Jenks, Stephen

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Jenks, Stephen

Jenks, Stephen, American composer and tune-book compiler; b. Glocester, R.I., March 17, 1772; d. Thompson, Ohio, June 5, 1856. He taught in New England and N.Y. State singing schools before settling in Ohio (1829), where he engaged in farming. A diligent advocate of American psalmody, he publ. 10 vols, of psalmody (1799–1818), which included 127 of his own works. Jenks was the leading composer of fuguing tunes of the 19th century.

Bibliography

D. Steel, S. J. (1772–1856): American Composer and Tunebook Compiler (diss., Univ. of Mich., 1982).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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