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Stephen Codman

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Stephen Codman (c. 1796 – 6 October 1852) was a Canadian composer of English descent. His known compositions all date from before 1835 and his output mainly consists of works for solo voice or vocal ensembles.

Early life and education

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Codman was born in Norwich, England. He was a pupil of John Christmas Beckwith and William Crotch.[1]

Career

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In 1816 Codman came to Canada to assume the post of organist at Holy Trinity Anglican Cathedral in Quebec City,[2] most likely succeeding John Bentley. He remained in that post up until his death in Quebec City 36 years later.[3]

Two of his songs, The Fairy Song[4] and They Are Not All Sweet Nightingales, were published by Goulding, D'Almaine, and Co in 1827, placing them among the oldest published Canadian compositions in history.[3][5][6] He also wrote an instrumental piece for the organ, titled "Invocation".[7]

Codman died in Quebec City on 6 October 1852.[8]

References

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  1. ^ Elaine Keillor. Music in Canada: Capturing Landscape and Diversity. McGill-Queen's Press – MQUP; 18 March 2008. ISBN 978-0-7735-3391-2. p. 116.
  2. ^ Daniel Mendoza de Arce. Music in North America and the West Indies from the Discovery to 1850: A Historical Survey. Scarecrow Press; 2006. ISBN 978-0-8108-5252-5. p. 251.
  3. ^ a b Stephen Codman canadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  4. ^ Music Magazine. Vol. 12-13. Barrett & Colgrass; 1989. p. 15.
  5. ^ Bibliographical Society of Canada. Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada: Cahiers de la Société Bibliographique Du Canada. Vol. 12-16. Bibliographical Society of Canada; 1974. p. 41.
  6. ^ "Canada 150: A Thoughtful Retrospective on a Lifetime of Can-con". BeatRoute, 26 June 2017
  7. ^ Schirmer history of music. Schirmer Books; 1 February 1982. ISBN 978-0-02-872190-3. p. 913.
  8. ^ "NORFOLK ANNALS", compiled from the Norfolk Chronicle by Charles Mackie. Volume II. Norwich, Ontario. via Project Gutenberg.