, a man distinguished in the musical world, was born in 1613. He
, a man distinguished in the musical world, was born in 1613. He was a stationer and a
seller of musical instruments, music-books, and musicpaper, and was clerk of the Temple church. What his
education had been, is not known; but that he had attained to a considerable proficiency in the practice of
music and musical composition, is certain. His skill in
music was not so great as to entitle him to the appellation
of a master; he knew nothing of the theory of the science,
but was very well versed in the practice, and understood
the rules of composition well enough to write good harmony. He was also the first and the most intelligent
printer of music during the seventeenth century; and he
and his son Henry, appear, without a special licence, or
authorized monopoly, to have had almost the whole business of furnishing the nation with musical instruments,
music books, and music paper, to themselves. In 1655
he published the first edition of his “Introduction to the
Skill of Music,
” a compendium compiled from Morley,
Butler, and other more bulky and abstruse books, which
had so rapid a sale, that in 1683 ten editions of it had
been circulated through the kingdom. The book, indeed,
contained no late discoveries or new doctrines, either in
the theory or practice of the art; yet the form, price, and
style, were so suited to every kind of musical readers, that
it seems to have been more generally purchased and read,
than any elementary musical tract that ever appeared in
this or in any other country.