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Samuel Adams Holyoke




Holyoke had a fine voice and composed music before graduating from Harvard College in 1789 . His most famous, and personal favorite was '' Arnheim '', which he wrote when he was sixteen years old. During 1789 , he contributed four compositions to Isaiah Thomas ’s ''Massachusetts Magazine'', (Aug. 1789, Sept. 1789, May 1790 & Sept.1790). It is believed that Samuel Holyoke composed more than 600 compositions; many were psalm-tunes.

In 1793 , Holyoke helped to found, along with Samuel Lawrence , Groton Academy, (now Lawrence Academy At Groton ,) a famous preparatory school in Groton, Massachusetts , of Middlesex County . He served as the Academy's first headmaster.

After his death, his music was largely forgotten. However, his importance to American music can be summed up by a quote by the historian George Hood: "There was no man of his day that did more for the cause of music than Samuel Holyoke."


PUBLISHED WORKS

;1791:"Harmonia Americana."
;1795:“The Massachusetts Compiler of Theoretical Principles,” with Oliver Holden & Hans Gram.
;1800:“The Instrumental Assistant I.”
;1802:“Columbian Repository of Scared Harmony.”
;1804:“The Christian Harmonist.”
;1807:“Instrumental Assistant II.”


REFERENCES

  • Sidney Perley. "The History of Boxford." 1880.

  • Andrew Nichols. "Genealogy of the Holyoke Family." Hist. Colls of the Essex Institute, 1861.

  • Robert J. Allison (ed). "American Eras, Development of a Nation 1783-1815." A. Manly, Inc. Book, Gale Research, 1997.

  • Karl Kroeger and Harry Eskew (ed). "Samual Holyoke and Jacob Kimball: Selected Works." Music of the New American Nation, 1998.