Samuel Wesley (1766-1837)

Samuel Wesley was a child prodigy, and it was the older composer William Boyce who said of the boy that he was the English Mozart, and that he had dropped down from heaven. Wesley's star speedily ascended to the heights from an early age as both performer and composer, but with issues surrounding his often extreme character, and also his health and morals, this ascendency was not to last. His popularity went in and out of fashion during his lifetime, and trying to secure a permanent position as an organist was something which eluded him for a long time. However, he was one of Britain's leading musicians, mixed in the highest circles, and was responsible for promoting the largely unknown J. S. Bach to these shores. Towards the end of his life, famous musicians and composers sought Wesley out and even Mendelssohn asked the famed organist Samuel Wesley to play for him. We're only just beginning to understand Wesley's importance to the development of British classical music, and many of his substantial works, including numerous concertos for piano, organ, and violin, and large scale works for choir and orchestra, all still remain to be recorded.

Samuel Wesley was born into a Methodist background. His father Charles composed over six thousand hymns, and his uncle John was the famous founder of the English Methodist movement. However, as a young teenager Wesley started going to services at the chapels of several Roman Catholic embassies in London and eventually converted to Catholicism, sending a copy of his newly composed Mass to Pope Pius VI. Yet for Wesley, despite this very public statement of conversion, and his then highly questionable personal relationships, for him, it was really all about the music. In later life when religion wasn't a key consideration for Wesley, he frequently attended churches and chapels of both Anglican and Catholic traditions, in order to play the organ, or just to listen to the choir.

Symphony in A major (Brillante)

London Mozart Players

Matthias Bamert, conductor

O Lord God most holy

Choir of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge

Geoffrey Webber, conductor

Might I in thy sight appear

Frances Cary, soprano

Andrew Arthus, organist

Psalm 42 & 43

Choir of St John's College, Cambridge

John Challenger, organ

Andrew Nethsingha, director

Dixit Dominus

Christopher Monks, organ

Preludium, Ariette & Fuga in C minor

Jennifer Bate, organist

Donald Macleod explores Samuel Wesley's changing religious views.

Samuel Wesley was a child prodigy, and it was the older composer William Boyce who said of the boy that he was the English Mozart, and that he had dropped down from heaven. Wesley's star speedily ascended to the heights from an early age as both performer and composer, but with issues surrounding his often extreme character, and also his health and morals, this ascendency was not to last. His popularity went in and out of fashion during his lifetime, and trying to secure a permanent position as an organist was something which eluded him for a long time. However, he was one of Britain's leading musicians, mixed in the highest circles, and was responsible for promoting the largely unknown J. S. Bach to these shores. Towards the end of his life, famous musicians and composers sought Wesley out and even Mendelssohn asked the famed organist Samuel Wesley to play for him. We're only just beginning to understand Wesley's importance to the development of British classical music, and many of his substantial works, including numerous concertos for piano, organ, and violin, and large scale works for choir and orchestra, all still remain to be recorded.

Donald Macleod journeys through Samuel Wesley's distinguished circle of friends and colleagues. We get a picture of very distinguished beginnings with Wesley meeting with the composer William Boyce, to later in life being sought out by the Norwegian violinist and composer Ole Bull, and performing for Felix Mendelssohn. We explore his collaborations with the famed writer on music Charles Burney, with his friend the organist Vincent Novello, to Wesley being appointed the first ever Grand Organist to the Grand Lodge of Freemasons. Wesley's circles demonstrate him to have been one of the key performers and composers in British music, during his lifetime.

Fugue in B minor for Dr Mendelssohn

Jennifer Bate, organ

Sinfonia obligato

London Mozart Players

Matthias Bamert, conductor

O sing unto mie roundelaie

Julia Gooding, soprano

Ana-Mar퀀a Rinc　n, soprano

Charles Daniels, tenor

Rufus Müller, tenor

Christopher Purves, bass

Timothy Roberts, fortepiano & director

Voluntary in D

Air and Gavotte

Carlo Curley, organ

Violin Concerto No 2 in D major

Elizabeth Wallfisch, violin

The Parley of Instruments

Peter Holman, fortepiano & director

Donald Macleod delves into Wesley's eminent circle of friends.

Samuel Wesley was a child prodigy, and it was the older composer William Boyce who said of the boy that he was the English Mozart, and that he had dropped down from heaven. Wesley's star speedily ascended to the heights from an early age as both performer and composer, but with issues surrounding his often extreme character, and also his health and morals, this ascendency was not to last. His popularity went in and out of fashion during his lifetime, and trying to secure a permanent position as an organist was something which eluded him for a long time. However, he was one of Britain's leading musicians, mixed in the highest circles, and was responsible for promoting the largely unknown J. S. Bach to these shores. Towards the end of his life, famous musicians and composers sought Wesley out and even Mendelssohn asked the famed organist Samuel Wesley to play for him. We're only just beginning to understand Wesley's importance to the development of British classical music, and many of his substantial works, including numerous concertos for piano, organ, and violin, and large scale works for choir and orchestra, all still remain to be recorded.

In this programme, Donald Macleod delves into Samuel Wesley's career as a performer. His older brother Charles was a child prodigy, but Samuel soon overtook his brother, so that by his sixth birthday, not only had he learnt Handel oratorios by heart, but he was also starting to compose his own oratorios. As a performer, Wesley would take to both the violin and the organ, often as a lad giving recitals at distinguished venues such as Bath Abbey. However, things took a downward turn when as a young man Wesley was left a legacy, which meant for a period he didn't have to pursue a career as a musician. The result was a loss of focus, and he gave up the violin altogether. Later in life he became famous for his ability as an organist, often giving concerts around the country, and he even took up the violin again in order to play and promote the music of Bach.

Sonatina Op 4 No 1

Timothy Roberts, piano

Sonatina Op 4 No 2

Duet for the organ

Hans Fagius, organ

David Sanger, organ

Symphony in E flat

London Mozart Players

Matthias Bamert, conductor

Arrangement with Variation of Rule Britannia

Jennifer Bate, organ

Rondo on God rest you merry, Gentlemen

Timothy Roberts, fortepiano

All go unto one place

The Choir of New College Oxford

Edward Higginbottom, director

Donald Macleod explores Wesley's career as a performer.

Samuel Wesley was a child prodigy, and it was the older composer William Boyce who said of the boy that he was the English Mozart, and that he had dropped down from heaven. Wesley's star speedily ascended to the heights from an early age as both performer and composer, but with issues surrounding his often extreme character, and also his health and morals, this ascendency was not to last. His popularity went in and out of fashion during his lifetime, and trying to secure a permanent position as an organist was something which eluded him for a long time. However, he was one of Britain's leading musicians, mixed in the highest circles, and was responsible for promoting the largely unknown J. S. Bach to these shores. Towards the end of his life, famous musicians and composers sought Wesley out and even Mendelssohn asked the famed organist Samuel Wesley to play for him. We're only just beginning to understand Wesley's importance to the development of British classical music, and many of his substantial works, including numerous concertos for piano, organ, and violin, and large scale works for choir and orchestra, all still remain to be recorded.

Donald Macleod follows Samuel Wesley on his journey to explore and promote the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach was largely unknown in the United Kingdom, and Wesley wanted to share his discovery of Bach's 48 Preludes and Fugues. The famed music historian Charles Burney was dismissive of Bach, but soon changed his tune once Wesley played Bach's music to him. Wesley went on to bring out publications of Bach's music, to give lecture recitals, and to re-learn the violin in order to play some Bach sonatas. Wesley never missed an opportunity to perform the music of Bach to new audiences, often interspersed with his own compositions.

Duet in B flat major (for Eliza)

Davitt Moroney, harpsichord

Olivier Beaumont, harpsichord

Voluntary in D, Op 6 No 8

Jennifer Bate, organ

Handel Arr. Wesley

Rejoice the Lord is King

Psalmody

Timothy Roberts, organ

Peter Holman, director

Symphony in D major

London Mozart Players

Matthias Bamert, conductor

String Quartet in E flat major (Allegro spiritoso)

The Salomon Quartet

Confitebor tibi, Domine

Claire Seaton, soprano

Susanne Holmes, mezzo soprano

Nicholas Sharratt, tenor

Jonathan Brown, baritone

Southern Pro Musica

David Gostick, conductor

Donald Macleod explores Wesley's passion for Bach.

Samuel Wesley was a child prodigy, and it was the older composer William Boyce who said of the boy that he was the English Mozart, and that he had dropped down from heaven. Wesley's star speedily ascended to the heights from an early age as both performer and composer, but with issues surrounding his often extreme character, and also his health and morals, this ascendency was not to last. His popularity went in and out of fashion during his lifetime, and trying to secure a permanent position as an organist was something which eluded him for a long time. However, he was one of Britain's leading musicians, mixed in the highest circles, and was responsible for promoting the largely unknown J. S. Bach to these shores. Towards the end of his life, famous musicians and composers sought Wesley out and even Mendelssohn asked the famed organist Samuel Wesley to play for him. We're only just beginning to understand Wesley's importance to the development of British classical music, and many of his substantial works, including numerous concertos for piano, organ, and violin, and large scale works for choir and orchestra, all still remain to be recorded.

Samuel Wesley was noted to be a rather extreme character, often displaying entirely opposite ends of his personality, from deep gloom to extreme elation. People have more recently speculated that Wesley may have suffered with bipolar disorder, or manic depression. However, there was an attempt to explain Wesley's behaviour, due to a blow to his head early on in his life. But did this really happen? Later in life, and as his personal life became more complex - including the stress of needing to earn more money to support two families, periods of depression often set in. At one stage he threw himself out of a window, and was subsequently committed to an asylum in Chelsea for an entire year. However, Wesley demonstrated determination and a strength of character to rebuild his career after this period, continuing to perform and compose music.

Voluntary in G minor

Jennifer Bate, organ

Ode to St Cecilia (extract)

Julia Gooding, soprano

Charles Brett, countertenor

David Mattinson, baritone

St John's Smith Square Orchestra

John Lubbock, conductor

Might I in thy sight appear

Patrick McCarthy, tenor

Timothy Roberts, organ

Memoriam fecit mirabilium suorum

Portsmouth Choral Union

Southern Pro Musica

David Gostick, conductor

Symphony in B flat major

London Mozart Players

Matthias Bamert, conductor

Fidelia omnia mandata ejus

Claire Seaton, soprano

Donald Macleod delves into the mystery of Wesley's health.