Thomas Greatorex
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- For the 20th century composer, see Walter Greatorex.
Thomas Greatorex (1758-1831) was an English composer, astronomer and mathematician. As well as being organist of Westminster Abbey he was a Fellow of the Royal Society.
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[edit] Career
A member of an old Derbyshire family, as a boy Greatorex studied with Dr Benjamin Cooke, organist of Westminster Abbey, and was a protégé of the Earl of Sandwich. For four years he was organist of Carlisle Cathedral and from there went to live and work in Italy, where he became a friend of Charles Edward Stuart, or "Bonnie Prince Charlie." When the Young Pretender died in 1788, he left some of his music books to Greatorex, who returned to London the same year. He was soon in much demand as a music teacher and succeeded Joah Bates as conductor of the Concerts of Ancient Music. He also directed music festivals at Birmingham, York and Derby. In 1819, he succeeded George Ebenezer Williams as organist of Westminster Abbey.
His works as a composer include the anthem This is the Day the Lord Hath Made.
[edit] Family
Greatorex married and had five sons. One of these, Henry Wellington Greatorex (1813 to 1858), became a church organist in Hartford, Connecticut, USA, and composed many hymns. He directed the singer Jenny Lind in New York in 1850. Henry Wellington Greatorex's wife, Eliza Pratt Greatorex (1819 to 1897), was a famous Irish-American artist and illustrator and in 1868 became the first woman to be elected an Associate of the National Academy.
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[edit] Trivia
There is a story that King George IV, when Prince Regent, once said to Thomas Greatorex, "My father is Rex, but you are a Greater Rex".
[edit] Sources
[edit] References
(1986) Hymns Ancient & Modern. Richard Clay (The Chaucer press). ISBN 0-907547-37-0.
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