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Billings, William (b. Oct. 7, 1746, Boston— d. Sept. 26, 1800, Boston), foremost composer of the early American primitive style, whose works have become an integral part of the American folk tradition. A tanner by trade, he was self-taught in music and early declared his independence from all “rules” of composition. Among his friends were many prominent figures of the American Revolution, including Samuel Adams and Paul Revere.
Billings’ compositions include hymns, psalms, anthems, and fuging tunes (choral pieces beginning in chordal style, followed by melodic imitation). His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality, freshness, and straightforward harmonies. His fuging tunes, he announced, were “twenty times more powerful than the old slow tunes” and were marked by “each part striving for mastery and victory.” The emotions embodied in his music range from the exuberant glory of the anthem “The Lord is Risen Indeed” and the profound grief of the anthem “David’s Lamentation” to the buoyant humour of the secular song “Modern Music” and the austerity of the canon (round) “When Jesus Wept.”
Once criticized for never including dissonance in his music, he composed “Jargon,” a choral piece consisting entirely of dissonances, prefaced by a tongue in cheek dedication and hilarious performance directions. His patriotic hymn “Chester,” to his own inflammatory text, became the unofficial hymn of the American Revolution; and his lyrical hymn “The Rose of Sharon,” one of the most popular of early American hymns.
Billings was active as an itinerant singing master and was influential in furthering the singing school tradition of American folk culture. Many of his hymns and fuging tunes continue to be printed in the shape-note hymnals of the singing schools. (Shape notes, used in rural southern U.S. hymnbooks, show the pitch by their shape.) His six publications include The New-England Psalm-Singer (1770; engraved by Revere and the first collection entirely by an American composer); The Singing Master’s Assistant (1778; known as “Billings’ Best”); and The Continental Harmony (1794).
Billingsgate, oldest of London’s markets, is situated by the River Thames at the north end of London Bridge, under the monument that commemorates the scene of the outbreak of the Great Fire in September 1666. It takes its name from Belinsgate, where royal tolls were collected as early as 980. Since the 16th century it has been principally, a fish market, though most of the fish handled is now carried to and from the site by land. The word “Billingsgate” was popularly used to designate the alleged coarse vituperation of scolding fishwives.
Billingsley, William (1758—1828), British flower painter, whose decoration of porcelain vases at Derby near the end of the 18th century influenced other porcelain painters. He established his own factory at Nantgarw, Glamorgan, apparently employing a soft-porcelain formula received from Zachariah Bore- man, a noted landscape painter working at Derby.
