Anne Hunter

Who was Anne Hunter?

Anne Hunter was the wife of the celebrated surgeon John Hunter, and a minor poet. She is mostly remembered now for the texts to at least nine of Joseph Haydn's 14 songs in English. Their relationship during Haydn's stay is ambiguous, though at the time she was a widow. Songs by Haydn on her texts include: The Mermaid's Song, Fidelity, Pleasing Pain, and The Spirit's Song and a lybretto for The Creation, which was based on John Milton's Paradise Lost.