Hayes, William
Hayes, William
Hayes, William, English organist and composer, father of Philip Hayes ; b. Gloucester, Dec. 1707 (baptized, Jan. 26, 1708); d. Oxford, July 27, 1777. He was a chorister at Gloucester Cathedral. He was organist of St. Mary’s, Shrewsbury (1729–31), then of Worcester Cathedral (1731–34). In 1734 he became organist and master of the choristers of Magdalen Coll., Oxford. He received a Mus.Bac. (Oxford, 1735), then was univ. prof, of music (1742). In 1749 he received a Mus.D. He conducted the Gloucester music festival in 1757, 1760, and 1763. His canons Allelujah and Miserere nobis and his glee Melting airs soft joys inspire won prizes offered by the Catch Club in 1763. He also wrote a masque, Circe, Psalms, odes, glees, canons, ballads, and cantatas. He wrote Remarks on Mr. Avison’s Essay on Musical Expression (1762) and Anecdotes of the Five Music-Meetings (1768), and was co-ed, of Boyce’s Cathedral Music.
Bibliography
S. Heighes, The Lives and Works of W. and Philip H. (N.Y, 1995).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire