Frederic Clay

Frederic Emes Clay (3 August 1838 – 24 November 1889) was an English composer known principally for his music written for the stage. Clay, a great friend of Sir Arthur Sullivan's, wrote four comic operas with W. S. Gilbert and introduced the two men.

Life and career

Clay was born in Paris to English parents, James Clay (1804–1873), a Member of Parliament, and his wife, Eliza Camilla Woolrych. Clay was the fourth of six brothers and sisters. His father was celebrated as a player of whist and the author of a treatise on that subject, as well as an amateur composer. His mother also had a musical background, as her mother had been an opera singer.Knowles, Christopher. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 10 Oct 2008 Clay was educated at home by private tutors in London, studying piano and violin, and then music composition under Bernhard Molique and, in 1863, with Moritz Hauptmann in Leipzig, Germany.Sullivan, Arthur. Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, reprinted at The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive With the exception of some songs, hymns, instrumental...
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