John Blow

John Blow (baptised 23 February 1649 – 1 October 1708) was an English Baroque composer and organist, appointed to Westminster Abbey in 1669. His pupils included William Croft, Jeremiah Clarke and Henry Purcell. In 1685 he was named a private musician to James II. His only stage composition, Venus and Adonis (ca. 1680–1687), was thought to influence Henry Purcell's later opera Dido and Aeneas. In 1687 he became choirmaster at St Paul's Cathedral, where many of his pieces were performed. In 1699 he was appointed to the newly created post of Composer to the Chapel Royal.

Read more about John Blow:  Early Life and Education, Early Career, Marriage and Family, Advance To Court, Legacy and Honors

Famous quotes containing the words john and/or blow:

    Look Johnny, Spig just joined the Navy. I’m married to it. I run the mess hall. I swab the deck. I chip the rust. You’re afraid that they’ll kick Spig out of the Navy. I’m afraid that they won’t.
    Frank Fenton, William Wister Haines, co-scenarist, and John Ford. Minne Wead (Maureen O’Hara)

    O, there’s a wind a-blowing, a-blowing from the west,
    And that of all the winds is the one I like the best,
    For it blows at our backs, and it shakes our pennon free,
    And it soon will blow us home to the old countrie.
    William Ernest Henley (1849–1903)