CHESTER (Billings)

CHESTER (Billings)

Composer: William Billings
Published in 2 hymnals


Printable scores: PDF, MusicXML
Audio files: MIDI

Composer: William Billings

William Billings (b. 1746; d. 1800) was an American choral composer, thought by some to be the father of American choral music. His father died when William was 14, and he was forced to drop all formal education and take up tanning to get by. With no formal musical training he began to compose, and his songs were well-loved and traveled quickly. However, due to unsubstantial copyright laws, Billings received hardly a penny from the publication of his music. After a period of fame and prosperity, his music was forgotten, and his last decade was one of decline. Married with six children, he died in poverty, though his music would be resurrected after his death and sung to this day. Laura de Jong Go to person page >

Tune Information

Title: CHESTER (Billings)
Composer: William Billings
Meter: 8.8.8.8
Incipit: 56715 61765 55556
Key: F Major
Copyright: Public Domain

Arrangements

Organ Solo

  • Sunday Morning Organist Volume 5: Best of the Saint Cecilia Series
    Composer/Editors William Billings; David Crawford Stills
    Published By: Alfred Music Publishing Company, Inc. (2009) pp. 140
  • Variations on Chester: Saint Cecilia Series of Organ Compositions
    Composer/Editor David Crawford Stills
    Published By: The H. W. Gray Company, Inc. (2004) pp. 3
  • Early American Hymn Tunes - William Billings
    Composer/Editors Robert J. Powell; William Billings
    Published By: MorningStar Music Publishers, Inc. (2001) pp. 6

Piano and Organ Duet

  • Sheep May Safely Graze: Piano Organ Duets
    Composer/Editor Herbert Colvin
    Published By: Word Music Group, LLC (1978) pp. 43

Media

The Cyber Hymnal #4063
Text: Let Tyrants Shake Their Iron Rods
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)

Instances

Instances (1 - 2 of 2)
TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #4063

The Sacred Harp #479

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