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William Barton
1598 - 1678 Person Name: William Barton (1597-1678) Author of "Psalm 43" in Christadelphian Hymn Book Barton, William, born cir. 1603, and for some time Minister of St. Martin's, Leicester, died May 14, 1678. He was the author of one of the earliest collections of hymns, as distinct from Versions of the Psalms, in the English language. He was a friend of Richard Baxter, and it was at Baxter's request that he made four metrical renderings of the Te Deum (q. v.). His Hymns and Versions of the Psalms were numerous and were published as follows:—
(1) The Book of Psalms in Metre, 1644, 2nd ed. 1645, 3rd ed. 1646, 4th ed. 1654. (2) Psalms & Hymns composed for the Public Thanksgiving, Oct. 24, 1651. This consists of versions of Ps. 48, 76, 46 and 135. A copy of this is in the Bodleian. (3) A Century of Select Hymns, known as the Chapter Hymns, 1659, 100 in all. (4) Four Centuries of Select Hymns, an imperfect edition, published, he said, against his will. It contains the 1659 Century, a new Century of Chapter Hymns, and two Centuries of Psalm Hymns, 1668. (5) A new and revised edition of the Chapter Hymns, 1670. (6) A new and revised edition of the Psalm Hymns, 1672. (7) Last revise of the Psalm Hymns, containing the Third Century, 1682. (8) The foregoing Centuries collected, a Third Century of Chapter Hymns added thereto, 20 additional hymns, the Catechism, Book of Canticles, the Catalogue of Virtuous Women (all in metre), were published with an Introduction by his son, Edward Barton, "Minister of Welford, in Northamptonshire," in 1688. This is Barton's work which is known as the Six Centuries of Select Hymns and Spiritual Songs, collected out of the Bible, &c, Lond., 1688. Of these works Nos. 1,2, and 4 differ widely in text from each other; and together with the rest are again altered in the final revision published after his death, 1682, and several times reprinted. The last ed. was published by Robert Robinson of Cambridge in 1768. These versions deserve more attention from compilers than they have hitherto received. It must be noted, however, that the Book of Psalms, and the Psalm Hymns, are distinct works. (9) Barton also printed a 4to volume in 1655, as, A View of Many Errors and some gross Absurdities in the Old Translation of the Psalms in English Metre, as also in some other Translations lately published. This work contains specimens of his own translations and epigrams, and commendatory verses by his friends.
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
William Barton
Anonymous
Person Name: Anon. Composer of "BARTOW" in Book of Hymns and Tunes, comprising the psalms and hymns for the worship of God, approved by the general assembly of 1866, arranged with appropriate tunes... by authority of the assembly of 1873 In some hymnals, the editors noted that a hymn's author is unknown to them, and so this artificial "person" entry is used to reflect that fact. Obviously, the hymns attributed to "Author Unknown" "Unknown" or "Anonymous" could have been written by many people over a span of many centuries.
Anonymous
Richard Farrant
1525 - 1580 Composer (attributed to) of "FARRANT" in The Hymnary Like many composers of his day, the early years of Richard Farrant’s (c.1525- November 30, 1580) life are not well documented. The first acknowledgment of him is in a list of the Gentleman of the Chapel Royal in 1552. It is assumed from that list that his birth was around 1525. Although, that cannot be accurately determined. During his life he was able to establish himself as a successful composer, develop the English drama considerably, founded the first Blackfriar Theatre, and be the first to write verse-anthems. He married Anne Bower, daughter of Richard Bower who was Master of the Chapel Royal choristers at the time. With Anne he conceived ten children, one of whom was also named, Richard.
As a member of the Gentleman of the Chapel Royal, Farrant was active in ceremonies surrounding the royal family. He began his work with the Chapel Royal around 1550 under the reign of Edward VI. Fortunately, for Farrant, this is a time that saw huge developments in Latin Church Music. Composers like William Byrd and Christopher Tye were busy expanding and elaborating on the Church Music of the day. In Farrant's twelve years with the Chapel Royal, he was able to participate in funerals for Edward VI and Mary I, and coronations for Mary I and Elizabeth I. After his work there, he took up a post as organist at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor.
For Farrant, the post at at Windsor became a permanent one that he retained for the rest of his life. Along with this, he also acquired the position of Master of the Chapel Royal choristers in November of 1569. Having the choirs of both of these institutions at his disposal gave him an outlet to showcase all of his compositions and plays. In fact, every winter he was able to produce a play for the Queen herself. These positions also allowed him to move back to London in 1576 and begin a public theater of sorts where he rehearsed some of his choir music openly. It was soon after, in 1580, that he passed away, having left his house to his wife.
Unlike many composers of his day that stuck to only music composition, Farrant also wrote many plays. One of his most important contributions to drama in England is of course the creation of the first Blackfriars Theatre. This eventually became one of the most important places in London for drama to develop during the Renaissance. Farrant is also one of the earliest and most well known composers that began to mix the two mediums of music and drama. It was this uncommon mixture that allowed him to begin to develop the composition style of 'verse.' This becomes prominent in a lot of his pieces including the anthems "When as we sat in Babylon" and "Call to remembrance" and "Hide not thou thy face."
--en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Richard Farrant
Robert Archibald Smith
1780 - 1829 Person Name: R. A. Smith Composer of "INVOCATION" in The Presbyterian Book of Praise Although largely self-taught, Robert A. Smith (b. Reading, Berkshire, England, 1780; d. Edinburgh, Scotland, 1829) was an excellent musician. By the age of ten he played the violin, cello, and flute, and was a church chorister. From 1802 to 1817 he taught music in Paisley and was precentor at the Abbey; from 1823 until his death he was precentor and choirmaster in St. George's Church, Edinburgh. He enlarged the repertoire of tunes for psalm singing in Scotland, raised the precentor skills to a fine art, and greatly improved the singing of the church choirs he directed. Smith published his church music in Sacred Harmony (1820, 1825) and compiled a six-volume collection of Scottish songs, The Scottish Minstrel (1820-1824).
Bert Polman
Robert Archibald Smith
