Thomas Roseingrave

Thomas Roseingrave, like his father Daniel Roseingrave, was an English-born Irish composer and organist.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article on Thomas Roseingrave.

From the period sources

Thomas Roseingrave, a Dublin-born musician, was known for his profound skill in the principles of music, though his own playing and compositional style were described by A General History of the Science and Practice of Music (1875) as “harsh and disgusting, manifesting great learning, but void of elegance and variety.” Around 1725, he secured the prestigious organist position at St. George’s, Hanover Square, after a competitive trial where he “far exceeded his competitors” in improvising a fugue, with Handel and Geminiani serving as judges. Roseingrave had previously introduced Domenico Scarlatti’s opera Narcissus to the London stage in 1720, adding some of his own songs, and later published a collection of Scarlatti’s harpsichord lessons, including a few of his own pieces. A passionate admirer of Palestrina, he reportedly covered his bedroom walls with extracts from the Renaissance master’s works, which he used as models for his own compositions, according to Biographie universelle des musiciens (1837). However, his intense application to music reportedly injured his mental faculties, and by 1737, “chagrins d’amour dérangèrent ses facultés,” leading to his replacement as organist by John Keeble, who shared half his salary until Roseingrave’s death in 1750 (Grove’s Dictionary, 1879). He was also an early teacher of Henry Carey, the popular composer and dramatist (A Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, 1900).