Alexander Johnson

Life

Born: 25 February 1791, South Carolina

Died: December 1832, Maury County, Tennessee

Biography

Alexander Johnson was a singing school teacher and tune book compiler in middle Tennessee. "He served as a private in the War of 1812, and married Nelly Craig on 25 January 1816. His Tennessee Harmony (1818), the first music book in middle Tennessee, had a profound influence on The Missouri Harmony and other collections" (Steel and Hulan 2010, also see Music 1984).

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List of choral works at CPDL

A. LISTED BY TITLE

1. Sacred music by Alexander Johnson

Columbia Crucifixion

Harpeth Jefferson

Leander New Jerusalem

Olney Separation

Solicitude Versailles

2. Secular music by Alexander Johnson

• Columbia

3. Arrangements by Alexander Johnson of works of others

• Captain Kidd

4. Arrangements by others of Alexander Johnson works

• Devotion

B. LISTED BY FIRST LINE

Come, thou fount of every blessing Glorious things of thee are spoken How tedious and tasteless the hours Jesus, my all, to heaven is gone My gracious redeemer I'll love

My soul forsakes her vain delight O for a sweet inspiring ray O how I have longed for the coming of God O how I have longed for the coming of God Sweet is the day of sacred rest

Through all this world below Thus, as down a lone valley with cedars o'er-spread Thy mercy, my God, is the theme of my song Why do we mourn departing friends

 
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Publications

• Johnson, Alexander, Compiler. 1818. Johnson's Tennessee Harmony. Cincinnati, Ohio: Morgan, Lodge, and Company. 110 pp. Second Edition, 1821. Third Edition, 1824.

Tunes attributed to Alexander Johnson in Tennessee Harmony *

Tune Name	Ed.	Missouri Harmony	Columbian Harmony	United States Harmony	Southern Harmony	Union Harmony	Knoxville Harmony	Sacred Harp
Note	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Brown's Station	2
Canaan	1	Canaan
Captain Kidd †	1	Captain Kid	Captain Kid		Captain Kid		Green Meadow
Columbia	1	Columbia			Columbia		Columbia
Crucifixion	1				Marysville		Marysville
Devotion	1	Devotion	Solemnity	Devotion	Devotion	Devotion		Devotion
Harpeth	1	Harpeth			Harpeth
Jefferson	1	Jefferson	Jefferson	Jefferson	Jefferson		Jefferson	Jefferson
Leander	1	Leander	Leander	Leander	Leander	Leander	Leander	Leander
Nashville	2				Nashville			Nashville
New Jerusalem	1	New Jerusalem	New Jerusalem	New Jerusalem	New Jerusalem		New Jerusalem
Olney	1	Olney	Olney	Olney	Olney	Olney	Olney	Olney
The Prodigal Son	1				The Prodigal Son
Revival	2
Separation	1		Separation		Separation
Solicitude	1	Solicitude	Solicitude		Solicitude		Solicitude
Submission	2
Versailles	1	Versailles

1. Edition of Tennessee Harmony, 1818-1821-1824. 2. Carden's Missouri Harmony, 1820. 3. Moore's Columbian Harmony, 1825. 4. Carden's United States Harmony, 1829. 5. Walker's Southern Harmony, 1835 . 6. Caldwell's Union Harmony, 1837. 7. Jackson's Knoxville Harmony, 1838. 8. White and King's Sacred Harp, 1860. *. Adapted from Music (1984). †. Composed by Jeremiah Ingalls.

References

• Music, David W. 1984. Alexander Johnson and the Tennessee Harmony. Current Musicology 37/38:59-73.
• Music, David W., Editor. 2005. A Selection of Shape-Note Folk Hymns From Southern United States Tune Books, 1816-61. Middleton, Wisconsin: A-R Editions. 91 pp.
• Steel, David Warren, and Richard H. Hulan. 2010. The Makers of the Sacred Harp. Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press. 322 pp.

External links

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