CROFT, WILLIAM

(baptized Dec. 30, 1678, Nether Ettington, Warwickshire, Eng.d. Aug. 14, 1727, Bath, Somerset), English organist and composer of church music in the Baroque style. Educated under John Blow, he was organist of St. Anne's, Soho (170012), of the Chapel Royal from 1707, and of Westminster Abbey from 1708. In 1700 he collaborated with Blow, Jeremiah Clarke, Francis Piggott, and John Barrett in a Choice Collection of Ayres for the Harpsichord or Spinnet. His Musica sacra (1724) contains 30 anthems and a setting of the Church of England burial service that is still in use. His occasional anthems, such as I Will Always Give Thanks (1704), contain some of his best writing. He also wrote incidental music and works for violin, voice, and harpsichord.