Benjamin Carl Unseld
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Benjamin Carl Unseld (October 18, 1843 – November 19, 1923), better known as B. C. Unseld, was a gospel music teacher, composer, and publisher.


Biography

Unseld was born October 18, 1843 in
Shepherdstown, Virginia Shepherdstown is a town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States, located in the lower Shenandoah Valley along the Potomac River. Home to Shepherd University, the town's population was 1,734 at the time of the 2010 census. History 18t ...
. In the early 1860s, he moved to Pennsylvania. Though mostly self-taught, he sang in the choir and accepted a position as organist at the Methodist Church in
Columbia, Pennsylvania Columbia, formerly Wright's Ferry, is a borough (town) in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 10,222. It is southeast of Harrisburg, on the east (left) bank of the Susquehanna River, ac ...
. He studied music under Eben Tourjée and Theodore F. Seward. B. C. Unseld taught at the
New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music Music school, conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The ...
in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, Massachusetts, and was the school's first secretary. Later he taught at
Fisk University Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1930, Fisk was the first Africa ...
in
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
, and was the first principal of the Virginia Normal School of Music. Unseld and Seward, with Biglow and Main publishers, imported
John Curwen John Curwen (14 November 1816 – 26 May 1880) was an English Congregationalist minister and diffuser of the tonic sol-fa system of music education created by Sarah Ann Glover. He was educated at Wymondley College in Hertfordshire, then Cowa ...
's Tonic Sol-fa method of
shape note Shape notes are a musical notation designed to facilitate congregational and social singing. The notation, introduced in late 18th century England, became a popular teaching device in American singing schools. Shapes were added to the noteh ...
music and promoted it. The method was never widely received in the United States. During his lifetime, he worked with the Biglow & Main Company (New York City), Fillmore Music House (
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, Ohio) and the Lorenz Publishing Company (
Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...
). In 1911, Unseld moved to Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, to serve as dean of the new
James D. Vaughan James David Vaughan (December 14, 1864 – February 9, 1941) was an American music teacher, composer, song book publisher, the founder of the Vaughan Conservatory of Music and the James D. Vaughan Publishing Company. Biography Vaughan was b ...
School of Music, one part of that famed entrepreneur's publishing enterprise. After 1914 he also served as editor of ''The Vaughan Family Visitor'', the company's monthly house periodical. Unseld died in Lawrenceburg on November 19, 1923, but was not buried there. His wife returned with his body to "Old Virginia." He is buried in historic Elmwood Cemetery in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.


Works

''The Tonic Sol-Fa Music Reader (with Theodore Seward, 1880)'', ''The Choral Standard'' (1895), ''Fillmore's School Singer for Day Schools, Juvenile Classes and Teachers' Institutes'' (with J. H. Fillmore, 1895), and ''Progress in Song'' (with E. T. Hildebrand, 1911). B. C. Unseld prepared the rudiments of music for A. S. Kieffer's popular ''Temple Star''. Unseld's tunes accompany hymns by James Rowe and Fanny J. Crosby. His most popular musical piece was entitled "Twilight Is Stealing", written with Aldine S. Kieffer.


Legacy

B. C. Unseld was inducted into the
Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...
in 2004.


References


Further reading

*''Biography of Gospel Song and Hymn Writers'', by Jacob Henry Hall, New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1914.


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Unseld, Benjamin Carl 1843 births 1923 deaths 19th-century American composers 19th-century American male singers American gospel singers American male composers American music publishers (people) Fisk University faculty Gospel music composers Musicians from Dayton, Ohio New England Conservatory faculty People from Lawrenceburg, Tennessee People from Shepherdstown, West Virginia Shape note Singers from West Virginia