Samuel Wesley (1766-1837) was the son of the hymn-writer Charles Wesley and the nephew of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. He was one of the leading composers in late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century England, and the finest organist of his day. He was also a misfit and a rebel, renowned for his outspoken views, his frequently wild behavior, and his irregular personal life. His music has become increasingly well known in recent years, and these letters to his friends and fellow musicians, over 400 of which are gathered together here for the first time, present both a witty, perceptive, and unparalleled portrait of Wesley the man, and an insiders view of life in the music profession in London in the early nineteenth-century.
Hailed as a child prodigy and later acclaimed as England's finest extempore organist, Samuel Wesley - son of Charles Wesley and nephew of John Wesley, the founders of Methodism - is best known today for his musical compositions and for his promotion of the music of J. S. Bach. At the heart of this source book is a calendar of Samuel Wesley's correspondence. The editors date and summarise the content of over 1100 surviving letters and other documents, most of which have not previously been published. The book accordingly reveals considerable new information about Wesley and his complex personal affairs, including his incarceration for debt and his confinement in a lunatic asylum for a year. Many details are provided about London musical life in the era from Boyce to Mendelssohn that prior scholars have not taken into account. The book also presents a chronology of Wesley's life, a descriptive list of his nearly 550 musical and literary works, a discography, an iconography and a bibliography. It therefore is the most comprehensive available reference source for Wesley's life, times and music.
For the better part of two centuries, Wesley scholars have been given a picture of the family of John Wesley that focuses positively upon the relationships of John and his brother Charles and his mother Susanna. What has come down to us about John Wesley's father--Samuel Wesley, Sr.--is a mixture of good and bad character traits, mostly seemingly inconsequential with respect to the making of Methodism under John and Charles. Now with Arthur Torpy's work, we have reason to think differently. Samuel Wesley, Sr. was a complex person whose thoughts, actions, and convictions were based on his understanding and practice of his tradition, experience, scripture, and reasoning. The Prevenient Piety of Samuel Wesley, Sr. examines the life of Samuel Wesley, exploring the influences of his early Dissenting upbringing, his Oxford education, subsequent published writings, and post 1709 sermons.
The Life of Wesley was one of Southey’s most influential and bestselling works. It was the first biography of John Wesley – the major figure in the largest religious movement of the eighteenth century – to be published by anyone beyond the Methodist community. In addition, it was a major history of the rise of a phenomenon that Southey and many others saw as a defining sign of contemporary history – the rise of sectarianism and of religious cults. This two-volume edition will represent the full text of the 1820 edition. It will include a comprehensive critical apparatus that will make sense of the major issues posed by the text and how it contributes to studies of both Southey and Romanticism. The edition will feature a critical and contextual introduction, which will set out the origins and composition of the text together with its publication history, as well as offer a carefully considered view of the interplay between the Life and other biographies of Wesley and accounts of Methodism, bringing into view the wide array of sources and influences Southey drew from. It will also examine the book’s reception history, incorporating material from reviews of the period and detailing the controversy it caused in the Methodist community.
Charles Wesley’s Journal is crucial to an understanding of the beginnings of the Wesleyan/Methodist movement. As a primary record of one of the founders of the Wesleyan/Methodist movement, Charles Wesley’s Journal is crucial to an understanding of the beginnings of that movement. It is an indispensable interpretive companion to John Wesley’s Journal, diaries, and letters. Since it provides essential background to the context of Charles Wesley’s lyrical theology expressed in sacred poetry, it is likewise essential for anyone who wants to understand the context out of which Wesleyan theology, worship, spirituality, hymnody, and conferencing emerged. For a church or movement which avers that “it sings its theology,” Charles Wesley’s Journal is an imperative. This volume is part of a series dedicated to providing a complete and accurate published collection of Charles Wesley’s manuscript items beyond his sermons and verse. The various items in the series constitute crucial primary texts for studying Wesley’s life, his ministry, and his increasingly contentious position within Methodism in his later years. The first two volumes of the series were devoted to Charles Wesley’s Manuscript Journal, a single-bound item held at the Methodist Archives and Research Centre. The present volume gathers a number of scattered items (the majority also held at MARC), many of which are earlier—and more complete—drafts of material in the Manuscript Journal. The third major component of the series is the publication of all of Charles Wesley’s surviving personal correspondence, which is replete with material of biographical and larger historical interest. This second edition adds journal letters and records from December 1716–January 1717 (Accounts of “Old Jeffrey”) and May 12–June 14, 1746. Praise for the First Edition “It’s a great day in the life of a student of the Wesleys when we get a fresh volume of material scarcely known to previous generations. So it is with this collection of Charles Wesley’s journal letters from the period 1738–1756 and similar letters up to 1778 that describe his sons’ musical careers and in fact reveal a great deal about his life. This will be relished by all concerned with the heritage of the Wesleys, and we’re especially blessed to have it in a very well annotated critical edition.”—Ted A. Campbell, Professor of Church History, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX “The publication of Charles Wesley’s Journal Letters helps expand our knowledge of his life and ministry and enrich our understanding of the wider evangelical revival. This is an essential text for scholars of early Methodism edited by renowned experts in the field.” —Geordan Hammond, Senior Lecturer in Church History and Wesley Studies and Director of the Manchester Wesley Research Centre, Nazarene Theological College, Manchester, UK
