Daniel Read
Encyclopedia
Daniel Read was an American
composer
of the First New England School, and one of the primary figures in early American classical music.
, Oliver Holden
, Supply Belcher
, and Justin Morgan
, was one of the primary members of a group of American composers known as the First New England School. While the classical music era was in its heyday in Europe, American composers of "serious" music were setting hymn tune
s in three- and four-part a cappella
style, with simple folklike melodies and little regard for functional harmony
. Many of these works were fuguing tunes, which begin with all voices singing together (with a melody usually based on a Protestant hymn), come to a stop, and continue with each voice entering one at a time. Nearly all were hymn tunes, developed for the use of the newly-forming singing societies.
Once a private in the Massachusetts militia, later a comb-maker and owner of a general store in New Haven, Connecticut
, Read was only the second American composer to put out a collection of his own music (after William Billings). This work, The American Singing Book (1785), went through five editions in the years immediately following: unusually successful for its day, making him by number of printings the most popular composer in the nation. To that must be added the number of published compilations of tunes that used his works (not always with his permission); "Sherburne", a 1785 tune originally from the American Singing Book, appeared over seventy times in print before 1810.
Read made his living by operating a general store in New Haven, but supplemented his income by compiling and publishing tunebooks himself (which often contained his original works as well), including The Columbian Harmonist (three volumes: 1793, 1794, 1795, revised 1805, 1807, 1810) and The New Haven Collection of Sacred Music (1818). An Introduction to Psalmody (1790) was not a tunebook – in fact, it contained no music whatsoever, but was rather a pamphlet to instruct aspiring composers. The first music magazine in America was published by Read as well. He and Amos Doolittle (one of whose tunebooks contained Read's first published work) produced 12 issues of The American Musical Magazine from 1786 through 1787.
Read was influenced by the practices in European music in his later years, and later repudiated the compositions in the style that he exemplified and helped define. Three of the six works of his in the 1818 New Haven Collection were "corrected" to more closely conform to European standards before reprinting in that volume; his later manuscripts are works imitating the styles of European devotional music.
Several of Read's tunes, such as "Greenwich", "Windham", and "Sherburne", are still sung in American churches; in addition to those tunes, "Judgment", "Lisbon", "Russia", "Stafford", "Windham", and "Winter" appear in The Core Repertory of Early American Psalmody, a scholarly anthology of the 101 most often reprinted sacred tunes in pre-1810 America, as compiled by Richard Crawford. His work is also popular among Sacred Harp
singers; eleven of his tunes appear in The Sacred Harp, 1991 Edition. During the 19th and 20th centuries, Read was one of the favorite composers performed by the Stoughton Musical Society
. There are fourteen of his tunes in The Stoughton Musical Society's Centennial Collection of Sacred Music, reprinted in 1980, with a new Introduction by Roger L. Hall.
Read's surviving writings and portrait may be found today at the New Haven Museum and Historical Society
in New Haven, Connecticut
.
Verse 2, 3 and 4 follow.
V 2 Deny thyself and take thy cross, Is the Redeemers great command; Nature must count her gold but dross, If she would gain this heavenly land.
V 3 The fearful soul that tires and faints, And walks the ways of God no more, Is but esteemed almost a saint, And makes his own destruction sure.
V 4 Lord, Let not all my hopes be vain, Create my heart entirely new, Which hypocrites could ne'er attain, Which false apostates never knew.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
of the First New England School, and one of the primary figures in early American classical music.
Life and work
Read, along with his contemporaries William BillingsWilliam Billings
William Billings was an American choral composer, and is widely regarded as the father of American choral music...
, Oliver Holden
Oliver Holden
Oliver Holden was an American composer and compiler of hymns.Born in Shirley, Massachusetts, he served a year as a marine, for which he received a small annual pension. He lived most of his life in Charles Town, Boston, Massachusetts, after he moved with his parents in 1786. He was known to be a...
, Supply Belcher
Supply Belcher
Supply Belcher was an American composer, singer, and compiler of tune books. He was one of the members of the so-called First New England School, a group of mostly self-taught composers who created sacred vocal music for local choirs. He was active first in Lexington, Massachusetts, then...
, and Justin Morgan
Justin Morgan
Justin Morgan was a U.S. horse breeder and composer.He was born in West Springfield, Massachusetts, and by 1788 had settled in Vermont. In addition to being a horse breeder and farmer, he was a teacher of singing; in that capacity he traveled considerably throughout the northeastern states...
, was one of the primary members of a group of American composers known as the First New England School. While the classical music era was in its heyday in Europe, American composers of "serious" music were setting hymn tune
Hymn tune
A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm , and no refrain or chorus....
s in three- and four-part a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
style, with simple folklike melodies and little regard for functional harmony
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
. Many of these works were fuguing tunes, which begin with all voices singing together (with a melody usually based on a Protestant hymn), come to a stop, and continue with each voice entering one at a time. Nearly all were hymn tunes, developed for the use of the newly-forming singing societies.
Once a private in the Massachusetts militia, later a comb-maker and owner of a general store in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
, Read was only the second American composer to put out a collection of his own music (after William Billings). This work, The American Singing Book (1785), went through five editions in the years immediately following: unusually successful for its day, making him by number of printings the most popular composer in the nation. To that must be added the number of published compilations of tunes that used his works (not always with his permission); "Sherburne", a 1785 tune originally from the American Singing Book, appeared over seventy times in print before 1810.
Read made his living by operating a general store in New Haven, but supplemented his income by compiling and publishing tunebooks himself (which often contained his original works as well), including The Columbian Harmonist (three volumes: 1793, 1794, 1795, revised 1805, 1807, 1810) and The New Haven Collection of Sacred Music (1818). An Introduction to Psalmody (1790) was not a tunebook – in fact, it contained no music whatsoever, but was rather a pamphlet to instruct aspiring composers. The first music magazine in America was published by Read as well. He and Amos Doolittle (one of whose tunebooks contained Read's first published work) produced 12 issues of The American Musical Magazine from 1786 through 1787.
Read was influenced by the practices in European music in his later years, and later repudiated the compositions in the style that he exemplified and helped define. Three of the six works of his in the 1818 New Haven Collection were "corrected" to more closely conform to European standards before reprinting in that volume; his later manuscripts are works imitating the styles of European devotional music.
Several of Read's tunes, such as "Greenwich", "Windham", and "Sherburne", are still sung in American churches; in addition to those tunes, "Judgment", "Lisbon", "Russia", "Stafford", "Windham", and "Winter" appear in The Core Repertory of Early American Psalmody, a scholarly anthology of the 101 most often reprinted sacred tunes in pre-1810 America, as compiled by Richard Crawford. His work is also popular among Sacred Harp
Sacred Harp
Sacred Harp singing is a tradition of sacred choral music that took root in the Southern region of the United States. It is part of the larger tradition of shape note music.- The music and its notation :...
singers; eleven of his tunes appear in The Sacred Harp, 1991 Edition. During the 19th and 20th centuries, Read was one of the favorite composers performed by the Stoughton Musical Society
Stoughton Musical Society
Organized in 1786, this is currently America's oldest choral society. Over the past two centuries it has had many distinguished accomplishments. In 1908, when incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the name was changed to Old Stoughton Musical Society...
. There are fourteen of his tunes in The Stoughton Musical Society's Centennial Collection of Sacred Music, reprinted in 1980, with a new Introduction by Roger L. Hall.
Read's surviving writings and portrait may be found today at the New Haven Museum and Historical Society
New Haven Museum and Historical Society
The New Haven Museum and Historical Society was founded in 1862 in New Haven, Connecticut for the purposes of preserving and presenting the region’s history...
in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
.
Example
"Windham" is a 1785 song by Daniel Read, and one of his best-known works.V 2 Deny thyself and take thy cross, Is the Redeemers great command; Nature must count her gold but dross, If she would gain this heavenly land.
V 3 The fearful soul that tires and faints, And walks the ways of God no more, Is but esteemed almost a saint, And makes his own destruction sure.
V 4 Lord, Let not all my hopes be vain, Create my heart entirely new, Which hypocrites could ne'er attain, Which false apostates never knew.
See also
- Music of the United States before 1900
- American classical musicAmerican classical musicAmerican classical music is music written in the United States but in the European classical music tradition. In many cases, beginning in the 18th century, it has been influenced by American folk music styles; and from the 20th century to the present day it has often been influenced by folk, jazz,...
- Fuguing tune
External links
- Biography at the Cyber Hymnal
- Chicago World's Exposition Concerts