Pastorale in G

Samuel Brenton Whitney (4 June 1842, Woodstock, Vermont – 3 August 1914, Brattleboro, Vermont) was an organist, conductor and composer. His compositions were primarily church music and chamber works.

He was a pupil of Charles Wels of New York and then John Knowles Paine of Cambridge, Massachusetts. He secured his first organ appointment in Cambridge. He came to be regarded as the greatest interpreter of Johann Sebastian Bach in the United States, and was appointed professor of organ playing and lecturer in music at the Boston University and the New England Conservatory. In 1871 he was appointed organist and choir director of the Church of the Advent, Boston. His compositions included many anthems and other church pieces, songs, pianoforte music, sonatas, transcriptions, and arrangements for the organ.

The "Pastorale in G" was published by Arthur P. Schmidt in 1880. It is dedicated: "To Mr. Wm. H. Clarke. I think this is part of the same opus that yesterday's "Grand Processional March" is from.

It is a much smaller and more intimate composition. I suppose you could correctly call it conservative and old-fashioned, but it is not without its charm.

It fits nicely into the "Summertime Dream" series.

The score is attached below, as well as photos of Samuel B. Whitney and the Church of the Advent, taken around the time Whitney was organist.