DICTIONARY OF MUSIC - El Atril

538 JOHNSON JOHNSON
Robert Burns the poet, who largely contributed
to its contents, said would remain the text-book of
Scottish Song. The Museum contains 600 airs,
and is comprisL'd in six volumes issued as follows
1st, 1787 ; 2nd, 1788 ; 3rd, 1790 ; 4th, 1792 ;
Sth, 1797 ; 6th, 1803. To this work in a
later reissue Wm. Stenhouse contributed historical
notes to the songs and airs which have
been bones of contention to musical antiquaries
for tlie past half century. Johnson
(previously living in Bell's Wynd) in 1788
opened a music shop in the Lawnmarket, where
he remained until his death on Feb. 26, 1811.
Shortly before it occurred he had taken his
apprentice John Anderson into partnership, who
also continued a year or two with Johnson's
widow.
As before stated, Johnson engraved so much
of the Scottish music of his time that a
bibliography of liis work would form almost a
complete list of Scottish musical publications
during this period. About 1790 George Walker
came forward and supplied some portion of a
rapidly increasing demand. He was, it is
believed, another of .Johnson's apprentices, and
Anderson went into partnership with him in
1816. F. K.
JOHNSON, JoHX, one of Queen Elizabeth's
Musicians for the Lute, is named among the
Musicians from as early as 1581 until his death
in 1591-95 (Nagel, Aimalen). His widow,
Alice, was granted a lease in reversion for fifty
years of Granljourne Manor, Dorset, and other
lands, in consideration of her husband's services
(Jan. 25,1591-95). Compositions for the Lute
by him are in the Cambridge University Library
(Dd. iii. 18). He may perhaps be identified
with a musician named Johnson who was in
the service of Sir Thomas Kitson at Hengrave
Hall, Suffolk, in 1572, and in London in 1574,
in which year he went to take part in the entertainments
given by Leicester at Kenilworth
(Gage, History of Henjrave, 1822). Rimbault
hastily assumeii him to be the same as ' Robert
the musician ' also mentioned in the Hengrave
accounts ; but Sir T. Kitson kept several musicians
in his service. Certainly this Johnson
cannot be either of the Robert Johnsons of whom
we know anything ; and it is to be noted that
John Johnson was father of Robert Johnson (II)
who enjoyed the patronage of Sir George
Carey, husband of Sir Thomas Kitson's granddaughter.
G. E. p. A.
JOHNSON, John, a London music-publisher
of the middle of the 18th century. He was
' established at premises in Cheapside facing Bow
Church,' at
before 1740.
the sign of the Harp and Crown,
He probalily succeeded to the business previously
carried on by Daniel Wright (?• t'. ) of St.
Paul's Churchyard ; he certainly reissued some
of Wright's publications, including his two
volumes of Country Dances. Jolinson's issues
comprised the best music of the day in songs,
and instrumental pieces by such composers as
Geminiani, Felton, Garth, Nares, Gunn, Arne,
Worgan, etc. His yearly sets and collected
volumes of country dances are especially interesting
to the musical antiquary of to-day. In
many instances Johnson broke through the absurd
unwritten law that printed music should
remain undated, for we find a great number of
his publications bear an engraved date of the
year of issue. The engraring of liis music and
the quality of the paper were always remarkably
good. Johnson apqiears to have died aliout
1762, for after that year to about 1771-72 most
of the imprints are in the name of ' Mrs. Johnston
'or ' R. Johnson,' jiresumably his widow,
with the address as ' 1 10 Cheapside. ' The signname,
' The Harp and Crown, ' is absent from
these imprints, and for a time was at this period
adopted by Longman, who was just tlien commencing
business in another part of Cheapside,
nearer St. Paul's. F. K.
JOHNSON, Robert (I), often described as
' Priest ' in old MSS., flourished in the middle
of the 16th century. He was a Scottish priest,
born in Dunse, who fled to England ' lang before
the Reformation . . . for accusation of heresy'
this is the account given of him by Thomas
Wodde, Vicar of St. Andrews, whose MS. partbooks
(now in the Libraries of Edinburgh University
; Trinity College, Dublin ; and British
Museum, Add. MS. 33,933) contain his 'Domine
in virtute.' It is asserted by most historians
that he was chaplain to Anne Boleyn (1533-36),
but there seems to be no evidence for the statement,
thoughit is to be found in StaH'ord Smith's
writing on more than one old MS. coming from
his collection. In the Buckingham Palace Lib-
rary is a MS. in which Robert Johnson ' Priest
is also described as ' '
of Windsor ; as Baldwin,
the writer of this MS. was a Windsor man, it
is very likely that Johnson may have settled
there.
Johnson, who was the most considerable composer
born in Scotland until comparatively recent
times, was chiefly a writer of sacred music. Of
his music for the English Service three so-called
Prayers are to be found in Day's Certaine Notes,
1560, and Mornyng and Euenyng jyrayer, 1565 ;
these, which may have been printed in Johnson's
lifetime, are ' Relieve us, Lord, that are weake
and feble ;
'
' eternal God ' ;
' and I ge ve you a
new commaundement ' : the words of the two
latter are in Clifford's Divine Services, 1663 ; a
Service in the Ely Cathedral Library is attributed
to him in Dickson's Catalogue :
' Loid, with
all my heart,' is in the Brit. Mus. Add. MS.
4900,
' Of his settings of Latin words, his Domine
in virtute ' (referred to above) is most frequently
met with, [Bodleian and Ch. Ch. , Oxford ; Brit.
Museum : St. Michael's, Tenbury].
The following seem also to have been written