William Billings (October 7, 1746 – September 26, 1800)

William Billings ( ), is considered by many to be the foremost representative of early American music. Billings was born in Boston on October 7, 1746 At the age of 14, the death of his father stopped Billings' formal schooling. In order to help support his family, young Billings trained as a tanner. He was poor and uneducated -- he supported himself much of the time as a tanner He possibly received musical instruction from John Barry, one of the choir members at the New South Church, but for the most part he was self-taught Billings had an unusual appearance and a strong addiction to snuff He spoke & sung & thought as a man above the common abilities. Billings died in poverty in Boston on September 26, 1800, leaving behind a widow and six children. Was an ardent patriot, friend of Samuel Adams and Paul Revere

History of Billings' music Virtually all of Billings' music was written for four-part chorus, singing a cappella Billings' music can be at times forceful and stirring, as in his patriotic song "Chester"; ecstatic, as in his hymn "Africa"; or elaborate and celebratory, as in his "Easter Anthem. He also wrote several Christmas carols, including "Judea" in 1778 and "Shiloh" in Most of the texts that Billings used in his works come from the poetry of Isaac Watts. Other texts were drawn from Universalist poets and local poets, whereas Billings himself wrote the text to about a dozen of his compositions.

His many hymns and anthems were published mostly in book-length collections, as follows: The New-England Psalm-Singer (1770) The Singing Master's Assistant (1778) Music in Miniature (1779) The Psalm-Singer's Amusement (1781) The Suffolk Harmony (1786) The Continental Harmony (1794)

Billings' Reception Billings was involved in teaching singing schools throughout his life. Billings' work was very popular in its heyday, but his career was hampered by the primitive state of copyright law in America at the time. By the time the copyright laws had been strengthened, it was too late for Billings Billings died in poverty at age 53, and for a considerable time after his death, his music was almost completely neglected in the American musical mainstream However, his compositions remained popular for a time in the rural areas of New England, which resisted the newer trends in sacred music

In the latter part of the twentieth century a Billings revival occurred, and a sumptuous complete scholarly edition of his works was published. Works by Billings are commonly sung by American choral groups today, particularly performers of early music the recent spread of Sacred Harp music has acquainted many more people with Billings' music: several of his compositions are among the more frequently sung of the works in the Sacred Harp canon

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