Thomas Arne

Thomas Arne was an English composer born in London in 1710 who became active in the capital's musical life from the 1730s, writing theatre music, operas, songs and oratorios during the late Baroque and early Classical periods. His music combined Baroque ornamentation with emerging Classical clarity, spanning light opera, masque and large-scale choral works and contributing to the development of mid-18th-century English theatre and patriotic song.