Christian Ignatius Latrobe

Christian Ignatius Latrobe
Christian Ignatius Latrobe, mezzotint by Samuel Bellin, after Thomas Barber
Born	12 February 1758 Fulneck, England
Died	6 May 1836 (aged 78) Fairfield, England

Christian Ignatius Latrobe (12 February 1758 – 6 May 1836) was an English clergyman, artist, musician, and composer. He composed a large number of works for the Moravian Church, and most famously edited a Selection of Sacred Music in six volumes between 1806 and 1826, introducing the sacred music of Haydn, Mozart and Pergolesi to English audiences.

Life

Born in Fulneck, near Leeds, to Benjamin Latrobe, of Huguenot descent, and Anna Margaretta Antes, Christian Latrobe went to Niesky in Saxony in 1771 to attend the Moravian College. On completion of his training he taught at the college for a while after which he returned to England and was ordained in 1784.

In 1815 he voyaged to the Cape to visit Mamre and Genadendal, two Moravian mission stations. While in South Africa, he journeyed from Genadendal to George, Uitenhage and the Great Fish River. He planned the founding of a new mission station called Enon on the Witrivier near Kirkwood. He described his journey with coloured illustrations in Journal of a Visit to South Africa in 1815 and 1816: With Some Account of the Missionary Settlements of the United Brethren, Near the Cape of Good Hope. He also wrote History of the Mission of the United Brethren Among the Indians in North America in 1794.

Latrobe, like Vincent Novello, often brought newly published music from Europe to England in the early 19th century. He purchased a number of music scores and oratorios from Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig, near Niesky, when they were not published due to a perceived lack of interest. These pieces might well have included a Mozart arrangement of Handel's Judas Maccabaeus (1747) discovered in 2001 in Halifax, West Yorkshire.

Latrobe recalled that not long after Haydn arrived in England in 1790, he called at Latrobe's home. After confirming that he was at the correct place, Haydn asked Mrs. Latrobe "be you his woman?" and spotting a picture of himself said "dat is me – I am Haydn". Mrs. Latrobe hurriedly sent for her husband who was at a house nearby. A fairly close friendship grew out of this meeting and Latrobe became a regular visitor at Haydn's home during his two stays in England.

Three of Latrobe's piano sonatas were dedicated to Joseph Haydn. He also wrote clarinet concertos, duets and arias, and more than a hundred vocal pieces, among which were "Lord of Life Now Sweetly Slumber", "How Shall a Mortal Song Aspire", "Psalm 51" and "We Praise Thee, Oh God".

He died in the Fairfield Moravian Settlement on 6 May 1836, at the age of 78.

Family

Christian Latrobe married Hannah Benigna Syms (28 October 1758 – 18 April 1824). His brother, Benjamin Latrobe, was a renowned architect who designed the United States Capitol as well as Baltimore's cathedral. Christian's children were:

• Charlotte Louisa Latrobe (1794–1879)
• Peter Latrobe (15 February 1795 – 24 September 1863), Bishop of the Moravian Church, married firstly Mary Louisa Foster on 27 December 1825, had issue, and secondly Jeanetta Margaret Brett
• Anna Agnes Latrobe (1796–1832)
• John Antes Latrobe (1799–1878), writer on music, unmarried
• Charles Joseph Latrobe (20 March 1801 – 4 December 1875), Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria, married firstly Sophie de Montmollin (died 30 January 1854) on 16 September 1835 in Berne, Switzerland, had issue, and secondly Rose Isabelle de Montmollin, had issue
• Frederick Benjamin Latrobe (1803 – 11 December 1842), married Elizabeth Scott, had issue

Illustrations by Latrobe from Journal of a Visit to South Africa

Kaaimansgat Pass near George, South Africa 1816

Paardekop Pass near Plettenberg Bay, South Africa 1816

The Trek-aan-Touw approach east of George, South Africa 1816

References

• Latrobe genealogy
• The Musical Times (1851)
• Mason, John C. S. (2004). "La Trobe, Christian Ignatius (1758–1836)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/16107. Retrieved 22 November 2009. (subscription or UK public library membership required)

External links

Media related to Christian Ignatius Latrobe at Wikimedia Commons

• Family tree in Genealogisches Handbuch der baltischen Ritterschaften, Estland, Görlitz 1930 Template:De icon
• "Latrobe, Christian Ignatius" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.