John
Braham
1774 - 1856
John Braham as "Lord Aimworth", steel line engraving (1818) copyright
expired 
John Braham Esq (1774- 1856)
Painting by John Opie R.A. 1761 - 1807,
Oil on canvas.
Formerly framed as an oval,
60cm x 58cm
Born
in London in 1774, of Jewish parentage, Braham became one of the leading
singers in Europe. His long career as a tenor, singing throughout
the British Isles and in Europe, demonstrates social mobility and the
esteem afforded talented performers.
Braham’s precise origins are uncertain although it known that he was Jewish. There
are no records of his birth but it is recognised that he was left as an
orphan at an early age. He became a descant singer at the Great Synagogue
and was discovered by the tenor Lyon, who appeared at Covent Garden under
the name Michaele Leoni.
Braham’s first stage appearance was at Leoni's Covent Garden 1787 benefit,
when he sang Thomas Arne's The soldier tir’d of war’s alarms.
He next appeared at the Royalty Theatre, with Leoni.
After 1788 we know of no public performances until he appeared at Bath
in 1794. His teacher, after the death of Leoni, was the male soprano
Venanzio Rauzzini, who was a leader in Bath’s musical society. During this
period he was supported by the Goldsmid family, influential financiers
who used him as entertainment at their soirées. Braham remained with
Rauzzini for two years and it is believed that the Goldsmid family financed
his studies.
Rauzzini's pupils included the Irish tenor Michael Kelly who created the
role of Don Basilio in Mozart's Marriage of Figaro. Braham
certainly benefited from Rauzzini's influence and promotion, and acquired
from him the basic precepts of the old Italian school and a virtuoso technique
which was thought by some to be surpassed only by the soprano Angelica
Catalani.
The 1794 performance in Bath saw Braham’s first encounter with the Storace
family. Stephen Storace (1762-1796), the son of an Italian musician based
in Dublin was an accomplished composer; and his sister Anna, known as Nancy
(1765-1817), was a former student of Rauzzini and a talented soprano. They
both had considerable experience of working in Italy and Vienna where,
in 1786, Nancy created the first Susanna in Mozart's Marriage
of Figaro At Braham’s début at Bath, Nancy also performed, as a soloist
and in a duet with him.
Braham took the leading role in Storace's new opera Mahmoud in
1796. Later that year he sang lead roles at the Italian Opera in London,
an extraordinary attainment for a Briton. In 1797 he appeared in the role
created for his mentor Leoni, as Carlos in Sheridan's The
Duenna at Covent Garden.
With these success, Braham's career was launched. Over the coming
years he and Nancy sang in every major continental house as well as in
Britain and it was the starting-point of a liaison which was to last for
over twenty years. In 1801, when they returned to London after their
first continental tour, Anna Storace was pregnant. Their son William Spencer
Harris Braham was born on May 3, 1802.
Despite a lack public support when he broke with Anna Storace, Braham’s
reputation remained strong until at least the mid-1820s, when he created
in London the role of Huon in Weber’s opera, Oberon and
sang in Mozart’s Requiem at Weber’s funeral service. But in the 1830s critics
began to dispute whether his voice still served, and he began to abandon
tenor roles for baritone parts.
In 1840, when under financial pressure, he sang in Mendelssohn's Second
Symphony (Lobgesang) at Birmingham under the composer's baton,
and subsequently undertook a tour of America with his son Charles Braham.
His last public performance was given in London in March 1852 (that is,
when he was probably 78 years old) and he died there on 16 February 1856.
Links with Ayrshire:
It is known that Braham appeared at the Theatre Royal in Ayr.
Niccolo
Paganini
1782 - 1840
Portrait
drawing of Niccolo Paganini by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, c. 1819.
Portrait of Niccolo Paganini (1782-1840), artist 19th century Italian
School, oil on canvas.
Niccolò Paganini (27 October
1782 – 27 May 1840) was an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and
composer. He was one of the most celebrated violin virtuosi of his time,
leaving his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His
caprice in A minor, Op. 1 No. 24 is among his best known of compositions,
and serves as inspiration for many prominent artists.
Born in Genoa, Italy, the third of the six children of Antonio and Teresa
Paganini. Paganini's father was an unsuccessful trader, but he managed
to supplement his income through playing music on the mandolin. At the
age of five, Paganini started learning the mandolin with his father,
moving on to the violin by the age of seven. His musical talents were
quickly recognized and he gained numerous scholarships for violin lessons.
The young Paganini studied under various teachers, including Giovanni
Servetto and Giacomo Costa, but he soon outpaced their abilities. Paganini
and his father then traveled to Parma to seek further guidance from Alessandro
Rolla. But upon listening to Paganini's playing, Rolla immediately referred
him to his own teacher, Ferdinando Paër and, later, Paër's own teacher,
Gasparo Ghiretti. Though Paganini did not stay long with Paër or Ghiretti,
the two had considerable influence on his composition style.
When the French invaded Genoa in March 1796 the Paganinis fled to their
country property in Ramairone. By 1800, Paganini had reached Livorno,
where he played in concerts. In 1801, Paganini, aged 18 at the time,
was appointed first violin of the Republic of Lucca, but most of his
income was from freelance work.
In 1805, Lucca was annexed by Napoleonic France, and the region was
ceded to Napoleon's sister, Elisa Baciocchi. Paganini became a violinist
for the Baciocchi court, while giving private lessons for her husband,
Felice. In 1807, Baciocchi became the Grand Duchess of Tuscany and her
court was transferred to Florence. Paganini was part of the entourage,
but, towards the end of 1809, he left Baciocchi to resume his freelance
career.
Paganini returned to touring in the areas surrounding Parma and Genoa.
Though he was very popular with the local audience, he was still not
very well known in other parts of Europe. In 1813 he played a concert
at La Scala in Milan. The venture was a success, and Paganini attracted
the attention of other prominent musicians across Europe. However, his
concert activities were limited to Italy for the next few years.
His fame spread across Europe when he embarked on a tour that started
in Vienna in August, 1828, stopping in every major European city in Germany,
Poland, and Bohemia, finishing in February, 1831 in Strasburg. This was
followed by tours in Paris ,Britain and Ireland. His technical ability
and his willingness to display it received much critical acclaim. In
addition to his own compositions, theme and variations being the most
popular, Paganini also performed modified versions of works (primarily
concertos) written by his early contemporaries, such as Rodolphe Kreutzer
and Giovanni Battista Viotti.
For much of his life, Paganini was in poor health. He was diagnosed
with syphilis as early as 1822, and his remedy, which included mercury
and opium, resulted in serious health and psychological problems. In
1834, while still in Paris, he was treated for pulmonary tuberculosis.
Though his recovery was reasonably quick, his future career was marred
with frequent cancellations due to various health problems, from the
common cold to depression, which lasted from days to months.
In September 1834, Paganini put an end to his concert career and returned
to Genoa, devoting his time to the publication of his compositions and
violin methods. He accepted students, of which two enjoyed moderate success:
violinist Camillo Sivori and cellist Gaetano Ciandelli. In 1835, Paganini
returned to Parma, this time under the employ of Archduchess Marie Louise
of Austria, Napoleon's second wife. He was in charge of reorganizing
her court orchestra but had little success in this venture.
On May 27, 1840, Paganini died from internal haemorrhaging before a
priest could be summoned. It was on these grounds, and his widely rumoured
association with the devil, that his body was denied a Catholic burial
in Genoa. It took four years, and an appeal to the Pope, before the body
was allowed to be transported to Genoa, but was still not buried. His
remains were finally put to rest in 1876 in a cemetery in Parma.
Links with Ayrshire:
It is known that Paganini appeared at the Theatre Royal in Ayr and in
Kilmarnock in 1834.
Portrait of John Sinclair.
Engraved by Cooper after a
painting by Sharp. Published by Robinson, Chapter House Passage,
St. Pauls. [Image out of copyright]
John
Sinclair (1791–1857), vocalist, son of David Sinclair, cotton-spinner,
was born in Edinburgh on 9 Dec. 1791. He became a clarinet player in
Campbell of Shawfield's regiment, and, going to Aberdeen in that capacity,
engaged in music teaching until able to purchase his discharge.
Being fond of the stage and having a fine tenor voice, he went to London
in search of an engagement. On 7 September, 1810, he appeared at the Haymarket
Theatre as Cheerly in Shield's Lock and Key. Subsequently, he
became a pupil of Thomas Welsh and was engaged for seven years
at Covent Garden, where he created the tenor rôles in Bishop's Guy
Mannering
and the Slave, Davy's Rob Roy, and other works. He was the first
to sing Bishop's Pilgrim of Love, and he acquired great popularity
in the part of Apollo in Midas.
In 1819, with a view to further musical
study he went to Paris, where he had lessons from Pellegrini, and
to Milan, where he was under Banderali at the Conservatoire.
In May 1821
Sinclair sang to Rossini at Naples, received some instruction from him,
and in 1822–3 appeared in operas at Pisa, Bologna, Genoa, Florence. At
Venice, Rossini wrote the part of Idreno in Semiramide for him.
Returning to England with his voice much improved, he reappeared
at Covent Garden on 19 Nov. 1823 as Prince Orlando in the Cabinet.
From 1828 to 1830 he was engaged at the Adelphi and Drury Lane, and
after a short visit to America in the latter year, he retired to Margate,
where for some years he was director of the Tivoli Gardens.
Sinclair married in 1816. A daughter Catherine
was married to Edwin Forrest, the American tragedian. He died
at Margate on 23 Sept. 1857.
Links with Ayrshire:
It is known that Sinclair appeared at the Theatre Royal in Ayr and
in Kilmarnock.
(Text based on the Dictionary of Musicians 1824)