DICTIONARY OF MUSIC - El Atril

564 KELLY KELWAY
Arne (1778-79),—his singing-masters being
Passerini, Peretti, and St. Giorgio. He finished
his piano lessons with Dr. Cogan, and had a
short course of instruction from Rauzzini.
On May 1, 1779, he left Dublin for Naples.
w. H. G. P.] Before quitting Dublin, however,
a fortuitous circumstance led to his appearance
on the stage as the Count in Piccinni's ' Buona
FigUuola,' and that again to his performing the
hero in Michael Arne's ' Cymon,' and Lionel in
'Lionel and Clarissa.' At Naples he placed
himself under the tuition of Finaroli, head of
the Conservatorio of La Madonna di Loreto.
He subsequently studied under Aprile, with
whom he visited Palermo, and then went successively
to Leghorn, Florence, Bologna, Brescia,
Verona, Gratz in Styria, and Venice, ultimately
reacliing Vienna, where he was engaged at the
Court theatre. There he remained four years,
enjoying the intimate friendship of Mozart,
who on the production of his ' Nozze di Figaro '
(May 1, 1786) allotted to Kelly (whose name
he spells ' Oochely ' in his MS. catalogue) the
parts of Basilic and Don Carzio. Being anxious
to visit England Kelly obtaineil leave of absence
from the Emperor, and in Feb. 1787 quitted
Vienna in company with Stephen Storace, his
mother and sister—Signora Storace—and Attwood.
He appeared at Diury Lane on April 20,
as Lionel, in ' Lionel and Clarissa,' and continued
there as first tenor until he quitted the stage. He
also sang at the Concerts of Antient Music, the
Handel performances in Westminster Abbey,
and in the provinces. In 17S9 he made his
first appearance as a composer by the produc-
tion of the music to two pieces called ' False
Appearances' and 'Fashionable Friends,' and
from that date till 1820 furnished the music
for sixty-two dramatic pieces, besides writing a
considerable number of English, Italian, and
French single songs, etc. In 1793 he was
engaged at the King's Theatre, of which he was
for many years acting manager. On .Jan. 1,
1802, he opened a misic-shop in Pall Mall
adjoining the Opera House, but this promising
speculation failed owing to his inattention, and
in 1811 he was made a bankrupt. He also
engaged in the wine trade, and this circumstance,
C'>mbined with the suspicion that some of
Kelly's compositions were derived from foreign
sources, led Sheridan to propose that he should
inscribe over his shop, ' Michael Kelly, Composer
of Wines and Importer of Music' On
Oct. 1, 1811, at Dublin, Kelly made his last
appearance on the stage [at his own benefit,
when he sang 'The Bard of Erin,' composed
by himself \v. h. g. f.] In 1826 he published
his liemi}iisc''!ices in 2 vols. 8vo. This
entertaining work, wdiich reached a second
elition in the same year, was written by
Theodore Hook from materials furnished by
Kelly. Its personal notices of Mozart are both
interesting and important, and have been done
justice to by Otto Jahn {Mozart, ii. 242, etc.).
Kelly died at Margate, Oct. 9, 1826, and was
buried in the churchyard of St. Paul's, Covent
Garden. The following is a list of the pieces
for which he comjiosed the music ;
Friend
Last of the Family,' 'The Chimney Comer,' and
'The Castle Spectre,' 1797; 'Blue Beard,' "rhe Outlaws,' 'The
Captive o( Spielberg' (with Dussek), and 'Aurelio and Miranda,
' ' ' False Appeamuces and Fashionable Friends,' 1789; ' A
' in need,' rhe
' ' 1798 ; Feudal Times ' and Pizarro,' 1799 ; Of age t^-morrow.' ' Da
' ' Montfort,' and The Indians,' 1800 ; Deaf and Dumb,' ' Adelmom
' the Outlaw,' and The Gip.sev Prince,' 1801 ; 'Urania.' 'Algonah,'
and 'A House to be sold.' 180'2 ; 'The Hero of the North,' 'The
' ' Maniage Promise,' and Love laughs at Lock.sniiths, ' 1803 ; Cinderella,'
'The Counterfeit,' 'The Hunter of the Alps.' 'The Gay
Deceivers,' 'The Bad Bai-gain,' and 'The Land we live in.' 1804;
' The Honey Moon,' ' ' A Prior Claim,' and Youth, Liive, .and Folly,'
180.T; 'We tly by night,' 'The Forty Thieves.' and 'Adrian and
* ' Orilla,' 1806 ; The Young Huss.ar,' Town and Country,' ' Tbe Wood
' Demou'lwithM, P. King^ 'Thellouseof Morville,' Adelgitha,'and
Time's a tell-tale,' 1807; 'The Jew of Mogadore,' 'The Africans,'
' ' ' and Veuoni,' 1808 ; The Foundling of the Forest ' and The
' •Tubilee,' 1809; Gustavus Vasa' and a Ballet, 1810; "Tbe Peasant
Boy.' Tbe Royal Oak.' and ' ' One o'clock,' 1811 ; Tbe Absent Apothecary.'
'The Ruaaians.' 'Pollv,' 'The Illusion.' and 'Harlequin
Harper,' IS13; ' Remorse,' 1814 '
; The Unknown Guest,' 1815 ; 'The
Fall of Taranto,' 1817; 'The Bride of .\bydoa,' 181S ; 'Abudah'
' 1819 ; iud rbe
Lady and the Devil,' 1820,
[Of his many songs, ' The "Woodpecker ' is the
only one that has survived until the present
time.] w. H. H. ; additions horaDkt. of Nat. Biog.
KELLY, Thomas Alexander Erskike,
SIXTH Earl of. An amateur composer of
some degree of celebrity, and a violinist. He
was born Sept. 1, 1732, succeeded to the title
in 1756, and died a bachelor in Brussels, Oct. 9,
1781. He studied music in Germany under
Stamitz, and about the middle of the 18th
century became famous for the composition of
minuets, overtures, and symphonies. His overture
to ' The Maid of the Mill,' 1765, was long a
popular piece. Robert Bremner of London and
Edinburgh published his earlier compositions,
and his copyright grant for them for nineteen
years is dated 1761. Afterwards Lord Kelly's
compositions were issued by William Napier.
In 1836 Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe edited a
small quarto publication of his minuets and
other pieces, with a biographical notice and list
of compositions. It is likely that Lord Kelly
formed one of that group of musicians, among
whom were .James Oswald, Charles Burney, and
Captain (afterwards General) Reid, who formed
the 'Society of the Temple of Apollo.' The
compositions of this Societ}' were for a time
published anonymously by James Oswald of
St. Martin's Lane. f. k.
KELWAY, Joseph, a pupil of Geminiani,
was organist of St. Michael's, Cornhill, about
1730, but resigned the post in 1736, on being
appointed organist of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields
vice Weldon deceased. Upon the arrival of
Queen Charlotte in England in 1761, Kelway
was appointed her instructor on the harpsichord.
As a harpsichord player he was remarkable for
neatness of touch and rapidity of execution,
and for his ability in performing Scarlatti's
pieces. As an organist he excelled in extemporaneous
performance, of "which he was such a
master as to attract the most eminent musicians
in London (amongst them Handel) to the church
in order to hear him. Burney (iv. 665) char-
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