Oliver Holden
Life
Born: 18 September 1765, Shirley, Massachusetts
Died: 4 September 1844, Charlestown, Massachusetts
Oliver Holden was one of the best-known and prolific American composers of psalmody of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. As a young man, he was a U. S. Marine aboard the frigate Dean, participating in the capture of five British ships. He lived most of his later life in Charlestown, Massachusetts, near Boston. Unlike many composers of his era, Holden was a well known citizen, with dealings in government, religious, and charitable affairs. Though a carpenter and real estate dealer in his professional life, he also organized many music schools, and served as legislator and pastor. When George Washington visited Boston in 1789, Holden wrote the lyrics and score and trained the choir which sang the music that greeted Washington at the Old State House.
"Holden was an early proponent of 'reform psalmody' and sought to accommodate his style to European ideals of church music, without, however, completely abandoning the forms and techniques of American psalmody. Thus, his music is an interesting amalgamation of styles and musical detail" (Music 1998).
"After 1796, Holden quit signing his name to tunebooks, except for editions of the Worcester Collection. Nevertheless, several anonymous volumes of the later eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries have been positively identified as Holden's works … These include Sacred Dirges (1800), The Modern Collection (1800), Plain Psalmody (1800), the third edition of The Union Harmony, The Charlestown Collection (1803), and Occasional Pieces (1807)" (Music 1998).
View the Wikipedia article on Oliver Holden.
NOTE. New works added to this page should be automatically placed below. Please add Listing by First Line manually.
List of choral works
- For works at CPDL sorted alphabetically by title, see Oliver Holden compositions
LISTING BY TITLE
See Listing by First Line below
1.Psalm-Tunes
- Aberdeen 1793
- Acceptance 1797
- Addison 1800
- Advent 1800
- Alibama 1800
- Alpha 17921797
- Alstead 1788
- Amiens 1803
- Andover 1800
- Anstruther 1803
- Antipatris 1793
- Arabia 1803
- Ashby 1803
- Aspiring Praise 1803
- Athens 1800
- Auspicious Morn 1800
- Avon 1806
- Beneficence 1800
- Bensalem 18061806
- Bethlehem Judah 1803
- Bethsaida 1800
- Bitter Sweet 1800
- Bourbon 1803
- Bright Reversion 1800
- Camden 1793
- Cana 1803
- Canton 1796
- Ceylon 1796
- Chosen Race 1803
- Commemoration 1793
- Compassion 18001806
- Concord 1793
- Confession 1793
- Confidence 1796
- Consecration 1792
- Constant Peace 1800
- Contentment 1796
- Contrast 1797
- Contrition 1793
- Corinth 1800
- Coronation 17931841
- Cowper 180318031806
- Creation 1803
- The Cross 1800
- Cuba 1800
- Danville 1803
- Dawning Light 1800
- Dedicatory Hymn 1800
- Deliverance 1793
- Dependence 1803
- Desertion 18061806
- Desire of Nations 1800
- Dissolution 1800
- Dix-Hills 1803
- Edenton 1800
- Emulation 1800
- Ephesus 1800
- Erie 1800
- Essex 1797
- Eternal Wisdom 1800
- Euphrates 1803
- Evening Hymn 1800
- Exultation 1800
- Fairlee 1793
- Forerunner 1803
- Fount 18061806
- Funeral Hymn (1800) 1800
- Funeral Hymn 1792
- Gift 1803
- Gilead 1806
- Good Physician 1806
- Gospel Armor 1803
- Gospel Voice 18061806
- Hanley Green 1806
- Havanna 1800
- Havre 1796
- Healing Mercy 1806
- Heavenly Theme 1800
- Hollis 1788
- Hope 1793
- Hopkinton 1796
- Hundred and Forty-Fifth Psalm 1796
- Hundred and Nineteenth Psalm 1796
- Iceland 1806
- Idumea 1793
- Immanuel 1796
- Incense 1796
- Infant Time 1800
- Interposition 1800
- Jehovah Reigns 1800
- Joy Was Our Song 1800
- Joyful Tidings 1800
- Kamalia 1800
- Lamentation 1792
- Lincoln 1792
- Lodi 1800
- Lord's Day 1796
- Louisiana 1796
- Luneville 1803
- Lynn 1793
- Lynnfield 1793
- Macedonia 1796
- Magdala 1796
- Mantua 1800
- Medina 17961806
- Mercy Seat 1803
- Miami 1803
- Middlesex 1793
- Morning 1800
- Mount Carmel 1803
- Mount Tabor 1792
- Mountain 1803
- Mysterious Grace 1800
- Neglected Harp 1803
- New Canaan 1792
- New Concord 1796
- New Salem 1793
- New-Jerusalem 1793
- New-Union 18031806
- Obedience 1803
- Olney 1803
- Omega 1793
- Opening Heavens 1800
- Oracle 1800
- Ordination Hymn 1803
- Paradise 1796
- Penetration 1800
- Persia 1800
- Philippi 1796
- Pilgrim's Song 1796
- Praise To God 1800
- Promise 1803
- Protection 1793
- Psalm 148 1800
- Radiant Seraph 1800
- Rapture 1793
- Repentant Song 1800
- Resolution 18031806
- Rest 18031806
- Retirement 1803
- Review 18061806
- Reviving Hope 18001806
- Richmond 1803
- Rising Dawn 1800
- The Rock 1804
- Romelia 1803
- Sabbath Morn 1803
- Salem (1803) 1803
- Salem 17931800
- Seclusion 1803
- See He Rises 1803
- Serepta 1800
- Shiloh 1803
- Sicily 1800
- Sincerity 17931806
- Smyrna 1796
- Solemnity 1800
- Solicitude 1796
- Solid Pleasures 1800
- Sparta 1800
- St. Alban's 1803
- St. Marc 1803
- St. Mary 1800
- Stone Chapel 1800
- Submission 1793
- Sun 1800
- Surety 1800
- Suspension 1800
- Sweet Complaint 1803
- Sweet Surprise 1800
- Temple 1800
- Tender Thoughts 1800
- Tennessee 1796
- Tis Finished 1800
- Transition 1796
- Treasure 1796
- True Devotion 1792
- Trust 1803
- Ur 1800
- Various Praise 1800
- Vergennes 1800
- Vernal Day 1803
- Verona 1796
- Vine 1803
- Weary Pilgrim 1800
- Weeping Sinner 1806
- Welcome 18061806
- Welcome Morn 1800
- Why weepest thou? 1800
- Winter-Street 1803
- Zion 1792
2. Anthems
- Christmas 1792
- Dedicatory Anthem 1800
- From heaven the loud, the angelic song 1793
- Hark! She bids all her friends adieu 1797
- Hark! What distant music 1793
- Hear my cry, hear my cry 1793
- How amiable are Thy tabernacles 1796
- I will praise Thee, O Lord my God 1797
- Jehovah speaks! 1795
- Man that is born of a woman 1796
- Messiah 1793
- Ode to Harmony 1793
- Ode to Music 1792
- Psalm for Thanksgiving Day 1803
- The sound of the harp ceaseth 1800
- West End 1793
3. Secular Songs
- Phenomena 18061806
- Ode to Music 1792
- Ode to Harmony 1793
LISTING BY FIRST LINE
Publications
- Holden, Oliver. 1792. American Harmony. Boston: Isaiah Thomas and Ebenezer T. Andrews.
- Holden, Oliver, Compiler. 1793a. The Union Harmony, or Universal Collection of Sacred Music, Volume 1. Boston: Isaiah Thomas and Ebenezer T. Andrews. xv + 120 pp.
- Holden, Oliver, Compiler. 1793b. The Union Harmony, or Universal Collection of Sacred Music, Volume 2. Boston: Isaiah Thomas and Ebenezer T. Andrews. ii + 176 pp.
- Gram, Hans, Oliver Holden, and Samuel Holyoke. 1795. The Massachusetts Compiler of Theoretical and Practical Elements of Sacred Vocal Music. Boston: Isaiah Thomas and Ebenezer T. Andrews.
- Holden, Oliver, Compiler. 1796. The Union Harmony, or Universal Collection of Sacred Music. Edition 2. Boston: Isaiah Thomas and Ebenezer T. Andrews. Volume 1, 119 pp.
- Holden, Oliver, Compiler. 1797. Laus Deo! The Worcester Collection of Sacred Harmony. Edition 6, 1797. Edition 7, 1800. Edition 8, 1803. Boston: Isaiah Thomas and Ebenezer T. Andrews.
- Holden, Oliver. 1800. Sacred Dirges, Hymns, and Anthems, commemorative of the death of General George Washington. Boston: Isaiah Thomas and Ebenezer T. Andrews.
- Holden, Oliver. 1800. Plain Psalmody, or Supplementary Music. Boston: Isaiah Thomas and Ebenezer T. Andrews. November 1800.
- Holden, Oliver, Compiler. 1800. The Modern Collection of Sacred Music. Boston: Isaiah Thomas and Ebenezer T. Andrews. 254 pp. ("Positively identified as Holden's work" by David Music 1998). December 1800.
- Holden, Oliver, Compiler. 1803. The Charlestown Collection of Sacred Songs, Adapted to Public and Private Devotion. Boston: Isaiah Thomas and Ebenezer T. Andrews. 80 pp.
- Holden, Oliver. 1806. The Young Convert's Companion. Boston: E. Lincoln.
- Holden, Oliver. 1807. The Suffolk Selection of Church Musick. Boston: Isaiah Thomas and Ebenezer T. Andrews.
References
- Kroeger, Karl. 1977. Isaiah Thomas as a music publisher. Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society 86:321-341.
- Music, David W., Editor. 1998. Oliver Holden (1765-1844): Selected Works. New York, New York: Routledge. 258 pp.
External sites
Click here to search for this composer on CPDL