Abrams, Harriett

(b c1758; d Torquay, 8 March 1821). English soprano and composer.

She made her dbut in October 1775 as the little gypsy inMay Day, a
piece designed for her by Garrick with music by her teacher Thomas
Arne. However, she had limited success as a stage personality and
in 1780 she left Drury Lane to become a principal singer at
fashionable London concerts and provincial festivals. She appeared
in the Handel Commemoration concerts in 1784, when Burney
praised the sweetness and taste of her singing, in the next three
Handel festivals, the Concerts of Ancient Music, and concert series
organized by Rauzzini, Ashley and Salomon. Her sister Theodosia
(d Torquay, 4 Nov 1849), whose voice Mount-Edgcumbe described
as the most beautiful contralto he ever heard, often sang with her. In
1783, the Public Advertiser, while admiring Harriett's solo singing,
commented that the Forte of the Sisters lives manifestly in
Duettos. After 1790 they appeared mainly in private concerts and in
Harriett's annual benefits, where in 1792, 1794 and 1795 Haydn
presided at the piano.
Her published works were all vocal. M.G. [Monk] Lewis wrote of how
the celebrated Miss Abrams made the first and most successful
setting of his Crazy Jane and sang it herself at fashionable parties.
She published two sets of Italian and English canzonets, a collection
of Scottish songs harmonized for two and three voices, and more
than a dozen songs, mainly sentimental ballads. In 1803 she
dedicated a collection of her songs to Queen Charlotte.
Harriett was the dominant personality of a large musical family. A
third sister, Eliza (d Torquay, 21 Aug 1831), often sang with her and
Theodosia; Mount-Edgcumbe remembered how their united voices
formed the very perfection of harmony. Eliza was also a solo pianist.
Miss G. Abrams sang at Drury Lane during Harriett's last two
seasons there and may have been the Miss Abrams jun. in concerts
in the early 1780s. Miss Jane Abrams first sang in public at Harriett's
benefit in 1782. William Abrams (fl 17925) played the violin and
Charles (fl 1794) the cello. The violinist Miss Flora Abrams (fl 1776
82) may have a relative, but does not appear to have performed with

the others.
Of Jewish descent, they were baptized at St George's, Hanover
Square, in 1791, on which occasion Harriett was said to be 29, Jane
24, Theodosia 21 and Eliza 14. However, these ages are likely to be
underestimates: Harriett was described as about 17 by the prompter
Hopkins at her dbut in October 1775 and Theodosia was a soloist in
the Concerts of Ancient Music in 1783. At her death Theodosia's age
was given as 75.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BDA
LS
C. Burney: An Account of the Musical Performances in
Commemoration of Handel (London, 1785/R)
J. Doane: A Musical Directory for the Year 1794 (London, 1794)
R. Edgcumbe, 2nd Earl of Mount Edgcumbe: Musical
Reminiscences of an Old Amateur (London, 1824, 4/1834/R)
W.T. Parke: Musical Memoirs (London, 1830/R)
[M. Baron-Wilson: ] The Life and Correspondence of M.G.
Lewis (London, 1839)
Calendar of London Concerts 17501800 (U. of London,
Goldsmiths College; S. McVeigh) [on-line database]
OLIVE BALDWIN, THELMA WILSON