William Chappell (writer) facts for kids

William Chappell (born November 20, 1809 – died August 20, 1888) was an English writer who focused on music. He also worked with important music companies in London, first Chappell & Co. and later Cramer & Co..

Early Life and Family Business

William Chappell was born in London on November 20, 1809. His father, Samuel Chappell, started a music publishing business with partners at 124 New Bond Street. A music publishing business prints and sells sheet music. By 1826, Samuel became the only owner of the business. He moved it to 50 New Bond Street in 1830 and passed away there in December 1834.

After his father's death, William, who was the oldest son, took over managing the business for his mother. He did this until 1843.

Studying English Folk Music

William Chappell became very interested in old English folk-tunes and ballads. Folk-tunes are traditional songs, and ballads are songs that tell a story. In 1838, he published his first big work. It was called A Collection of National English Airs, consisting of Ancient Song, Ballad, and Dance Tunes. This work had two parts: one with 245 tunes, and the other with explanations and an essay about old English musicians. Chappell was one of the first people to seriously study and research traditional English music.

Involvement with Societies

In 1840, Chappell became a member of the Society of Antiquaries, a group that studies old things and history. He also helped start the Percy Society, another historical group. For this society, he helped edit an old book called Johnson's Crown Garland of Golden Roses.

He also came up with the idea for the Musical Antiquarian Society. This society aimed to publish and perform old English musical pieces. Chappell even started madrigal-singing, which is a type of old vocal music, with a small choir at his business. Many leading English musicians joined this society, which began publishing music in 1841. Chappell worked as the treasurer and managed the publications for about five years. He edited one of the society's books, Dowland's First Booke of Songes or Ayres, but he left out the musical accompaniments, which was unusual. The society's publications were very large and expensive, so members eventually left, and the society closed in 1848.

Later Works and Discoveries

In 1843, William left the family business. In 1845, he bought a share in another music publishing company called Cramer & Co., which then became Cramer, Beale, & Chappell.

He continued his research into old music. In 1855, he released an improved version of his collection of tunes. It was renamed Popular Music of the Olden Time. This new edition was in two smaller books, with text and music mixed together. The tunes were given new musical parts by Macfarren. This work showed how much Chappell had learned and researched, and it quickly became the main source of information on the topic. However, some parts of the book showed his strong opinions against Scottish music and some of his criticisms of other music experts were very strong. A new edition of his work, called Old English Popular Music, was published after he died in 1893. This version was almost like a new book. Chappell retired from Cramer & Co. in 1861.

For several years, he had a health issue that affected his ability to write, but he eventually got better. He was also the honorary treasurer for the Ballad Society and edited three volumes of the Roxburgh Ballads for them. He was an active member and treasurer of the Camden Society as well. He provided important help for a large work called Coussemaker's Scriptores de Musica.

Chappell spent a long time studying a famous old song called Sumer is icumen in. This song is very old, from the 13th century, and its existence is quite a mystery in music history. He included a colorful copy of it in his Popular Music of the Olden Time. He eventually figured out that the handwriting belonged to Johannes de Fornsete, who died in 1239 or 1240.

When the Musical Association was founded in 1874, Chappell became a vice-president. On November 6, 1877, he gave an important and original presentation called Music a Science of Numbers. Towards the end of his life, he mostly lived in Weybridge, but he passed away at his London home on August 20, 1888.