William Carter (7 December 1838 – 1917) was an English

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

, and

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

. He began a lengthy career as an organist at mainly churches in London at the age of nine. In 1859 and 1860 he spent one year in Canada as the organist at Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Quebec, during which time he staged what was possibly the largest

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 ...

Festival in Canada at that time. As a composer he is known for his

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

anthems for chorus and organ, sacred works for organ, 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 ...

''Placida, the Christian Martyr'' (1872), and ''Cantata Domino in E'' (1891). He founded and conducted the original choir at

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

, a group he led at that concert hall's grand opening in 1871.

Life and career

Born in London, William Carter was a member of the English Carter family of musicians. His father John Carter (1802-????) worked as an organist at St Matthew's, Bethnal Green and married Anne Leach on 10 April 1831. Three of his brothers were also composers and organists: John Carter (1832–1916), George Carter (1835–1890) and Henry Carter (1837–1901). Like his brothers, William Carter was trained as an organist and pianist by his father and by the Austrian pianist and composer Ernst Pauer. He also studied with

John Pyke Hullah John Pyke Hullah (27 June 1812 – 21 February 1884) was an English composer and teacher of music, whose promotion of vocal training is associated with the singing-class movement. He worked with Charles Dickens and Felix Mendelssohn. Life and ...

(

music theory Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the "Elements of music, ...

, singing) and John Goss (composition). Beginning at the age of seven, he was a chorister at

St Giles' Church, Camberwell St Giles' Church, Camberwell, is the parish church of Camberwell, a district of London which forms part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is part of Camberwell Deanery within the Anglican Diocese of Southwark in the Church of England. The c ...

, and he later sang in the choirs of 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 ...

and

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

. In 1848, at the age of nine, Carter was appointed organist at Christchurch, Rotherhithe, London. He left that post in 1850 to become organist at

St Lawrence's Church, Whitchurch St. Lawrence, Whitchurch, is a Church of England parish church in Little Stanmore in the London Borough of Harrow, England. The building is Grade I listed. It retains a stone tower dating from ca. 1360, but the main body of the building was constr ...

. He remained there until 1854 when he became organist at St Mary, Stoke Newington. He then became organist at

St Helen's Church, Bishopsgate St Helen's Bishopsgate is an Anglican church in London. It is located in Great St Helen's, off Bishopsgate. It is the largest surviving parish church in the City of London. Several notable figures are buried there, and it contains more monuments ...

, in 1856. In 1859 William left England for Canada to succeed his brother Henry Carter as organist at the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Quebec. While there he was the conductor of a prominent

festival staged for the centenary in April 1859 of the composer's death. It was possibly the largest Handel festival given in Canada at that point in the nation's history, and featured a performance of ''

Judas Maccabeus Judas Maccabaeus or Maccabeus ( ), also known as Judah Maccabee (), was a Jewish priest (''kohen'') and a son of the priest Mattathias. He led the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire (167–160 BCE). The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah ("Ded ...

'' among other works by the composer. In 1860 Carter returned to England to become organist at

St Stephen's Church, Westbourne Park St Stephen's Church, Westbourne Park, is a Grade II listed parish church in the Church of England in London. History St Stephen's Church dates from 1856. It was designed by the architect brothers Frederick John and Horace Francis, who designed ...

. He remained there until 1868 when he was appointed organist of St Paul's, Onslow Square, where he remained for many years. His final posts as organist were at St Peter's Church, Belsize Park, and lastly

Holy Trinity, Roehampton Holy Trinity is the Church of England parish church for Roehampton, located in Ponsonby Road, SW15 4LA. Morning and Evening Prayer are said and sung daily in the church except Saturdays, 8.30 and 5.30. The main weekly service is 10am on Sun ...

, where he retired in either 1903 or 1904. Carter was founder of the original choir at

, and conducted the choir in the hall's inaugural concert in 1871. In 1872 his

''Placida, the Christian Martyr'' was given its world premiere at

The Crystal Palace The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibitors from around ...

with tenor

Arthur Byron Arthur William Byron (April 3, 1872 – July 16, 1943) was an American actor who played a mixture of British and American roles in films. Early years Born in Brooklyn, Byron was the son of actors Kate Crehan and Oliver Doud Byron. He was a n ...

as one of the featured soloists. William Carter died in London in 1917.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, William 1838 births 1917 deaths English Romantic composers English conductors (music) English organists Composers from London