[Roggerio]
(b Castelnuovo di Garfagnana; fl 1612). Italian music editor and composer. He edited Responsoria Hebdomadae Sanctae, psalmi, Benedictus, et Miserere, una cum missa ac vesperis Sabbati Sancti, for eight voices and continuo (Venice, 1612²). It includes pieces by 20 composers, among them Croce and Viadana, and two are anonymous; Argilliano himself, with 11 pieces, is the best-represented composer....
(b Naples; fl 1645–53). Italian music editor and composer. He was a Franciscan monk and on a title-page of 1653 is called ‘maestro di musica’. He edited a small volume of five-part sacred music (RISM 1645¹), which had gone into a fourth impression by 1650 (1650...
(b Naples, Dec 7, 1827; d Naples, March 30, 1879). Italian music publisher, lawyer, poet, writer and politician. He studied the piano with F. Festa, composition with Salvatore Pappalardo and also learnt some music from his father, Guglielmo Cottrau (b Paris, 9 Aug 1797; d Naples, 31 Oct 1847), a gifted amateur double bass player and director of the Girard firm. In 1846 Teodoro succeeded his father at Girard’s and in 1848 became joint owner, carrying on independently from 1855. He republished with greater success his father’s edition of Neapolitan songs, Passatempi musicali. Besides the anthology Cottrau’s much admired publications include L’ape musicale pianistica, collections of romanze, neopolitan songs, piano pieces particularly by Neopolitan composers and vocal scores of operas including Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra and Herold’s Le pré aux clercs, for which he provided a translation and promoted the Italian première at the Teatro Filarmonico, Naples (...
(b Mattsee, nr Salzburg, Sept 5, 1781; d Vienna, April 7, 1858). Austrian publisher and composer. He studied music in Michaelbeuren and Salzburg and in 1800 entered Raitenhaslach Abbey. After the dissolution of the Bavarian monasteries (1803) he went to Vienna, where he taught the piano and guitar, and soon became known for his arrangements and compositions (six masses by him had been published in Augsburg in 1799); many of his works were published in Vienna. His job as a proofreader for S.A. Steiner & Co. (as detailed in Beethoven’s letters) gave him an increasing interest in music publishing, and in the Wiener Zeitung (15 September 1817) he advertised a subscription for some of his sacred compositions, which were to appear from his newly established publishing house in the Schultergasse. On 29 September he moved to no.351 Am Hof. The first notice of publications (...
[William J. ]
(b Alexandria, IN, March 28, 1936). American gospel songwriter, performer, producer, and publisher. He grew up on a small farm in Indiana and graduated from Anderson College with a major in English and a minor in music. He went on to receive a master’s degree in guidance and counseling and met his future wife and song-producing partner, Gloria Sickal, while both were teaching high school. Gaither started singing gospel music as a child and in 1956 formed the Bill Gaither Trio with his brother Danny and his sister Mary Ann. He started his own publishing company in 1959. He continued to perform and compose while a teacher at Alexandria High School and in 1961 formed the Gaither Music Company to publish his works. After their marriage in 1962, Gaither and his wife wrote their first major song, “He touched me,” which was a significant hit by 1963. He re-formed the Bill Gaither Trio with Gloria and Danny, and in ...
(b Frankenhausen, March 26, 1758; d Hildesheim, Dec 7, 1841). German music publisher and composer. From 1778 to 1786 he attended the Gymnasium Andreanum in Hildesheim as a singer, and then studied law in Leipzig until 1788. On 26 March 1792 he opened a music and book shop in St Petersburg after spending a short period as a private tutor in Kiev; in 1793 he made his schoolfriend Friedrich August Dittmar a partner in the business, which had come to the fore with many musical and literary publications. He opened his own music engraving works in 1795, and in 1796 went to Gotha, where he founded a branch of the St Petersburg firm, but moved to Hildesheim in the same year. Connections with the parent firm in St Petersburg steadily weakened, and Dittmar carried on the business alone under many different trade names until 1808. Between 1792 and ...
(fl Lyons, 1550–84). French music printer, bookseller, composer and instrumentalist. In 1551 he prepared the third in a series of four books of music for guitar printed in Paris by Robert Granjon and Michel Fezandat (RISM 1551²²). In the dedication Gorlier wrote apologetically of the four-course guitar and his reasons for composing for an inferior instrument, saying that he wanted to show that it was as capable as larger instruments of reproducing music in two or three parts. Besides being an ‘excellent joueur’ on the guitar, as cited on the title-page, he evidently played the spinet; in a pamphlet (now lost) concerning Loys Bourgeois’ Droict chemin de musique (1550) Bourgeois called him ‘trougnon d’épinette’ (‘garbage of the spinet’) and complained that he had not been educated in classical languages and mathematics like the singer-composers in Lyons, Layolle Roussel and Jambe de Fer.
Gorlier was granted a privilege for printing music on ...
(b ?Dartmoor, June 4, 1770; d Boston, Aug 2, 1827). American conductor, composer and publisher of English birth, father of John Hill Hewitt. Apart from family records giving his place and date of birth, the first documented information about him is that he occupied 12 Hyde Street, Bloomsbury, London, during 1791–2. He arrived in New York on 5 September 1792. Although he advertised himself there as having had concert experience in London under ‘Haydn, Pleyel, etc.’, no evidence of this has been found. He lived in New York until 1811, his longest period of residence at one address being from 1801 to 1810 at 59 Maiden Lane. From 1792 until the end of March 1808, he was conductor of the orchestra at the Park Street Theatre, where his duties included arranging and composing music for many ballad operas and other musical productions. He also operated his own ‘musical repository’, where he gave lessons and sold musical instruments and music composed by himself and others....
(b Rothenburg am Neckar, May 12, 1754; d Vienna, Feb 9, 1812). Austrian music publisher and composer. He went to Vienna in 1768 to study law, but after qualifying, devoted his time to music, especially publishing and composing. As early as 1783, when Viennese music publishing was still in its infancy, he began to publish two series of symphonies in Lyons (printed by Guéra), and some quartets and duets for flute. On 24 January 1784 he announced in the Wiener Zeitung that he planned to publish all his musical works at his own expense and under his own supervision from Rudolf Gräffer’s bookshop. But in a large advertisement on 6 August 1785 he no longer mentioned Gräffer, having established a firm in his own name at his home. This advertisement gives a list of works which had already appeared as well as a new publishing programme of three different series, including orchestral and chamber music by Haydn, Mozart, Vanhal, Albrechtsberger, Pleyel, Miča, Ordonez and other foreign composers, besides Hoffmeister’s own works. Although he did not maintain his announced schedules, the business evidently flourished. Hoffmeister had connections with the Speyer publisher Bossler, whose firm acted as a kind of agent for Hoffmeister. Hence a series of announcements and some detailed reviews of works published by the Hoffmeister firm appeared in Bossler’s ...
(d Dublin, 1813). Irish composer, music publisher and instrument maker. George Petrie considered him to have been the ‘most eminent British composer of military music in his time’. A Collection of Quick and Slow Marches, Troops &c. can be dated 1795–8. A square piano dated 1796 bears Holden’s name (possibly as seller rather than maker). In 1805, described as a ‘military music master and instrument maker’, he had premises in Arran Quay, Dublin. Nothing further is known about Holden’s apparent activities as an instrument maker. In 1806 he moved to Parliament Street, where he opened a music shop and began publishing, largely his own music although this continued to be issued by other Dublin publishers. On his death the business was continued by his widow until about 1818. Holden's publications included A Collection of Old Established Irish Slow and Quick Tunes (c1807); many of the airs may have been collected by his son Francis Holden. The elder Holden published two more collections of Irish music (issued periodically), collections of Welsh tunes, masonic songs and country dances, numbers of marches and quick steps, often dedicated to specific regiments and corps, and many individual songs and other instrumental pieces....
(b Montreuil-sur-Mer, c1520; d Paris, 1598). French music printer, lutenist and composer. He was born into a wealthy merchant family from northern France. As a young man he entered successively the service of two members of the aristocracy close to the French throne, Claude de Clermont and Jacques II, Baron de Semblançay and Viscount of Tours. In March 1546 he became acquainted with the editor Jean de Brouilly in Paris, bought some properties from him in St Denis and married his daughter Denise (d before 1570). He moved to Brouilly’s house at the sign of Ste Geneviève (later the sign of Mount Parnassus) in the rue St Jean-de-Beauvais – an address which was to become famous as the home of one of the greatest of the French music printing establishments.
On 14 August 1551 Le Roy and his cousin Robert Ballard obtained a privilege from Henri II to print and sell all kinds of music books. Their first publication appeared at the end of the same month. On ...
(b Bologna, Feb 1, 1745; d Marseilles, 1812). Italian music publisher and composer. About 1770 he began publishing in Venice and, probably in mid-1773, took the violinist and composer Carlo Canobbio (1741–1822) into partnership. Although the enterprise was temporarily abandoned about 1775, the brief period of its duration marked the revival of music publishing in Italy after 70 years of almost total inactivity. In Venice Marescalchi issued some 70 engraved publications, most in oblong format, evenly distributed between vocal pieces (mainly full scores and orchestral parts of single numbers from operas performed in Venice) and instrumental works (ballet, dance, chamber music and opera overtures). Anfossi, Boccherini, Naumann, Paisiello and Marescalchi himself were the composers of more than half of this output. In his Venice publications Marescalchi worked closely with Alessandri & Scattaglia, who were probably responsible for all his music engraving as well as being named on most of the title-pages as his selling agents, at their premises on the Rialto; one title-page also describes them as his printers, and this may have been another of their regular responsibilities. This connection between the two firms has often led cataloguers and bibliographers to ascribe to Alessandri & Scattaglia publications which should properly be regarded as Marescalchi’s, with the result that numerous entries in RISM, the ...
(b Naples, July 7, 1778; d Paris, March 10, 1866). Italian composer and music publisher, active in France. After studying harmony and counterpoint under Fenaroli at the Conservatorio della Pietà dei Turchini, Naples, he directed an orchestra and taught there before moving to Nîmes, where he became leader of the theatre orchestra. According to Pougin (FétisBS) Isabelle et Gertrude, his first opéra comique, was given at the opening of the rebuilt theatre there (in 1801). In 1804 he moved to Paris where, at least until 1822, he was active as a singing teacher. Between 1805 and 1808 Isabelle and three further opéras comiques were produced, all but one being published in orchestral score. These (his only works for the stage) and a large number of songs make up the bulk of his creative output.
Pacini's career as a publisher began in 1808 when, in partnership with Momigny, he began to issue the ...
[Pantoleon, Petroveanu, Pană, Petrovici]
(b Sliven, Bulgaria, c1796; d Bucharest, Nov 2, 1854). Romanian composer, psaltēs, translator, and publisher. He studied Byzantine music in Bucharest with D. Photeinos and P. Ephesios, holding over the years the positions of psaltēs, choir conductor, and teacher of ecclesiastical chant at various churches, monasteries, schools for church cantors, and theological seminaries in Bucharest, Brașov, and Vîlcea. In 1820 he was appointed director of Bucharest Psaltic Music Printing Press, founded by Ephesios that year at the behest of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The Press printed the world’s first books of psaltic music: the New Doxastarion and the New Anastasimatarion. Knowledgeable in the two systems of Byzantine musical notation and, it seems, staff notation, Pann was, alongside Macarie the Hieromonk and Panagiotēs Engiurliu, a member of the commission established by Dionisie Lupu, the Metropolitan of Wallachia, with a view to translating from Greek the Byzantine chants and adapting them to the specificities of the Romanian language (a process known as the ...
(b nr West Monroe, LA, Aug 8, 1921; d Nashville, TN, Feb 24, 1991). American country-music singer, guitarist, songwriter, and publisher. He performed as a guitarist on radio station KMLB (Monroe, LA) before 1950, when he joined the “Louisiana hayride ” on KWKH (Shreveport, LA). Recording contracts with the local Pacemaker label (c1950), Four-Star, and Decca (1951) allowed him to resign his part-time job as a clerk at Sears, Roebuck and concentrate on music. After his initial hit, “Wondering” (1952), he gained national attention with “Back Street Affair” (1952), one of the first country songs to deal forthrightly with adultery. An equally important landmark was “There stands the glass” (1953), a classic drinking song and the first country hit to use the pedal steel guitar, played by Bud Isaacs. It became the favorite backup instrument in country music for the next two decades, and Pierce was the first of many country singers whose slurs, octave jumps, and use of dynamics complemented its sound. During his peak years (...
[Knols, Fred ]
(b Evansville, IL, Aug 24, 1898; d Nashville, TN, Dec 1, 1954). American songwriter and publisher. It is difficult to imagine how Nashville’s country music industry would be structured were it not for the efforts of the songwriter and publisher Fred Rose. His commitment to the city and the genre helped to establish a business model that has continued successfully to the present day. He moved to Chicago in his teens and found a home in vaudeville, eventually achieving initial success as a songwriter for the “Red Hot Mama” Sophie Tucker. Some of his early material was recorded by King Oliver and Paul Whiteman, and Rose also found a role as a performer on local radio. He moved to Nashville in 1933, appeared as a performer on WSM, and became intrigued by the possibilities inherent in the cowboy genre. He migrated to Hollywood, wrote hits for Tex Ritter, the Sons of the Pioneers, and Gene Autry and benefited from the B-movie market for singing cowboys. Rose returned to Nashville in ...
[Williams, W.R. ]
(b Wells, March 15, 1867; d Oak Park, IL, June 10, 1954). American publisher and composer of English birth . After moving to the USA in 1881, he settled in Chicago. His musical career started in 1891 when, under the pseudonym W.R. Williams, he published his first song, Sweet Nellie Bawn, followed by further popular titles during the 1890s. In 1898 he performed his songs at Tony Pastor’s Music Hall in New York. By 1900 he had become the most successful popular music publisher in Chicago. In 1910 he purchased the rights to Meet me tonight in dreamland by Leo Friedman and Beth Slater Whitson, issued Shelton Brooks’s Some of these days, which became Sophie Tucker’s theme song, and published his own I’d love to live in loveland with a girl like you, which eventually sold over two million copies. Brooks’s The Darktown Strutters’ Ball (1917) also achieved lasting popularity. Other songwriters, lyricists and performers whose careers were furthered by their association with Rossiter include Charles K. Harris, Percy Wenrich, J. Will Callahan, Fred Fisher and Egbert Van Alstyne. An aggressive promoter of his publications, Rossiter initiated innovatory techniques in marketing and made use of radio broadcasting for promotional purposes....
(b Paris, Nov 15, 1775; d Passy, Jan 22, 1847). French music publisher and composer, son of Jean-Georges Sieber. He studied composition with H.-M. Berton at the Paris Conservatoire, and worked in his father's publishing business from about 1795. In August 1798 he married Anne-Marie, daughter of the publisher Pierre Leduc. In January 1799 he opened a shop at 1245 rue de la Loi, where he traded as Sieber Fils at the sign of ‘La flûte enchantée’. The house was renumbered 28 between 10 May and 28 September 1805, and the street reverted to its pre-Revolutionary name, rue de Richelieu, between July 1806 and March 1807. By April 1809 Sieber had moved to 21 rue des Filles-St-Thomas, where the firm remained. In 1824 he took over his father's business and in 1834 retired, being succeeded by his son Adrien-Georges (b Paris, 26 June 1802; d Paris, 17 Oct 1872...
[Ragsdale, Harold Ray ]
(b Clarkdale, GA, Jan 24, 1939). American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, arranger, music publisher, television star, and entrepreneur. Harold Ragsdale began his musical career with a high school band that played R&B songs by the Coasters, Drifters, and other R&B groups. In 1955 the family moved to Atlanta, where publisher Bill Lowery signed him as a songwriter and secured his first recording contract with Capitol Records; Capitol’s Head of A&R, Ken Nelson changed Ragsdale’s name to Ray Stevens. After attending Georgia State University, where he studied music, Stevens had his first success with his recording of “Jeremiah Peabody’s Poly Unsaturated Quick Dissolving Fast Acting Pleasant Tasting Green and Purple Pills” (Mercury, 1961). In 1962 he moved to Nashville, supplementing his own recording career with work as a session musician, arranger, and background vocalist. He garnered a number-one pop hit and his first Grammy with his recording of “Everything is beautiful” (Barnaby, ...
[Tielman]
(b c1510–1515, Soest, nr Dortmund; d ?Sweden, 1570 or later). Music publisher, composer and instrumentalist, active in the southern Netherlands. His birthdate is based on a document of 1565 which states he was about 50 years old (‘out omtrent L jaren’). His place of birth, also suggested to be Soestdijk, near Utrecht, is clearly in the environs of Cologne (probably Soest in Westphalia): he refers to himself as ‘Tilemannus Susato Agrippinus’ (the Roman name for Cologne) in two publications, he is described in 1561 as ‘Thielman Suzato, geboeren van Coelen’ and in 1563 as one born outside the lands of the Emperor. Further, he was granted a subsidy in 1542 by the city of Antwerp for bringing a new trade from outside. Documentation confirms that he was the son of another Tylman (Thielmanssone); his father may have been the blind musician ‘Tielman dem blynden’ mentioned in a 1508...
