Joseph Payne (musician)

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Joseph Payne (1941 – 14 January 2008) was a British harpsichordist, clavichordist, organist and musicologist, best known for his pioneering recordings of early keyboard music.

He was born in the Chahar province of China in 1941,^[1] the son of a British missionary to Mongolia. During World War II he lived at an internment camp in Shanghai.^[1] The family subsequently moved to England, where Payne received his primary education, and then to Switzerland, where his mother was from.^[2] While studying at College de Vevey,^[1] Payne exhibited an interest in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and started receiving musical education.

Payne's family moved again, this time to Connecticut, where his father became the pastor of a church in Hartford.^[2] Payne studied at Trinity College and Hartt College of Music; his teachers included Wanda Landowska and Fernando Valenti.^[1][3] While at Hartt, he met cellist Phoebe Joyce, who became his wife in 1966.^[2] The young couple settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Payne found a job as lecturer at Boston University and started a recording career. In the early 1980s Payne accepted a job invitation from All Saints Church, Ashmont, and the family moved to Dorchester. Payne worked as organist and directed the choir.

After several years, Payne left the Ashmont church and concentrated on his recording career. In early 2000s this was cut by a stroke, which left Payne unable to play with precision; he turned to photography. In late 2006 the family moved to Mount Vernon, Maine. On 14 January 2008 Payne died of a heart attack. His was survived by wife and his son Christopher Payne, photographer.^[2]

Payne's discography contains nearly 100 items, most being recordings of early keyboard music. This includes the complete organ works of Johann Pachelbel, the complete keyboard works of John Blow, recordings of music by numerous neglected composers such as John Bull, Gottlieb Muffat, Johan Helmich Roman and others. He also recorded large selections from various important early music manuscripts, such as the Buxheimer Orgelbuch, the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, the Andreas Bach Buch and the Dublin Virginal Manuscript, and the chorales of the Neumeister collection (of which he did a world-premiere recording^[3]). Record labels he worked with included Bis, Naxos, Harmonia Mundi, Hänssler Classics and others.

Payne has also worked for radio, producing several syndicated series such as The Bach Connection.

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