1802.] 
thedral compofers, and other firft-rate 
matters, his penetrating, mind never fuf- 
fered an excellence in melody, harmony, 
or modulation, to efcape him, nor did he 
ever re(t fatisfied till he had fully difco- 
vered his author’s meaning. This anxious 
refearch, combined with conftant prac- 
tice on the organ, at once ftored his mind 
with thofe riches of harmonic combina- 
tion and evolution on which he formed his 
ftyle, and gave him a command of hand 
adequate to the execution of whatever his 
imagination fuggefted ; and at the expira- 
tion of his engagement with Mr. Savage, he 
came forth one of the firlt extempore per- 
formers in this country; having among 
his particular friends and admirers the late 
Dr. Arne, Dr. Howard, Dr. Worgan, Mr. 
Stanley, and Dr, Boyce, for the latter of 
which gentlemen he officiated fome time 
at the Chapel Royal, St. James’s. 
He had now juft arrived at manhood ; 
and having a pleafing though not powerful 
voice, a tafteful and mafterly fiyle of ex- 
ecution on the harptichord, a fund of en- 
tertaining information acquired by ex- 
tenfive reading, a pleafing manner, and a 
gay and lively difpofition, he poffeid, in 
an eminent degree, the power of rendering 
himfelf agreeable in every company ; and 
his fociety and inftruétion were courted 
by perfons of the higheft refpeétability. 
Every encouragement was offered to ex- 
cite his future efforts, and promote his 
profefiional fuccefs; and no profpects 
could be fairer or more flattering than 
thofe which he had now betcre him. 
Soon after he left Mr. Savage, he was 
folicited to compofe fome fongs for Sad- 
ler’s Wells, to which application very 
handfome terms induced him to liften; and 
he produced, for the ufe of that place, 
fome of the beft ballads of that time, 
_among which was the celebrated hunting 
fong of ‘© Away! to the Copfe lead 
away!” Not long after this he was en- 
. gaged at the harpfichord at Covent Gar- 
den Theatre, when he became acquainted 
with Mits Davies, pupil of Dr. Howard, 
an admired vocal performer at that thea- 
tre, and the original reprefentative of 
Madge, in the Opera of <* Love ina Vil- 
lage.” To this young lady, whole ele- 
gance of figure, and beauty of counte- 
nance, heightened the attractions of an 
excellent voice and a fweetly-fiinple ftyle 
of finging, Mr. Battithil] was fome time 
afterwards married, when the inimediately 
quitted the ftage, to which he never per- 
mitted her to return. 
Not long after his marriage, the place 
of organit in the United Parifhes of St. 
Memoirs of the late Mr. Battyhill. 
37 
Clement, Eaft-cheap, and St. Martin 
Org4ar, became vacant, to which he was 
elected ; as alfo, foon afterwards, to that 
of Chrift-church, Newgate-ftreet. 
About this time he publithed a fet of 
fongs, the melodies and harmonical con- 
ftrustion of which befvoke a highly florid 
fancy, and a degree of f{cience and judg- 
ment much beyond his years and practical 
experience; but the circumftance which 
eftablithed nis reputation asa compoler, was 
the high ftyle in which he foon afterwards 
acquitted himfelf in furnifhing, in conjunc-. 
tion with Mr. Michael Arne, fon of De. 
Arne, the mulic of Alcmena, an Englith 
Opera, written by Mr. Holt, and produ- 
ced under thedireétion of Mr. Garrick, at 
Drury-Lane Theatre, about the year 1764. 
In this piece, though its fuccefs was far from 
equal to its delerts, there were fome cho- 
ruffes which, for their f{cience, dignity 
and fire of expreffion, deferve ta be clafled 
with the greateft productions in that {pe- 
cies of compofition ; while feveral of his 
airs, particularly the two bafs fongs, 
“© Pois’d in Heaven’s eternal Scale,’’ and 
‘Thus when Young Ammon marched 
along,”’ both fung by’ Mr. Samuel Champ- 
ne{fs, ftrongly picture his energy and vi- 
gour of imagination, and prove that he 
felt the charaéter for which they were 
written.. This piece was fhortly after- 
wards fucceeded by the Rites of Hecate, 
a mufical drama, in which his powers 
were again difplayed in an eminent degree; 
efpecially in a feng beginning with A 
fond Father’s Blifs is to number his Race,” 
the melody of which is particularly rich 
and dignified. But neither thefe avoca- 
tions, nor the attention demanded by his 
pupils, wholly diverted his mind from ca- 
thedral compofition, Retiring occafionally 
from the gay and buly concerns of lifd, 
he indulged that propenfity which had its 
birth in the choir, and produced a number 
of anthems, the excellencies of which have 
been univerfally confeffed and admired. 
Among them we have particularly to name 
his ‘* Call to Remembrance,” the artful 
and clofe imitations of the firfk movement 
of which are inimitably fine, while the 
beauty and fweetnefs of melody in the 
other movements is every where original 
and ftriking * He alfo,-at the exprefs 
defire of the Reverend Mr. Charlies Wefley, 
brother of the celebrated Mr. John Wefley, 
* This Anthem, together with his ** How 
long wilt thou forget me, O Lord ?’’—«« [ 
will magnify thee, O Lord”—and ‘* O Lord, 
deliver us !’’ have been lately re-publithed in 
Page’s Harmonia Sacra. 
and 
