Samuel Sebastian Wesley

For other people named Samuel Wesley, seeSamuel Wesley (disambiguation).

Samuel Sebastian Wesley(14 August 1810 – 19 April 1876) was an Englishorganistand composer. Wesley married Mary Anne Merewether and had 6 children.He is often referred to as S.S. Wesley to avoid confusion with his father Samuel Wesley.

Samuel Sebastian Wesley
Born	14 August 1810 LondonEngland
Died	19 April 1876 (aged 66)
Other names	S.S. Wesley
Occupation(s)	organistandcomposer
Spouse	Mary Anne Merewether
Children	6
Parent(s)	Samuel Wesleyand Sarah Suter

Biography

Born in London, he was the eldest child in the composerSamuel Wesley's second family, which he formed with Sarah Suter having separated from his wife Charlotte.Samuel Sebastian was the grandson ofCharles Wesley.His middle name derived from his father's lifelong admiration for the music ofBach.

Memorial in Exeter Cathedral

After singing in the choir of theChapel Royalas a boy, Samuel Sebastian embarked on a career as a musician, and was appointed organist atHereford Cathedralin 1832. While there he married the sister of the Dean,John Merewether.S.S. Wesley was, like his father Samuel Wesley, a Freemason. He was initiated in Palladian Lodge No.120 in Hereford on 17 September 1833. He moved toExeter Cathedralthree years later, and joined St George's Lodge No.129 Exeter on 10 December 1835. He subsequently held appointments at Leeds Parish Church (nowLeeds Minster) (from 1842), Winchester Cathedral (from 1849),Winchester Collegeand Gloucester Cathedral (1865–1876).In 1839 he received both his Bachelor of Music degree and a Doctor of Music degree from Oxford. He became a Professor of Organ at the Royal Academy of Music in 1850. He died at his home in Gloucester on 19 April 1876 aged 65. He is buried next to his daughter in St. Bartholomew's Cemetery in Exeter by the old City Wall.There are memorial tablets to him inExeter CathedralandWinchester Cathedral,and his memorial atGloucester Cathedralis in stained glass.

Famous in his lifetime as one of his country's leading organists and choirmasters, he composed almost exclusively for theChurch of England,which continues to cherish his memory. His better-knownanthemsincludeThou wilt keep him in perfect peaceandWash me throughly.He also wrote several rather late examples ofverse anthems,which contrast unison and contrapuntal sections with smaller, more intimate passages for solo voice or voices.Blessed be the God and Father,The WildernessandAscribe unto the Lordare of considerable length, as is hisServicein E.

The popular short anthemLead me, Lordis an extract fromPraise the Lord, O my soul.Several of his pieces for solo organ have enduring value and continue to be played in recitals now and then.

Of his hymn tunes the best-known are "Aurelia" and "Hereford." "Aurelia" has been widely adopted in the United States, and is regularly heard there. Usually now sung to the words "The Church's One Foundation",Wesley composed the tune for the hymn" Jerusalem the Golden ", hence the name" Aurelia ".

One notable feature of his career is his aversion toequal temperament,an aversion which he kept for decades after this tuning method had been accepted on the Continent and even in most of England. Such distaste did not stop him from substantial use of chromaticism in several of his published compositions.

While atWinchester CathedralWesley was largely responsible for the cathedral's acquisition in 1854 of theFather Willisorgan which had been exhibited atThe Great Exhibition,1851. The success of the exhibition organ led directly to the award of the contract to Willis for a 100-stop organ forSt George's Hall, Liverpool,built in 1855. Wesley was the consultant for this major and important project, but the organ was, arguably, impaired for some years by Wesley's insistence that it be tuned to unequal temperament.

Wesley, withFather Willis,can be credited with the invention of the concave and radiating organ pedalboard, but demurred when Willis proposed that it should be known as the "Wesley-Willis" pedalboard. However, their joint conception has been largely adopted as an international standard for organs throughout the English-speaking world and those exported elsewhere.

Musical works

Selected works include the following:

Anthems

• The Wilderness(1832)
• Blessed be the God and Father(1833/34)
• Let us lift up our heart(c. 1836)
• O Lord, thou art my God(c. 1836)
• To my request and earnest cry(c. 1836)
• Wash me throughly(c. 1840)
• Cast me not away(1848)
• The face of the Lord(1848)
• Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace(c. 1850)
• Ascribe unto the Lord(1851)
• I am thine, O save me(1857)
• Praise the Lord, O my soul(1861), includes:
• Lead me, Lord

Services

• Morning and Evening Service in E (1845)
• Short Full Service in F (c. 1865)

Hymn tunes

• "Alleluia"
• "Aurelia"
• "Bude"
• "Colchester"
• "Cornwall"
• "Doncaster"
• "Gweedore"
• "Hampton"
• "Harewood"
• "Hereford"
• "Hornsey"
• "Wetherby"
• "Wigan"
• "Winscott"
• "Wrestling Jacob"
• "Bowden" (arranged by Wesley, original composer not known)

Other hymn tunes composed or arranged by Wesley are listed onthe Library of CongressLinked Data Service.

Organ

• "Air on Holsworthy Church Bells"
• Variations and Fugue on "God Save the King" (1831) [in addition to this set of 7 variations in G,he also composed 8 variations in B Flat and 3 variations in D on the same theme]
• Introduction and Fugue in C sharp minor (?1835)
• Larghetto in F minor (c. 1835)
• Three Pieces for a Chamber Organ,book 1 (1842), includes:
• Choral Song and Fugue
• Three Pieces for a Chamber Organ,book 2 (1843), includes:
• Larghetto in F sharp minor

Literary works

• A Few Words on Cathedral Music and the Musical System of the Church, with a Plan of Reform(1849)

Bicentenary celebrations

Celebrations inLeedsfor the 200th anniversary of Wesley's birth began with FestalEvensongatLeeds Parish Churchon Sunday 4 July 2010 followed by a gala choral recital. Worship on Sunday 15 August was broadcast onBBC Radio Four.Simon Lindleygave a commemorative recital of Wesley's organ music in the evening and a commemorative recital of music by Wesley atLeeds Town Hallon 13 September.

Bibliography

• "Samuel Sebastian Wesley".Grove Music Online.Retrieved1 October2004.
• Horton, Peter (2004).Samuel Sebastian Wesley: A Life.Oxford:Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-816146-2.OCLC52696622.Archived fromthe originalon 29 September 2007.Retrieved1 January2009.
• Gilman, D. C.;Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905)."Wesley, Samuel Sebastian".New International Encyclopedia(1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.

External links

• Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911)."Wesley, Samuel Sebastian".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 530.
• Works by or about Samuel Sebastian Wesleyat theInternet Archive
• Free scores by Samuel Sebastian Wesleyin theChoral Public Domain Library(ChoralWiki)
• Free scores by Samuel Sebastian Wesleyat theInternational Music Score Library Project(IMSLP)
• "The Wilderness"onYouTube:a "live" 1970 performance by Guildford Cathedral Choir, directed byBarry Rose
• Audio recording ofThou wilt keep him in perfect peacefromCoro Nostro,a mixed chamber choir based in Leicester, UK.
• Video recording ofLead me, LordonYouTubesung by theChoir of Somerville College,Oxford
• Video recording ofO Lord my GodonYouTubesung by the Choir of Somerville College, Oxford