Iacobus Leodiensis [Iacobus de Montibus, Iacobus de Oudenaerde]

Isaac ben Moses.

See Duran, Profiat.

Isaack [Isaac], Bartholomew

(bap. Windsor, 22 Sept 1661; bur. London, 9 Oct 1709). English singer, organist and composer. He was the son of William Isaack, sexton and later verger of St George's Chapel, Windsor. He was a choirboy in the Chapel Royal from at least 18 May 1674 to autumn 1676, when his voice broke and he was discharged. He was appointed organist of St John's College, Oxford, on 14 July 1682, and became a vicar-choral of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, in 1684. He joined the choir of St Patrick's Cathedral the following year, but was dismissed in 1687 for neglect; he enlisted the support of James II, claiming that he had become a Catholic, but to no avail. Nothing more is known of him for certain until 26 July 1705, when he was appointed organist of St Saviour, Southwark (now Southwark Cathedral), although he was probably the ‘Isaac’ who applied unsuccessfully for posts in other London churches in June 1702 and March 1705. He wrote some songs for the semi-opera The British Enchanters, put on in February 1706 at the Haymarket Theatre. On his death he was succeeded at St Saviour by his nephew William.

Isaack was a minor but competent follower of Purcell. His small surviving output consists of songs, anthems and Anglican chants, as well as a ground in A minor for three violins and continuo, closely modelled on Purcell's Three Parts upon a Ground z731. He was confused until recently with his brother William (1650–1703), a Windsor and Eton choirman who copied the huge collection of Restoration church music in the manuscript GB-Cfm Mu.117 as well as a number of scores of large-scale works by Blow and Purcell. Peter Isaack (d 1694), probably another brother, was a Chapel Royal choirboy who went on to obtain cathedral posts in Dublin (1672 and 1692) and Salisbury (1688). It is not known whether the Windsor Isaacks were related to the London dancer and dancing-master Mr Isaac.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

AshbeeR, i, v

BDA

BDECM

C.L. Day and E.B. Murrie: English Song-Books 1651–1702: a Bibliography (London, 1940)

B. Wood: ‘A Note on Two Cambridge Manuscripts and their Copyists’, ML, lvi (1975), 308–12

D. Dawe: Organists of the City of London 1666–1850 (Padstow, 1983)

P. Holman: ‘Bartholomew Isaack and “Mr Isaack” of Eton’, MT, cxxviii (1987), 381–5

W.H. Grindle: Irish Cathedral Music (Belfast, 1989)

H.W. Shaw: The Succession of Organists of the Chapel Royal and the Cathedrals of England and Wales from c.1538 (Oxford, 1991)

I. Spink: Restoration Cathedral Music (Oxford, 1995)

PETER HOLMAN

Isaaco, Isacchino.

See Massarano, Isacchino.

Isaacs, Gregory [Cool Ruler]

(b Kingston, Jamaica, 1951). Jamaican reggae singer and songwriter. He began his career as part of the Concordes, before making his first solo recording for Edward Seaga’s WIRL Records. In 1973 he formed his own labels Cash and Carry and African Museum but continued to record for producers such as Gussie Clarke, Niney the Observer, Alvin Ranglin, Phil Pratt, Bobby Digital and Stevie and Clevie. While the majority of Isaacs’ original material is in a romantic rock style, sung with his supple croon and studded with suggestively emetic groans, occasionally he has also recorded Rasta- and politically orientated material. His albums from the late 1970s are considered to be among reggae’s finest, particularly In Person (Trojan, 1975), Extra Classic (Conflict, 1977), Mr Isaacs (Cash and Carry, 1977) and Cool Ruler (Virgin, 1978). In 1980 he appeared in the film Rockers which was filmed in Kingston.

His first release for Island Records, Night Nurse (1982), became an international hit and as the 1980s progressed he continued to enjoy success, notably with Rumours, although his widely publicized problems with drugs were taking their toll on his voice. He continued to record with the digitally-produced rhythms of the 1990s but his previously mellifluous voice sounded cracked and gritty. Isaacs is best known as reggae’s most prolific and controversial figure; he has recorded over 300 albums and many singles and served a number of sentences in Jamaica’s General Penitentiary.

ROGER STEFFENS

Isaacs, Mark

(b London, 22 June 1958). Australian composer, pianist and conductor. After studies in classical music and jazz he was awarded the Don Banks Fellowship (1984) and went to the USA for further study. His CD Encounters was recorded in New York with jazz musicians Dave Holland and Roy Haynes on a subsequent trip in 1988 but was not issued until 1995. In 1994 Isaacs played the solo part in the first performance of Litany (1991) with the St Petersburg State SO. In 1996 he won a prize at the Tokyo International Competition for Chamber Music Composition, was awarded a two-year fellowship by the Australia Council and received the MMus from the Eastman School of Music. Isaacs has received commissions from the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Australia Ensemble, the Sydney String Quartet and the Sydney Metropolitan Opera Company, among others. He has conducted major orchestras in Australia and is the founder of Grace Recordings. While his classical works reflect his interest in jazz, his jazz compositions and performances reflect classical influences. His evocative works display a keen sense of lyricism.

WORKS

(selective list)

Op: Beach Dreaming, 1990

Orch: Reverie, pf, orch, 1972; 4 Glimpses, 1982; Moving Pictures, pf, orch, 1982; Ballade, 1985; Litany, pf, orch, 1991; Scherzo, small orch, 1995; Three Excursions, concert band, str, 1999

Chbr and solo inst: Interlude, fl, pf, 1976; Lamente, ob, pf, 1978; Fantasy, vn, pf, 1979; Ha Laitsun, 2 pf, 1981; Str Qt, 1984; So It Does, 6 pfmrs, 1985; Memoirs, perc, pf, 1986; Preludes, pf, 1986; Visitation, pf, 1986; Cantilena, b cl, pf, 1987, version for b cl, str, 1987; Piece, fl, str, 1987; Burlesque Miniatures, str qt, 1988; Variations, fl, cl, vc, 1988; Purple Prayer, jazz qt, str, 1989; Lyric Caprice, vc, pf, 1993; Threnody, vn, vc, 1993; Scherzo, wind qnt, 1998

Choral: I Am, 1984; The Burning Thread, 1997

Big band: Three to Go, 1974; Ballade, 1976; D’Urbeville House, 1976; Sad Girl, 1977

selected recordings

Originals (1981, BAT 2071); Preludes (1987, JHR 2003); For Sure (1993, ABC/EMI 4796102); Encounters (1995), ABC/Polygram 846 220); The Elements (1996, ABC/EMI 4798272); On Reflection (1998, Grace Recordings 002)

RUTH LEE MARTIN