Thomas Hastings (15 October 1784 – 15 May 1872) was an American composer, primarily an author of hymn tunes of which the best known is "Toplady" for the

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hy ...

'' Rock of Ages''. He was born to Dr. Seth and Eunice (Parmele) Hastings in

Washington, Connecticut Washington is a rural town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, in the New England region of the United States. The population was 3,646 at the 2020 census. Washington is known for its picturesque countryside, historic architecture, and active civi ...

. He was a 3rd great-grandson of Thomas Hastings who came from the East Anglia region of England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1634.

Life and career

Hastings moved to Clinton, New York, as a youth and began his career as a singing teacher, being largely a self-taught musician. Hastings compiled the hymn book ''Spiritual Songs'' with

Lowell Mason Lowell Mason (January 8, 1792 – August 11, 1872) was an American music director and banker who was a leading figure in 19th-century American church music. Lowell composed over 1600 hymn tunes, many of which are often sung today. His best-known ...

in 1831, which included his most well-known hymn "Rock of Ages." He then moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, where he served as a choir master for 40 years, from 1832 to 1872. Hastings was a prolific composer, writing some 1000 hymn tunes over his career, and what Mason calls the "simple, easy, and solemn" style of his music remains a major influence on the hymns of the Protestant churches to this day. Hastings' 1822 ''Dissertation on Musical Taste'', the first full musical

treatise A treatise is a formal and systematic written discourse on some subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject and its conclusions." Tre ...

by an American author, was a notable voice in the shift in American music toward the models of German music rather than British; as "one of the first spokespersons for the cultivated tradition of American music", he emphasized the science and philosophical mission of music above the looser and more folk-based music of his predecessors. While Hastings' first compilation still showed strong evidence of adherence to the British tradition, later works would include many German songs, and what older hymns and other settings he did include had the harmonies completely rewritten to conform to German ideals of classical music. In addition to his composition and compiling of tunebooks for use in the

singing school A singing school is a school in which students are taught to sightread vocal music. Singing schools are a long-standing cultural institution in the Southern United States. While some singing schools are offered for credit, most are informal program ...

s, Hastings founded ''Musical Magazine'', a periodical he edited from 1835 to 1837; his early writings on church music for the ''Western Recorder'', which he began editing in 1823, had given him the prior experience, as well as establishing his musical and professional credibility around its home base of

Utica, New York Utica () is a city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 U.S. Census. Located on the Mohawk River at the ...

and the surrounding areas. Hastings died in New York in 1872 and is buried in

Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope/ Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington, and Sunset Park, and lies several blo ...

Media

References

*Hitchcock, H. Wiley (1986). ''Music in the United States: A Historical Introduction''. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. *Crawford, Richard, and David W. Music: "Thomas Hastings". '' Grove Music Online'', ed. L. Macy. Accessed 26 Jul 05
(subscription access)

External links

* *
Free scores
at the Mutopia Project
Descendants of Thomas Hastings website

Descendants of Thomas Hastings on Facebook
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hastings, Thomas 1784 births 1872 deaths American male composers American composers American people of English descent Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery 19th-century American male musicians

Life and career

Media

Further reading

References

External links