St Mary's, Newington church.

Family Life and Later Works

In July 1786, Thomas Busby married Priscilla Angier. They had seven children together. Some of their children became famous too, like their son Charles Augustin, who was an architect.

After he got married, Thomas lived in Poland Street and taught Latin, French, and music. Later, he moved to Battersea. In 1798, he became the organist at St Mary Woolnoth church.

In 1799, his early oratorio, which he had started years before, was performed. It was called The Prophecy. He also wrote music for plays, including Joanna in 1800 and Britannia in 1801.

In 1801, Thomas Busby earned a special music degree from Cambridge University. For this, he wrote a piece called "A Thanksgiving Ode on the Naval Victories." In 1802, he wrote music for a new type of play called a melodrama, A Tale of Mystery. This play was very successful. He continued to write music for other plays until 1805. All the music he wrote for these plays was published.

Final Years

In his later years, Thomas Busby lived with one of his married daughters in Pentonville. He passed away there on May 28, 1838, at the age of 84.