William Billings

Psalm-Singer's Amusement by Billings, "printed and sold by the author at his house near the White Horse, Boston," 1781
Psalm-Singer's Amusement by Billings, 1781

William Billings (October 7, 1746 – September 26, 1800) is regarded as the first American choral composer.[1]

Life

William Billings was born in (and died in) Boston, Massachusetts. At the age of 14, the death of his father stopped Billings' formal schooling. In order to help support his family, young Billings trained as a tanner. He possibly received musical instruction from John Barry, one of the choir members at the New South Church, but for the most part he was self-taught.[2] Billings had an unusual appearance and a strong addiction to snuff.[3] His contemporary wrote that Billings "was a singular man, of moderate size, short of one leg, with one eye, without any address & with an uncommon negligence of person. Still, he spake & sung & thought as a man above the common abilities."[4] Billings died in poverty on September 26, 1800, leaving behind a widow and six children. His funeral was announced in the Columbian Centinel: "Died- Mr. William Billings, the celebrated music composer. His funeral will be tomorrow at 4 o'clock, PM from the house of Mrs. Amos Penniman, in Chamber-street, West-Boston."[5]

Music

Virtually all of Billings' music was written for four-part chorus, singing a cappella. His many hymns and anthems were published mostly in book-length collections, as follows:

Sometimes Billings would revise and improve a song, including the new version in his next volume.

Billings' music can be at times forceful and stirring, as in his patriotic song "Chester"; ecstatic, as in his hymn "Africa"; or elaborate and celebratory, as in his "Easter Anthem." The latter sounds rather like a miniature Handelian chorus, sung a cappella. As might be expected from a composer who was very close to his roots in folk music, Billings' music shows a striking purity.

"Jargon," from Singing Master's Assistant, shows his wit. Written as an answer to a criticism of his use of harmony, "Jargon" contains a tongue-in-cheek text, and jarring dissonances that sound more like those of the 20th century than of the 18th.[1]

He also wrote several Christmas carols, including "Judea" in 1778 and "Shiloh" in 1781.

Billings as a writer

Verse

Most of the texts that Billings used in his works come from the poetry of Isaac Watts. Other texts were drawn from Universalist poets and local poets, whereas Billings himself wrote the text to about a dozen of his compositions.

As an example, McKay and Crawford (see Books, below) compare Billings' metrical rendering of Luke 2:8-11 with that of Nahum Tate, thought to be the inspiration for Billings' work:

Tate:

While shepherds watched their flocks by night
All seated on the ground,
The angel of the Lord came down,
And glory shone around.

Billings:

As shepherds in Jewry were guarding their sheep,
Promiscusly seated estranged from sleep;
An Angel from heaven presented to view,
And thus he accosted the trembling few
Dispel all your sorrows, and banish your fears,
For Jesus our Saviour in Jewry appears.

Pedagogical writing

Billings wrote long prefaces to his works in which he explained (often in an eccentric prose style) the rudiments of music and how his work should be performed. His writings reflect his extensive experience as a singing master. They also provide information on choral performance practice in Billings's day; for instance, a passage from the preface to The Continental Harmony indicates that Billings liked to have both men and women sing the treble (top) and tenor lines, an octave apart:

...in general they are best sung together, viz. if a man sings it as a Medius, and a woman as a Treble, it is in effect as two parts; so likewise, if a man sing a Tenor with a masculine and woman with a feminine voice, the Tenor is as full as two parts, and a tune so sung (although it has but four parts) is in effect the same as six. Such a conjunction of masculine and feminine voices is beyond expression, sweet and ravishing, and is esteemed by all good judges to be vastly preferable to any instrument whatever, framed by human invention.[6]

Singing schools

Billings was involved in teaching singing schools throughout his life. In 1769, when Billings was twenty-three years old, the following announcement appeared in the Boston Gazette: "John Barrey & William Billings Begs Leave to inform the Publick, that they propose to open a Singing School THIS NIGHT. . . where any Person inclining to learn to Sing may be attended upon at said School with Fidelity and Dispatch." He was listed as "singing master" in the Boston city directory up until 1798. In the preface to the Singing Master's Assistant, Billings included advice for the practical running of a singing school, including topics such as logistics, expectations for manners and attentiveness in students, and the need for the supremacy of the teacher's musical decisions.[7]

Reception

Billings' work was very popular in its heyday, but his career was hampered by the primitive state of copyright law in America at the time. By the time the copyright laws had been strengthened, it was too late for Billings: the favorites among his tunes had already been widely reprinted in other people's hymnals, permanently copyright-free.

William Billings grave memorial at the Central Burying Ground on Boston Common

With changes in the public's musical taste, Billings' fortunes declined. His last tune-book, The Continental Harmony, was published as a project of his friends, in an effort to help support the revered but no longer popular composer. His temporary employment as a Boston street sweeper was probably a project of a similar nature.

Billings died in poverty at age 53, and for a considerable time after his death, his music was almost completely neglected in the American musical mainstream. However, his compositions remained popular for a time in the rural areas of New England, which resisted the newer trends in sacred music. Moreover, a few of Billings' songs were carried southward and westward through America, as a result of their appearance in shape note hymnals. They ultimately resided in the rural South, as part of the Sacred Harp singing tradition.

In the latter part of the twentieth century a Billings revival occurred, and a sumptuous complete scholarly edition of his works was published (see Books, below). Works by Billings are commonly sung by American choral groups today, particularly performers of early music. In addition, the recent spread of Sacred Harp music has acquainted many more people with Billings' music: several of his compositions are among the more frequently sung of the works in the Sacred Harp canon .

Other

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 McKay, David P. (1975). William Billings of Boston. Princeton and London: Princeton University Press. pp. 82, 85. ISBN 0691091188.
  2. ↑ Nathan, Hans (1976). William Billings: Data and Documents. Detroit: The College Music Society, Inc. p. 15. ISBN 0911772677.
  3. ↑ Armenta, Joshua. "Colonial Nationalism in the Music of William Billings". Choral Journal 52 (3): 8.
  4. ↑ Hans, Nathan (1976). William Billings: Data and Documents. The College Music Society. p. 16. ISBN 0911772677.
  5. ↑ Nathan (1976)
  6. ↑ Billings, William. "Continental Harmony" (PDF). IMSLP Petrucci Library. N.p. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  7. ↑ McKay, David (1975). William Billings of Boston. Princeton: Princeton University Press. pp. 36–40. ISBN 0691091188.
  8. ↑ http://www.americanmusicpreservation.com/billings.htm
  9. ↑ http://www.twylatharp.org/archive/dance_page.asp?danceSelected=110

See also

References

    Scholarly edition of Billings's works

    Other

    External links

    Wikimedia Commons has media related to William Billings.