SULLIVAN, Sir ARTHUR SEYMOLTR ( 1842 1900). A distinguished English composer. Ile was born in London of Irish parents. Sir George Smart accepted him as one of the children of the Chapel Royal, and during the choristership he wrote several anthems. His earliest pub lished composition was a song "0 Israel" (1855). In 1856, at the age of fourteen, Sullivan suc ceeded in obtaining the \lendelssohn scholar,ship, then recently established, and Ivhile still holding this scholarship he entered the Royal Academy of Music. III 1858 lie went to Leipzig, where he studied at the Conservatory. Ilis famous in cidental music to Shakespeare's Tempest was his last work at the Conservatory, and was first heard in England in 1862, a few days after his arrival in the country. After holding organ appointments at Saint Miclmel's and at Saint Peter's he was appointed professor of the piano forte and ballad-singing at the Crystal Palace School of Art, after which he gave a course of lectures on the theory and practice of music at the South Kensington Museum. His first great success in composition was his "Orpheus with His Lute," which was soon followed by "The Lost Chord." He was meanwhile engaged on more serious work. and in 1864 the cantata Kenil nro•th was produced. Then came the Symphony in E (1866), the Orerture In Memoriam (1866). The Prodigal Son ( 1S69), Light of the ll'or/d (1873), The Martyr of Antioch (1880), The Golden. Legend (1886), and the grand opera Ivanhoe (1891). He is held in greatest repute, however, for his light opera compositions, a form of writing into which he stumbled by the merest accident. The financial difficulties of the widow and family of a well-known artist on the staff of Punch caused the friends of the de ceased to organize a 'benefit' for which F. C'.
Burnand and Sullivan promised to collaborate in a musical piece. Box and Cox was the result, and in seven days it was written. learned, re hearsed, and performed. The genre thus created became the field in which lie achieved greatest success in collaboration with W. S. Gilbert. Be sides those mentioned his dramatic works are: The C'ortrcrharndistu ( 1867 ) afterwards enlarged as The Chieftain (1894), Thespis (187 1 1, Trio/ by Jury and The Zoo ( 1875 ) • The Sorcerer (1877), H. .11. S. Pinafore (1878), Pirates of feP:anec (1880), Patience (1881), Iolanthe ( 1852 ) , Princess Ida ( 1884 ) , The Mikado (1855), Rudd/gore (1887), The Yromen of the Guard (1588). The Gondoliers (1889), Haddon. Hall (1892), rtopia (1893), The Grand Duke ( 1896 ), The Beauty Stone ( 189:8 ) The Rose of Persia (1899). and The Emerald Isle (1901). In ISS3 lie was knighted by Queen Victoria. His music is essentially lyric in quality, and he was exceptionally fluent in melody as well as a mons ter of dainty orchestration, in which latter re spect lie perhaps has never been excelled. His early training in the school of English church music left its imprint on all his sacred composi tions. His anthems are distinguished by their pure melody and dignified harmony. His hymn tunes are sung universally, and of these not the least important is his fine martial setting of "Onward. Christian Soldiers." He died in London.