John Marsh (composer)

John Marsh (born May 31, 1752 in Dorking , Surrey , † October 31, 1828 in Chichester , today West Sussex , England) was an English composer .

Life

Marsh trained as a lawyer, but is best known for his at least 350 compositions. He created these in his various places of residence, such as Gosport , Romsey , Salisbury and Canterbury, before settling in Chichester in 1787. He organized concerts at the individual workplaces and influenced musical life. In Chichester, he conducted the city's subscription concerts for 35 years. Of the compositions listed in his own catalog raisonné, only nine symphonies and three finals have survived as prints.

In addition to music, Marsh was interested in various other topics, including social issues, and left 37 volumes of diary notes. In these he describes the musical life in England in the 18th century, including a memorial service in honor of George Frideric Handel in 1784. These diaries were partially published in 1998 and covered the years up to 1802. In 2011 the remaining diaries that he up to continued shortly before his death in Chichester in 1828, also published in a revised edition.

The English poet and Anglican clergyman Edward Garrash Marsh is the son of John Marsh.

Diaries

• Brian Robins (Ed.): The John Marsh Journals - The Life and Times of a Gentleman Composer (1752-1828) . Pendragon Press, Stuyvesant, New Jersey, USA 1998, ISBN 0-945193-94-7 .
• Revised edition: Pendragon Press, Hillside, New York, USA 2010, ISBN 978-1-57647-173-9 .

Web links

• Sheet music and audio files by John Marsh (composer) in the International Music Score Library Project
• Biography (en.)