Charles Edward Horsley

Charles Edward Horsley (16 December 1822 – 28 February 1876) was an English musician and composer. He was the son of William Horsley and grandson of John Wall Callcott, both of whom were notable musicians. Horsley was depicted as the composer "Auchester" in Elizabeth Sara Sheppard's novel Charles Auchester.

Early career He received his first musical training from his father and Ignaz Moscheles. Felix Mendelssohn, a family friend, advised Horsley to study music in Germany, where his teachers included Moritz Hauptmann in Kassel. From 1841, Horsley spent the following three years in Leipzig, in which he remained in contact with Mendelssohn and his circle. This period was also when Horsley began composing music, including a Symphony in D minor.

On his return to England, Horsley established himself as a teacher while continuing to compose. Around 1850, while living in Liverpool, he composed two oratorios for the Philharmonic Society and the anthem I was glad. He returned to London in 1853 to become organist of St John the Evangelist, Notting Hill, where he stayed until 1857. In 1856, he was passed over by William Sterndale Bennett for the Cambridge professorship. Bennet subsequently asked him to become a founder member of the Bach Society. In 1860, he was appointed to arrange the music for the 1862 International Exhibition in London, and composed his third oratorio, Gideon, for the first Glasgow Festival. While there he was commissioned to compose a cantata Euterpe to a poem by Henry Kendall, performed for the opening of Melbourne Town Hall in 1876, and also performed at the Crystal Palace in London the same year.

In 1872 Horsley went to America. Three weeks after his arrival he was appointed organist of St John's Chapel, New York at a salary of £500 a year, which position he filled to the day of his death. In the United States he wrote sentimental and patriotic songs, which continued to appear until the last year of his life. two odes (Comus, 1874 and Euterpe, 1876), four anthems and various songs. The orchestral works include his Symphony in D, Op.9 (1842-4), a Piano Concerto (1848), and the overtures Genoveva (1853) and The Merry Wives of Windsor (1857).