John Francis Barnett

John Francis Barnett (1837–1916) was an English music composer and teacher.

Life

John Francis Barnett was the son of John Barnett's brother, Joseph Alfred, also a professor of music. John Francis carried on the traditions of the family as a composer and teacher. He obtained a queen's scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music, and developed into an accomplished pianist, visiting Germany to study in 1857 and playing at a Gewandhaus concert at Leipzig in 1860. He became noticed as a composer with his symphony in A minor (1864), and followed this with a number of compositions for orchestra, strings and piano. His cantata The Ancient Mariner premiered at Birmingham in 1867, and another, Paradise and the Peri, in 1870, both successfully. In 1873 his most important work, the oratorio The Raising of Lazarus, was written, and in 1876 produced at Hereford. During this period, Barnett also composed several other minor cantatas and piano pieces, and he took an active part as a professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Royal College of Music,^[1] where his students included Marmaduke Barton.

Compositions (selective list)

Orchestral

• 1864 - Symphony in A minor (fp. Musical Society of London, 15 June 1864)
• 1868 - Overture symphonique in E (fp. Philharmonic Society, London, 11 May 1868), revised 1891 (Philharmonic Society, London, 28 May 1891)
• 1869 - Piano Concerto in D minor, Op.25
• 1873 - The Winter's Tale, overture (fp. British Orchestral Society, London, 6 February 1873)
• 1874 - The Lay of the Last Minstrel, suite in four movements (fp. Liverpool Festival, October 1874)
• 1881 - The Harvest Festival, symphonic poem (fp. Norwich Festival, 1881)
• 1883 - Two sketches: Ebbing Tide and Elfland (fp. Crystal Palace, London, 1883)
• 1888 - Pastoral Suite (fp. Philharmonic Society, London, 31 May 1888) [revised version of The Harvest Festival]
• 1895 - Two pieces: Liebeslied and Im alten Styl (fp. Crystal Palace, London, 1895)
• 1891 - Two sketches: Flowing Tide and Fairyland (fp. Crystal Palace, London, 1893)
• Concerto pastorale for flute and orchestra

Choral and vocal

• 1867 - The Ancient Mariner, cantata (fp. Birmingham Festival, 29 August 1867)
• 1870 - Paradise and the Peri, cantata (fp. Birmingham Festival, 30 August 1870)
• 1873 - The Raising of Lazarus, oratorio (fp. New Philharmonic Society, London, 18 June 1873)
• 1876 - The Good Shepherd, sacred cantata, Op.26 (fp. Brighton Festival, 1876)
• 1880 - The Building of the Ship, cantata, Op.35 (fp. Leeds Festival, 13 October 1880)
• 1880 - The Golden Gate, scena for contralto and orchestra (fp. Philharmonic Society, London, 4 March 1880)
• 1888 - The Triumph of Labour, ode for chorus and orchestra (fp. Crystal Palace, London, 1888)
• 1893 - The Wishing-Bell, cantata (fp. Norwich Festival, 9 October 1893)
• 1913 - The Eve of St Agnes, cantata (fp. London Choral Society, 1913)

References

Attribution

 Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Barnett, John". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press  John Francis is discussed in the second half of this article about his uncle.

External links

• Free scores by John Francis Barnett at the International Music Score Library Project
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press