John Day

John Day (Dunwich, Suffolk, 1522 – Walden, Essex, 1584) was one of the most prosperous English printers of his generation, although his musical output came to almost entirely two works. His name is also linked to that of his son Richard Day, who went on to work with him and inherited part of his publishing privileges.

Day's most significant musical work was the psalter of Sternhold and Hopkins, the English version of the psalms with tunes. The Certaine Notes, probably compiled before 1553, were partly printed in 1560 and were not completed until 1565, under the title Mornyng and Evenyng Prayer. The Whole Booke of Psalmes appeared in 1562 under a monopoly granted by the Crown in 1559, which was renewed in 1567 and 1577; this last renewal included his son. Thanks to these privileges and to other monopolies, Day built a genuine printing empire, and by 1583 he was credited with four presses that had produced 36 different editions of the psalter. He became Master of the Stationers' Company in 1580.

His only foray into secular music was Songes for Three, Fower and Five Voyces (1571) by Thomas Whythorne, which proved a commercial failure. Whythorne blamed the failure on poor printing, but the general quality of Day's workshops makes that explanation doubtful. His music books are noted for clean, sharp printing, spacious layout and precise register.

Day had two shops in London, one in Aldersgate and another in St Paul's Churchyard. His legacy lies less in his small musical output than in the role he played in disseminating the English psalter, a repertoire that achieved enormous popularity.