William C. Smith
William Charles Smith (born July 22, 1881 in London , † November 20, 1972 in Bromley , Kent ) was a British music librarian and bibliographer .
Life
Smith attended Woolwich High School and received private violin and piano lessons. In 1898 he entered the civil service, initially working in financial administration and later in the Scottish Education Office. On September 3, 1900, he moved to the Department of Printed Books at the British Museum in London. There he received training in cataloging and worked in the General Library. In 1901 he became assistant to William Barclay Squire in the Music Room. After Squire's retirement in 1920, Smith took over his duties as Assistant Keeper. In 1944 he retired himself. He was succeeded by Alexander Hyatt King .
He dealt intensively with George Frideric Handel (and the composer's publishers) and other aspects of 18th century British music. From 1924 he published articles on these topics. He built up a private Handel collection with more than 200 Handel editions, manuscripts, etc. from 1934. This was bought by Gerald Coke in 1962 and integrated into his collection in Bentley , Hampshire in 1968 . The combined collection later went to the Thomas Coram Foundation and is kept in the Foundling Museum in London. Together with his colleague Charles Humphries , he produced four source works.
In 1955, Smith became a board member of the Georg Friedrich Händel Society in Halle. In 1961 he was awarded the Handel Prize of the Halle district .
Fonts (selection)
- A Bibliography of the Musical Works Published by John Walsh during the Years 1695-1720 . London 1948 and 1968.
- Concerning Handel: his Life and Works . London 1948.
- With Charles Humphries: Music Publishing in the British Isles . London 1954 and 1970.
- The Italian Opera and Contemporary Ballet in London, 1789–1820 . London 1955.
- Handel: a Descriptive Catalog of the Early Editions . London 1960 and 1970.
- A Handelian's Notebook . London 1965.
- With Charles Humphries: A Bibliography of the Musical Works Published by the Firm of John Walsh during the Years 1721–1766 . London 1968.
literature
- Anthony Hicks: Smith, William C (harles). In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
- Walter Kreyszig: Smith, William Charles . In: Annette Landgraf, David Vickers (Eds.): The Cambridge Handel Encyclopedia . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2009, ISBN 978-1-107-66640-5 , p. 595.
- Oliver W. Neighbor: Smith, William Charles. In: Ludwig Finscher (Hrsg.): The music in past and present . Second edition, supplement for both parts. Bärenreiter / Metzler, Kassel et al. 2008, ISBN 978-3-7618-1139-9 ( online edition , subscription required for full access)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Alexander Hyatt King: King, Alec, Hyatt. In: Ludwig Finscher (Hrsg.): The music in past and present . Second edition, personal section, volume 10 (Kemp - Lert). Bärenreiter / Metzler, Kassel et al. 2003, ISBN 3-7618-1120-9 ( online edition , subscription required for full access)
- ^ Gert Richter: 50 years of the Georg Friedrich Handel Society . In: Handel House Communications 2/2005, pp. 52–57, here: pp. 53f.
- ↑ Christoph Rink: Chronology of the Handel price . In: Announcements of the Friends and Sponsors of the Handel House in Halle eV 1/2012, pp. 20–25, here: p. 23.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Smith, William C. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Smith, William Charles (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British music librarian and bibliographer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 22, 1881 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | London |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 20, 1972 |
| Place of death | Bromley , Kent |