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William Shield (March 5, 1748 – January 25, 1829) was an English composer, violinist and violist who was born in Swalwell near Gateshead, the son of William Shield and his wife, Mary, nee Cash. There were Shields were living in Swalwell at least as far back as 1696. March 5 is the 64th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (65th in leap years). ...
Events April 24 - A congress assembles at Aix-la-Chapelle with the intent to conclude the struggle known as the War of Austrian Succession - at October 18 - The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle is signed to end the war Adam Smith begins to deliver public lectures in Edinburgh Building of...
January 25 is the 25th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1829 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...
Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy - Queen Queen Elizabeth II - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification - by Athelstan AD 927 Area - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK) 50,346 sq...
A composer is a person who writes music. ...
This article does not cite its references or sources. ...
The viola (in French, alto; in German Bratsche) is a string instrument played with a bow which serves as the middle voice of the violin family, between the upper lines played by the violin and the lower lines played by the cello and double bass. ...
Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1513x2157, 785 KB) Portrait of William Shield This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or less. ...
Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1513x2157, 785 KB) Portrait of William Shield This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or less. ...
Life and Musical Career
Shield was first taught music by his father but, after both he and his mother died while Shield was still a child, he was apprenticed to a ship-builder in South Shields, continuing however to study music with Charles Avison in Newcastle upon Tyne. Italian ship-rigged vessel Amerigo Vespucci in New York Harbor, 1976 A ship is a large, sea-going watercraft, usually with multiple decks. ...
South Shields is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne, with a population of about 90,000. ...
Charles Avison (February 1709, Tyne – May 9 or May 10, 1770, Newcastle upon Tyne) was an English composer during Baroque period. ...
This article is about a city in the United Kingdom. ...
He became a noted violinist in Newcastle's subscription concerts before moving to Scarborough to lead a theatre orchestra. In 1772, he was appointed by Felice de Giardini to play violin in the opera at Covent Garden (now the Royal Opera House), and from 1773 he was principal violist there. The South Bay at Scarborough Scarborough lies on the North Sea coast of North Yorkshire, England. ...
Serge Sudeikins poster for the Bat Theatre (1922). ...
A philharmonic orchestra An orchestra is a musical ensemble used most often in classical music. ...
Covent Garden is a district in central London and within the easterly bounds of the City of Westminster. ...
The Floral Hall of the Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House is a performing arts venue in London. ...
The viola (in French, alto; in German Bratsche) is a string instrument played with a bow which serves as the middle voice of the violin family, between the upper lines played by the violin and the lower lines played by the cello and double bass. ...
Shield also worked as a composer for Covent Garden and, in that capacity, he met Joseph Haydn. In 1817, he was appointed Master of the King's Musick. Like Haydn, not to mention several other composers of his time, Shield was a great plunderer of folk tunes (in his case mostly from his native Northumbria). Franz Joseph Haydn[1] (March 31 or April 1, 1732 – May 31, 1809) was one of the most prominent composers of the Classical period, called the Father of the Symphony and Father of the String Quartet. A life-long resident of Austria, Haydn spent most of his career as a...
Master of the Queens Music (or Master of the Kings Music) is a prestigious post in the British royal court. ...
Section from Shepherds map of the British Isles about 802 AD showing the kingdom of Northumbria Northumbria is primarily the name of a petty kingdom of Angles which was formed in Great Britain at the beginning of the 7th century, from two smaller kingdoms of Bernicia and Diera, and...
Shield's works include a large number of operas and other stage works, including one on Robin Hood, as well as instrumental music, but he is principally known for his light English opera Rosina (1781). It was intended to be used as a light afterpiece to a more "serious" work sung in Italian. Such works were common at the time, although Rosina is the only one that has survived in the form of a complete score. The Teatro alla Scala in Milan is one of the worlds most famous opera houses. ...
Robin Hood memorial statue in Nottingham. ...
Rosina may refer to: Rosina, Slovakia, a municipality in Slovakia a figure from the The Barber of Seville a light opera by the English composer William Shield Category: ...
Rosina has a number of features associated with later English comic opera, and even modern musical comedy - including the use of English, spoken dialogue, lightness of theme, and the use of folk and popular medodies. At least to that degree, it may be regarded as one of the ancestors of the musical, and Shield as one of the first composers of musicals. Comic opera is a subcategory of opera, and denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature. ...
The Fantasticks was the longest-running musical in history Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining music, songs, spoken dialogue and dance. ...
Death and Subsequent Historical Problems William Shield died on Sunday, January 25, 1829 (the date celebrated as Robbie Burns Day) at his house at 31, Berners Street, London. His will (dated 29th of June 1826) left his worldly goods and a glowing testimonial ”to my beloved partner, Ann, Mrs. Shield”.
Victorian chroniclers skirted round the problem, but when the will was proved on March 6, 1829 the estate was claimed by, “Ann Stokes, alias Shield, Spinster, belonging to Marleybone.”
His favorite violin was given to King George IV, who insisted that the full value be given to Ann. Within six months she also sold his library of music, but nothing more is known of her. George IV King of the United Kingdom George IV (George Augustus Frederick) (12 August 1762–26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom and Hanover from 29 January 1820. ...
Shield is buried, in the musicians section, (south cloisters), of Poets Corner at Westminster Abbey. Surprisingly, it seems no marker of any kind was put in place at the time to show where he lay. Strange state of affairs for a man who was so well known to kings! There was quite a search made near the centenary of his death and eventually a small marble tablet was put as near the grave as could be ascertained. The Abbeys western façade The Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster, which is almost always referred to as Westminster Abbey, is a mainly Gothic church, on the scale of a cathedral (and indeed often considered one), in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. ...
A memorial cross was erected to honour Shield in 1891 at Whickham Church, his native parish. Near it is the oldest Shield grave. “Here lieth Peter Shield and Mary his wife, mother and children. Dep this life April Ye 8th 1747.”
The "Auld Lang Syne" Controversy In 1998, John Treherne, Gateshead’s musical director, uncovered the original manuscript for the opera Rosina in the Gateshead Public Library, while he was looking for new works for the town's youth orchestra. “I thought it was appropriate to look at the work of a Gateshead-born composer. I picked out Rosina by Shield,” Mr Treherne said. "I started to copy out the score and hummed the tune as I was writing it down. I was coming to the end when I realized the tune floating through my head was Auld Lang Syne..” Map sources for Gateshead at grid reference NZ2460 Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear in north-east England on the south side of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne which covers the North Bank. ...
Auld Lang Syne is a poem by Robert Burns, and one of the best known songs in English-speaking countries - although, like many other frequently sung songs, the melody is better remembered than the words, which are often sung incorrectly, and seldom in full. ...
The melody concerned (which exists as as a brief quotation near the end of the Rosina overture) - has since been claimed to be the source of the tune to Robert Burns' famous song, and Shield's own composition. Both claims seem to be highly unlikely, a very much more probable case being that both Shield and Burns independantly borrowed the tune, or at least its general outline, from an old folk song. Look up melody in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
Overture (French ouverture, meaning opening) in music is the instrumental introduction to a dramatic, choral or, occasionally, instrumental composition. ...
Robert Burns, preeminent Scottish poet Robert Burns (January 25, 1759 – July 21, 1796) was a poet and songwriter. ...
Folk music, in the original sense of the term, is music by and of the people. ...
Rather more likely, but just as liable to raise Scots hackles, is the possibility that the melody itself may very well be Northumbrian rather than Scots! Objectively, this controversy is also fairly meaningless, as the original provenance of many British folk melodies is doubtful - and after all Northumbria and Lowland Scotland are contiguous, and have strong cultural affinities. Section from Shepherds map of the British Isles about 802 AD showing the kingdom of Northumbria Northumbria is primarily the name of a petty kingdom of Angles which was formed in Great Britain at the beginning of the 7th century, from two smaller kingdoms of Bernicia and Diera, and...
Incidentally, the theme from the Rosina overture is NOT identical to the melody to which Auld Lang Syne is sung - in fact (as anyone taking the trouble to listen to a recording will quickly notice) it is closer to Coming through the rye (essentially the same tune anyway) but that isn't quite such a good story!
Master of the Queens Music (or Master of the Kings Music) is a prestigious post in the British royal court. ...
External link - Details of the "Auld Lang Syne" controversy
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