Ann Valentine

Ann Valentine (11 January 1762[1] – 13 October 1842[1][2] or 13 October 1845[3][4]) was an English organist and composer, part of a talented family of Leicester musicians.

Life

Ann Valentine was born on 11 January 1762 in Leicester and christened on 15 March.[1] Her father John Valentine (1730–91) was a great-nephew of the composer Robert Valentine.[3] John Valentine was a composer, music teacher, and musician.[4] He played viola in the memorial concerts (the Handel Commemoration) held for George Frederic Handel in London in 1784; his son, Ann's brother Thomas Valentine (1759 – c. 1800) was a second violinist in the same concerts, and performed in London for at least the next decade.[5] Another uncle, Henry Valentine, was an oboist and ran a music shop in Leicester. Ann's younger sister Sarah (1771–1843) was an organist at St Martin's Church in Leicester from 1800,[4] and composed at least one work, The British March and Quickstep for the Pianoforte.[3]

Ann made her concert debut on the harpsichord in a family concert in 1777, at the age of fifteen.[4] From c. 1785 to at least 1834 she was the organist at St Margaret's Church, Leicester. In 1790 she published a set of ten sonatas for harpsichord or piano with violin or flute accompaniment. She continued to publish music, although only some of it has survived; the ten sonatas and an arrangement of the strathspey Monny Musk are available in a modern edition.[1]

Works (partial list)

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Hayes, Deborah. "Anne Valentine (1762–1842)". Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  2. ↑ Sadie, Julie Anne (1994). "Valentine, Ann". In Sadie, Julie Anne; Samuel, Rhian. New Grove Dictionary of Women Composers. London: Macmillan. p. 471. ISBN 0-333-51598-6.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Drage, Sally. "Valentine family (per. c. 1685 – 1845), musicians". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 30 March 2012.(subscription required)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Kroeger, Karl (Summer 2008). "Leicester's Lady Organists, 1770–1800" (PDF). CHOMBEC News (Bristol: Centre for the History of Music in Britain, the Empire and the Commonwealth) (5): 9–10.
  5. ↑ Highfill, Philip (1993), A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers, Southern Illinois University Press