William Cowper
William Cowper ( KOO-pər; 26 November 1731 – 25 April 1800) was an English poet and Anglican hymnwriter. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th-century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scenes of the English countryside. In many ways, he was one of the forerunners of Romantic poetry. Samuel Taylor Coleridge called him "the best modern poet", whilst William Wordsworth particularly admired his poem "Yardley-Oak". After being institutionalised for insanity, Cowper found refuge in a fervent evangelical Christianity. He continued to suffer doubt about his salvation and, after a dream in 1773, believed that he was doomed to eternal damnation. He recovered, and went on to write more religious hymns. His religious sentiment and association with John Newton (who wrote the hymn "Amazing Grace") led to much of the poetry for which he is best remembered, and to the series of Olney Hymns. His poem "Light Shining out of Darkness" gave English the phrase: "God moves in a mysterious way/ His wonders to perform." He also wrote a number of anti-slavery poems, and his friendship with Newton, who was an avid anti-slavery campaigner, resulted in Cowper's being asked to write in support of the Abolitionist campaign. Cowper wrote a poem called "The Negro's Complaint" (1788) which rapidly became very famous, and was often quoted by Martin Luther King Jr. during the 20th-century civil rights movement. He also wrote several other less well-known poems on slavery in the 1780s, many of which attacked the idea that slavery was economically viable. |
Birth and Death Data: Born January 1, 1731 (Berkhamsted), Died April 25, 1800 (Dereham)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1906 - 1940
Roles Represented in DAHR: author, songwriter
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | B-3357 | 10-in. | 5/2/1906 | There is a fountain fill'd with blood | Trinity Choir | Chorus, with orchestra | author | |
Victor | CVE-34773 | 12-in. | 4/13/1926 | O for a closer walk with God | Mixed Quartet | Mixed vocal quartet, with pipe organ | author | |
Victor | BS-056539 | 10-in. | 10/12/1940 | Jubilee | Roswell Sacred Harp | Mixed vocal quartet, unaccompanied | songwriter | |
Columbia | W143925 | 10-in. | 4/6/1927 | There is a fountain filled with blood | Copperhill Male Quartet | Male vocal quartet, with piano | author | |
Brunswick | E22964-E22965 | 10-in. | 5/5/1927 | There is a fountain | Old Southern Sacred Singers | Male vocal quartet, with organ | author |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Cowper, William," accessed November 21, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/102355.
Cowper, William. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 21, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/102355.
"Cowper, William." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 21 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: William Cowper
Discogs: William Cowper
IMSLP: William Cowper
RISM: William Cowper
IMDb: William Cowper
Britannica: William Cowper
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Cowper, William, 1731-1800 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n79054741
Wikidata: William Cowper - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q315537
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/32009788
MusicBrainz: William Cowper - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/3bd8e7ad-2189-4c55-8894-71304ef609c5
ISNI: 0000 0001 1023 6760 - http://www.isni.org/isni/0000000110236760
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