Timothy Swan

SWAN, Timothy.  b. Worcester, Massachusetts, 23 July 1758; d. Northfield, Massachusetts, 23 July 1843.  Swan, a composer and hat maker, is of particular interest to modern music historians, in part for the originality and distinctiveness of his melodies, as well as the extent to which related research sources have been preserved. Swan’s primary musical publication was New England Harmony, Containing a Variety of Psalm Tunes in Three and Four Parts, Adapted to All Metres:  Also a Number of Set Pieces, of Several Verses Each, Together with a Number of Anthems (Northampton, Massachusetts:  Andrew Wright, 1801).  Swan also compiled The Songster’s Assistant (Suffield, Connecticut: Swan and Ely,...