The New International Encyclopædia/Jackson, William

JACKSON, William (1730-1803). An English composer, born at Exeter. He was placed by his father under the care of the organist of Exeter Cathedral, and in 1748 went to London, where he studied under John Travers, organist of King's Chapel. Upon his return to Exeter he became a teacher and composer, and in 1777 organist and master of the choristers of the cathedral. He left two operas, The Lord of the Manor (1780) and The Metamorphosis (1783), besides many songs, sacred compositions, and concerted pieces, which were much admired in England. The Lord of the Manor was exceedingly popular for more than fifty years, and of his Church music the Service in F is still occasionally given. His Six Elegies for Three Voices Dr. Burney considered the best of his works. He published Thirty Letters on Various Subjects (1782), and The Four Ages, Together with Essays on Various Subjects (1798). He was also a landscape painter, and exhibited at the Royal Academy.