The Anacreontic Song


"The Anacreontic Song", also known by its incipit "To Anacreon in Heaven", was the official song of the Anacreontic Society, an 18th-century gentlemen's club of amateur musicians in London. Composed by John Stafford Smith, the tune was later used by several writers as a setting for their patriotic lyrics. These included two songs by Francis Scott Key, most famously his poem "Defence of Fort McHenry". The combination of Key's poem and Smith's composition became known as "The Star-Spangled Banner", which was adopted as the national anthem of the United States of America in 1931.

The Anacreontic Society

The Anacreontic Society was a gentlemen's club of the kind that was popular in London in the late eighteenth century. In existence from approximately 1766 to 1792, the Society was dedicated to the ancient Greek poet Anacreon, who was renowned for his drinking songs and odes to love. Its members, who consisted mainly of wealthy men of high social rank, would meet on Wednesday evenings to combine musical appreciation with eating and drinking.
The Society met twelve times a year. Each meeting began at half past seven with a lengthy concert, featuring "the best performers in London", who were made honorary members of the Society.
The Society came to an end after the Duchess of Devonshire attended one of its meetings. Because "some of the comic songs exactly calculated for the entertainment of ladies, the singers were restrained; which displeasing many of the members, they resigned one after another; and a general meeting being called, the society was dissolved". It is not clear exactly when this incident occurred, but in October 1792 it was reported that "The Anacreontic Society meets no more; it has long been struggling with symptoms of internal decay".

The original role of the Song

An early reference to the Anacreontic Song is found in the long-unpublished journals of gentleman-composer John Marsh. Writing of 11 December 1773, he recalls:
Another reference is found in the long-unpublished Recollections of Richard John Samuel Stevens. In this passage, Stevens is speaking of the year 1777:
Parke, writing in the early nineteenth century, recalls:
The Anacreontic Song served as the "constitutional song" of the Society. After the initial concert and meal, the Song would be sung in order to open the after-supper, more light-hearted part of proceedings. The verses, which are difficult to sing because of their wide range, would be sung by a solo singer, with the entire Society joining in the refrain. Although it is often described as a "drinking song", Lichtenwanger states that To Anacreon in Heaven "was not a barroom ballad, a drinking ditty to be chorused with glasses swung in rhythm", but "convivial,... in a special and stately way".

Composition and authorship

Words

Early publications of the song ascribe its lyrics to the Society's president, Ralph Tomlinson. Tomlinson was baptized in Plemstall, Cheshire, in 1744; by 1766 he was a lawyer working in London. Tomlinson likely became president of the Society following the death of the previous president, George Bellas, in January 1776. He died in March 1778 at the age of thirty-three.

Music

While many early publications of the Song attribute the words to Tomlinson, none name the creator of the music. The identity of the composer was a subject of controversy until the discovery, in the mid-twentieth century, of a passage in a then-unpublished manuscript of Recollections written by Richard John Samuel Stevens, a member of the Anacreontic Society. Writing of the year 1777, Stevens recalled:
In this passage, Stevens identified the composer as John Stafford Smith. Smith, the son of the organist of Gloucester Cathedral, was sent at a young age to sing in the Chapel Royal, and thereafter soon established himself in the capital. Like Stevens himself, Smith was a young professional musician active primarily in the chapels and churches of London. Smith was a published composer by 1772, subsequently winning two composition prizes from the London Catch Club in 1773. Both Smith and Stevens were likely among the "honorary members" of the Anacreontic Society who played in its concerts without having to pay the subscription fee; Smith is probably the "leader" identified by Marsh in his recollection of 1773 excerpted above.
Smith outlived both Ralph Tomlinson and the Anacreontic Society by several decades before dying in 1836. During his lifetime, the melody of the Song was set to other texts and became extremely popular. Despite this, Smith does not seem to have been eager to publicize the fact that he had composed the Song. The best evidence we have for a claim of authorship occurs in his Fifth Book of Canzonets, which included an arrangement of the Anacreontic Song with the ambiguous notation "harmonized by the Author".
It remains puzzling why Smith did not make more effort to associate himself with the Song. Until the discovery of Stevens's Recollections, there was some controversy over whether Smith was in fact the composer. However, no alternative story for the music's origins ever gained a consensus among historians. Lichtenwanger suggests that "erhaps Smith composed the song for Tomlinson for money, for a flat fee, which meant yielding his legal rights in it to Tomlinson or the Society".

Date

The date of the composition of the Song is uncertain. It cannot predate the foundation of the Anacreontic Society. Lichtenwanger suggests a composition date as late as 1776; but if the Marsh journal is accurate then the Song must have existed by December 1773. The age of John Stafford Smith may also be of interest; Smith was in his mid-teens in 1766, while by 1773 he was in his early twenties and a published, prize-winning composer.
DateEvent
17 August 1744Ralph Tomlinson baptised in Plemstall, Cheshire.
30 March 1750John Stafford Smith baptised in Gloucester Cathedral.
1761John Stafford Smith becomes a chorister at the Chapel Royal, London.
19 June 1766Ralph Tomlinson is admitted to the Society of Gentlemen Practisers in the Courts of Law and Equity, London.
1766Approximate date of the founding of the Anacreontic Society, by Jack Smith.
1773John Stafford Smith is awarded two composition prizes by the Catch Club of London.
11 December 1773John Marsh records that he attended a meeting of the Anacreontic Society at the London Coffee House. The Anacreontic Song was sung by Webster. "Mr Smith" leads the musicians.
15 January 1776Death of George Bellas. Latest possible date for Ralph Tomlinson to become President.
1777Latest possible date for the move from the London Coffee House to the Crown and Anchor tavern. This move took place under Ralph Tomlinson's presidency.
1777Stevens writes that he "regularly attended" the Society around this time. Tomlinson was President.
17 March 1778Death of Ralph Tomlinson.
1 August 1778Words of the Anacreontic Song published in The Vocal magazine. Attributed to "Ralph Tomlinson, Esq.".
March 1780Words of the Anacreontic Song published in The London Magazine. Attribute to "the late R. Tomlinson".
May 1780Anonymous "History of the Anacreontic Society" published in The Gentleman's Magazine. Includes the words of the song, attributed to "poor Ralph Tomlinson, their late President".
Some time between 1777 and 1781First Longman & Broderip edition of the Song with music and text published. Words attributed to "Ralph Tomlinson Esq. late President of that Society"; music unattributed. Refers to the Song as "Sung at the Crown And Anchor Tavern in the Strand".
1783First known dated publication of the music of the Song, in The Vocal Enchantress. Both words and music are unattributed.
1792Anacreontic Society "meets no more"
1799John Stafford Smith publishes his Fifth Book of Canzonets, with a possible oblique claim to authorship of the Song
21 September 1836Death of John Stafford Smith.

Publication

The lyrics of the song were published in The Vocal Magazine, 1778, attributed to "Ralph Tomlinson, Esq.". The music, along with the words, was published in The Vocal Enchantress, a collection published in 1783. There are also various undated publications of the music which likely date to the early 1780s. None of these publications name the composer of the music.
Particular interest attaches to the first Longman & Broderip edition of the music, published between 1777 and 1781. This was likely the first publication of the music and the official edition from which others were copied. Broderip, a partner at the firm, is known to have attended meetings of the Society.

Lyrics

The lyrics are "a good-natured takeoff on a bit of pseudoclassical mythology". The following is taken from the first Longman and Broderip edition:
;1
;2
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;4
;5
;6

The earlier version of the lyrics

In the first known version of the lyrics, as published in The Vocal magazine of 1778, there are two significant textual discrepancies from later publications.
The two replaced lines refer to the Society's earlier meeting-place at the London Coffee-House, which was situated on Ludgate Hill and seems to have occupied the same premises as Rowley and Leech, a wine merchant.

Music

The following melody is taken from the first Longman & Broderip edition:

\new Staff <<
\time 6/4
\key c \major
\partial 2
\relative c'
\addlyrics
>>
\layout
\midi

Subsequent history

The song, through its bawdy lyrics, gained popularity in London and elsewhere beyond the Anacreontic Society. New lyrics were also fashioned for it, including several patriotic titles in the United States. The most popular of these at the time was Robert Treat Paine Jr.'s "Adams and Liberty".

"The Star-Spangled Banner"

wrote "Defence of Fort McHenry" during the War of 1812, while detained on a British ship during the night of 13 September 1814, as the British forces bombarded the American fort. Key specifically wrote the lyrics with this familiar patriotic tune in mind, just as he had done with an earlier set of his lyrics, "When the Warrior Returns", in which he had made similar use of "star-spangled banner" imagery. Later retitled "The Star-Spangled Banner", Key's lyrics, set to Stafford Smith's music, became a well-known and recognized patriotic song throughout the United States, and was officially designated as the U.S. national anthem on 3 March 1931. The setting of new lyrics to an existing tune is called a contrafactum.

Lyrics

"The Star-Spangled Banner"