Background
William Boyce was born in 1710 in London, England, United Kingdom.
William Boyce was born in 1710 in London, England, United Kingdom.
As a chorister in St Paul's William Boyce received his early musical education from Charles King and Dr Maurice Greene, and he afterwards studied the theory of music under Dr Pepusch. In 1749 he received the degree of doctor of music from the university of Cambridge.
William Boyce's first professional appointment came in 1734 when he was employed as an organist at the Oxford Chapel. In 1755 he became one of the organists at the Chapel Royal in 1758.
By the year 1758 his deafness had increased to such an extent that he was unable to continue in his organist posts. He resolved to give up teaching and to retire to Kensington, and devote himself to editing the collection of church music which bears his name. He retired and worked on completing the compilation Cathedral Music that his teacher Greene had left incomplete at his death. This led to Boyce editing works by the likes of William Byrd and Henry Purcell.
William Boyce also wrote the masque Peleus and Thetis and songs for John Dryden's Secular Masque, incidental music for William Shakespeare's The Tempest, Cymbeline, Romeo and Juliet and The Winter's Tale, and a quantity of chamber music including a set of twelve trio sonatas. He also composed the British and Canadian Naval March "Heart of Oak".
A number of his pieces were rediscovered in the 1930s and Constant Lambert edited and sometimes conducted his works.