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).

Sampsel (2009) has suggested that "the few pieces first printed with the ambiguous attribution 'Babcock' are very likely by Lemuel Babcock," Samuel's older cousin.

List of choral works

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

1. Psalm-Tunes

• Andover 1795
• Babel 1795
• Caledonia 1795
• China 1793
• Consecration 1803
• Crete 1803
• Elevation 1803
• Flanders 1795
• Florence 1803
• Gratitude 18031806
• Horeb 1795
• Humility 1803
• Medford 1803
• Minorca 1803
• Needham 1795
• Omicron 1795
• Palmer 1803
• Placentia 1803
• Pomfret 1795
• Rama 1803
• Resolution 1803
• Stowe 1795
• Stratton 1803
• Truro 1803
• Vienna 1803
• Wilmington 1803

3. Set Pieces

• Ashford 1795
• Auspicious Morn 1806
• Cambridge 1803
• Charity 1803
• Christian's Hope 1803
• Christmas 1795
• Crucifixion 1803
• Delaware 1795
• Dissolution 1795
• Dorchester 1795
• Ephrathah 1803
• Hamburg 1795
• Intercession 1795
• Lexington 18031806
• Lima 180318031806
• Lubec 1803
• Menotomy 1803
• Milton 1795
• Morning Hymn 1800
• Nativity 1803
• Newton 1795
• Norfolk 1800
• North Kingston 1803
• Resignation 1795
• Sabbath 1803
• Smyrna 1803
• Sunday 1800
• Waltham 1803
• Watertown 1803
• Weston 1795

2. Anthems

• Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people 1795
• Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place 1795
• O come let us sing unto the Lord 1795
• Remember now, remember thy Creator 1803

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 the awful state the conquering God In deep distress I oft have cried Indulgent God! with pitying eye I will praise thee every day Jesus becomes 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 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 Sitting by the streams that glide 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

 
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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 the Petrucci Music Library (IMSLP)
• pdf of Sampsel 2009