Amzi Chapin

CHAPIN, Amzi. b. Springfield, Massachusetts, 2 March 1768; d. Northfield, Ohio, 19 February 1835.  The name is pronounced Am’zeye Chay’pin. Hymn tunes attributed to Amzi in one collection often appear elsewhere attributed to one of his brothers, Lucius Chapin* or Aaron Chapin (1753-1838).  In some cases, ‘attributed to’ should be taken to mean ‘arranged by’ or ‘obtained from’.  It was common for tunebook compilers to seek adaptations of existing tunes, and as a result, many tunes were assigned a variety of arrangements, names, attributions, and texts.  Amzi Chapin was born to a music-loving family.  According to his brother Calvin’s account in the Blinn Family Papers, their mother ‘excelled...