William Flackton (bap. 27 March 1709 – 5 January 1798) was an 18th-century

bookseller Bookselling is the commercial trading of books which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, bookpeople, bookmen, or bookwomen. The founding of librari ...

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

, amateur

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

player and composer. He is perhaps best known today for his compositions for the

. Flackton was born in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

and was the eldest surviving son of John Flackton and Catharine Sharp. He demonstrated a talent for music from an early age and at the age of nine he was admitted as a

chorister A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the ...

. He was apprenticed to the Canterbury bookseller Edward Burges until 1730 when he set up his own business as a

stationer Stationery refers to commercially manufactured writing materials, including cut paper, envelopes, writing implements, continuous form paper, and other office supplies. Stationery includes materials to be written on by hand (e.g., letter paper) ...

and bookseller specialising in the second-hand and antiquarian book trade. He was in partnership with his brother John from 1738 and later traded in partnership with two of his former apprentices, first as Flackton and Marrable from 1774 and as Flackton, Marrable and Claris from 1784. The ESTC Database records over 60 books published by the firm. In 1770, he published his ''Six Solos, Three for a

Violoncello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D ...

and Three for a

Tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

,A common term for the viola in eighteenth century England was 'tenor' or 'tenor violin'. Accompanied Either with a Violoncello or

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 ...

'', dedicated to Sir William Young, Lieutenant-Governor of

Dominica Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographically ...

. In the Preface, Flackton shows that he wanted to promote music for the viola. Flackton was the organist at the church of St Mary of Charity in

Faversham Faversham is a market town in Kent, England, from London and from Canterbury, next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. It is close to the A2, which follows an ancient British t ...

between 1735 and 1752. He had a particular interest in

church music Church music is Christian music written for performance in church, or any musical setting of ecclesiastical liturgy, or music set to words expressing propositions of a sacred nature, such as a hymn. History Early Christian music The onl ...

which is demonstrated by his collection of music manuscripts, now held in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

. One of the more significant of Flackton's church compositions is ''Hymns for Three Voices'' which was composed in support of the Sunday school movement. Non-church music composed by Flackton includes ''A Glorious Chase'' in F major for three voices and horn, which he composed for the Canterbury Catch Club. Some of his works are used as examination pieces by many music schools.

Bibliography

*Sarah Gray, "Flackton, William (bap. 1709, d. 1798)", in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', ed. H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison (Oxford: OUP, 2004)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flackton, William 1709 births 1798 deaths Classical-period composers English classical composers English classical violists People from Canterbury Musicians from Kent 18th-century classical composers 18th-century British male musicians English male classical composers