Samuel Adams Holyoke (15 October 1762 – 7 February 1820) was an American
composer and teacher of vocal and
instrumental music
An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...
.
Biography
Holyoke was the son of Rev. Elizur Holyoke and Hannah Peabody. He was born 15 October 1762 in
Boxford,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
, and died 7 February 1820 in
Concord
Concord may refer to:
Meaning "agreement"
* Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony)
* Harmony, in music
* Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...
,
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...
. He was a
Congregationalist and a
Mason, and never married.
After preparatory training at
Phillips Academy,
Andover
Andover may refer to:
Places Australia
*Andover, Tasmania
Canada
* Andover Parish, New Brunswick
* Perth-Andover, New Brunswick
United Kingdom
* Andover, Hampshire, England
** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station
United States
* Andove ...
, Holyoke matriculated at
Harvard College
Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...
in 1786. The source of his musical training is unknown, but he was composing music before he graduated from Harvard in 1789. In 1789–1790, he contributed four secular compositions to
Isaiah Thomas's ''
Massachusetts Magazine
The ''Massachusetts Magazine'' was published in Boston, Massachusetts, from 1789 through 1796. Also called the ''Monthly Museum of Knowledge and Rational Entertainment,'' it specialized in "poetry, music, biography, history, physics, geography, mo ...
''. A prolific composer, he composed some 700 pieces, including
psalm
The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...
tunes and
anthems and occasional pieces, some with instrumental accompaniment.
In 1793, Holyoke helped to found
Groton Academy
Lawrence Academy at Groton is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational college preparatory boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts, in the United States. Founded in 1792 by a group of fifty residents of Groton and Pepperell, Massachusetts ...
in
Groton, Massachusetts
Groton is a town in northwestern Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, within the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The population was 11,315 at the 2020 census. It is home to two prep schools: Lawrence Academy at Groton, founded in 1 ...
, where he served as the first headmaster.
[Sanderson, George A., ed. ''A General Catalogue of the trustees, teachers, and students Lawrence Academy, Groton, Massachusetts, from the time of its Incorporation, 1793–1893''. Lawrence Academy, 1893] In 1809–1810 Holyoke served as music instructor at Phillips Academy.
Legacy
After his death, his music was largely forgotten. His importance to American music was summed up by music historian George Hood: "There was no man of his day that did more for the cause of music than Samuel Holyoke."
Published works
* ''Harmonia Americana'' (Boston, 1791)
* ''The Massachusetts Compiler'' (Boston, 1795, with
Oliver Holden
Oliver Holden (September 18, 1765 – September 4, 1844) was an American composer and compiler of hymns.
Biography
He was born in Shirley, Massachusetts. During the American Revolutionary War, he was a marine for a year (1782–1783) on the US ...
and
Hans Gram)
* "Exeter: for Thanksgiving" (Exeter, NH, 1798)
* "Hark from the Tombs" and "Beneath the Honors" (Exeter, NH, 1800, in honor of George Washington)
* ''The Instrumental Assistant'' (Exeter, NH, 1800)
* ''A Dedication Service'' (Exeter, NH, 1801)
* ''Occasional Music'' (Exeter, NH, 1802)
* ''The Columbian Repository'' (Exeter, NH, 1803)
* ''Masonic Music'' (Exeter, NH, 1803)
* ''A Dedication Service'' (Salem, MA, 1804; different music from the 1801 publication)
* ''The Christian Harmonist'' (Salem, MA, 1804)
* ''The Occasional Companion'', nos. 1–7 (Exeter, NH, Dedham, MA, and Boston, 1806-after 1810)
* ''The Instrumental Assistant II (Exeter, NH, 1807)
* ''The Vocal Companion'' (Exeter, NH, 1807)
References
Bibliography
* Eskew, Harry, and Karl Kroeger (ed), ''Samuel Holyoke and
Jacob Kimball: Selected Works'' (New York, 1998).
* Metcalf, Frank J., ''American Writers and Compilers of Sacred Music'' (New York, 1925), 114–120.
* Nichols, Andrew, "Genealogy of the Holyoke Family", ''Historical Collections of the Essex Institute'' 3 (1861): 57–61.
* Perley, Sidney, ''The History of Boxford, Essex County, Massachusetts'' (Boxford, MA, 1880.)
* Willhide, J. Lawrence, "Samuel Holyoke: American Music Educator" (PhD diss., University of Southern California, 1954).
External links
*
Audio of six Holyoke hymns
1762 births
1820 deaths
Harvard College alumni
Phillips Academy alumni
People from Boxford, Massachusetts
American male classical composers
American Congregationalists
American Freemasons
{{US-composer-stub