Dr. Arne and Rule, BritanniaCummings, William Hayman
History
Dr. Arne and Rule, Britannia
Cummings, William Hayman
Arne, Thomas Augustine, 1710-1778
Handel's in Faramond by Mrs. Arne and Mrs.
Cibber. In the third Interlude (after an Overture of Mr. Arne's), O
peace, thou fairest Child of Heaven, from Mr. Arne's Masque of Alfred,
by Mrs. Arne; Un Guardo Solo from Mr. Handel's Opera of Hymen, by Mrs.
Cibber; (by particular Desire) Sweet Bird, from Mr. Handel's Allegro,
by Mrs. Arne; and Per le Porte del Tormento, a favourite Duetto of Mr.
Handel's in Sosarmes, by Mrs. Arne and Mrs. Cibber.--Mrs. Arne, being
a Stranger in this Kingdom, humbly hopes the Nobility and Gentry will
excuse her personal Application, and to prevent Their being detained
at the Doors of the Hall, while Tickets are delivered them, that they
will send for their Tickets to Mrs. Cibber's House in Aungier-street,
where Places may be taken.--And, to prevent mistakes, they are desired
to send their Servants to Keep Places before five o'clock, To begin
exactly at 7 o'clock. N.B. This Performance (intended for the Theatre)
is at the Request of several Gentlemen and Ladies altered to the Great
Room above mentioned."
It will be noticed that the programme contains eight pieces composed
by Handel, and only four by Arne. Handel was residing in Dublin,
and it is quite likely that he extended his friendly patronage to
Mrs. Arne and attended the concert. In any case Handel's music was
undoubtedly an attraction for the fashionable world of Dublin; and it
is satisfactory to read that the concert was so great a success that
"At the particular Desire of several Persons of Quality" a repeat was
granted on the following Wednesday, the 28th of July. Very soon after
the latter performance, the Dublin musical season came to an end and
the many artists who had been making hay in that city transferred
their personalities to England. "The celebrated Mr. Handel" left
Dublin on the 13th of August, and on Monday, the 23rd of the same
month, was followed by Mrs. Cibber, Mr. Arne and David Garrick. Mrs.
Arne remained in Dublin; probably her husband only went to London to
make preparations for an extended campaign in Dublin. In a month's
time he returned, and resided with his wife at a house "over against
the Ram in Aungier-street" near the Theatre. We obtain intelligence
of their doings from an advertisement in _Faulkner's Journal_ of
September 25-28,--"The Charitable and Musical Society" announced the
commencement of the season by a concert to be given on the 8th of
October. Special attention is directed to the fact that "they have
provided a fine Organ, and have engaged the celebrated Mrs. Arne to
sing"; the day after the performance the _Journal_ reported, "Last
Night the Charitable and Musical Society opened their first Concert to
a very numerous and polite Assembly of Ladies and Gentlemen, when Mrs.
Arne (tho' extremely ill of a Cold) sang with universal applause." She
speedily recovered and with her husband gave a concert in the following
December. The _Journal_ of November 27-30 contained the following
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account