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William Smith (''c.'' 27 March 1603 – AprilSmith's date of death is not recorded, but he was buried on 21 April 1645. 1645) was an English
Score for Smith's Preces and Responses
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, William English Renaissance composers English Baroque composers 1603 births 1645 deaths 17th-century English classical composers English male classical composers 17th-century English male musicians
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 ...
from the city of Durham. He is chiefly known for his set of choral preces
In Christian liturgical worship, ; ), also known in Anglican prayer as the Suffrages or Responses, describe a series of short petitions said or sung as versicles and responses by the officiant and the gathered worshippers respectively. Versi ...
and responses for the 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 ...
liturgy
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 ...
of Evening Prayer.
Life
William Smith was baptised on 3 April 1603. He was a Minor Canon when Richard Hutcheson was organist at Durham Cathedral.
Works
In addition to the well known Preces and Responses, Smith composed seven verse anthems, five festal psalms, two communion services, and a Kyrie, ‘10: severall wayes’. Additionally, there are two organ fantasias written in Smith's handwriting at the back of an organ book in the Durham Cathedral library. The first may be by Smith, although his name or initials do not appear in the score, but the second is of poorer quality and is unlikely to be by Smith himself. Smith's anthems employ the prevalent device of imitative verse sections, and exhibit his predilection for lengthy verse sections and short choruses. For example, in 'Almighty and everlasting God', a concise and effective setting of the text of the Collect for the Purification, the first chorus lasts a total of just eight minim beats. Smith took this verse–chorus proportion to its extreme in his Second Creed, which is entirely a verse setting, apart from the final ‘amen’.References
External links
*Score for Smith's Preces and Responses
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, William English Renaissance composers English Baroque composers 1603 births 1645 deaths 17th-century English classical composers English male classical composers 17th-century English male musicians