said: 'Since he undertook the appointment of admiral-superintendent of the harbour of Balaklava he has applied himself incessantly to the discharge of his arduous duties, exposing himself in all weathers; and he has rendered a most essential service to the army by improving the landing-places and establishing wharves on the west side of the port, whereby the disembarkation of stores and troops has been greatly accelerated, and communications with the shore have been rendered much easier.' He had been a widower for nearly thirty years, but left a numerous family.
[O'Byrne's Nav. Biog. Dict.; Gent. Mag. (1855), N.S. xliv. 95.]
BOYCE, SAMUEL (d. 1775), dramatist, was originally an engraver, and held subsequently a place in the South Sea House. He is the author of 'The Rover, or Happiness at Last,' a dramatic pastoral, 4to, 1752, which was never acted, and 'Poems on several Occasions,' Lond. 1757, 8vo, a large-paper copy of which was in the Garrick sale. He died 21 March 1775.
[Baker, Reed, and Jones's Biographia Dramatica; Lowndes's Bibliographer's Manual.]
BOYCE, THOMAS (d. 1793), dramatist, was rector of Worlingham, Suffolk, and chaplain to the Earl of Suffolk. He is the author of one tragedy, 'Harold,' Lond. 4to, 1786, which was never acted. In the preface to this he states that when he wrote it he was unaware that Cumberland's play on the same subject was in rehearsal at Drury Lane. It is a dull work, but the termination, judged by the standard of the day, is not ineffective. He died 4 Feb. 1793.
[Genest's History of the Stage; Baker, Reed, and Jones's Biographia Dramatica.]
BOYCE, WILLIAM (1710–1779), Mus. Doc., was born at Joiners' Hall, Upper Thames Street, in 1710. His father is variously stated to have been a 'housekeeper,' a joiner and cabinet maker, a man of considerable property, and the beadle of the Joiners' Company. Boyce was educated at St. Paul's School, and was a chorister of St. Paul's Cathedral under Charles King. When his voice broke he was apprenticed to Dr. Maurice Greene, with whom he always remained on close terms of friendship. In 1734 he competed for the post of organist at St. Michael's, Cornhill, the other candidates being Froud, Worgan, Young, and Kelway. The appointment was given to the last-named musician, and Boyce became organist of Oxford Chapel (now St. Peter's), Vere Street, where he succeeded Joseph Centlivre. At this time he studied theory under Dr. Pepusch, and was much in demand as a teacher of the harpsichord, particularly in ladies' schools. In 1736 Kelway left St. Michael's, and succeeded Weldon at St. Martin's-in-the-Fields; whereupon Boyce resigned his post at Oxford Chapel, and took Kelway's place in the city, which he continued to occupy until 5 April 1768. On 21 June of the same year he was sworn in as composer to the Chapel Royal, the post of organist at the same time being conferred upon Jonathan Martin, while Boyce undertook to fulfil the third part of the duty of organist, receiving in return one-third part of the money allotted to Martin as 'travelling expenses.' In 1734 Boyce's setting of 'Peleus and Thetis,' a masque, written by Lord Lansdowne, had been performed by the Philharmonic Society, and in 1736 the Apollo Society produced an oratorio by him, 'David's Lamentation over Saul and Jonathan,' the words of which were by John Lockman. In 1737 he was appointed conductor of the Three Choirs festivals, a post he held for many years. About the same time he became a member of the Royal Society of Musicians, and a little later he composed music to two odes for St. Cecilia's day, written respectively by Lockman and an under-master of Westminster School named Vidal. In 1740 he composed the Pythian Ode, 'Gentle lyre, begin the strain,' and in 1743 produced his best work, the serenata of 'Solomon,' the book of which was compiled from the Song of Solomon by Edward Moore, the author of 'Fables for the Female Sex.' Shortly afterwards he published a set of 'Twelve Sonatas for Two Violins, with a Bass for the Violoncello or Harpsichord,' which long remained very popular as chamber music; and in 1745 he began the publication of his miscellaneous songs and cantatas, which, under the name of 'Lyra Britannica,' ultimately extended to six volumes. The year 1749 saw Boyce at the height of his activity. On 2 Jan. the masque of 'Lethe' was revived at Drury Lane, with Beard as Mercury, for whom Boyce wrote new songs. On 1 July his setting of Mason's ode on the installation of the Duke of Newcastle as chancellor of the university of Cambridge was performed in the senate house, and on the following day an anthem by him, with orchestral accompaniments, was performed at Great St. Mary's as an exercise for the degree of Mus. Doc., which the university had conferred on him. On 2 Dec. 'The Chaplet,' an operetta by Moses Mendez, with music by Boyce, was produced at Drury Lane, the principal parts in which were filled by Beard, Mrs. Clive, and Master Mattocks, on which
