William Babell

William Babell

William Babell (or Babel) (1689/1690 - 23 September 1723) was an English musician, composer and prolific arranger of vocal music for harpsichord.

Life

He received his musical training from his father, Charles Babel, a bassoonist in the Drury Lane orchestra, Johann Christoph Pepusch and possibly George Frideric Handel. He played the violin in the private band of George I, and appeared as a harpsichordist from 1711, often appearing with William Corbett, James Paisible and later Matthew Dubourg. He was associated with Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre. From November 1718 until his death, he was organist of All Hallows, Bread Street, where he was succeeded by John Stanley.

He wrote numerous keyboard arrangements of arias from the popular operas of his time. These were published in France, The Netherlands and Germany, as well as in England, and they became the basis of his musical reputation. His style was strongly influenced by his close acquaintance with Handel. Johann Mattheson considered he surpassed Handel as an organist virtuoso, though musical historian Charles Burney criticised his manner of playing arrangements, charging that he:Despite Burney's criticism, fellow musical historian Sir John Hawkins thought that they 'succeeded so well … as to make from it a book of lessons which few could play but himself, and which has long been deservedly celebrated.' Babell's transcription of arias from Handel's opera "Rinaldo" includes 'Vo' far guerra', which Handel meant as a showpiece for his harpsichord playing and is quite remarkable in its virtuosity; Babell's transcription was made from his memory of how Handel improvised in performances. [ [http://gfhandel.org/reviews/hwv007hm.htm Review of Rinaldo by Philippe Genaud mentions Babell's transcriptions] ] [ [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3870/is_200307/ai_n9237500/pg_5 Peter Holman: Did Handel invent the English keyboard concerto? - contains information relating to the Babell Handel transcriptions] ]

Babell also wrote original sonatas for flute, violin and continuo, concertos and a few other things. His slow movements are considered a valuable insight into early 18th-century practices of ornamentation and extemporization.

His early death was attributed to 'intemperate habits’. He was buried in All Hallows Church, Canonbury, Islington.

Printed works

*"The 3rd Book of the Ladys Entertainment, or Banquet of Musick" [harpsichord arrangements] (1709)
*"The 4th Book of the Ladys Entertainment" [harpsichord arrangements] (1716)
*"Suits of the Most Celebrated Lessons" [harpsichord arrangements of Handel, some original material] (1717), reprinted as "Suits of Harpsichord and Spinnet Lessons" (1718)
*"The Harpsichord Master Improved … with a Choice Collection of Newest and Most Air'y Lessons" (1718)
*"Trios de diefferents autheurs choises & mis en ordre par Mr Babel" [harpsichord arrangements] (1720)
*"XII Solos … with Proper Graces Adapted to Each Adagio", book 1 (violin/oboe, harpsichord) (c.1725)
*"XII Solos … with Proper Graces Adapted to Each Adagio", book 2 (violin/oboe/flute, harpsichord)
*"Concertos in 7 Parts" for violins and small flute, or sixth flute (soprano recorder in D), op.3 (c.1726)

Other works for solo harpsichord survive in manuscript.

ources and references

*Gerald Gifford (with Terence Best): 'Babell [Babel] , William', Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy, [http://www.grovemusic.com/shared/views/article.html?section=music.01648#music.01648 http://www.grovemusic.com/] , (accessed 2007-05-01)
*J. A. F. Maitland, ‘Babell, William (1689/90–1723)’, rev. K. D. Reynolds, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/963 http://www.oxforddnb.com/] , (accessed 2007-05-01)

Further reading

*B. Gustafson: "The Legacy in Instrumental Music of Charles Babel, Prolific Transcriber of Lully's Music"
*G. Pont: "An Early 18th-Century Manuscript of Harpsichord Music: William Babell and Handel's Vo' far guerra", British Library Journal, xxi (1996), 176–83
*F. Palmer: "William Babell's Twenty-Four Oboe Sonatas", Double Reed, iv/2 (1981), 23

cores

*IMSLP2|id=Works_for_Organ_%26_Harpsichord_(Handel%2C_George_Frideric)|cname=Works for Organ and Harpsichord - the transcriptions from Handel in the complete Handel edition (includes 'Vo' far guerra')


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • William Babell — (ou Babel) (1689/1690 23 septembre 1723) est un musicien anglais, compositeur et auteur de nombreuses transcriptions de musique vocale pour le clavecin. Biographie Il reçut son instruction musicale de son père, Charles Babel, joueur de basson… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • William Evans (Wil Ifan) — William Evans (April 22 1883 July 16 1968), better known by his bardic name of Wil Ifan, was a Welsh poet who served as Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales from 1947 to 1950.Evans, son of a Baptist minister, was from Carmarthenshire,… …   Wikipedia

  • Trevor Pinnock — Trevor David Pinnock CBE (born 16 December 1946) is an English conductor and harpsichordist. He is best known for directing the period performance orchestra The English Concert from the harpsichord for over 30 years in baroque and early classical …   Wikipedia

  • Rinaldo (opera) — Rinaldo (HWV 7) is an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel, now a part of the standard operatic repertoire. The Italian libretto was written by Giacomo Rossi based on episodes of Torquato Tasso s Gerusalemme liberata ( Jerusalem Delivered ).… …   Wikipedia

  • Chronological list of English classical composers — The following is a chronological list of classical music composers living and working in England, or originating from England. Contents 1 Medieval 2 Renaissance 3 Baroque 4 Classical era …   Wikipedia

  • List of composers by name — This is a list of composers by name, alphabetically. For lists of music composers by other classifications, see List of composers. NOTOC A*Els Aarne (1917 1995) *Evald Aav (1900 1939) *Juhan Aavik (1884 1982) *Petrus Abaelardus (1079 1142) *Frank …   Wikipedia

  • XVIIe siècle en musique classique — Années : 1597 1598 1599  1600  1601 1602 1603 Décennies : 1570 1580 1590  1600  1610 1620 1630 Siècles : XVe siècle  XVIe …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Canonbury — infobox UK place country = England map type = Greater London region = London population = official name = Canonbury latitude = 51.5437 longitude = 0.0883 os grid reference = TQ325845 post town = LONDON postcode area = N postcode district = N1… …   Wikipedia

  • 1723 in music — The year 1723 in music involved some significant events. Events *April Johann Sebastian Bach is appointed Cantor and Musical Director of the Thomaskirche, Leipzig, beating off opposition from several prominent musicians, including Georg Friedrich …   Wikipedia

  • 1718 in music — The year 1718 in music involved some significant events. Events *Antonio Vivaldi tours Italy. *Handel succeeds Johann Christoph Pepusch as Kapellmeister to the Duke of Chandos. *Johann Joachim Quantz settles in Dresden. Classical music *William… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”