Grove's dictionary of music and musicians

'
204 SAINT ANNE'S TUNE SAINT-AUBIN
a misleading title, as, except in the identity of
its subject with the first strain of St. Anne's,
the fugue has no connection with the hymn-tune.
As early as 1638 the same strain was employed
by Henry Lawes as the commencement of the
tunes set by him to the 9th and 136th Psalms
in Sandys's 'Paraphrase upon the Psalmes of
David.
St. Anne's tune, under that name, is first
found in A Supplement '
to the New Version of
the Psalms, 'sixth edition, much enlarged, 1708.
Dr. Croft's name is not mentioned in the work,
but he is believed to have been the musical
editor of this edition of the Supplement ; the
name of the tune is probably derived from that
of the parish, St. Anne's, Westminster, of which
church he was then organist, and the tune itself
is directly ascribed to him by his contemporaries,
viz., Philip Hart in ' Melodies proper to be sung
to any of y' Versions of y' Psalms of David,'
dr. 1716, and John Church in his 'Introduction
to Psalmody,' 1723. The tune appears
in the ' Supplement ' in the following form :—
g
Fsalm xlii
A 21X10.
St. Anne's Tii/m.
towns ('Leverpool,' 'Hallifax,'
and 'Leeds'),
^
:iF-^-
are all ascribed to 'Mr. Denby.' It may be
observed that while the melody of Leeds ' ' is
identical with that of St. Anne's in the ' Supplement,'
the modulation at the end of the third
strain is diff'erent.
LuAs Tune.
Ma. Denby.
The supposition, however, that ' Leeds ' was
originally in Barber's Psalm-book has been
disproved by the recent discovery of a copy of
an early edition of the collection, which from
the evidence of the preface appears to be either
the third or fourth, and to have been published
about 1696.' The title-page is unfortunately
missing. This volume, a smaller book than the
edition of 1715, contains but twelve hymn-tunes
arranged in two parts, and neither the tune in
question nor Denby's name occurs in it. Until,
therefore, an edition of Barber's Psalms is found,
containing 'Leeds,' and of earlier date than
1708, Denby must be regarded as merely the
author of a rearrangement of Croft's tune.
That some confusion existed respecting the
authorship may perhaps be inferred from the
fact that Dr. Miller, organist of Doncaster Parish
Church, in his 'Psalms of David,' 1790, gives
' St. Ann's, Dr. Croft ' on one page, and opposite
See Musi/Ml Times for 1900, p. 585, where the
tune is given in facsimile and Croft's authorship
discussed.
Of late years some doubt has been thrown on
the authorship of the tune from its having been
found in Abraham Barber's ' Book of Psahn
Tunes,' a Yorkshire collection, of which the
license bears date Feb. 14, 1687, when Croft was
but ten years of age. Here the tune appears
under the name of ' Leeds, ' and is ascribed to
'
Mr. Denby, ' whose name some editors of
hymnals have too hastily substituted for that of
Croft. The edition, however, of Barber's Psalms
which contains the tune is the seventh, dated
1715, or seven years after the publication of the
'
Supplement ' already mentioned. This edition
contains, besides times for Canticles, Psalms,
etc. , twenty-eight hymn-tunes arranged in four
parts, with the melody in the tenor. Of these
tunes three only have a composer's name prefixed,
and these three, which bearthenames of northern
to it 'Leeds, Denby,' in triple time and as a,
different tune. On the other hand, it may be
noticed that in another Yorkshire collection,
John and James Green's 'Collection of choice
Psalm Tunes' (Sheffield, 3rd ed., 1715), St.
Anne's tune is quoted under that name. G. A. c.
SAINT-AUBIN, JbanneCharlottbSchece-
DEE, a very remarkable opera-singer, born in
Paris, Deo. 9, 1764. She was daughter of a
theatrical manager, began to act as a mere
child, and, when only nine, charmed Louis XV.
by her precocious talent. In 1782 she married
Saint-Aubin, an actor in Mile. Montansier's
company, and in 1786 made her first appearance
at the Academic, in 'Colinette a la Oour,' but
perceiving that she was not qualified for so large
a stage, had the good sense to transfer herself
to the Comedie Italienne. There her expressive
face, graceful acting, and good singing, could
J The preface speaks
'
of former editions,' and odds—' since the
Fsalms in metre are this last year much refln'd as to the English
bv some good grave Divine Persons who hath only left out all the
old words and made the meter good English." The preface to the
seventh edition is a different one.