Elizabeth Turner (c.1720-1756)
- Lesson I in g (1756)
Performers: Barbara Harbach (harpsichord)
Painting: Martin Orthner (18th Century) - Trompe l'oeil mit Porträt Collagen und Zeichnungen (c.1780)
Further info: Elizabeth Turner (c.1720-1756)
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English singer, composer and harpsichordist. Little is known about her
life. Her songs were quite popular in the first half of the eighteenth
century, and critics revered her as a first-rate soprano. She was also
one of the first known Englishwomen to publish a substantial collection
of musical works. More than 400 names appear on the subscription list
for her 1750 volume, and 350 for her 1756 collection. Subscribers
included musicians such as G.F. Handel, William Boyce, and John Stanley
as well as numerous elite patrons. Several of her songs were popular
enough to warrant publication in London Magazine and The Lady’s
Magazine, the latter of which dubbed her “the ingenious Miss Eliza
Turner.” Turner seems to have been more well-known during her career as a
performer than as a composer. In addition to collaborating frequently
with Boyce in numerous settings, she was also known for her performances
of arias from oratorios by Handel, Thomas Arne, and Boyce. Charles
Burney reported that Turner was a favorite performer at the Swan, and
she also performed at the Castle Tavern, Hickford’s Room, and the Great
Room in Dean Street. The London Evening Post reported her death in 1756,
noting “Yesterday died at Islington Miss Elizabeth Turner, whose
extraordinary Genius and Abilities in Musick, make her justly lamented
by all Lovers of Harmony.” As a composer, he has only one publication
extant: “A Collection of Songs with Symphonies and a Thorough Bass with
Six Lessons for the Harpsichord” (1756). There are 19 Songs, all of
which are clearly in the English tradition, and not the more popular
Italian style of the time, which are aimed at women playing music in
their homes. The Six Lessons for harpsichord do indeed seem to be
lessons which explore different techniques as well as being lively and
full of character.
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