John Marsh (composer)

John Marsh (31 May 1752 – 31 October 1828) was an English gentleman, composer, diarist and writer born in Dorking, England. A lawyer by training, he is known to have written at least 350 compositions, including at least 39 symphonies. While today known primarily for his music, he also had strong interest in other fields, including astronomy and philosophy, and wrote books about astronomy, music, religion, and geometry.

Life and career

Marsh lived in Dorking, Gosport, Romsey, Salisbury and Canterbury before settling in Chichester in 1787 until his death in 1828. As a concert organizer, he was responsible for the music making in the towns and cities where he worked, especially in Chichester, where he led the subscription concerts for some 35 years.

Marsh was perhaps the most prolific English composer of his time. His own catalog of compositions records over 350 works, of which he lists 39 symphonies. Of these, only the nine that Marsh had printed are extant, together with three one-movement finales.

Marsh was a man of varied interests, and his 37 volumes of journals are among the most valuable sources of information on life and music in 18th-century England. They represent one of the most important musical and social documents of the period. It remained unpublished until the first volume was published in 1998. In one passage, Marsh describes the great Handel Commemoration of 1784 in London.

Marsh's son was poet and cleric Edward Garrard Marsh.

Extant works

• The Salisbury Symphonies
  • Symphony No. 8 [9] in G Major (1778)

  I. Allegro

  II. Andante

  III. Allegro

  • A Conversation Symphony for Two Orchestras [No. 10] in E-flat Major (1778)

  I. Allegro maestoso

  II. Andante

  III. Allegretto

  • Symphony No. 2 [12] in B-flat Major (1780)

  I. Allegro

  II. Largo 8 in a bar

  III. Allegro spirituoso

  • Symphony No. 1 [13] in B-flat Major (1781)

  I. Allegro

  II. Andante

  III. Chasse: Allegro

• The Canterbury Symphonies
  • Symphony No. 5 [16] in E-flat Major (1783)

  I. Largo staccatto

  II. Allegro moderato

  III. Minuetto; Allegro spirituoso

  • Symphony No. 3 [17] in D Major (1784)

  I. Allegro

  II. Andante

  III. Presto

• The Chichester Symphonies
  • Symphony No. 4 [19] in F Major (1788)

  I. Allegro

  II. Larghetto

  III. Minuetto

  IV. Allegro

  • Symphony No. 7 [24] in E-flat Major (La Chasse) (1790)

  I. Andante (The hunter’s call in the morning)

  II. Allegretto (Setting out from home; the fox discovered)

  III. Allegro (Chasse)

  • Symphony No. 6 [27] in D Major (1796)

  I. Largo maestoso; Allegro spiritoso

  II. Andante

  III. Minuetto: Allegro

  IV. Allegro scherzando

• The Finales
  • Finale No. 3 in E-flat Major (1799)

  Andante; Allegro

  • Finale No. 1 in D Major (1800)

  Pomposo

  • Finale No. 2 in B-flat Major (1801)

  Maestoso; Trio

  Allegro

References

• The John Marsh Journals—The Life and Times of a Gentleman Composer (1752–1828) Edited, introduced and annotated by Brian Robins. Pendragon Press, Stuyvesant, NJ, 1998. ISBN 0-945193-94-7. A second volume, covering the period from June 1802 to Marsh's death on 31 October 1828, was published by Pendragon Press in July 2013. ISBN 978-1576471630.
• "The John Marsh Journals: The Life and Times of a Gentleman Composer (1752-1828)." Music & Letters, Nov. 1999.
• Temperley, Nicholas, "Marsh of Chichester: Gentleman, Composer, Musician, Writer 1752-1828” (review), Music and Letters - Volume 86, Number 4, 2005, at p. 633.
• Marsh of Chichester: Gentleman, Composer, Musician, Writer 1752-1828. Ed. by Paul Foster. pp. 158. Otter Memorial Papers, 19. University College Chichester, Chichester, England, 2004. ISBN 0-948765-34-8.
• John Marsh--Symphonies, Edited by Ian Graham-Jones
  • Part 1: The Salisbury and Canterbury Symphonies (1778–1784)
  • Part 2: The Chichester Symphonies and Finales (1788–1801)
  • C 62 Part 1 ISBN 0-89579-486-1 (2001) xvii + 255 pp. ISBN 978-0-89579-486-4
  • C 63 Part 2 ISBN 0-89579-487-X (2001) xiv + 213 pp. ISBN 978-0-89579-487-1
• The New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians (2000)

External links

• MusicWeb International biography

There are 2 c.d.s of John Marsh's symphonies:One of the c.d.'s is Chandos 10458(64 minutes,2008). It contains 5 of his symphonies: Number 2(LaChasse-1780), Number 6(1796), Number 7(LaChasse-1790), Number 8(1778) and Conversation Symphony for 2 Orchestras(1778). It's played by the London Mozart and conducted by Matthias Bamert. The other c.d. is by The Chichester Concert conducted by Ian-Graham Jones (64 minutes,1989). It also contains 5 symphonies(Number 1,3,4,6 and A Conversation Symphony for 2 Orchestras. It was given a favorable review in Gramophone Magazine in 1989.