William Boyce

1710-1779. English composer. Trained as a chorister at St. Paul's Cathedral, and a pupil of the distinguished organist Maurice Greene, Boyce was organist of several London churches, and from 1758 to 1769 of the Chapel Royal. He was forced to retire because of loss of hearing and devoted his last years to his great historic anthology, Cathedral Music in three volumes. This collection did much to keep alive the great music of such men as Byrd and Gibbons. Boyce was a fine and voluminous composer in his own right, producing music of all kinds. He is certainly the best native English composer of the later eighteenth century, and he was known also for his excellent personal qualities.