Jeremiah Clarke (c. 1674 – 1 December 1707) was an English

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

composer and

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational ...

, best known for his ''Trumpet Voluntary,'' a popular piece often played at wedding ceremonies or commencement ceremonies.

Biography

The exact date of Clarke's birth has been debated. The ''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' states that Clarke "is said to have been born in 1669 (though probably the date should be earlier)." Most sources say that he is thought to have been born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

around 1674. Clarke was one of the pupils of

John Blow John Blow (baptised 23 February 1649 – 1 October 1708) was an English composer and organist of the Baroque period. Appointed organist of Westminster Abbey in late 1668,St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London ...

and a chorister in 1685 at the

Chapel Royal The Chapel Royal is an establishment in the Royal Household serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the British Royal Family. Historically it was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarch. The term is now also appl ...

. Between 1692 and 1695 he was an

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of ...

, then between 1699 and 1704 he was an organist at St Paul's Cathedral.Dennis Shrock William Marshall (Editor) He later became an organist and 'Gentleman extraordinary' at the Chapel Royal, he shared that post with fellow composer

William Croft William Croft (baptised 30 December 1678 – 14 August 1727) was an English composer and organist. Life Croft was born at the Manor House, Nether Ettington, Warwickshire. He was educated at the Chapel Royal under the instruction of John Blow ...

, his friend. They were succeeded by

John Blow John Blow (baptised 23 February 1649 – 1 October 1708) was an English composer and organist of the Baroque period. Appointed organist of Westminster Abbey in late 1668, Today, Clarke is best remembered for a popular keyboard piece that was originally either a

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...

piece or a work for

wind ensemble A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion famil ...

: the ''

Prince of Denmark's March The ''Prince of Denmark's March'' ( da, Prins Jørgens March), commonly called the '' Trumpet Voluntary'', was written around 1700 by the English composer Jeremiah Clarke, the first organist of the then newly-rebuilt St Paul's Cathedral. Compo ...

'', which is commonly called the '' Trumpet Voluntary'', written in about 1700. From c. 1878 until the 1940s the work was attributed to

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer. Purcell's style of Baroque music was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest E ...

, and was published as ''Trumpet Voluntary by Henry Purcell'' in William Spark's ''Short Pieces for the Organ, Book VII, No. 1'' (London, Ashdown and Parry). This version came to the attention of Sir Henry J. Wood, who made two orchestral transcriptions of it, both of which were recorded. The recordings further cemented the erroneous notion that the original piece was by Purcell. Clarke's piece is a popular choice for wedding music, and has been used in royal weddings. The famous ''Trumpet Tune in D'' (also incorrectly attributed to Purcell) was taken from the

semi-opera The terms "semi-opera", "dramatic opera" and "English opera" were all applied to Restoration entertainments that combined spoken plays with masque-like episodes employing singing and dancing characters. They usually included machines in the manne ...

''The Island Princess'' (1699), which was a joint musical production of Clarke and Daniel Purcell (Henry Purcell's younger brother or cousin)—probably leading to the confusion.

Clarke's suicide

"A violent and hopeless passion for a very beautiful lady of a rank superior to his own" caused Clarke to commit suicide. Apparently, he fell madly in love with one of his female students, a young, beautiful woman, of much higher social rank than himself. The woman was out of his league in every way, and he could not bear it. He thus decided that life was not worth living. Clarke had been visiting a friend who lived in the countryside. He abruptly determined to leave and return to London. His friend observed his dejection, and disappointment in love, and furnished him with a horse and a servant to take care of him. While riding near London, a fit of melancholy seized him on the road and he alighted, giving the horse to the servant. He went into a field, where there was a pond surrounded by trees, and stood on the bank. He began debating with himself about whether he should drown himself in the pond or hang himself on the trees. To decide his fate, he tossed a coin in the water. The coin fell with its edge embedded in the clay, so Clarke mounted his horse, returned to London, and went back to his home in the churchyard of St Paul's Cathedral. Instead of consoling himself, he chose another method of suicide, shooting himself in the head with a pistol. Suicides were not generally granted burial in consecrated ground, but an exception was made for Clarke, who was buried in the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral,"Jeremiah Clarke"
Classical.com although other sources state he was buried in the unconsecrated section of the cathedral churchyard.

Controversy

Like his date of birth, the account of his death has also been debated in some sources. For example, the story of the composer's suicide is contradicted by a contemporary broadsheet which seems to have escaped the notice of his biographers. It is a large single sheet, entitled "A Sad and Dismal Account of the Sudden and Untimely Death of Mr. Jeremiah Clark, one of the Queen's Organists, who Shot himself in the Head with a Screw Pistol, at the Golden Cup in St. Paul's-Church-Yard, on Monday Morning last, for the supposed Love of a Young Woman, near

Pater-noster-Row Paternoster Row was a street in the City of London that was a centre of the London publishing trade, with booksellers operating from the street. Paternoster Row was described as "almost synonymous" with the book trade. It was part of an area ca ...

". That account states that Clarke, a bachelor with a salary of over 300/- a year, about nine o'clock "Monday morning last" was visited by his father and some friends, "at which he seem'd to be very Chearful and Merry, by Playing on his Musick for a considerable time, which was a Pair of Organs in his own House, which he took great Delight in" and, after his father had gone, returned to his room. Between ten and eleven o'clock, his maid-servant heard a pistol go off and, running in, found that he had shot himself behind the ear. Clarke died the same day about three o'clock. "The Occasion ... is variously Discours'd; some will have it that his Sister marrying his Scholar harles King who he fear'd might in time prove a Rival in his Business, threw him into a kind of melancholy Discontent; and others (with something more Reason) impute this Misfortune to a young Married Woman near Pater-Noster-Row, whom he had a more than ordinary respect for, who not returning him such suitable Favours as his former Affections , might in a great Measure occasion dismal Effects." Curious discrepancies exist as to the exact date of Clarke' suicide. While most sources give the date as 1 December 1707, music historian

Charles Burney Charles Burney (7 April 1726 – 12 April 1814) was an English music historian, composer and musician. He was the father of the writers Frances Burney and Sarah Burney, of the explorer James Burney, and of Charles Burney, a classicist ...

, followed by

François-Joseph Fétis François-Joseph Fétis (; 25 March 1784 – 26 March 1871) was a Belgian musicologist, composer, teacher, and one of the most influential music critics of the 19th century. His enormous compilation of biographical data in the ''Biographie univer ...

, says that the event took place on 16 July 1707. The first edition of

John Hawkins John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

fixes it as happening on 5 November 1707, which has been followed by

Arthur Mendel Arthur Mendel (June 6, 1905 – October 14, 1979) was an American musicologist, known as a Bach scholar. He was born in Boston and died in Newark, New Jersey. Education He graduated from Harvard University in 1925 before going to study with ...

, David Baptie, and Brown. But Hawkins left a copy of his "History", in which he had made numerous corrections and, in that, the date appears as 1 December 1707, which is given in the 1853 edition of the work. There is an entry in the Chapel Royal Cheque Book, signed by the sub-dean, to the effect that, on 5 November 1707, Croft was admitted into the organist's place, "now become void by the death of Mr. Jeremiah Clerk", and in Barrett's ''English Church Composers'' (p. 106) is a statement that the books of the vicars-choral of St. Paul's contain an entry to the effect that "on November ye first, Mr. Jerry Clarke deceased this life". These various accounts seem irreconcilable, but the following facts throw some light on the subject: # In 1707, 5 November was a Wednesday, 1 November a Saturday, and 1 December a Monday. The latter date tallies with the broadsheet account, published within a week of the event by John Johnson, "near Stationers' Hall", and therefore close to Clarke's house, though no entry of the exact date of publication can be found at Stationers' Hall. # The burial register of St Gregory by St Paul's records the burial of Jeremiah Clarke on 3 December 1707. # Administration to his goods was granted by the dean and chapter of St. Paul's to his sister, Ann King, on 15 December. # The entry in the Chapel Royal Cheque Book was probably not made at the time, and so November might easily have been written instead of December. The order of the entries preceding and following it are: 28 January 1703, 24 March 1710–11, 25 May 1704, 5 November 1707, 12 June 1708. As well, the entry is not witnessed. With regard to the quotation from the records at St. Paul's, everything points to its being either a mistake or a misprint. Unfortunately, it is impossible to verify the statement, part of the vicars-choral records being inaccessible.

Works

* ''

'', popularly known as ''Trumpet Voluntary'' (from the Suite in D Major) * Trumpet Tune in D, from ''The Island Princess'' * Harpsichord and organ music * Chamber music, church music, masses, and other religious music (including 20 anthems and several odes) * Theater and incidental music *''

King William's March "King William's March" is a work by the English Baroque composer Jeremiah Clarke (1674-1707).Palmer p.18 It was composed in honour of William of Orange who had become King of England following the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Clarke's better kn ...

'' * Ode on the Death of Henry Purcell * Music for Dryden's ode Alexander's Feast * the hymn tune 'Uffingham'. English Hymnal 434 * the hymn tune 'St.Magnus' (Nottingham) English Hymnal 147

References

External links

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Jeremiah Clarke
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Jeremiah 1670s births 1707 deaths 17th-century English composers 18th-century keyboardists 18th-century English people English Baroque composers English classical composers English male classical composers English classical organists British male organists Cathedral organists Burials at St Paul's Cathedral Suicides by firearm in England 18th-century suicides 17th-century male musicians Male classical organists