(George) Calvin Hampton (December 31, 1938 – August 5, 1984) was a leading American

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational h ...

and

sacred music Religious music (also sacred music) is a type of music that is performed or composed for religious use or through religious influence. It may overlap with ritual music, which is music, sacred or not, performed or composed for or as ritual. Relig ...

composer. Hampton was born in

Kittanning, Pennsylvania Kittanning ( pronounced ) is a borough in, and the county seat of, Armstrong County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is situated northeast of Pittsburgh, along the east bank of the Allegheny River. The name is derived from ''Kithanink' ...

and raised in

Ravenna, Ohio Ravenna is a city in Portage County, Ohio, United States. It is located east of Akron. It was formed from portions of Ravenna Township in the Connecticut Western Reserve. The population was 11,323 in the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of Por ...

. He graduated from

Oberlin Conservatory The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is a private music conservatory in Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. It was founded in 1865 and is the second oldest conservatory and oldest continually operating conservatory in the United States. It is one of ...

in 1960 and from Syracuse University in 1963. From September 1963 through June 1983, he was organist and

choirmaster A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

at Calvary Episcopal Church in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. His “Fridays at Midnight” organ recital series, which ran from 1974 to 1983, was among the most well-known and popular organ recital series in American history. Hampton also composed music for the church and the concert stage. In 1974, he composed music for Walter Leyden Brown's production of

Herman Melville Herman Melville ( born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are ''Moby-Dick'' (1851); ''Typee'' (1846), a rom ...

's ''Pierre, or the Ambiguities'', which was produced at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in the East Village of Manhattan. Before Hampton's death,

Erik Routley Erik Reginald Routley (; 31 October 1917, Brighton, UK – 8 October 1982, Nashville TN) was an English Congregational churchman, theologian and musician and arguably the most significant hymnologist of the 20th century. His nearly 40 books on the ...

, an authority on

church music Church music is Christian music written for performance in church, or any musical setting of ecclesiastical liturgy, or music set to words expressing propositions of a sacred nature, such as a hymn. History Early Christian music The on ...

, called Hampton "the greatest living composer of hymn tunes." His settings of the Episcopal liturgy are also used in

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

churches, and his choral works are innovative and challenging pieces of sacred music. Hampton also transcribed music from other sources for the organ. His versions of

Modest Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky ( rus, link=no, Модест Петрович Мусоргский, Modest Petrovich Musorgsky , mɐˈdɛst pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ˈmusərkskʲɪj, Ru-Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky version.ogg; – ) was a Russian compo ...

's ''

Pictures at an Exhibition ''Pictures at an Exhibition'', french: Tableaux d'une exposition, link=no is a suite of ten piano pieces, plus a recurring, varied Promenade theme, composed by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky in 1874. The piece is Mussorgsky's most famous pia ...

'' and

César Franck César-Auguste Jean-Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in modern-day Belgium. He was born in Liège (which at the time of his birth was pa ...

's '' Symphony in D minor'' for organ are particularly noteworthy. Hampton's views on the proper design and function of the organ, particularly in the orchestral context, were controversial because they conflicted with neo-Baroque views. Hampton eventually stopped working at the church to concentrate on composition and organ

consulting A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servic ...

. During this time, he consulted for several important classical organs in the United States. He contracted AIDS but remained active until the final few weeks of his life, composing the massive ''Alexander Variations'' for two pipe organs while almost completely bedridden in 1984. He died at the age of 45 near his parents’ home in

Port Charlotte, Florida Port Charlotte is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Charlotte County, Florida, United States. The population was 54,392 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Punta Gorda, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Port ...

References

External links

Hampton's page on La MaMa Archives Digital Collections

Article about Hampton on ''Broad Street Review'' (2014)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hampton, Calvin 1938 births 1984 deaths American male composers American classical organists American male organists People from Armstrong County, Pennsylvania People from Ravenna, Ohio AIDS-related deaths in Florida 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century American composers 20th-century organists 20th-century American male musicians Male classical organists