Benjamin Cooke
Benjamin Cooke (1734 – 14 September 1793) was an English composer, organist and teacher.
Cooke was born in London and named after his father, a music publisher based in Covent Garden. From the age of nine, he was one of four boy sopranos who sang at performances of the Academy of Ancient Music under the Academy's director Johann Christoph Pepusch (now best known as the composer of the 'Beggar's Opera'), who also supervised the boys' education. In later life Cooke received doctoral degrees in music from both Oxford and Cambridge universities.[1] He was a member of the Royal Society of Musicians from 1760; his father, the music publisher of the same name, had also been a member.[2]
He was the organist at Westminster Abbey and master of the Abbey's choristers for over thirty years, as well as being the organist at the church of St Martins in the Fields. His Christmas Ode, written in a Handelian style, is one of his relatively few large-scale pieces to have been successfully revived in recent years. He is also the author of glees such as In the Merry Month of May, Deh! Dove?, How Sleep the Brave and Hark! the Lark, as well as a variety of church music and organ music. Very many of his musical autographs are now owned by the Royal College of Music.
At Cooke's death, he was succeeded at the Abbey by Samuel Arnold, while his son Robert Cooke (1768-1814) was appointed organist of St Martin's in the Fields. Robert Cooke eventually succeeded Arnold at the Abbey.
[edit] References
- ^ Venn, J.; Venn, J. A., eds (1922–1958). "Cooke, Benjamin". Alumni Cantabrigienses (10 vols) (online ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- ^ Matthews, Betty (1985). Members of the Royal Society of Musicians 1734-1984. London: The Royal Society of Musicians. p. 50
[edit] External links
- Free scores by Benjamin Cooke in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
- Free scores by Benjamin Cooke at the International Music Score Library Project
- This article incorporates text from the public domain 1907 edition of The Nuttall Encyclopædia.
| Cultural offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Robinson (1682–1767) |
Organist and Master of the Choristers of Westminster Abbey 1762–1793 |
Succeeded by Samuel Arnold (1740–1802) |
| Preceded by Joseph Kelway (1702-1785) |
Organist of St Martins in the Fields 1781–1793 |
Succeeded by Robert Cooke (1768–1819) |
