Page:Pratt - The history of music (1907).djvu/407

 choirmaster at Stuttgart, was a popular teacher and good theorist. He was also a fluent writer of vocal and organ-pieces, besides clavier music and a rather striking 'Nature' symphony. He edited a Choralbuch (1799-1816), an Orgelschule (1795-98), and many theoretical books. Johann Gottfried Vierling (d. 1813), from about 1780 organist at Schmalkalden, was an accomplished player and contrapuntist, publishing sacred cantatas and organ-pieces, a Choralbuch (1789) and a work on preluding (1794).

Examples of the more popular style were Johann Friedrich Doles (d. 1797), a pupil of J. S. Bach, but far from adopting his methods, who from 1744 was cantor at Freiberg (Saxony) and from 1756 in the Thomasschule at Leipsic; Christian Ehregott Weinlig (d. 1813), from 1767 organist at Leipsic and from 1780 at Dresden, where in 1785 he succeeded his teacher Homilius as cantor of the Kreuzschule; Cornelius von Königslow (d. 1833), from 1773 organist at Lübeck, writing oratorios (from 1781) and imitating his predecessor Buxtehude's Abendmusiken.

In England active workers included Richard Langdon (d. 1803), from 1753 organist at Exeter, from 1778 at Bristol and from 1782 at Armagh; William Jackson (d. 1803), from 1755 a teacher at Exeter and popular for his songs and glees, and from 1777 organist at the cathedral; Edmund Ayrton (d. 1808), from 1754 organist at Southwell, from 1764 in the Chapel Royal and from 1780 its choirmaster, succeeding Nares, with 4 services and 10 anthems; Samuel Arnold (d. 1802), pupil of Gates and Nares, in 1783 Nares' successor at the Chapel Royal, and in 1793 Cooke's at Westminster, the writer of several oratorios (from 1767), including The Prodigal Son (1777), and over 20 anthems, and the editor of a not entirely successful edition of Handel's works (about 40 vols., from 1786) and of a standard collection of Cathedral Music (4 vols., 1790); John [Christmas] Beckwith (d. 1809), pupil of P. Hayes, from 1780 organist at Norwich, writer of about 15 anthems, some organ-preludes (1780), glees and songs, besides a collection of chants (1808), containing a brief history of chanting; William Russell (d. 1813), pupil of Arnold, from 1789 organist at various London churches and from 1801 pianist at Covent Garden, with 2 oratorios, 2 services, a few anthems and preludes, with several odes; and John Page (d. 1812), a tenor singer at Windsor and London, who made good collections of anthems (1800), glees (1804), etc.

Several of the stronger writers of the next period began active work before 1800, such as Attwood, Clarke-Whitfeld, Wesley and Crotch (see sec. 186).

It is in this period that the earliest stirrings of independent musical composition appeared in America, though their fruits, mostly hymn-tunes and anthems, were of the slenderest absolute value.

The pioneers, as has lately been shown, were Francis Hopkinson (d. 1791) and James Lyon, both composing as early as 1759. From 1770 many collections of sacred music containing more or less original matter appeared in New England, as by William Billings (d. 1800), Andrew Law (d. 1821), Daniel Read (d. 1836), and others.