Oliver Holden

During the American Revolutionary War, he was a marine for a year (1782–1783) on the USS Deane, which returned to Boston with at least one British prize while he was in the crew.

[2] A carpenter and real estate dealer in his professional life, he also organized many music schools, and served as legislator and pastor.

[1] While working as a carpenter, Holden published The American Harmony (1793), a book of sacred music, mostly original, arranged in three and four parts.

He edited The Worcester Collection of Sacred Harmony (1797), a sixth edition, altered, revised, and corrected, with an appendix containing new psalm-tunes; it was printed upon movable types that had been procured from England in 1786, by Isaiah Thomas, of Worcester, and is the oldest music book that was thus printed.

This chorus was performed again by the Stoughton Musical Society in their concerts at the Chicago World's Exposition in 1893[7] His popular tune "Coronation", to Edward Perronet's hymn "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name", is said to be the earliest American hymn tune still in general use.