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He was an author, hymn-writer and preacher born in Bond
Street, London, England. His father
was a Colonel and Member of Parliament, his mother was a poet, his brother
was a bishop and his cousin was the hymn-writer and poet William Cowper. He
studied at Chelsea, then Westminster School, and that was followed by his
entry into Christ Church, Oxford.
He was called to the bar at the Inner Temple in 1748 but after he
heard a sermon given by John Wesley he changed his lifestyle and took holy
orders. He took the position
of chaplain at the Lock Hospital in London and sometimes held the post of
itinerant preacher when he would speak in the Calvanistic Methodist style
that he had become closely connected to. A controversial figure in some circles he was looked
down upon for supporting Thomas Haweis in a legal situation that happened
in Aldwinkle, Northamptonshire, England and his publication Thelyoptera,
or a Treatise on Female Ruin caused a storm when he advocated polygamy
as a "remedy for the evils he deplored". After this scandal he resigned his post as chaplain and
moved to Epsom in retirement.
He would continue to write though, and in 1789 he published his A
New and Literal Translation of Juvenal and Persius. As a hymn-writer and regular adapter
of works by others, he wrote/re-wrote "Lo, He Comes With Clouds Descending",
"He Dies, The Heavenly Lover Dies" and "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" for
the second time after George Whitefield. He also published his Collection
of Hymns and Psalms in 1760, which appeared in thirteen editions over a
period of 34 years. Not
staying within the boundaries of religious music, his later life would see
him composing several sonatas that were published on two occasions in the
1780s. These were Six
Sonatas for a German Flute and Violin and A Sonata for the
Harpsichord or Pianoforte.
He died in Epsom in 1790 aged 74.
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing recordings
Black Dyke Mills Band
Chandos 4541 (CD: A Christmas Fantasy)
Boston Pops
Philips 416 287 - 2 (CD: We Wish You a Merry Christmas)
Conductor - John
Williams
DG 419 414-2 (CD: White Christmas)
Conductor - Arthur
Fiedler
RCA 09026-61685-2 (CD: Pops Christmas Party)
Conductor - Arthur
Fiedler
Sony SK 48232 (CD: Joy to the World)
Conductor - John Williams
Tanglewood Festival Chorus
Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra
Naxos 8.990005 (CD: Joy to the World)
Conductor - Richard Hayman
Rochester Pops Orchestra
Koch CHD 1531 (CD: Joy to the World - Carols for
Orchestra and Chorus)
St Louis Philharmonic
Orchestra
Sonari records - 7 55724 00272 3 (CD: Christmas with
the Philharmonic)
Conductor - Robert
Hart Baker
Sources:
- http://members.aol.com/EvertonP3/martinmadan.htm
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Madan
- http://www.igracemusic.com/hymnbook/authors/martin_madan.html
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