William Turner (composer)

William Turner (1651 Oxford–13 January 1740 London) was an English composer and singer.

Turner began his musical training at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford as a chorister under Edward Lowe. In the early 1660s he became a chorister at the Chapel Royal. In 1664 he collaborated with Pelham Humfrey and John Blow to compose 'The Club Anthem', "I will always give thanks". In 1666 his voice broke causing him to lose his place in the choir. He was placed in the care of Henry Cooke until he was appointed master of the choristers at Lincoln Cathedral on November 28, 1667. On October 11, 1669 he returned to the Chapel Royal to sing countertenor and remained a Gentleman of the Chapel for the next 71 years until his death.cite book
title= New Grove Dictionary of Opera
last= Kos
first= Koraljka
year= 1992
publisher= Cambridge University Press
isbn= 0-333-73432-7] cite book
title= The Oxford Dictionary of Opera
last= Warrack
first= John
year= 1992
publisher= Cambridge University Press
isbn= 0-19-869164-5]

In 1674 Turner appeared in Thomas Shadwell's production of "The Tempest" and the following year sang a principal role in John Crowne's masque "Calisto". In 1686, 1687 and 1690 he sang the alto verses in court odes by John Blow and Henry Purcell; he is also listed as a soloist in the Saint Cecilia's Day performances of 1687, 1692 and 1695. He became a vicar choral of St Paul's Cathedral in 1687 and joined the choir of Westminster Abbey as a lay vicar in 1699. He received the degree of MusD from Cambridge University in 1696; a Latin poem written in honour of the occasion praises him as having no peer but Purcell. On Cooke's death in 1672 Turner was appointed a member of the King's Private Musick. He died four days after his wife, and they were buried together in the west cloister of Westminster Abbey.

Compositions

Turner composed primarily Anglican church music, comprising over 40 anthems, a motet, three services and a few hymns and chants. Nearly all of it dates from before 1700. Several of his anthem, such as "Lord, what is man" and "Lord, thou hast been our refuge" – were copied into the Chapel Royal partbooks between 1670 and 1676.

Turner’s finest instrumental anthems date from after 1685. These anthems, such as "O sing praises unto the Lord", show increased Italian influence in both the string and vocal writing."The King shall rejoice" is Turner's only extant ceremonial anthem (his two anthems for the coronation of James II in 1685 are missing): with its extended two-part overture, grand concertato effects between soloists and chorus, it is one of his finest achievements.

Turner also composed works for the theater. Among his theatre music are two songs and a dramatic recitative scena for chorus and three solo voices for Shadwell’s "The Libertine" (1675) and songs for Thomas D’Urfey's "Madame Fickle" (1676), "Pastor fido" (1676) and "A Fond Husband" (1677). It is possible that he composed two operas, "Alexander the Great" (1715) and "Presumptuous Love" (1716), but the works may also be the work of another composer by the same name. He also composed a well known tavern song of the day, "Young Anthony".

Recordings

Although Turner's music is still sometimes used by the Anglican Church, not many recordings of his works have been made. Two CDs contain anthems written by Turner:

* "Music From The Chapel Royal — The King's Musick" by The Sixteen and Harry Christophers (conductor). Coro label, 2006. Contains "I will always give thanks" by Turner, Blow, and Humfrey.
*"Music for the Coronation of James II, 1685" by The Sixteen and Harry Christophers (conductor). Coro label, 2007. Contains Turner's "The King Shall Rejoice".

References