Oliver Shaw (March 13, 1779 – December 31, 1848), was one of the first American composers.

Life and career

Shaw was born at

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

.Liner Notes of ''The Flowering of Vocal Music in America''
New World Records, 80467 A childhood accident and later

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...

caused him to go totally blind. He studied with organist

John Berkenhead Sir John Birkenhead or Berkenhead (''c''.1617 – 4 December 1679) was a Kingdom of Great Britain, British political writer and journalist, imprisoned several times during the Commonwealth of England, Commonwealth for his obtrusive monarchist, roya ...

and later with

Gottlieb Graupner __NOTOC__ Johann Christian Gottlieb Graupner (6 October 1767 – 16 April 1836) was a musician, composer, conductor, educator and publisher. Born in Hanover, Germany, he played oboe in Joseph Haydn's orchestra in London. After moving to the Unit ...

. After studies, he started his musical career 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 ...

and in

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

where he remained an important musical figure until his death. One of his students was Lowell Mason. In 1810, Shaw together with his friends founded the ''Psallonian Society'' "for the purpose of improving themselves in the knowledge and practice of sacred music and inculcating a more correct taste in the choice and performance of it" based in Providence. His publications include five volumes of his own music and contributions to others. Many of his compositions were based on poems by

Thomas Moore Thomas Moore (28 May 1779 – 25 February 1852) was an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist celebrated for his ''Irish Melodies''. Their setting of English-language verse to old Irish tunes marked the transition in popular Irish culture from Irish ...

. He died at

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

List of works

*Taunton *The Bristol March *Trip to Pawtucket *"All Things Bright and Fair" *The Bird Let Loose *Souvenirs De L'Academie *Arrayed in Clouds of Golden Light *The Missionary Angel *The Song of the Alumnae (with Miss Margaret Robinson, lyricist) *Air *Gov. Arnold's March *Mary's Tears (1817) *There's Nothing True But Heaven (1829) *Stoughton Waltz (1839) *Metacom's Grand March (1840) *Gov. Bouck's Grand Quick Step (1842) *Bangor March (1842?) *The State Street Quick Step (1842) *The Association Quick Step (1843) *The Burgesses Corps Parade March (1844) *The Rensselaer (Grand Waltz) (1844) *Gov. Wright's Grand March (1844) *Quarter Master Smith's Quick Step (1846) *New York State Grand March (1847) *Dolce Campana (Sweet Bells) Waltz (1848) *Mansion Hall (Waltz Brilliante) (1848) *The Elysian Isle (1850) *Song of the Cloud (1850) *A Seat Beside the Hearth of Home (1851) *Miss Mary S. Johnson's Favorite schottisch (1855) *Heber, variations (1857) *Come to Me (Air Religieuse) (1857) *Oneida Polka Brillante (with Charlotte J. Churchill, 1857) *Three Waltzes Brilliante (1857)

Discography

*''Music of the Federal Era'' *''The Flowering of Vocal Music in America''''The Flowering of Vocal Music in America'' New World Records, 80467

References

External links

As down in the sunless retreats : a song from Moore's sacred melodies
at Indiana University Sheet Music Collections * 1779 births 1848 deaths American male classical composers American classical composers Blind classical musicians 19th-century American composers 19th-century American male musicians 19th-century classical composers Musicians from Newport, Rhode Island American musicians with disabilities {{US-composer-stub