Vooijaar 2007 no.60
HOME SWEET HOME
Tijdens de laatste bijeenkomst in Trou
moet Blijcken konden de aanwezigen
weer eens met volle teugen genieten
van een muzikale bijdrage van de
gebroeders Lokin. Het is de redactie
helaas ontgaan wat de beide heren er
toe bracht om het onderstaande lied
"Home Sweet Home" te verbinden met
Dickens. Zij twijfelt er echter geen
moment aan dat uitsluitend aan haar te
wijten is. Zij is eenvoudig nog niet
genoeg "in Dickens" om dit te kunnen
bevatten.
Home Sweet Home
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14
John Howard Payne(i79i-i852)
The English words originated from the melo
drama Clari, Maid of Milan (1823) which was
written by an (itinerant) American, John
Payne.
Within that drama is the phrase 'home, sweet
sweet home'. In 1852, Henry Bishop, not a
successful home-builder himself, composed
some music and collaborated with John Payne
to produce the song shown below.
Henry Bishop was a noted and popular musi
cian of the nineteenth century England, con
ducting, composing, and arranging opera. He
was born on 18th November 1786 and his pro
fessional music career started at the age of
twelve; selling music in Charing Cross. After a
brief time training as a jockey at Newmarket
stables in Suffolk, he began his music studies
in London with Francisco Bianchi.
He became Professor of Music at London,
Edinburgh (Reid Chair of Music) and Oxford.
In 1842 Queen Victoria gave him a knight
hood, the first musician to be honoured this
way. He continued his work as Professor of
Music at Oxford University until his death on
30th April 1855. He is buried in East Finchley
Cemetery, London.
After a successful musical career (and two
failed marriages), Henry Bishop is best
remembered for the following song: 'Home,
sweet home".
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Sir Henry Rowley Bishop(l786-i855)
His first operatic work, Angelina, was per
formed at Margate when Henry was just 17
years old. This was followed by over one hun
dred other works including operas, burlettas,
cantatas, and music arrangements to
Shakespearean plays. He worked at several
major West-End theatres including the Covent
Garden Theatre, King's Theatre in Haymarket,
Druiy Lane and Vauxhall Gardens.
An exile from home, splendor dazzles in vain;
Oh, give me my lowly thatched cottage again!
The birds singing gayly, that came at my call
Give me them-and the peace of mind, dearer than
'Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home;
A charm from the sky seems to hallow us there,
Which, seek through the world, is ne'er met with
elsewhere.
Home, home, sweet, sweet home!
There's no place like home, oh, there's no place like
home!
