George Guest (1771-1831) was an English organist. Guest was the son of Ralph Guest, who was born at

Broseley Broseley is a market town in Shropshire, England, with a population of 4,929 at the 2011 Census and an estimate of 5,022 in 2019. The River Severn flows to its north and east. The first The Iron Bridge, iron bridge in the world was built in 17 ...

in Shropshire, settled at

Bury St. Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton A ...

in 1768, was organist of St. Mary's church there from 1805 to 1822, and he is said to have published some glees and songs. George Guest was born in 1771 at

. He was chorister of the

Chapels Royal The Chapel Royal is an establishment in the Royal Household serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the British Royal Family. Historically it was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarch. The term is now also appl ...

, and may have been the "Master Guest" who was one of the principal singers (in

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of ''mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach'' ...

and miscellaneous concerts) for the Hereford musical festival of 1783. Guest was organist at

Eye, Suffolk Eye () is a market town and civil parish in the north of the English county of Suffolk, about south of Diss, north of Ipswich and south-west of Norwich. The population in the 2011 Census of 2,154 was estimated to be 2,361 in 2019. It lies ...

, in 1787, and at St. Peter's, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, from 1789 to 1831. He died at Wisbech on 11 September 1831, after a long and severe illness, aged 60. He was the composer of four fugues and sixteen voluntaries for the organ; the cantatas, the 'Afflicted African' and the 'Dying Christian;' three quartets for flute and strings; three duets for two violoncellos; pieces for military bands; hymns, glees, and songs. It is probable that John Guest ( fl. 1795), music master of Bury, and Jane Mary Guest (fl. 1780), afterwards Mrs. Miles, pianist, composer, and instructor of the Princess Charlotte of Wales, were relatives.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guest, George 1771 births 1831 deaths 18th-century English people English organists English male organists 18th-century English musicians 19th-century English musicians 18th-century British composers 18th-century British male musicians 19th-century British composers Musicians from Bury St Edmunds 18th-century keyboardists 19th-century British male musicians