Sir George MacFarren

As one of the most prolific composers of the nineteenth century, Macfarren composed in a number of different genres. His music was reminiscent of Beethoven's though he preferred the music of Mozart. Macfarren demonstrated keen insight into musical phrases in the context of textual clarification and sensitivity. Operatic devices were genuinely dramatic though lacking lyric qualities. Successes at the opera included his settings of "Robin Hood" and "King Charles II," the later being quite well received. He studied with both his father and Charles Lucas and eventually matriculated at the Royal Academy of Music where he studied with Potter and eventually taught. Macfarren was instrumental in the foundation of the Handel Society and the Society of British Musicians. He received honorary degrees from Cambridge, Oxfor and Dublin. The cantatas and oratorios which he composed in his later years were in great demand but the penache of his songs like "Pack, clouds, away," are the composiions considered most apt to be revived.
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