Edward James Loder (10 July 1809 – 5 April 1865)[1] was an English composer and conductor. His best remembered work is perhaps the 1855 opera Raymond and Agnes,[2] though his most successful opera during his lifetime was The Night Dancers.

Portrait of Edward James Loder as it appeared on the first page of The Illustrated London News, 27 November 1858

Biography

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Loder was born in Bath, Somerset. He was the son of John David Loder (1788–1846),[2] a violinist and musical director of the Theatre Royal, Bath,[3] and his wife Rosamund, née Mills (1787–1856), a step-daughter of the comedian John Fawcett. Edward Loder's twin brother John Fawcett Loder (1809–1853) was a violinist, and a younger brother William Sowerby Loder (1812–1851) was a cellist who married the soprano Emily Woodyatt. His cousins included the composer and conductor George Loder (1816–1868)[2] and George's sister, composer and pianist Kate Loder.[4]

Loder's family sent him to Frankfurt in 1826 to study under Ferdinand Ries, who was an old friend of the family. He returned to England in 1828 and embarked on a successful career as an opera conductor in London as the music director of Princess's Theatre, and, from 1851 in Manchester, leading the Theatre Royal. His first composing success was Nourjahad in 1834. His compositions include operas, cantatas, ballad operas, string quartets, and many songs. Today he is most remembered for his opera Raymond and Agnes (1855), which was revived in Cambridge in 1966.[5] His most successful opera during his lifetime was The Night Dancers, sometimes referred to as The Wilis, or The Night Dancers, or Giselle, or The Night Dancers, first produced in 1846 and revived at Covent Garden in 1860.[6]

On 10 November 1831, Loder married Elizabeth Mary Watson (c.1813–1880) at Bristol.[7][8] It appears they were separated within a few years, as in 1861 he stated that his wife was Louisa Alice Foster, born c. 1838.[7] He appears to have fathered a son (Edward Loder Garside 1850–1940) with the actress Clara Garside Neville (1827–1869) during his marriage to Louisa.[7] Tributes at the time of his death state that he was a bachelor.[7]

He died in London in 1865.[2]

Works

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References

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  1. ^ Although Grove and other sources give 1813 as Edward Loder's year of birth, there are parish records giving his birth as 10 July 1809 at his christening on 3 July 1811 at St Swithin, Walcot, Bath.
  2. ^ a b c d Temperley, Nicholas (2001). "Edward (James) Loder (b. Bath 1813 d. London 5 April 1865)". In Sadie, Stanley (ed.). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Vol. 15. London: Macmillan. pp. 56–57. ISBN 0-333-60800-3.
  3. ^ Temperley, Nicholas (2001). "John David Loder (bap. Bath 14 August 1788 d. London 13 February 1846)". In Sadie, Stanley (ed.). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Vol. 15. London: Macmillan. p. 56. ISBN 0-333-60800-3.
  4. ^ Temperley, Nicholas (2001). "Kate (Fanny) Loder (b. Bath 21 August 1825 d. Headley, Surrey 30 August 1904))". In Sadie, Stanley (ed.). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Vol. 15. London: Macmillan. p. 59. ISBN 0-333-60800-3.
  5. ^ Shaman, William (1999). More EJS: Discography of the Edward J. Smith Recordings – Unique Opera Records Corporation (1972–77), A.N.N.A. Record Company (1978–82), Special Label ... Addendum to the Golden Age of Opera Series. Greenwood Press. p. 51. ISBN 978-0313298356.
  6. ^ Beale, Robert (2007). Charles Hallé: A Musical Life (Music in Nineteenth-Century Britain). Ashgate. p. 129. ISBN 978-0754661375.
  7. ^ a b c d "Edward James Loder". Rootsweb. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  8. ^ Lawrence, Vb (1995). Strong on Music: Resonances, 1836–49 v. 1: New York Music Scene in the Days of George Templeton Strong, 1836–75. University of Chicago Press. p. 84. ISBN 978-0-226-47009-2.
  9. ^ "Provincial: Liverpool". The Musical World. XXIII (13). William Spencer Johnson at the Nassau Steam Press: 204. 25 March 1848. Retrieved 9 May 2009. The performance concluded with the afterpiece of the Sultana which was altered from Isaac Bickerstaff's Sultan and adapted especially for Mdme. Thillon at the Princess's Theatre

Further reading

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