Scan 42
Groves Dictionary Of Music And Musicians,vol.3, 1907
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1At 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 reaching 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 'Occhely' in his MS. catalogue) the parts of Basilio and Don Curzio. Being anxious to visit England, Kelly obtained 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 Drury Lane on Apr. 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.
3In 1789 he made his first appearance as a composer by the production 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,1 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 music-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, combined 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, in Dublin, Kelly made his last appearance on the stage at his own benefit, when he sang 'The Bard of Erin,' composed by himself.
5In 1826 he published his Reminiscences in 2 vols. 8vo. This entertaining work, which reached a second edition 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, and was buried in the churchyard of St. Paul's, Covent Garden. The following is a list of the pieces for which he composed the music:
7'False Appearances' and 'Fashionable Friends,' 1789; 'A Friend in Need,' 'The Last of the Family,' 'The Chimney Corner,' and 'The Castle Spectre,' 1797; 'Blue Beard,' 'The Outlaws,' 'The Captive of Spielberg' (with Duasek), and 'Aurelio and Miranda,' 1798; 'Feudal Times' and 'Pizarro,' 1799; 'Of age to-morrow,' 'De Montfort,' and 'The Indians,' 1800; 'Deaf and Dumb,' 'Adelmorn the Outlaw,' and 'The Gipsy Prince,' 1801; 'Urania,' 'Algonah,' and 'A House to be sold,' 1802; 'The Hero of the North,' 'The Marriage Promise,' and 'Love laughs at Locksmiths,' 1803; 'Cinderella,' 'The Counterfeit,' 'The Hunter of the Alps,' 'The Gay Deceiver,' 'The Bad Bargain,' and 'The Land we live in,' 1804; 'The Honey Moon,' 'A Prior Claim,' and 'Youth, Love and Folly,' 1805; 'We fly by night,' 'The Forty Thieves,' and 'Adrian and Orilla,' 1806; 'The Young Hussar,' 'Town and Country,' 'The Wood Demon' (with M. P. King), 'The House of Morville,' 'Adelgitha,' and 'Time's a tell-tale,' 1807; 'The Jew of Mogadore,' 'The Africans,' and 'Venoni,' 1808; 'The Foundling of the Forest,' and 'The Jubilee,' 1809; 'Gustavus Vasa' and a Ballet, 1810; 'The Peasant Boy,' 'The Royal Oak,' and 'One o'clock,' 1811; 'The Absent Apothecary,' 'The Russians,' 'Polly,' 'The Illusion,' and 'Harlequin Harper,' 1813; 'Remorse,' 1814; 'The Unknown Guest,' 1815; 'The Fall of Taranto,' 1817; 'The Bride of Abydos,' 1818; 'Abudah,' 1819; and 'The Lady and the Devil,' 1820.
9Of his many songs, 'The Woodpecker' is the only one that has survived until the present time. W. H. H.; addns. W. H. G. F. and D.N.B.
11KELLY, THOMAS ALEXANDER ERSKINE, sixth Earl of (b. Sept. 1, 1732; d. Brussels, Oct. 9, 1781), an amateur composer of some degree of celebrity, and a violinist. He succeeded to the title in 1756, and died a bachelor. 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 Society were for a time published anonymously by James Oswald of St. Martin's Lane.
13F. K.
15KELWAY, (1) JOSEPH (d. probably May 1782), 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) characterises his playing as full of a 'masterly wildness . . . bold, rapid, and fanciful.'2 A fine portrait of Kelway seated at the harpsichord, probably by Battone, exists. Also a pastel from it.3
17His elder brother, (2) THOMAS (d. Chichester,
191 For an account of the transactions by which 'Blue Beard' was produced (Drury Lane, Jan. 16, 1798), see Kelly's Reminiscences, vol. ii. p. 144.
212 See also Mrs. Delany's Letters, i. 579, ii. 61, and other books referred to in the D.N.B.
233 The portrait belonged (1915) to Miss Musgrave, 63 Cadogan Gardens, London; the pastel to Miss Leat of Yelverton, Devon.
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