William Savage

William Savage (1720 – 27 July 1789) was an English composer, organist, and singer of the 18th century. He sang as a boy treble and alto, a countertenor, and as a bass. He is best remembered for his association with the composer George Frideric Handel, in whose oratorios Savage sang.

Life and career Savage married Mary Bolt (1718–1788), and together they had three children. William died young in the West Indies, and Rev. George Savage died in 1816. Their daughter Jane Savage was also a composer. Mary published two volumes of Poems on Various Subjects and Occasions in 1777.

Singer

Savage first came to prominence as a boy treble in 1735, singing in a revival of Handel's Athalia and in Alcina during the composer's Covent Garden season. After his voice had broken, he initially continued his career singing as an alto (countertenor), and later turned into a bass. As a countertenor he performed possibly the small roles of La Fortuna and Childerico in Handel's operas, Giustino (1737) and Faramondo (1738), and also appeared in the first performance of Israel in Egypt (1739), as well as in revivals of other Handel oratorios. As a bass, he created the title role in Imeneo (1740), the role of Fenice in Deidamia (1741) and that of Manoa at the premiere of the oratorio Samson (1743). where he influenced many of the following generation of high-class musicians. In 1777 he retired to Kent. He returned to London in 1780 to teach music but was not as successful as in previous years.

Composer Savage was also a moderately prolific composer. He composed many anthems and other church music. His anthem "O Lord my God" is his most ambitious work and is written for accompaniment by string orchestra. He also composed music for solo violin and various canons, catches and rounds, composed for the Noblemen and Gentlemen's Catch Club, of which Savage was a member. A more idiosyncratic piece was his "On the very first of May", set to nonsense poetry written by his wife.