joseph emidy
LISTEN TO a violin solo WHICH we know JOSEPH EMIDY PLAYED in the assembly rooms, truro (Melodie by Gluck)
Joseph Antonia Emidy was born in 1775 in Guinea, West Africa, and enslaved as a child by Portuguese traders. After being taken to Brazil he was transported to Portugal where he became a virtuoso violinist in the Lisbon Opera. Kidnapped by British sailors during the Napoleonic wars, he spent the next four years as a ship fiddler before finally being abandoned at Falmouth in 1799.
In Falmouth Joseph Emidy began by earning his living as a violinist and teacher. In 1802 he married a local tradesman's daughter Jane Hutchens. The couple had eight children and moved to Truro around 1815. Here Emidy performed regularly at the Assembly Rooms in Truro, as well as teaching, composing and organising concerts. He eventually became Leader of the Truro Philharmonic Orchestra. His own chamber works, concertos and symphonies made him the most celebrated and influential musical figure in early nineteenth century Cornwall but sadly, all of his original works have been lost.
Joseph Antonio Emidy died in Truro on 23rd April, 1835 and his tombstone is in Kenwyn churchyard. In 2012, the Joseph Antonio Emidy Foundation attempted to have the musician's achievements recognised with a blue plaque on the Assembly Rooms building in High Cross next to Truro Cathedral, where Emidy led the orchestra in performances from 1816 to 1826 But Truro City Council decided a plaque would spoil the building's "symmetry". A memorial plaque is on show at Falmouth Parish Church, where he first arrived in 1799.
Biography sourced from the official Jospeh Emidy website www.emidy.com
In Falmouth Joseph Emidy began by earning his living as a violinist and teacher. In 1802 he married a local tradesman's daughter Jane Hutchens. The couple had eight children and moved to Truro around 1815. Here Emidy performed regularly at the Assembly Rooms in Truro, as well as teaching, composing and organising concerts. He eventually became Leader of the Truro Philharmonic Orchestra. His own chamber works, concertos and symphonies made him the most celebrated and influential musical figure in early nineteenth century Cornwall but sadly, all of his original works have been lost.
Joseph Antonio Emidy died in Truro on 23rd April, 1835 and his tombstone is in Kenwyn churchyard. In 2012, the Joseph Antonio Emidy Foundation attempted to have the musician's achievements recognised with a blue plaque on the Assembly Rooms building in High Cross next to Truro Cathedral, where Emidy led the orchestra in performances from 1816 to 1826 But Truro City Council decided a plaque would spoil the building's "symmetry". A memorial plaque is on show at Falmouth Parish Church, where he first arrived in 1799.
Biography sourced from the official Jospeh Emidy website www.emidy.com