William Tans'ur

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William Tans'ur (or Tansur or Tanzer) (1700 – January 7, 1783) was an English hymn-writer, psalmodist and teacher of music. He wrote approximately 100 psalm and hymn tunes, as well as a Te Deum, and his manual A New Musical Grammar (1746) was still popular in the nineteenth century.

[edit] Life

Tans'ur was born in Dunchurch, Warwickshire to Edward Tanzer, a labourer, and Joan Alibone. In 1730 he married Elizabeth Butler and moved to Ewell, near Epsom. They had at least two sons. He taught psalmody in various places in the south-east of England, before moving to St. Neots, where he worked as a bookseller and music teacher, and spent the last 40 years of his life.

[edit] Works

A Compleat Melody, or The Harmony of Sion, 1734
The Melody of the Heart, 1737
Heaven on earth, or the Beauty of Holiness, 1738
Sacred Mirth, or the Pious Soul's Daily Delight, 1739
Poetical Meditations, 1740
The Universal Harmony, containing the Whole Book of Psalms, 1743
The Royal Melody Compleat, 1754–5 (8 editions, revised as The American Harmony, 1771)
The Psalm Singer's Jewel, or Useful Companion to the Book of Psalms, 1760
Melodia Sacra, or the Devout Psalmist's Musical Companion, 1771
The Elements of Music Displayed, 1772