John Hilton (ca. 15991657) was an English early Baroque composer.Peter Le Huray; Ian Spink: ''Hilton, John (ii)'',

New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

, 1980 He is best known for his books ''Ayres or Fa-Las for Three Voices'' and ''Catch That Catch Can''. John Hilton 1626

Life

Hilton was born about 1599 in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

. His father was probably the church musician and composer John Hilton the elder, who died in

in 1609. Hilton junior became organist at

St. Margaret's Church, Westminster The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey, is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Palace of Westminster a ...

in 1628, having published his music book ''Ayres or Fa-Las for Three Voices'' in 1627. In 1635, Hilton was

lutenist A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can re ...

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

. Some time in the 1630s, he composed ''The Judgement of Solomon'', ''The Judgement of Paris'', and ''The Temptation of Job''. These are all similar to small-scale oratorios and operas. His collection of glees and catches, ''Catch That Catch Can'', was published in 1652. He died in 1657 and was buried on 21 March 1657 at

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

Works

''Catch That Catch Can''

''Catch That Catch Can'' was published by

John Playford John Playford (1623–1686/7) was a London bookseller, publisher, minor composer, and member of the Stationers' Company, who published books on music theory, instruction books for several instruments, and psalters with tunes for singing in churc ...

in 1652 and featured experiments in the catch musical form. It was reprinted in 1658 "with large additions." It was again republished in 1667 with the sub-title "The Musical Companion"; and also in 1672–1673. The diarist Samuel Pepys owned a copy of the 1667 edition and enjoyed it, writing on April 15, 1667, "Playford’s new Catch-book ... hath a great many new fooleries in it." A few days later, he wrote, " tried two or three grace parts in Playford’s new book, my wife pleasing me in singing her part of the things she knew, which is a comfort to my very heart."

''Ayres or Fa-Las for Three Voices''

This book of music is largely overlooked by scholars. Many think the pieces are of low quality, while others are surprised that they do not get more attention. It is not known who composed the texts to the ''Ayres or Fa-Las.'' Most of the songs are about love. Published in 1627, it represented one of the last publications of English song until John Playford's ''Musical Banquet'' of 1651 (the one exception being Walter Porter's ''Madrigales and Ayres'' of 1632). Vincent Duckles, "The Gamble Manuscript as a Source of Continuo Song in England," Journal of the American Musicological Society (1948), p. 23.

Notes

References

HOASM: John Hilton (2)Catch That Catch Can (Pepys' Diary)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hilton, John 1590s births 1657 deaths English classical composers English Baroque composers Year of birth uncertain 17th-century classical composers English male classical composers 17th-century male musicians