John Garth

John Garth was an English composer of probable Durham origin, born around 1722 and died around 1810 in London; both dates and his place of death are given as approximate. His career falls within the eighteenth-century north-east of England, a region with a fairly active local musical tradition about which few detailed biographies survive.

During his time in County Durham he worked as organist at Sedgefield and took an active part in the musical life of the area. He was a friend of Charles Avison, whom he helped to publish fifty paraphrases of psalms by Benedetto Marcello, issued in London in 1757. This collaboration suggests a close relationship with Avison's circle, with which he shared an interest in certain uncommon genres.

The most distinctive part of his output is the accompanied keyboard sonata, a form almost exclusive to composers of the north-east of England, in which two violins, cello and harpsichord form a trio-type ensemble. His five sets of sonatas and voluntaries, all published in London, show a fluent and functional style of writing. The first set, Op. 2, achieved considerable circulation, with at least six editions between 1768 and 1790, and William Gardiner recalled it as a work that had impressed him in his youth. The sonatas usually have two movements and, although most are light pieces with modest aims, some stand out for their melody or for a contrapuntal elaboration that is unusual in his output.

His cello concertos, published in London in 1760, are notable because they were among the first of this type to be printed in England, and they show carefully shaped melody. His legacy survives chiefly as evidence of the domestic and drawing-room repertoire of eighteenth-century Britain.