Christian Ignatius Latrobe
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Christian Ignatius Latrobe (12 February 1758 Fulneck near Leeds - 6 May 1836 Liverpool), was an English clergyman, musician and composer. During his lifetime he composed a large number of works for the Moravian church, and most famously edited a Selection of Sacred Music in 6 volumes between 1806 and 1826, introducing the sacred music of Haydn, Mozart and Pergolesi to English audiences.
Born to Benjamin Latrobe, of Huguenot descent, and Anna Margaretta Antes, Christian Latrobe went to Niesky in Saxony in 1771 to attend the Moravian College. On completion of his training he taught at the College for a while after which he returned to England and was ordained in 1784.
In 1815 he voyaged to the Cape to visit Mamre and Genadendal, two Moravian mission stations. While in South Africa, he journeyed from Genadendal to George, Uitenhage and the Great Fish River. He planned the founding of a new mission station called Enon on the Witrivier near Kirkwood. He described his journey with coloured illustrations in Journal of a Visit to South Africa in 1815 and 1816 : With Some Account of the Missionary Settlements of the United Brethren, Near the Cape of Good Hope. He also wrote History of the Mission of the United Brethren Among the Indians in North America in 1794.
Latrobe, like Vincent Novello, often brought newly published music from Europe to England in the early 1800s. He purchased a number of music scores and oratorios from Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig, near Niesky, when they were not published due to a perceived lack of interest. These pieces might well have included a Mozart arrangement of Handel's Judas Maccabaeus (1747) discovered in 2001 in Halifax, West Yorkshire.
Latrobe recalled that not long after Haydn arrived in England in 1790, he called at Latrobe's home. After confirming that he was at the correct place, Haydn asked Mrs. Latrobe "be you his woman?" and spotting a picture of himself said "dat is me - I am Haydn". Mrs. Latrobe hurriedly sent for her husband who was at a house nearby. A fairly close friendship grew out of this meeting and Latrobe became a regular visitor at Haydn's home during his two stays in England.
Three of Latrobe's piano sonatas were dedicated to Josef Haydn. He also wrote clarinet concertos, duets and arias, and more than a hundred vocal pieces, among which were "Lord of Life Now Sweetly Slumber", "How Shall a Mortal Song Aspire", "Psalm 51" and "We Praise Thee, Oh God".
[edit] Family
Christian Latrobe married Hannah Benigna Syms (28 October 1758 - 18 April 1824). His brother Benjamin Latrobe, a renowned architect, designed the United States Capitol as well as Baltimore's cathedral. Christian's children were
- Charlotte Louisa Latrobe 1793 - 1878
- Peter Latrobe 15 February 1795 London, England - 24 September 1863 Berthelsdorf x 27 December 1825 Mary Louisa Foster xx Jeanetta Margaret Brett
- Anna Agnes Latrobe 1797 - 1827
- John Antes Latrobe 1799 - 1878 Gloucester
- Charles Joseph Latrobe (Australian governor) 20 March 1801 London, England - 4 December 1875 Sussex, England x 16 September 1835 Berne, Switzerland Sophie de Montmollin (d.30 January 1854) xx Rose Isabelle de Montmollin
- Frederick Benjamin Latrobe 1803 - 11 December 1842 Jamaica x Elizabeth Scott
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