1700–1783
William Tanzer

Introduction

portrait

Born: 1700, Dun­church, War­wick­shire, Eng­land.

Baptized: No­vem­ber 6, 1706.

Died: Oc­to­ber 7, 1783, St. Ne­ots, Cam­bridge­shire, Eng­land.

Buried: St. Ne­ots pri­ory, Cam­bridge­shire, Eng­land.

Biography

William was the son of a la­bor­er. The par­ish re­gis­ter gives his name as Tan­zer.

Around 30 years of age he made Ew­ell, near Ep­som, his home, pub­lish­ing his Me­lo­dy of the Heart there.

He taught psalm­ody in a num­ber of plac­es, in­clud­ing Barnes, Cam­bridge, Stam­ford, Bos­ton (Eng­land) and Lei­cester.

He sub­se­quent­ly set­tled down and be­came a book­sell­er at St. Ne­ots.

Tans’ur wrote some 100 psalm and hymn tunes, an­thems, a Te De­um, and oth­er ma­te­ri­al.

Works

Tans’ur’s Bangor was a po­pu­lar tune in Scot­land for ma­ny years, and is men­tioned in Ro­bert Burns’ po­em The Or­di­na­tion:

Mak haste an’ turn King David owre,
An lilt wi’ holy clangor;
O’ double verse come gie us four,
An’ skirl up the Bangor.

Sources

Music