Thomas Arne

Thomas Arne
Thomas Augustine Arne, 1778
Born
Thomas Augustine Arne

(1710-03-12)12 March 1710
Covent Garden, London, England
Died5 March 1778(1778-03-05) (aged 67)
London, England
EducationEton College

Thomas Augustine Arne (/ɑːrn/; 12 March 1710 – 5 March 1778) was an English composer. He is best known for his patriotic song "Rule, Britannia!" and the song "A-Hunting We Will Go", the latter composed for a 1777 production of The Beggar's Opera, which has since become popular as a folk song and a nursery rhyme.[1] Arne was a leading British theatre composer of the 18th century, working at the West End's Drury Lane and Covent Garden. He wrote many operatic entertainments for the London theatres and pleasure gardens, as well as concertos, sinfonias, and sonatas.[2]

  1. ^ Sexuality in Eighteenth-century Britain. Manchester University Press. 1982. p. 250.
  2. ^ Oxford illustrated encyclopedia. Judge, Harry George., Toyne, Anthony. Oxford [England]: Oxford University Press. 1985–1993. p. 22. ISBN 0-19-869129-7. OCLC 11814265.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)