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Scan 1059
Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, 1919
10 lines. Read by computer on 11 September 2026. Printed page 8. See the scan on archive.org.
11867; d. Akron, O., May 24, 1918. Pupil of Louise von Freilitsch (4 years), J. Sauvage (3 years) and J. D. Mehan (do.); début at the Worcester (Mass.) Fest. of 1896; sang from then, with ever-growing succ., at the principal festivals; gave nearly 1000 recitals; for 5 years he was soloist at the Marble Collegiate Ch. in N. Y. City. His répertoire included almost all the oratorios perf. to-day, and many operas (in concert-form). One of the first American vocalists to introduce English translations, he used the vernacular exclusively in all his recitals after 1900.
3Williams, Ralph Vaughan, born Down Ampney, Wiltshire, Oct. 12, 1872. From 1890–2 pupil at the R. C. M. of H. Sharpe and G. P. Moore (pf.), Parratt (org.), Parry and Stanford (comp.); then attended Trinity Coll., Cambridge (A.B., 1895) and returned for another year to R. C. M.; 1897–8, pupil of Bruch in Berlin; Mus. Doc., Cantab., 1901. In order to familiarize himself with the methods of impressionism he worked for some time with M. Ravel in Paris. Excepting the position as org. at South Lambeth Ch. (1896–9) and that of extension lecturer at Oxford Univ., he has held no posts; is devoting his entire time to comp.—Works: For orch.: Serenade for small orch.; The Solent, orchl. impression; Bucolic Suite; Heroic Elegy; 3 Norfolk Rhapsodies (E m., D m., G m.); Harnham Down and Boldrewood, 2 orchl. impressions; In the Fen Country, symph. impression; A London Symphony (selected for publication by the 'Carnegie Trust,' 1917); Fantasia on a theme of Tallis's for str.-orch.; The Wasps, suite; Fantasia for pf. and orch.—Chamber-music: 2 pf.-quintets (G m., w. vl., clar., vcl. and horn; C m., w. vl., vla., vcl. and double-bass); 2 str.-quartets (C m., G m.); 2 small pcs. for str.-quintet; Three Studies in Engl. Folk-song for vl. and pf.—Vocal w. orch.: Toward the Unknown Region (Whitman) for mixed ch.; Willow-Wood (Rossetti), cantata for bar. solo, fem. ch.; A Sea Symphony (Whitman) for soli and ch.; The Garden of Proserpine (Swinburne) for mixed ch.; Five Mystical Songs for bar. solo and mixed ch.; 3 Nocturnes for bar. solo; choruses and incid. music to Aristophanes's The Wasps and Ben Jonson's masque Pan's Anniversary. Numerous part-songs and songs (several cycles, The House of Life [Rossetti], Songs of Travel [Stevenson], On Wenlock Edge [from Housman's A Shropshire Lad, for ten., str.-quartet and pf.])—Has ed. 'Fifteen Folk-Songs from the Eastern Counties' for voice and pf., in 'The Journal of the Folk-Song Soc.' (vol. i, No. 8) and H. Purcell's 'Welcome Songs' (vols. xv and xviii of the ed. of the P. Soc.).
5Wil'ling, Johann Ludwig, born Kühndorf, n. Meiningen, May 2, 1755; d. Nordhausen, Sept., 1805, as organist of the Hauptkirche.—Publ. sonatas f. pf., f. violin, and f. 'cello; a 'cello-concerto, a violin-concerto, duos f. violins, 24 English Dances f. pf.; etc.—See Q.-Lex.
7Willis, Henry, famous organ-builder; b. London, April 27, 1821; d. there Feb. 11, 1901. From 1835–42 he was articled to John Gray (later Gray & Davidson), and even during his apprenticeship he invented the special manual and pedal couplers which he later used in his own instruments; worked from 1842–5 for Evans at Cheltenham, and in 1845 establ. his own business in London. His rebuilding of the organ in Gloucester Cath. proved the stepping-stone to his subsequent fame; the instrument exhibited at the Crystal Palace during the Exhib. of 1851 attracted wide attention, won the Council Medal, and was installed in Winchester Cath. in 1853; it also brought him the commission for the great organ in St. George's Hall, Liverpool (1855). In 1878 he took his sons Vincent and Henry into partnership, and adopted the firm name of 'Henry Willis & Sons'; he became generally known as 'Father W.' Vincent left the firm in 1894, but Henry became the head of the business after the founder's death, and later took his own son, Henry Jr., into partnership. W. won prizes at all the great expositions in England and France, and the organs of almost half the cathedrals in England were built or rebuilt by him; he himself regarded the magnificent organ in St. Paul's, London (1891), as his masterpiece (77 speaking stops, 19 couplers); his successors built the organ in Liverpool Cath. (167 speaking stops, 48 couplers) in 1912–4 (at the time the largest in the world).—Although W. was entirely self-taught in music, he became a remarkably fine organist; before his 20th year played at Christ Ch., Hoxton; then went to Hampstead Parish Ch., and for nearly 30 years was org. at the Chapel of Ease, Islington. At the Gloucester Fest. of 1847, and on several other occasions, he played double-bass in the orch.—Cf. 'M. T.' (May, 1898).
9Willis, Richard Storrs, born Boston, Mass., Feb. 10, 1819; d. Detroit, May 7, 1900. A student (1837) at Yale, he was elected pres. of the 'Beethoven Soc.,' for which he wrote orchl. pieces and choruses. Studied (1841) at Frankfort-on-Main under Schnyder von Wartensee (harm. and form), and at Leipzig under Hauptmann (cpt. and instrumentation). Returning to New York, W. contributed to the press, and later edited 'The Musical Times,' 'The Mus. World,' and 'Once a Month'; publ. Our Church Music; and comp. much vocal music (Church Chorals,
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