John Stafford Smith
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| John Stafford Smith | |
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| Born | 30 March 1750 Gloucester, England |
| Died | 21 September 1836 (aged 86) London, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Composer |
| Known for | Composed "The Anacreontic Song" tune of the national anthem of the United States of America |
John Stafford Smith (March 30, 1750 – September 21, 1836) was a British composer born in Gloucester, England, church organist, and early musicologist. He was one of the first serious collectors of manuscripts of works by Johann Sebastian Bach.
Stafford Smith is best known for writing the music for "The Anacreontic Song", which became the tune for the American patriotic song the Star Spangled Banner following the war of 1812, and in 1931 was adopted as the national anthem of the United States of America
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[edit] Life
John Stafford Smith was baptised in Gloucester Cathedral, England on 30 March 1750, the son of Martin Smith, organist of Gloucester Cathedral from 1743-1782. He attended the Gloucester cathedral school where he became a boy-singer. He furthered his career as a choir boy at the Chapel Royal, London and also studied under the famous Dr William Boyce.
By the 1770's he had gained a reputation as a composer and organist. He was elected as a member of the select Anacreontic Society which boasted amongst its membership such persons as Dr Johnson, James Boswell, Sir Joshua Reynolds and Henry Purcell.
About 1780 Smith composed music for the society's constitutional song entitled To Anachreon in Heaven. The words were by Ralph Tomlinson (1744-1778) president of the society, and were inspired by the sixth-century BC Greek lyric poet, Anacreon, who wrote odes on the pleasures of love and wine. The song became popular in Britain and also America following the establishment of several Anarchreontic Societies there.
Stafford Smith later became a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal in 1784, organist for the Chapel Royal in 1802 and Master of the Children in 1805. he also became lay-vicar of Westminster Abbey. He was organist at the Three Choirs Festival held at Gloucester in 1790.
John Stafford Smith is considered to be the first Englishman to be a serious antiquarian and musicologist.[1] He began by publishing his A Collection of English Song in 1779. Smith's library included the Old Hall Manuscript as well as a copy of "Ulm Gesangbuch" from 1538. He also collected works that dated back to the twelfth century including some Gregorian chants. His publication "Musica Antiqua" (1812) included musical scores of works by Jacob Obrecht, Adrian Willaert, Jacob Clemens and Cristóbal de Morales with historical notes on each piece.
He died in 1836 at the age of eighty-six, allegedly caused by a grape-pip lodged in his windpipe.
[edit] American national anthem
In 1814 Francis Scott Key wrote the poem "The Defence of Fort McHenry" (later re-titled, "The Star-Spangled Banner"), which came to be sung to the tune of Stafford Smith's "Anacreon". This was officially designated as the national anthem of the United States in 1931.[2]
[edit] Luxembourg national anthem
The music of "Anacreon" was also temporarily employed for the national anthem of Luxembourg until the anthem's replacement by Ons Heemecht in 1895.
[edit] References
- ^ "John Stafford Smith". http://www.jazzstore.com/performer/John-Stafford-Smith/5832. "John Stafford Smith has been called "virtually the first English musicologist" He remains a significant figure in American history as the composer of the tune, "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the United States."
- ^ "John Stafford Smith: Composer of the Star Spangled Banner". http://www.visit-gloucestershire.co.uk/gloucester/smith.htm.
- Historic Gloucester by Phillip Moss, Published 30/04/2005 Publisher: Nonsuch Publishing ISBN 9781845880774
- John Stafford Smith entry at , Allmusic by Keith Johnson [1]
- Manuscripts Catalogue John Stafford Smith , University of Glasgow. Accessed march 2008
[edit] External links
- Free scores by John Stafford Smith in the International Music Score Library Project
- Free scores by John Stafford Smith in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
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