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John Wyeth (March 31, 1770 – January 23, 1858) was an American newspaper and book publisher. He published the Oracle of Dauphin newspaper in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, from 1792 to 1827 and several hymnal books including Wyeth's Repository of Sacred Music, Part Second which had a major impact on Shape note Song book in the Southern United States.
He established a book store and publishing house which published many books including History of the United States of America and Graydon's Memoirs. He discovered a market for tunebooks (with printed music) of sacred music at a time when "hymnal" referred to a book with words only. In 1810, he published Joseph Doll's Der leichte Unterricht in der Vokal Musik for the German-speaking market, and Wyeth’s Repository of Sacred Music, for moderate evangelical Christians. In 1813, he published a Second Part of the Repository of Sacred Music, containing songs for Methodists and Baptists. These works became extremely popular and sold over 150,000 copies.
Both versions of Wyeth's Repository of Sacred Music used the four-shape system of Little and Smith in The Easy Instructor to appeal to a wider audience. However, the inclusion of American folk tunes in Second Part strongly influenced subsequent folk hymn, camp meeting, and shape note collections. Musicologist Warren Steel sees Wyeth's Repository of Sacred Music, Part Second as marking "the end of the age of New England composer-compilers (1770–1810) and the beginning of the age of southern collector-compilers (1816–1860)."David Warren Steel, "John Wyeth and the Development of Southern Folk Hymnody", Music from the Middle Ages Through the 20th Century: Essays in Honor of Gwynn McPeek, Carmelo P. Comberiati and Matthew C. Steel, eds. (London: Gordon & Breach, 1988), pp. 357–374. Available on-line at
Although published in the north, Wyeth's Repository of Sacred Music, Part Second, had a profound influence on Southern shape-note song books. Of the 41 folk-hymns introduced here, 10 were used by Ananias Davisson in the Kentucky Harmony (1816), 20 by William Walker in the Southern Harmony (1835), and six in the Sacred Harp (1844).Recordings of one such anonymous folk tune, "Vienna" (p. 105 in Part Two) can be found on YouTube by searching for "Shenandoah Harmony 321b Vienna". The popular hymn, "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" was composed by Wyeth and was based on the tune Nettleton named for Reverend Asahel Nettleton.
One additional element of Part Second, the appearance of English hymns, such as the ten tunes attributed to Martin Madan, was part of an on-going trend in the northern states,Irving Lowens, "Introduction" to Wyeth's Repository of Sacred Music, Part Second Irving Lowens, ed. (New York: Da Capo Press, 1964), p. xiv. but ignored by Southern tunebook compilers, who increasingly turned to regional folk tunes as sources of inspiration.
In 1818 he published Choral Harmonie enthaltend Kirchen-Melodien for German Lutherans.
Wyeth did not have any formal musical training or attend one of the singing schools typical of the time. He attributed his success to liking church music; knowing the "taste" of teachers (but not studying under them); and owning a collection of books from which to cull. Musicologist Irving Lowens suggests that his motivations may have been strictly business.Irving Lowens, "Introduction" to Wyeth's Repository of Sacred Music, Irving Lowens, ed. (New York: Da Capo Press, 1974), p. vii. Ross Ellison mentions the shrewdness in discovering a newly emerging musical market (revival music and camp meeting songs) as the significance of Wyeth's contribution to American music."John Wyeth has earned a niche in the history of American music not because he was a musician, but rather because he was a shrewd enough publisher to recognize the cultural and musical forces at work in Pennsylvania..." Ross W. Ellison, "John Wyeth, Early American Tunebook Publisher", The American Music Teacher, Vol. 25, No. 1, (Sep 1, 1975), p. 22. Warren Steel qualifies this assessment by drawing attention to the fact that Wyeth grew up in the Boston-Cambridge area at a time when singing-schools were popular, and William Billings and others were creating American choral music.
He was a supporter of Harrisburg Academy and served as trustee and president.
His first wife was Louisa Weiss, together they had three children, but she died in 1822. He was remarried in 1826 to Lydia Allen. His son Louis Wyeth became a county judge of Marshall County, Alabama. After retiring, he moved to Philadelphia, where he died on January 23, 1858. He was interred at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.
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