William Boyce (baptised 11 September 1711 – 7 February 1779) was an English composer and organist. Like

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

later on, he became deaf but continued to compose. He knew

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

, Arne,

Gluck Christoph Willibald ( Ritter von) Gluck (; ; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire at ...

, J.C. Bach,

Abel Abel ( ''Hébel'', in pausa ''Hā́ḇel''; ''Hábel''; , ''Hābēl'') is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within the Abrahamic religions. Born as the second son of Adam and Eve, the first two humans created by God in Judaism, God, he ...

, and a very young

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

, all of whom respected his work.

Life

Boyce was born in London, at Joiners Hall, then in

Lower Thames Street Thames Street, divided into Lower and Upper Thames Street, is a road in the City of London, the historic and financial centre of London. It forms part of the busy A3211 route (prior to being rebuilt as a major thoroughfare in the late 1960s, it ...

, to John Boyce, at the time a joiner and cabinet-maker, and

beadle A beadle, sometimes spelled bedel, is an official who may usher, keep order, make reports, and assist in religious functions; or a minor official who carries out various civil, educational or ceremonial duties on the manor. The term has pre- ...

of the Worshipful Company of Joiners and Ceilers, and his wife Elizabeth Cordwell. He was baptised on 11 September 1711 and was admitted by his father as a

choirboy A choirboy is a boy member of a choir, also known as a treble. As a derisive slang term, it refers to a do-gooder or someone who is morally upright, in the same sense that "Boy Scout" (also derisively) refers to someone who is considered honor ...

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

in 1719. After his voice broke in 1727, he studied music with Maurice Greene.Bruce (2005) His first professional appointment came in 1734 when he was employed as an organist at the Oxford Chapel in central London. He went on to take a number of similar posts before being appointed

Master of the King's Musick Master of the King's Music (or Master of the Queen's Music, or earlier Master of the King's Musick) is a post in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. The holder of the post originally served the monarch of England, directing the court orc ...

in 1757 (he had applied for the post on the death of Maurice Greene in 1755) and becoming one of the organists at the

Chapel Royal A chapel royal is an establishment in the British and Canadian royal households serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the royal family. Historically, the chapel royal was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarc ...

in 1758. He also gave lessons, his daughter telling the composer

R. J. S. Stevens Richard John Samuel Stevens (27 March 1757 – 23 September 1837) was an English composer and organist. He composed some highly regarded English glees, and wrote a number of volumes of recollections, diaries and other literary material that provi ...

that both

Thomas Linley the Elder Thomas Linley (17 January 1733 – 19 November 1795) was an English bass and musician active in Bath, Somerset. Born in Badminton, Gloucestershire, Linley began his musical career after he moved to Bath at age 11 and became apprentice to the or ...

and

Thomas Linley the Younger Thomas Linley the younger (7 May 1756 – 5 August 1778), also known as Thomas Linley, Junior or Tom Linley, was the eldest son of the composer Thomas Linley the elder, Thomas Linley and his wife Mary Johnson. He was one of the most precocious c ...

had been his pupils in

counterpoint In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. The term originates from the Latin ...

in the period 1763–1768. His work as a composer began in the 1730s, writing songs for

Vauxhall Gardens Vauxhall Gardens is a public park in Kennington in the London Borough of Lambeth, England, on the south bank of the River Thames. Originally known as New Spring Gardens, it is believed to have opened before the Restoration of 1660, being me ...

. In 1736 he was named as composer to the

and wrote the

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

''David's Lamentation over Saul and Jonathan. ''He was engaged as conductor to the

Three Choirs Festival 200px, Worcester cathedral 200px, Gloucester cathedral The Three Choirs Festival is a music festival held annually at the end of July, rotating among the cathedrals of the Three Counties (Hereford, Gloucester, and Worcester) and originally fe ...

in 1737; many of his works, including the ''Worcester Overture'' (today known as his Symphony no. 8), will have been premiered at the Festival over the succeeding years. The 1740s saw his opera ''Peleus and Thetis'', the serenata ''

Solomon Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...

'', and his ''Secular Masque'', to a libretto by

John Dryden John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration (En ...

. In 1749 he wrote an ode and the anthem ''O be joyful'' to celebrate the installation of the

Duke of Newcastle Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne was a title that was created three times, once in the Peerage of England and twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first grant of the title was made in 1665 to William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, Willi ...

as Chancellor of

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, and was awarded the degree of Doctor of Music. In 1747 he had published his first purely instrumental composition, a set of "Twelve Sonatas for Two Violins and a Bass" and these proved popular.

Charles Burney Charles Burney (7 April 1726 – 12 April 1814) was an English music historian, composer and musician. He was the father of the writers Frances Burney and Sarah Burney, of the explorer James Burney, and of Charles Burney, a classicis ...

wrote that they were "not only in constant use, as Chamber music, in private concerts ... but in our theatres, as act-tunes .e. intermezziand public gardens, as favourite pieces, during many years." In the 1750s Boyce supplied

David Garrick David Garrick (19 February 1716 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, Actor-manager, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil a ...

with songs and other music for many productions at the

Drury Lane Theatre The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dru ...

. These included his own operas ''The Chaplet'' and ''The Shepherd's Lottery'', both to libretti by Moses Mendez, and for Garrick's 1759 pantomime ''Harlequin's Invasion'' which contained what became Boyce's most famous song, ''

Heart of Oak "Heart of Oak" is the official march of the Royal Navy. It is also the official march of several Commonwealth navies, including the Royal Canadian Navy and the Royal New Zealand Navy. It was the official march of the Royal Australian Navy, but ...

''. As Master of the King's Musick Boyce had the responsibility of writing music for royal occasions including funerals, weddings and coronations. He, however, refused to make a new setting of ''

Zadok the Priest ''Zadok the Priest'' ( HWV 258) is a British anthem that was composed by George Frideric Handel for the coronation of George II in 1727. Alongside '' The King Shall Rejoice'', '' My Heart is Inditing'', and '' Let Thy Hand Be Strengthened'', ' ...

'' for the

coronation of George III and Charlotte The Coronation of the British monarch, coronation of George III and his wife Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Charlotte as List of British monarchs, king and List of British royal consorts, queen of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

in 1761 on the grounds that

's setting of the anthem was unsurpassable – as a consequence of which Handel's setting has been played at every subsequent British coronation. However, that coronation is the only one recorded where a single musician wrote nearly all the music, Boyce having composed a total of eight anthems specifically for the event. By the year 1758, his deafness had increased to such an extent that he was unable to continue in his organist posts. He resolved to give up teaching and to retire to Kensington, and devote himself to editing the collection of church music which bears his name. He retired and worked on completing the compilation ''Cathedral Music'' that his teacher Greene had left incomplete at his death. This led to Boyce editing works by the likes of

William Byrd William Byrd (; 4 July 1623) was an English Renaissance composer. Considered among the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he had a profound influence on composers both from his native country and on the Continental Europe, Continent. He i ...

and

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, Dido and Aeneas, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version o ...

. Many of the pieces in the collection are still used in

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

services today. On 7 February 1779 Boyce died from an attack of

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of pain in a red, tender, hot, and Joint effusion, swollen joint, caused by the deposition of needle-like crystals of uric acid known as monosodium urate crysta ...

, aged 67. He was buried under the dome of

. His only son, also William Boyce (25 March 1764 – 1824), was a professional

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

player.

Legacy

Boyce was largely forgotten after his death and he remains a little-performed composer today, although a number of his pieces were rediscovered in the 1930s and

Constant Lambert Leonard Constant Lambert (23 August 190521 August 1951) was a British composer, conductor, and author. He was the founding music director of the Royal Ballet, and (alongside Dame Ninette de Valois and Sir Frederick Ashton) he was a major figu ...

edited and sometimes conducted his works. Lambert had already launched the early stages of the modern Boyce revival in 1928, when he published the first modern edition of the ''Eight Symphonies'' (Bartlett and Bruce 2001). The great exception to this neglect was his church music, which was edited after his death by Philip Hayes and published in two large volumes, ''Fifteen Anthems by Dr Boyce'' in 1780 and ''A Collection of Anthems and a Short Service'' in 1790 (Bartlett 2003, 54). Church choral music saw a revival in the 1830s and 1840s, under the influences of the

Tractarians The Oxford Movement was a theological movement of high-church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the Un ...

, the

Cambridge Camden Society The Cambridge Camden Society, known from 1845 (when it moved to London) as the Ecclesiological Society,

Ecclesiastical Commissioners Act 1840 The Ecclesiastical Commissioners were, in England and Wales, a body corporate, whose full title was Ecclesiastical and Church Estates Commissioners for England. The commissioners were authorised to determine the distribution of revenues of the Ch ...

). A new edition of Boyce's works as ''Cathedral Music'', edited by

Joseph Warren Joseph Warren (June 11, 1741 – June 17, 1775), a Founding Father of the United States, was an American physician who was one of the most important figures in the Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot movement in Boston, Massachusetts, Bos ...

, appeared in 1849. The first movement (''Allegro'') of Boyce's Symphony No. 1 in B-flat was the first piece of music played during the procession of the bride and bridegroom at the conclusion of the

wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was held on Saturday 19 May 2018 in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom. The groom is a member of the British royal family; the bride is American and previously worked as an a ...

in 2018. His coronation anthem ''The King Shall Rejoice'', initially composed for the coronation of George III in 1761, was also performed at the

coronation of Charles III The Coronation of the British monarch, coronation of Charles III and his wife, Queen Camilla, Camilla, as Monarchy of the United Kingdom, king and List of British royal consorts, queen of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth re ...

in 2023. Boyce's portraits were painted by

Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter who specialised in portraits. The art critic John Russell (art critic), John Russell called him one of the major European painters of the 18th century, while Lucy P ...

and Thomas Hudson. He was drawn and engraved by

John Keyse Sherwin John Keyse Sherwin (175124 September 1790) was an English engraver and history-painter. Biography Sherwin was born at East Dean in Sussex. His father was a wood-cutter employed in shaping bolts for shipbuilders, and the son followed the same o ...

, and a vignette made by Drayton after Robert Smirke.

Works

See List of compositions by William Boyce

References

Sources

* Bruce, Robert J. 2005.
Boyce, William (bap. 1711, d. 1779)
, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 004; online edition, Oct 2005; subscription or UK library membership required*

External links

* * *
William Boyce – biography

William Boyce's "Solomon"
(Oxford Journals – Music and Letters)
Portraits of Boyce
(National Portrait Gallery, London) {{DEFAULTSORT:Boyce, William 1711 births 1779 deaths English classical organists Deaf classical musicians Members of the Royal Society of Musicians English classical composers of church music People educated at St. Paul's Cathedral School Pupils of Johann Christoph Pepusch Composers from London English male classical composers 18th-century English classical composers 18th-century English male musicians 18th-century English composers 18th-century English keyboardists Composers of masonic music English deaf people English opera composers Masters of the King's Music English male classical organists English Classical-period composers