Samuel Babcock

Life

Born: 18 February 1760

Died: 23 November 1813

Biography

Samuel Babcock was an early American composer of sacred music. He was born in Milton, Massachusetts, and spent most of his working life as a hatter in Watertown. In March 1813, he enlisted in the artillery company under Rufus McIntire (in the War of 1812): he died in November of the same year from a fever, at French Mills, New York.

Babcock's musical works were mainly published in his own collection The Middlesex Harmony: the first edition of this work was published in 1795, and an enlarged second edition was published in 1803. In addition, some of Babcock's music was published in collections compiled by others, including Daniel Belknap's The Evangelical Harmony (1800).

View the Wikipedia article on Samuel Babcock.

List of choral works

• For works at CPDL sorted alphabetically by title, see Samuel Babcock compositions

1. Psalm-Tunes

• Andover (Samuel Babcock)
• Babel (Samuel Babcock)
• Caledonia (Samuel Babcock)
• China (Samuel Babcock)
• Consecration (Samuel Babcock)
• Crete (Samuel Babcock)
• Elevation (Samuel Babcock)
• Flanders (Samuel Babcock)
• Florence (Samuel Babcock)
• Gratitude (Samuel Babcock)
• Horeb (Samuel Babcock)
• Humility (Samuel Babcock)
• Medford (Samuel Babcock)
• Minorca (Samuel Babcock)
• Needham (Samuel Babcock)
• Omicron (Samuel Babcock)
• Palmer (Samuel Babcock)
• Placentia (Samuel Babcock)
• Pomfret (Samuel Babcock)
• Rama (Samuel Babcock)
• Resolution (Samuel Babcock)
• Stowe (Samuel Babcock)
• Stratton (Samuel Babcock)
• Truro (Samuel Babcock)
• Vienna (Samuel Babcock)
• Wilmington (Samuel Babcock)

3. Set Pieces

• Ashford (Samuel Babcock)
• Auspicious Morn (Samuel Babcock)
• Cambridge (Samuel Babcock)
• Charity (Samuel Babcock)
• Christian's Hope (Samuel Babcock)
• Christmas (Samuel Babcock)
• Crucifixion (Samuel Babcock)
• Delaware (Samuel Babcock)
• Dissolution (Samuel Babcock)
• Dorchester (Samuel Babcock)
• Ephrathah (Samuel Babcock)
• Hamburg (Samuel Babcock)
• Intercession (Samuel Babcock)
• Lexington (Samuel Babcock)
• Lima (Samuel Babcock)
• Lubec (Samuel Babcock)
• Menotomy (Samuel Babcock)
• Milton (Samuel Babcock)
• Morning Hymn (Samuel Babcock)
• Nativity (Samuel Babcock)
• Newton (Samuel Babcock)
• Norfolk (Samuel Babcock)
• North Kingston (Samuel Babcock)
• Resignation (Samuel Babcock)
• Sabbath (Samuel Babcock)
• Smyrna (Samuel Babcock)
• Sunday (Samuel Babcock)
• Waltham (Samuel Babcock)
• Watertown (Samuel Babcock)
• Weston (Samuel Babcock)

2. Anthems

• Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people (Samuel Babcock)
• Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place (Samuel Babcock)
• O come let us sing unto the Lord (Samuel Babcock)
• Remember now, remember thy Creator (Samuel Babcock)

 

LISTED BY FIRST LINE

Again the Lord of life and light Almighty King of heaven above Behold the Savior of mankind Change me, O God, my flesh shall be Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people Dost thou my earthly comforts slay God of my life, look gently down Had I the tongues of Greeks and Jews Hearts of stone, relent, relent Hear what the voice from heaven proclaims Hosanna to the King How tedious and tasteless the hours I'll lift my hands, I'll raise my voice Immense compassion reigns In awful state the conquering God In deep distress I oft have cried Indulgent God! with pitying eye Infinite grace! almighty charms I will praise thee every day Jesus drinks the bitter cup Jesus is become at length Jesus! my shepherd and my friend

Jesus, the Savior stands Let all our tongues be one Let everlasting glories crown Let sinners take their course Let us love, and sing, and wonder Lord of the Sabbath, hear our vows Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place Methinks I hear the heavens resound My flesh shall slumber in the ground My God, permit me not to be My Redeemer, let me be My Savior God, no voice but thine Nature, with all her powers, shall sing Now for a tune of lofty praise Now let our mournful songs record Now let the Lord my Savior smile Now to the power of God supreme O come let us sing unto the Lord O magnify the Lord with me O praise ye the Lord, prepare your glad voice O tell me no more of this world's vain store Once more, my soul, the rising day

Pardon and grace and boundless love Raise your triumphant songs Remember now, remember thy Creator Rise, says the Prince of mercy, rise Shepherds, rejoice! lift up your eyes Shout, shout for joy, rejoice, O earth Since I have placed my trust in God Sing to the Lord Jehovah's name Sing to the Lord, ye heavenly hosts Sitting by the streams that glide Sleep! downy sleep! come close my eyes Stoop down, my thoughts, that use to rise The birds without barn This day is God's, let all the land Tis God that lifts our comforts high To God the only wise To Jesus, our exalted Lord What shall I render to my God While shepherds watched their flocks by night With one consent let all the earth Ye boundless realms of joy

Click here to search for this composer on CPDL

Publications

• Babcock, Samuel. 1795. The Middlesex Harmony, Being an Original Composition of Sacred Music in Three and Four Parts. Boston: Isaiah Thomas and Ebenezer T. Andrews. 56 pp.
• Babcock, Samuel. 1803. The Middlesex Harmony, Second Edition. Boston: Isaiah Thomas and Ebenezer T. Andrews. 110 pp.

References

• Sampsel, Laurie J., Editor. 1999. Samuel Babcock (ca. 1760-1813): The Collected Works. Garland Publishing, 184 pp. Reprinted 2014 by Routledge, New York.
• Sampsel, Laurie J. 2009. Samuel Babcock (1760-1813), Archetypal Psalmodist of the First New England School of Composers. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Pittsburgh, 430 pp.

External links

• Scans of Babcock 1795 and 1803 at IMSLP
• pdf of Sampsel 2009