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John Blow

John Blow (baptised 23 February 1649 – 1 October 1708) was an English composer and organist of the Baroque period. Appointed organist of Westminster Abbey in late 1668,[1] his pupils included William Croft, Jeremiah Clarke and Henry Purcell. In 1685 he was named a private musician to James II. His only stage composition, Venus and Adonis (ca. 1680–1687), is thought to have influenced Henry Purcell's later opera Dido and Aeneas. In 1687, he became choirmaster at St Paul's Cathedral, where many of his pieces were performed. In 1699 he was appointed to the newly created post of Composer to the Chapel Royal.

John Blow
18th century engraving by Charles Grignion the Elder after Robert White
Born
Baptised23 February 1649
Died1 October 1708(1708-10-01) (aged 59)
London, England
Occupations
  • Composer
  • organist

Early life and education

Blow was probably born in the village of Collingham in Nottinghamshire. The parish registers at Newark record the baptisms of Blow and of his brother and sister, the marriage of his parents, and the burial of his father. The register of Lambeth degrees notes that in 1677, on taking his doctorate, Blow said that his birthplace was 'the faithful borough of Newark'. As he was baptised on 23 February 1649, he was likely born only a short while before. As a boy, he was selected as a chorister of the Chapel Royal,[2] and distinguished himself by his proficiency in music.

Blow composed several anthems at an unusually early age, including Lord, Thou hast been our refuge, Lord, rebuke me not and the so-called "club anthem", I will always give thanks, the last in collaboration with Pelham Humfrey and William Turner, either in honour of a victory over the Dutch in 1665, or more probably simply to commemorate the friendly intercourse of the three choristers.

Early career

In 1668, he was an organist at Westminster Abbey.[2] He composed a two-part setting of Robert Herrick's "Goe, perjur'd man", written at the request of Charles II to imitate Giacomo Carissimi's "Dite, o cieli". In 1674, he was made a gentleman of the Chapel Royal and Master of the Children of the Chapel Royal.[2]

Marriage and family

In September 1673, Blow married Elizabeth Braddock. She died in childbirth ten years later. Two of his sons died, but there were also three daughters, who survived him.

Advance to court

Blow, who by 1678 was a doctor of music, was named in 1685 one of the private musicians of James II. Between 1680 and 1687, he wrote his only stage composition of which any record survives, the Masque for the entertainment of the King, Venus and Adonis. In this, Mary Davis played the part of Venus. Lady Mary Tudor, her daughter by Charles II, appeared as Cupid.

In 1687, Blow became choirmaster (or Master of the Choristers) at St Paul's Cathedral.[2] In 1690 he built a house for himself in Hampton. (Blow also owned eight other houses in the vicinity of Westminster Abbey). The Hampton house was demolished in 1799. It was on the site of the present-day house known as Beveree in the High Street.[3]

In 1695 he was elected organist of St Margaret's, Westminster, and is said to have resumed his post as organist of Westminster Abbey, from which in 1679 he had retired or been dismissed to make way for Purcell. In 1700, he was appointed to the newly created post of Composer to the Chapel Royal.[2]

Blow died on 1 October 1708 aged 59 at his house in Broad Sanctuary. He is buried in Westminster Abbey.[1]

Music

Blow wrote fourteen services and 30 odes for royal celebrations, 50 secular song-like pieces and more than a hundred anthems.[2]

In addition to purely ecclesiastical music and his relatively well-known masque Venus and Adonis, Blow's works include Great sir, the joy of all our hearts, an ode for New Year's Day 1682, similar compositions for 1683, 1686, 1687, 1688, 1689, 1693 (?), 1694 and 1700; odes, and the like, for the celebration of St Cecilia's Day for 1684, 1691, 1695 and 1700; for the coronation of James II, two anthems, Behold, O God, our Defender and God spake sometime in visions; some harpsichord pieces for the second part of Henry Playford's Musick's handmaid (1689); Epicedium for Queen Mary (1695) and Ode on the Death of Purcell (1696).

In 1700 he published his Amphion Anglicus, a collection of pieces of music for one, two, three and four voices, with a figured bass accompaniment. This includes a setting for voice and continuo of the poem The Self Banished by Edmund Waller.[4]

Legacy and honours

  • Commissioned by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Arthur Bliss composed Meditations on a Theme by John Blow in 1955 based on Blow's verse anthem "The Lord is my Shepherd".[5]
  • The tercentenary of his death was marked by BBC Radio 3 and Westminster Abbey: the weekly broadcast of choral evensong was made by the choir of Westminster Abbey, live from the Abbey, and consisted of music mostly by him, and by his near contemporaries.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b John Blow Westminster Abbey. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Dennis Shrock Choral Repertoire, p. 325, at Google Books
  3. ^ 'John Blow', Twickenham Museum
  4. ^ John Blow Amphion Anglicus, 1700
  5. ^ Arthur Bliss. Programme notes to "Meditations on a Theme by John Blow (1955)." Novello & Co Ltd. Reprinted at Wise Music Classical. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  6. ^ Choral Evensong from Westminster Abbey on the anniversary of the death of John Blow, BBC Radio 3. Retrieved 1 October 2008.
  •   This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainChisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Blow, John". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

External links

john, blow, baptised, february, 1649, october, 1708, english, composer, organist, baroque, period, appointed, organist, westminster, abbey, late, 1668, pupils, included, william, croft, jeremiah, clarke, henry, purcell, 1685, named, private, musician, james, o. John Blow baptised 23 February 1649 1 October 1708 was an English composer and organist of the Baroque period Appointed organist of Westminster Abbey in late 1668 1 his pupils included William Croft Jeremiah Clarke and Henry Purcell In 1685 he was named a private musician to James II His only stage composition Venus and Adonis ca 1680 1687 is thought to have influenced Henry Purcell s later opera Dido and Aeneas In 1687 he became choirmaster at St Paul s Cathedral where many of his pieces were performed In 1699 he was appointed to the newly created post of Composer to the Chapel Royal John Blow18th century engraving by Charles Grignion the Elder after Robert WhiteBornCollingham Nottinghamshire EnglandBaptised23 February 1649Died1 October 1708 1708 10 01 aged 59 London EnglandOccupationsComposerorganist Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Early career 3 Marriage and family 4 Advance to court 5 Music 6 Legacy and honours 7 References 8 External linksEarly life and education EditBlow was probably born in the village of Collingham in Nottinghamshire The parish registers at Newark record the baptisms of Blow and of his brother and sister the marriage of his parents and the burial of his father The register of Lambeth degrees notes that in 1677 on taking his doctorate Blow said that his birthplace was the faithful borough of Newark As he was baptised on 23 February 1649 he was likely born only a short while before As a boy he was selected as a chorister of the Chapel Royal 2 and distinguished himself by his proficiency in music Blow composed several anthems at an unusually early age including Lord Thou hast been our refuge Lord rebuke me not and the so called club anthem I will always give thanks the last in collaboration with Pelham Humfrey and William Turner either in honour of a victory over the Dutch in 1665 or more probably simply to commemorate the friendly intercourse of the three choristers Early career EditIn 1668 he was an organist at Westminster Abbey 2 He composed a two part setting of Robert Herrick s Goe perjur d man written at the request of Charles II to imitate Giacomo Carissimi s Dite o cieli In 1674 he was made a gentleman of the Chapel Royal and Master of the Children of the Chapel Royal 2 Marriage and family EditIn September 1673 Blow married Elizabeth Braddock She died in childbirth ten years later Two of his sons died but there were also three daughters who survived him Advance to court EditBlow who by 1678 was a doctor of music was named in 1685 one of the private musicians of James II Between 1680 and 1687 he wrote his only stage composition of which any record survives the Masque for the entertainment of the King Venus and Adonis In this Mary Davis played the part of Venus Lady Mary Tudor her daughter by Charles II appeared as Cupid In 1687 Blow became choirmaster or Master of the Choristers at St Paul s Cathedral 2 In 1690 he built a house for himself in Hampton Blow also owned eight other houses in the vicinity of Westminster Abbey The Hampton house was demolished in 1799 It was on the site of the present day house known as Beveree in the High Street 3 In 1695 he was elected organist of St Margaret s Westminster and is said to have resumed his post as organist of Westminster Abbey from which in 1679 he had retired or been dismissed to make way for Purcell In 1700 he was appointed to the newly created post of Composer to the Chapel Royal 2 Blow died on 1 October 1708 aged 59 at his house in Broad Sanctuary He is buried in Westminster Abbey 1 Music Edit John Blow s Prelude source source source Problems playing this file See media help Blow wrote fourteen services and 30 odes for royal celebrations 50 secular song like pieces and more than a hundred anthems 2 In addition to purely ecclesiastical music and his relatively well known masque Venus and Adonis Blow s works include Great sir the joy of all our hearts an ode for New Year s Day 1682 similar compositions for 1683 1686 1687 1688 1689 1693 1694 and 1700 odes and the like for the celebration of St Cecilia s Day for 1684 1691 1695 and 1700 for the coronation of James II two anthems Behold O God our Defender and God spake sometime in visions some harpsichord pieces for the second part of Henry Playford s Musick s handmaid 1689 Epicedium for Queen Mary 1695 and Ode on the Death of Purcell 1696 In 1700 he published his Amphion Anglicus a collection of pieces of music for one two three and four voices with a figured bass accompaniment This includes a setting for voice and continuo of the poem The Self Banished by Edmund Waller 4 Legacy and honours EditCommissioned by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Arthur Bliss composed Meditations on a Theme by John Blow in 1955 based on Blow s verse anthem The Lord is my Shepherd 5 The tercentenary of his death was marked by BBC Radio 3 and Westminster Abbey the weekly broadcast of choral evensong was made by the choir of Westminster Abbey live from the Abbey and consisted of music mostly by him and by his near contemporaries 6 References Edit a b John Blow Westminster Abbey Retrieved 30 December 2019 a b c d e f Dennis Shrock Choral Repertoire p 325 at Google Books John Blow Twickenham Museum John Blow Amphion Anglicus 1700 Arthur Bliss Programme notes to Meditations on a Theme by John Blow 1955 Novello amp Co Ltd Reprinted at Wise Music Classical Retrieved 1 August 2021 Choral Evensong from Westminster Abbey on the anniversary of the death of John Blow BBC Radio 3 Retrieved 1 October 2008 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Chisholm Hugh ed 1911 Blow John Encyclopaedia Britannica 11th ed Cambridge University Press External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Blow Free scores by John Blow in the Choral Public Domain Library ChoralWiki Free scores by John Blow at the International Music Score Library Project IMSLP John Blow MIDI file Fair Celia Tony Catalano s Classical Guitar MIDI PageCultural officesPreceded byAlbertus Bryan Organist and Master of the Choristers of Westminster Abbey1668 1679 Succeeded byHenry PurcellPreceded byHenry Purcell Organist and Master of the Choristers of Westminster Abbey1695 1708 Succeeded byWilliam CroftPreceded byMichael Wise Almoner and Master of the Choristers of St Paul s Cathedral1687 1703 Succeeded byJeremiah ClarkePreceded byPelham Humfrey Master of the Children of the Chapel Royal1674 1708 Succeeded byWilliam Croft Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Blow amp oldid 1122284102, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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