Among
many famous names in the Benefice, one of the most famous is John Blow, an
organist and composer of world renown. Here is our tribute to arguably our most famous son.
DR.
JOHN BLOW - MASTER OF THE KING'S MUSIC
By Reginald Priestley
It
was in1646 that
Henry Blow was married to
a widow Katherine
Langworth in Newark Parish Church.
There is a firm tradition that they came to live and make their home in the Old
Hall the former Manor house in North Collingham and their three children were
born there, Henry in 1647, John in 1648 and Katherine in 1651. Their second son
John was destined to become one of the eminent organists and composers of the
second half of the seventeenth century. The Blow children were baptised at
Newark Parish Church. It is normally the case that a family lived in the place
in which the church registers show their children to have been baptised, but the
years following the Civil War were no ordinary times.
In May, 1646, Charles I surrendered to the Scottish forces at Southwell
and on March 1, 1647, Parliament ordered that Newark Castle be made untenable 'disgarrison
fort at river, slight and dismantle'.
George
Green, Vicar of North Collingham, died in 1649. The next incumbent of All
Saints' took office in 1688 and it may well have been there was no resident
clergyman in the village during the time the Blow family lived there. It is on
record, however, that scholars including Dr. Charles Burney the eminent musical
historian, biographer and contemporary of John Blow claim that he was born in
the parish of North Collingham. The Rev. J. Nightingale in his statistically
detailed English topography of the counties of England and Wales compiled in the
early years of the 19th century and published in 1816 includes Dr. John Blow as
one of the 'eminent persons born in Nottinghamshire at Collingham' and the
Collingham historian, Dr. E. G. Wake, who at
one time lived in
the Old Hall, writing in
1863 states that Blow was the only celebrity known to have been born in
the village.
In
1660 the King came back and the total suppression of the music of the cathedral
service by the fanatical Puritans came to an end. John Blow was at the time a pupil of the Thomas Magnus Song School
in Newark under the resident master John Hinton. With the immediate revival of
the cathedral choral services after such a long interregnum, the choir of the
Chapel Royal was re-established by order of the King under the direction of the
masterly choir trainer, Captain Henry Cooke. In his search for suitable boy
choristers, what better place than the long established Song School of the Royalist
town of Newark? Capt, Cooke was paid £23.16s.9d for 'fetching five boys from
Newark and Lincoln for his
majesty's service' and one of these boys was the young John Blow. His admission
to the choir of the Chapel Royal was the beginning of a distinguished musical
career spanning four reigns over almost half a century. He sang in the choir on
the occasion of the coronation of Charles II on St. George's Day 1661.
He received his early training as organist under John Hingeston, formerly
Cromwell's organist, and Christopher Gibbons, son of the renowned Westminster
Abbey organist and composer, Orlando Gibbons. Such was Blow's rapid progress and
accomplishment as organist and composer of church music that he was appointed
organist of Westminster Abbey in 1669 at the age of 21.
In
1674 he was appointed Master of the Children of the Chapel Royal and in December
1677 he was awarded the first Lambeth Degree of Doctor of Music by the Dean and
Chapter of Canterbury. Blow was required to make a formal petition for the
award and in it, he declared himself to have been born in the 'faithful
(Royalist) borough of Newark' which is in turn stated in the faculty the
document formally conferring the degree. Blow
had no university training and at the age of 29 his principal compositions which
were to bring him acclaim had not been written. To add an element of status and
lustre in his petition as regards his origins, it was favourable for him to name
Newark, where he was baptised, as his birthplace. The borough was held in high
esteem at the time for its stand against Cromwell's forces throughout the Civil
War. Collingham was in any case but a
short distance within the Newark Deanery and Wapentake.
Amongst
Blow's pupils were four who were to become distinguished organists and
composers, Henry Purcell, William Croft, John Robinson all of whom were
successively appointed organists of Westminster Abbey and Jeremiah Clarke
organist of St. Paul's Cathedral 1693 - 1707.
Blow resigned the post of organist of Westminster Abbey in 1680 in
deference to the genius of his pupil, Henry Purcell. Charles II appointed Blow
as Master of the King's Music in 1685 and two years later he was appointed
almoner and choir master of St. Paul's Cathedral.
On Purcell's death at the early age of 37 in 1695, Blow was reappointed
organist of the Abbey and directed the music for the coronation of Queen Anne in
1702. He remained at the Abbey until his death in 1708 at the age of 60. He is
buried in the north aisle close to his celebrated pupils Henry Purcell and
William Croft behind the organ.
His
compositions of church music included 14 services and 110 anthems.
His verse anthem 'I Beheld and Lo! a Great Multitude' with its solo parts
for alto, tenor and bass is still sung by Cathedral choirs including Lincoln and
Norwich. Rather better known is the passiontide anthem
'Salvator Mundi'. Two of Blow's
compositions achieved remarkable renown with respect to the places where they
were performed. The manuscript of the Gloria from his Service in C was given by
the one-time Abbey Precentor the Rev. Dr. William Battell to Cardinal Howard who
authorised it to be performed in St. Peter's, Rome. This is recalled in the
inscription on John Blow's memorial:
''His
Gloria Patri long ago reach'd Rome,
Sung and rever'd too in St. Peter's dome;
A canon will outlive his jubilees to come."
Amongst
his secular compositions he wrote the remarkable "Venus and Adonis", a
'Masque for the entertainment of the King' composed for Mary Davis, mistress of
Charles II, who sang the part of Venus on the occasion of its first performance.
The part of Cupid was taken by her daughter, Lady Mary Tudor.
It may have been this masterly work that almost 200 years later was
performed in Brazil and so impressed the Emperor, Pedro II that, during his
visit to this country in 1874 on being received at Westminster Abbey, he
astonished Dean Stanley when he asked to be shown the memorials of Blow and
Livingstone first of all.
Blow
was described by the contemporary historian Sir John Hawkins as a 'Very handsome
man and remarkable for a gravity and decency in his deportment. He was a man of
blameless morals and of a benevolent temper but not totally free from the
imputation of pride'. Perhaps the
greatest tribute to John Blow came from his distinguished pupil Henry
Purcell in his remark, 'his character is sufficiently known by his works to
commend him as one of the greatest masters in the world'. The testimony of the
inscription on his monument speaks for itself:
'`His own musical compositions (especially his Church Musick) are a far
nobler monument to his memory than any other that can be raised to him".
Blow
was married to Elizabeth Braddock daughter of Edward Braddock who was Master of
the Choristers of Westminster Abbey in September 1674. They had five children of
which only three daughters, Katherine, Elizabeth and Mary survived their father.
The marriage lasted but nine years due to the untimely death of Elizabeth at the
age of 30 in childbirth in October 1683. They lived in one of the 'tenements in
ye Sanctuary' of which they were granted a lease for forty years as recorded in
the Act Book of Westminster Abbey. Blow was a man of property and owned an
estate at Hampton where he lived from 1697.
Special
services were held at All Saints' North Collingham in December 1949 to
commemorate, albeit belated due to extenuating circumstances, the Tercentenary
of the birth of John Blow. The choir sang an anthem by Blow during Matins and an
oak tree was planted in the churchyard after the service. At Evensong an organ
recital of music by Blow was given in place of the sermon. A letter of greeting
was received by the Vicar, the Rev. Lindsay Shorland Ball from the Dean of
Westminster, the Very Rev. Alan C. Don.
John
Blow is commemorated in Collingham in the County Primary School which is named
after him. The official opening ceremony of the new school was held on July 24,
1963 when Sir William McKie, then Organist and Master of the Choristers of
Westminster Abbey, spoke about John Blow and his music and declared the school
open. The County Junior Music
School orchestra played incidental music from "Venus and Adonis'' by John
Blow and his setting of the Old Hundredth hymn was sung by pupils of the school.
After the ceremony Sir William was shown round All Saints' Church by Canon
Stevens and extemporised on the organ. A
reception was held afterwards at the Old Hall by courtesy of Mr. and Mrs.
Herbert Colton.
Acknowledgements
are made to the following for assistance in the preparation of this article:
Dr.
Tony Trowles, Assistant Librarian, Westminster Abbey
Miss Melanie Barber, Assistant Archivist, Lambeth Palace Library
Dr. Nicholas Bennett, Librarian and Vice Chancellor, Lincoln Cathedral
Miss Brenda Pask, Historian, Newark Parish Church
Compiled
by Reginald Priestley with contributions from the Rev. John Ford.
The
submitted script was dated August 1963
The John
Blow Memorial in the North Choir Aisle of Westminster Abbey. Click to see
enlarged photo - the press the Back Button <==
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