I Info SAMUEL BABCOCK
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SAMUEL BABCOCK (1760-1813), ARCHETYPAL PSALMODIST OF THE FIRST NEW ENGLAND SCHOOL OF COMPOSERS by Laurie J. Sampsel Bachelor of Music Education, Youngstown State University, 1986 Master of Flute Performance, Youngstown State University, 1988 Master of Library Science, Kent State University, 1989 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2009 info i UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Laurie J. Sampsel It was defended on February 13, 2009 and approved by Don O. Franklin, Professor, Music Karl D. Kroeger, Professor Emeritus, University of Colorado at Boulder Mary S. Lewis, Professor, Music Dissertation Director: Deane L. Root, Professor, Music 2009 ii Copyright © by Laurie J. Sampsel 2009 iii SAMUEL BABCOCK (1760-1813), ARCHETYPAL PSALMODIST OF THE FIRST NEW ENGLAND SCHOOL OF COMPOSERS Laurie J. Sampsel, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2009 The life, musical activities, compositions, and musical relationships of the Boston-area composer Samuel Babcock (1760-1813) make him an archetypal psalmodist active during the period from 1790 to 1810. Research on early American Protestant sacred music to date has focused on the major composers and compilers of the period such as William Billings and Andrew Law, and on indexing the repertory. This dissertation approaches the topic from a different historiographical perspective, measuring Babcock against the criteria suggested by musicologist Nym Cooke for a composer more typical of the First New England School. Part I of the dissertation establishes the facts of Babcock’s life, analyzes and describes his music, and documents the distribution of his works. His fourth cousin, psalmodist Lemuel Babcock (1748-1835), provides a point of comparison. Samuel Babcock, active during the reform of sacred music at the turn of the nineteenth century, composed music strongly influenced by British Methodist-style psalmody. He selected sacred poetry that inspired him musically, and paid careful attention to text setting. Both Babcocks are remembered as singers, singing masters, choir leaders, and composers. However, Samuel Babcock’s music is more “modern” than his cousin’s. This study of musical style and other evidence suggests that the few pieces first printed with the ambiguous attribution “Babcock” are very likely by Lemuel Babcock. Part II is a critical edition of both composers’ complete works. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE ................................................................................................................................. XIX PART I: LIFE AND WORKS ..................................................................................................... 1 1.0 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 2 1.1 RELEVANT LITERATURE ............................................................................ 12 1.2 OUTLINE OF PART I ...................................................................................... 20 2.0 HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES ............................................................................. 24 3.0 BIOGRAPHIES OF SAMUEL BABCOCK AND LEMUEL BABCOCK .......... 51 3.1 SAMUEL BABCOCK ....................................................................................... 53 3.2 LEMUEL BABCOCK ....................................................................................... 65 3.3 BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY AND COMPARISONS............................... 76 4.0 MUSICAL STYLE ..................................................................................................... 80 4.1 SAMUEL BABCOCK ....................................................................................... 86 4.2 LEMUEL BABCOCK ..................................................................................... 114 4.3 AMBIGUOUS ATTRIBUTIONS................................................................... 117 4.4 SUMMARY ...................................................................................................... 123 5.0 TEXTS, TUNE TITLES, AND TEXT SETTING ................................................. 125 5.1 TEXTS SET ...................................................................................................... 127 5.2 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TEXTS ...................................................... 128 v 5.3 TUNE TITLES ................................................................................................. 134 5.4 TEXT SETTING .............................................................................................. 150 5.5 SUMMARY ...................................................................................................... 162 6.0 DISSEMINATION AND PUBLICATION ............................................................ 164 6.1 MANUSCRIPTS .............................................................................................. 164 6.2 FIRST PRINTINGS ........................................................................................ 168 6.3 THE SECOND EDITION OF MIDDLESEX HARMONY (1803) ............... 185 6.4 THE PUBLISHER’S BOOK-STOCK RECORDS ...................................... 192 6.5 MOST-OFTEN PRINTED TITLES .............................................................. 198 6.6 SUMMARY ...................................................................................................... 199 7.0 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................... 201 APPENDIX A ............................................................................................................................ 207 COMPOSITIONS BY SAMUEL BABCOCK, LEMUEL BABCOCK, AND AMBIGUOUS BABCOCK ATTRIBUTIONS ............................................ 207 APPENDIX B ............................................................................................................................ 214 ABBREVIATIONS AND SHORT TITLES .................................................................. 214 APPENDIX C ............................................................................................................................ 221 MIDDLESEX HARMONY CONTENTS ........................................................................ 221 APPENDIX D ............................................................................................................................ 225 FIRST PRINTINGS OF MUSIC .................................................................................... 225 APPENDIX E ............................................................................................................................ 229 TEXT AUTHORS AND FIRST LINES ......................................................................... 229 APPENDIX F ............................................................................................................................ 235 vi TEXT METERS ............................................................................................................... 235 APPENDIX G ............................................................................................................................ 239 TOPICS/SUBJECTS OF MUSIC AND FIRST LINES................................................ 239 APPENDIX H ............................................................................................................................ 244 MIDDLESEX HARMONY ADVERTISEMENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS ......... 244 APPENDIX I ............................................................................................................................. 250 THOMAS ACCOUNTS OF STOCK ............................................................................. 250 APPENDIX J ............................................................................................................................. 253 NUMBER OF PRINTINGS ............................................................................................. 253 APPENDIX K ............................................................................................................................ 261 TUNEBOOKS/HYMNALS INCLUDING BABCOCK ATTRIBUTIONS ................ 261 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................................... 271 PART II: CRITICAL EDITION ............................................................................................. 291 8.0 EDITORIAL POLICY ............................................................................................ 292 8.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 292 8.2 SOURCES ........................................................................................................ 294 8.3 MUSICAL NOTATION .................................................................................. 295 8.4 TEXTS .............................................................................................................. 297 9.0 SAMUEL BABCOCK EDITION ........................................................................... 298 ANDOVER .......................................................................................................................... 299 ASHFORD .......................................................................................................................... 301 AUSPICIOUS MORN ...........................................................................................................