Gram, Hans

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Gram, Hans

Gram, Hans, Danish-born American organist, writer on music, and composer; b. Copenhagen, May 20, 1754; d. Boston, April 28, 1804. He studied philosophy at the Univ. of Copenhagen, and also had some training in music. About 1785 he went to America, and settled in Boston, where he became organist of the Brattle St. Church. He contributed various musical pieces to the Massachusetts Magazine, including a curious composition entitled The Death Song of an Indian Chief for Voice, 2 Clarinets, 2 Horns, and Strings, which was publ. in the March 1791 issue; it was apparently the first orch. score publ. in the U.S. He also wrote Sacred Lines for Thanks-giving Day (1793) and some other vocal works for the same magazine. He was a co-ed, of The Massachusetts Compiler (Boston, 1795), a rather progressive collection on Psalmody, which also contained a music dictionary.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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