William Wallace Gilchrist (January 8, 1846 – December 20, 1916) was an American
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
and a major figure in nineteenth century
music of Philadelphia
The city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is home to a vibrant and well-documented musical heritage, stretching back to colonial times. Innovations in classical music, opera, R&B, jazz, soul, and rock have earned the music of Philadelphia nation ...
. He founded the
Mendelssohn Club
Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia (formerly known as Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia and Mendelssohn Club Chorus of Philadelphia) is a music institution in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city i ...
of Philadelphia in 1874.
Early life
Gilchrist was born in
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
. His father's business suffered during the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, so young Gilchrist turned to the law and to business for his own living, but eventually decided to take up music as a career.
Career
From 1865 to 1868 Gilchrist studied privately with
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
(1871–1872), he lived in Philadelphia, where he was active as church organist, teacher, and leader of musical clubs. During this time was active as a baritone soloist at Holy Trinity Church on Rittenhouse Square and St. Mark's Church on Locust Street, soloist with the
Handel and Haydn Society
The Handel and Haydn Society is an American chorus and period instrument orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. Known colloquially as 'H+H', the organization has been in continual performance since its founding in 1815, the longest-serving suc ...
in productions of ''
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'' ...
Judas Maccabaeus
Judah Maccabee (or Judas Maccabeus, also spelled Machabeus, or Maccabæus, Hebrew: יהודה המכבי, ''Yehudah HaMakabi'') was a Jewish priest (''kohen'') and a son of the priest Mattathias. He led the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleu ...
'', and participant in a series of light operettas presented by the Amateur Drawing Room. In 1871 he was appointed organist and choirmaster at St. Clement's Church, and he drew the original Mendelssohn Club members from the choir there.
In 1882 Gilchrist won the Cincinnati Festival Prize for his setting of the 46th Psalm, for
soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...
solo, chorus, and orchestra where the judges included
Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (; 9 October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano C ...
and
Carl Reinecke
Carl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke (23 June 182410 March 1910) was a German composer, conductor, and pianist in the mid-Romantic era.
Biography
Reinecke was born in what is today the Hamburg district of Altona; technically he was born a Dane, as ...
. Among his other choral works are ''Ode to the Sun'', ''Journey of Life'', ''The Uplifted Gates'', and ''Legend of the Bended Bow''. He composed two non-programmatic symphonies, and some
chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
,
strings
String or strings may refer to:
*String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
,
flute
The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...
,
clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound.
Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...
and horn.About the Nonet in G minor: see e.g Free Library of Philadelphia Catalog record for material for the Nonet also (2011 Soundpost edition) and (OCLCs are both links to Free Library of Philadelphia entries- which don't show up under "Worldwide libraries..."). Date is estimated to ca.1910.
In addition to Mendelssohn Club, Gilchrist also conducted the West Philadelphia Choral Society, the Germantown Choral Society, the Harmonia, the Harrisburg Choral Society and the Tuesday Club of Wilmington. He was organist and choirmaster at St. Clement's, Christ Church in Germantown, and at the
Swedenborgian
The New Church (or Swedenborgianism) is any of several historically related Christian denominations that developed as a new religious group, influenced by the writings of scientist and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772).
Swedenborgian or ...
Church of the New Jerusalem
The New Church (or Swedenborgianism) is any of several historically related Christian denominations that developed as a new religious group, influenced by the writings of scientist and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772).
Swedenborgian o ...
. He was a founding member of both Music Manuscript Society and the
American Guild of Organists
The American Guild of Organists (AGO) is an international organization of academic, church, and concert organists in the US, headquartered in New York City with its administrative offices in the Interchurch Center. Founded as a professional educat ...
. He was the head of voice instruction at the Philadelphia Musical Academy, and from 1893 to 1899 he conducted the Symphony Society of Philadelphia.
Gilchrist was one of the very few American composers of this period who did not study in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. His pupils included
Anna Priscilla Risher
Anna Priscilla Risher (November 2, 1875 - August 29, 1946) was an American composer, organist, pianist, later a painter as well.
Early life
A native of Dravosburg, Pennsylvania, Risher first studied music with William Wallace Gilchrist and Ale ...
.
Personal life
His son, William Wallace Gilchrist, Jr. (1879-1926), became a painter of some note.
References
* Martha Furman Schleifer, ''William Wallace Gilchrist, 1846-1916: A Moving Force in the Musical Life of Philadelphia'' (Metuchen, NJ, and London: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1985).