Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (d. 1736), pupil of Greco, Durante and Feo,
though his career was very short (see sec. 126), won renown for the simple
and unaffected charm of his church works (from 1731), of which a Stabat
Mater for two voices (finished just before his death) and a Salve Regina are
the best.
Later composers of this group, whose works fell mostly in the middle or latter half of the century, were the great Jommelli (d. 1774), who was from 1749 choirmaster at St. Peter's in Rome and from 1754 in Wurttemberg (see sec. 125), Perez (d. after 1782), and Abos (d. 1786).
123. In England.—The declining school of English church music has nothing to show in the l8th century that compares with Germany or Italy. The taste for services and anthems of the 'verse' or solo sort, which set in powerfully towards the end of the 17th century, continued, though for a time it was slightly offset by the genius of a few worthy choral writers, mostly in the Chapel Royal. That there was vitality left in English church music is evidenced by the fact that Handel contributed to it to a small extent. But before the middle of the century came a period of barrenness in which musicians were more interested in glee-writing than in anthems and when the latter were largely concocted by adaptation from various sources.
Among the more prolific anthem-writers whose work began before 1700
were James Hawkins (d. 1729), organist at Ely from 1682, with 75 verse and
full anthems; Vaughan Richardson (d. 1729), pupil of Blow and organist at
Winchester from 1693, with 21 anthems; John Weldon (d. 1736), pupil of
Purcell and organist at Oxford from 1694, and from 1701 connected with the
Chapel Royal, succeeding Blow as organist in 1708 and named 'composer'
from 1715, besides serving at two of the city churches, with 35 anthems, some
of which are still prized; and John Goldwin (d. 1719), pupil and in 1697 successor
of Child at Windsor, with 24 anthems.
William Croft (d. 1727), trained in the Chapel Royal under Blow and its organist from 1704, besides being organist at Westminster and choirmaster in the Chapel Royal, was the composer of nearly 100 anthems (30 published in 1724), written mostly in a manly and sterling style. From 1700 to 1703 he also wrote some incidental theatric music.
Maurice Greene (d. 1755), a pupil of King at St. Paul's, where from 1718 he was organist, followed Croft in 1727 as organist and composer to the Chapel Royal, and Tudway in 1730 as professor of music at Cambridge. Accounted the leading church musician in England, and for a time the intimate friend of Handel, he is known by almost 100 anthems, often of decided strength (especially 40 published in 1743), a service and a Te Deum, 2 oratorios (1737, '44), 3 light operas (1737-48), many songs and catches, etc. He assisted in founding the Royal Society of Musicians in 1738. His collection of Cathedral Music was completed by Boyce.
