Latrobe, Rev. Christian Ignatius

1757-1836

Born at Fulneck, near Leeds, Yorkshire. His father was a prominent Moravian minister, and he attended the Moravian College at Nieska, Upper Lusatia, where, after completing his course, he taught. Returning to England in 1784 he was ordained, three years later being made secretary to the Society for the Furtherance of the Gospel, and in 1795 he succeeded James Hutton as secretary of the Unity of the Brethren in England. In 1801 he was appointed a senior civilis, an office of the Ancient Brethren's Church, which he was the last to hold. He worked hard for the missions of his church, in 1815-1816 making a journey to South Africa. He wrote an account of this, A Journal of a Voyage to South Africa, translated Loskicl's History of the Missions among the Indians in North America, besides other works. Though never following music as a profession, he studied and composed to quite an extent, both instrumental and for the voice. Three of his sonatas are dedicated to Haydn, who approved of them. He composed anthems and arias; of the latter some of the words are by Cowper and Hannah More. He edited the first English edition of the Moravian Hymn Tunes, and his reat work was the publication of his election of Sacred Music from the works of the most eminent composers of Germany and Italy, in six volumes. This work was the first to bring many fine modern compositions before the British public. He died at Fairfield, near Manchester.