Maria Frances Parkeaus classic

Maria Frances Parke (* 26 August 1772; † 31 July 1822) was an English soprano, pianist and composer of keyboard works.

Life

She belonged to a distinguished London family of musicians: Her father John Parke (1745-1829) and his brother, the composer and commentator William Thomas Parke (1761-1847), were both professional oboists.

Maria Frances received her first harpsichord and singing lessons from her father as well as from her younger sister Margaretta (1783-1854), who was also to become a singer, pianist and violinist.

Maria Frances has been on stage since childhood: at the age of eight she made her debut as a harpsichordist in a benefit concert for her father, and in the following benefit concert she played a piano concerto by JS Schroeter and made her debut as a harpsichordist. At the age of ten she played a Clementi duet with Maria Hester Park, born Reynolds (1760-1813), with whom she is sometimes confused.

At the age of only thirteen, Maria Frances performed at the Gloucester Festival and went on to have a remarkable career, so that by the age of twenty she was the leading soprano in concerts and oratorios in London and the provinces.

The Parke family met Haydn when he was visiting England, and Maria Frances played a concert during the interval of the performance of Handel’s oratorio Samson at the Drury Lane Theatre .

Maria Frances Parke performed with the composer several times in 1794-95, mainly as a singer but sometimes as a pianist. She sang in Haydn’s benefit concert at the Hannover Square Room (1794), and while she played and sang at her own benefit concert, Haydn conducted from the piano.

As a composer, she wrote popular music: concertos, piano sonatas, songs and vocal duets. She performed one of her piano sonatas at an event on 19 May 1794 when Haydn performed a new overture .

Surviving works by Maria Frances Parke include “Three Great Sonatas for Pianoforte with Additional Keys” written in London, “Two Great Sonatas for Pianoforte and Violin Accompaniment”, vocal duets, songs and variations.

In 1815 Maria married John Beardmore, and as has been the case with many women musicians throughout history, she ended her career after her marriage.

After her death in 1822, her husband John’s health collapsed and he also died in the same year, leaving their five-year-old son an orphan who was brought up by Aunt Margaretta in the family home.

Source Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Frances_Parke