Callcott, John Wall
Callcott, John Wall
Callcott, John Wall, English organist and composer; b. London, Nov. 20, 1766; d. Bristol, May 15, 1821. Early in life he developed a particular talent for composing glees and catches. He won three prize medals at a contest of the Catch Club of London (1785) for his catch O Beauteous Fair, a canon, Blessed Is He, and a glee, Dull Repining Sons of Care. He received his Mus.Bac. and Mus.Doc. from the Univ. Oxford (1785, 1800). He was a co-founder of the Glee Club (1787). During Haydn’s visit to London in 1791, Callcott took a few lessons with him and wrote a sym. in imitation of his style. His mind gave way from overwork on a projected biographical dictionary of musicians, and he was institutionalized just before he reached the quirky letter Q. He recovered, but not sufficiently to continue his work, and was released in 1812. In addition to numerous glees, catches, and canons, he wrote A Musical Grammar (London, 1806), a standard elementary textbook that went through numerous eds. in England and America. A three-vol. collection of glees, catches, and canons, with a biographical memoir, was publ, posthumously by his son-in- law, William Horsley (London, 1824).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire