Obscure Music Monday: Bridgetower's Henry: A Ballad

George Augustus Polgreen Bridgetower (Oct. 11, 1778 – Feb. 29, 1860) was an Afro-European violinist and composer born in Poland, though he spent a much of his life in England. Bridgetower showed much promise as a young violinist, giving concerts at only ten years old.

in 1791, after giving many successful concerts around Europe, the British Prince Regent, the future King George the IV, took a strong interest in Bridgetower's musical education. Thanks to him, he studied with François-Hippolyte Barthélémon, of the Royal Opera, Croatian-Italian composer Giovannia Giornovichi, and Thomas Attwood, a professor at the Royal Academy of Music. He was employed by the Prince Regent for a while, and gave many concerts around England. In the early 1800s, he visited his brother, a cellist, in Dresden and also visited Vienna, where he performed with Ludwig van Beethoven. Beethoven was very impressed with Bridgetower, and dedicated his Violin Sonata No. 9 to him; alas, they had a falling out some time later, and Beethoven changed the dedication to Rudolphe Kreutzer, the virtuoso violinist. Bridgetower returned to England later, where he continued performing and teaching, and earned a Bachelor's of Music in 1811.

There are very few surviving works of his; one of them is Henry: A Ballad, written not long after Bridgetower received his degree, and it's dedicated to the Princess of Wales. This bright work is comprised of three verses, which culminates with Henry being assured that he is loved. This short work is charming and lovable, with wonderfully clean and crisp piano part, as you'd expect from something written at that time.

Sadly, we can't find a recording for this, other than the above YouTube video.