John Spray (c.1768 – 21 January 1827) was an acclaimed tenor singer, known for performing works by John Andrew Stevenson, who wrote a number of pieces for him including the popular Faithless Emma.[1]
Spray was born in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, and was a chorister there. He moved to Dublin in 1795 to work as vicar choral for the Dublin cathedrals (St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin and Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin).[2][3] He received an honorary doctorate in music from Dublin University in 1821.[4]
A memorial to Spray stands in the north transept of St. Patrick's.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ Our Portrait Gallery – Sir John A. Stevenson, Mus. Doc., The Dublin University Magazine, April 1851, p. 499.
- ^ Leeper, Alexander. Historical Handbook to the Monuments, Inscriptions, etc. of the National Collegiate and Cathedral Church of St. Patrick Dublin, p. 78 (1891).
- ^ Bumpus, John Skelton. Sir John Stevenson: a biographical sketch, p. 49-50 (1893)
- ^ Boydell, Barra: A History of Music at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2005), pp. 104–05.
- ^ St. Patrick's Cathedral's Close News (January 2013)