Walter, Thomas
Walter, Thomas
Walter, Thomas, American clergyman and tune-book compiler; b. Roxbury, Mass., Dec. 13, 1696; d. there, Jan. 10,1725. He was the son of a clergyman, and a nephew of Cotton Mather. He was educated at Harvard Coll. (M.A., 1713), and on Oct. 29, 1718 was ordained at the First Church of Roxbury; was asst. pastor to his father at Roxbury. With the aim of correcting what he described as “an horrid medley of confused and disorderly sounds” prevailing in the singing in New England churches, he publ. The Grounds and Rules of Musick Explained; or, an Introduction to the Art of Singing by Note; Fitted to the Meanest Capacities (Boston, 1721; 8 eds. up to 1764). It was the second singing book to be publ. in America, following that of John Tufts. He also publ. The Sweet Psalmist of Israel (1722).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire