Sturgeon, Nicholas

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Sturgeon, Nicholas

Sturgeon, Nicholas, English divine and composer; b. place and date unknown; d. between May 31 and June 8, 1454. He was elected a scholar at Winchester Coll. in 1399; held several canonries, including one at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London (from 1432), where he was precentor (from 1442); also was a member of the royal household chapel. He was the owner, and possibly the scribe, of the MSS found in Old Hall, near Ware; 7 works by Sturgeon (2 not complete) are part of the Old Hall MS collection, including a curious isorhythmic motet, Salve mater Domini, for 3 Voices, which was probably written for the journey of Henry V to France (1416), on which Sturgeon accompanied him. A. Hughes and M. Bent, eds., publ. The Old Hall Manuscript, in Corpus Mensurabilis Musicae, XLVI (1969-72).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire