Joseph Gibbs
Encyclopedia
Joseph Gibbs was an English
composer
.
, and his first published work Eight solos for violin with a thorough bass, also appeared.
Only one other work (six quartettos) is known to have been published in the remaining forty years of his active musical life.
The purchase of a Gainsborough in 1928 by the National Portrait Gallery created a renewed interest in Joseph Gibbs. This painting of Gibbs was hitherto unknown and handed down through generations of Gibbs’s family who were the only ones aware of its existence. Ipswich had a lively Music Club in which Thomas Gainsborough
(1727–1788) was a keen and passionate member. It is during this period that Gainsborough painted a portrait of his friend Joseph Gibbs. In the background of this portrait are two volumes. One is titled Corelli and the other… Gem…presumably Geminiani. Acknowledgement of these names in a portrait speaks profoundly of the sitters projections towards the violin. It seems fitting that the recordings of the Eight Violin Sonatas should coincide with the bi-centenary year of Joseph Gibbs as well as that of Thomas Gainsborough. At Christchurch Mansion is another painting attributed to Gainsborough. This is on the case of the grandfather clock, assumedly of the convivial Music Club, amongst whom one can recognize Joseph Gibbs in sober grey, seated at a table with a glass in front of him. The Music Club met in the home of a Mr. Sparrowe, which is now known as the Ancient House in the Buttermarket.
Gibbs was often called upon as the local musician of standing for various occasions. A newly erected organ at Eye in Suffolk was to be opened in 1749 by "…Mr. Joseph Gibbs, Organist of Ipswich…And in the Evening will be a CONCERT of Vocal and Instrumental Musick…And after the CONCERT there will be a BALL."
At the time of Gibbs’s appointment as organist, Ipswich was an important and flourishing centre. It was also garrisoned by the Scots Greys. Undoubtedly, with his active musical and social life, Gibbs was in contact with the Scots Greys and their music-making, for his Sonatas contain many references to Scottish song.
Joseph Gibbs was accorded a civic funeral and a band of the Scots Greys
and East Suffolk Militia played the Dead March
in ‘Saul’ with their instruments draped in black crepe. The published obituary stated "His corpse was deposited in a grave in front of the organ". (Gentleman’s Magazine December 1788) Since the restoration of the Church in the 1860s no trace of his gravestone has been found. However, a dedication reads…
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
.
Biography
Joseph Gibbs was not a prolific composer, but he was a not entirely unknown. He was born in Dedham, Essex in 1699, though not much more has been traced of Gibbs until 1748. In that year, he was appointed organist at the Church of St. Mary-le-Tower, IpswichIpswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
, and his first published work Eight solos for violin with a thorough bass, also appeared.
Only one other work (six quartettos) is known to have been published in the remaining forty years of his active musical life.
The purchase of a Gainsborough in 1928 by the National Portrait Gallery created a renewed interest in Joseph Gibbs. This painting of Gibbs was hitherto unknown and handed down through generations of Gibbs’s family who were the only ones aware of its existence. Ipswich had a lively Music Club in which Thomas Gainsborough
Thomas Gainsborough
Thomas Gainsborough was an English portrait and landscape painter.-Suffolk:Thomas Gainsborough was born in Sudbury, Suffolk. He was the youngest son of John Gainsborough, a weaver and maker of woolen goods. At the age of thirteen he impressed his father with his penciling skills so that he let...
(1727–1788) was a keen and passionate member. It is during this period that Gainsborough painted a portrait of his friend Joseph Gibbs. In the background of this portrait are two volumes. One is titled Corelli and the other… Gem…presumably Geminiani. Acknowledgement of these names in a portrait speaks profoundly of the sitters projections towards the violin. It seems fitting that the recordings of the Eight Violin Sonatas should coincide with the bi-centenary year of Joseph Gibbs as well as that of Thomas Gainsborough. At Christchurch Mansion is another painting attributed to Gainsborough. This is on the case of the grandfather clock, assumedly of the convivial Music Club, amongst whom one can recognize Joseph Gibbs in sober grey, seated at a table with a glass in front of him. The Music Club met in the home of a Mr. Sparrowe, which is now known as the Ancient House in the Buttermarket.
Gibbs was often called upon as the local musician of standing for various occasions. A newly erected organ at Eye in Suffolk was to be opened in 1749 by "…Mr. Joseph Gibbs, Organist of Ipswich…And in the Evening will be a CONCERT of Vocal and Instrumental Musick…And after the CONCERT there will be a BALL."
At the time of Gibbs’s appointment as organist, Ipswich was an important and flourishing centre. It was also garrisoned by the Scots Greys. Undoubtedly, with his active musical and social life, Gibbs was in contact with the Scots Greys and their music-making, for his Sonatas contain many references to Scottish song.
Joseph Gibbs was accorded a civic funeral and a band of the Scots Greys
Scots Greys
The Royal Scots Greys was a cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1707 until 1971, when they amalgamated with the 3rd Carabiniers to form The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards ....
and East Suffolk Militia played the Dead March
Dead march
A dead march is a solemn tune played by a military band at military funerals and executions.A notable symphonic rendition of a dead march appears in Georg Friedrich Händel's Saul....
in ‘Saul’ with their instruments draped in black crepe. The published obituary stated "His corpse was deposited in a grave in front of the organ". (Gentleman’s Magazine December 1788) Since the restoration of the Church in the 1860s no trace of his gravestone has been found. However, a dedication reads…
Discography
- The Eight Violin Sonatas: Portrait, Review & List of the pieces by Claudio Records
- Music Web Review by Jonathan Woolf