Marsh, John
Marsh, John
Marsh, John, English composer; b. Dorking, 1752; d. Chichester, 1828. He studied violin with Wafer in Gosport (1766–68) and then was articled to a solicitor in Ramsey. In 1774 he went to Salisbury, where he played in an amateur orch. and learned to play the organ. In 1781 he abandoned his law practice and devoted himself to music, settling in 1787 in Chichester, where he was concertmaster of several amateur groups and active as an organist. His works, which include a number of syms., overtures, concerti grossi, chamber pieces, organ voluntaries, anthems, and Psalm tunes, reflect late Baroque and Classical models. Among his writings were his memoirs (MS) and A Comparison between the Ancient and Modern Styles of Music (1796).
Bibliography
B. Robins, ed., The J. M. Journals: The Life and Times of a Gentleman Composer (1752–1828) (Stuyvesant, N.Y., 1998).
—Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire