Samuel Arnold (composer)

Samuel Arnold (10 August 1740 – 22 October 1802) was an English composer and organist.

Samuel Arnold
Born	10 August 1740 London, England
Died	22 October 1802(1802-10-22) (aged 62)
Resting place	Westminster Abbey
Occupation(s)	Composer, organist
Notable work	Writing the earliest version of Humpty Dumpty Abimelech The Baron Kinkvervankotsdorsprakingatchdern Inkle and Yarico
Father	Thomas Arnold

Arnold was born in London (his mother is said to have been Princess Amelia; his father was Thomas Arnold).^[1][2] He began writing music for the theatre in about the year 1764. A few years later, he became the director of music at Marylebone Gardens, for which he wrote much of his popular music. In 1777, he worked for George Colman the Elder at the Little Theatre, Haymarket. In 1783, he became organist at the Chapel Royal and in 1793 he became the organist at Westminster Abbey, where he was eventually buried. He also wrote the earliest version of Humpty Dumpty. He was a close friend and associate of Haydn.

Works

Arnold's best-known works include:

"O Give Thanks" in the hand of Thomas Barrow

• The Maid of the Mill (1765)
• Abimelech (1768)
• The Prodigal Son (1773)
• Incidental music for Macbeth (1778)
• The Baron Kinkvervankotsdorsprakingatchdern (1781)
• The Castle of Andalusia (1782)
• Two to One (1784), libretto George Colman. Includes the song "Pensive I Mourn".^[3]
• Turk and No Turk (1785)
• Inkle and Yarico (1787)
• Juvenile Amusements (1797)

He is also known for producing the first collected edition of the works of George Frideric Handel between 1787 and 1797, published in 180 parts. This was the most comprehensive collection of Handel's music prior to the appearance of the Händel-Gesellschaft edition in the next century.^[4]

Bibliography

• Panton, Kenneth J. (2011). Historical Dictionary of the British Monarchy. Scarebrow Press, Inc. ISBN 978-0-8108-5779-7.