Little is known about English composer and singer Elizabeth Turner (d.1756). Her songs were quite popular in the first half of the eighteenth century, and critics revered her as a first-rate soprano. She was also one of the first known Englishwomen to publish a substantial collection of musical works. More than 400 names appear on the subscription list for her 1750 volume, and 350 for her 1756 collection. Subscribers included musicians such as G.F. Handel, William Boyce, and John Stanley as well as numerous elite patrons. Several of her songs were popular enough to warrant publication in London Magazine and The Lady’s Magazine, the latter of which dubbed her “the ingenious Miss Eliza Turner.”
Turner seems to have been more well-known during her career as a performer than as a composer. In addition to collaborating frequently with Boyce in numerous settings, she was also known for her performances of arias from oratorios by Handel, Thomas Arne, and Boyce. Charles Burney reported that Turner was a favorite performer at the Swan, and she also performed at the Castle Tavern, Hickford’s Room, and the Great Room in Dean Street.
The London Evening Post reported her death in 1756, noting “Yesterday died at Islington Miss Elizabeth Turner, whose extraordinary Genius and Abilities in Musick, make her justly lamented by all Lovers of Harmony.”
Works
1750 Twelve Songs, with Symphonies and a Thorough Bass for the Harpsichord
1756 A Collection of Songs with Symphonies and a Thorough Bass. With Six Lessons for the Harpsichord
Resources
Sources
Yelloly, Margaret. “‘The Ingenious Miss Turner’: Elizabeth Turner (d 1756), Singer, Harpsichordist and Composer.” Early Music 33, no. 1 (2005): 65-79.
Works Featured on Expanding the Music Theory Canon
Allegro from Lesson 1 in G Minor
Excerpt
Pages: Scales, Sequences, Modulation
“Minuetto Affetuoso” from Lesson 3 in D Major
Excerpt
Pages: Seventh Chords, Anticipation, vii°6, vii°7+Inversions
“Tambourine” from Lesson 1 in G Minor
Excerpt
Page: Predominant
“Allegro” from Lesson 6 in F Major
Excerpt
Page: Modulation
Minuetto from Lesson 1
Excerpt
Pages: Binary, Simple Meters