Person Results

Switch back to the old search page.Advanced Search

Showing 1 - 9 of 9Results Per Page: 10 20 50

E. J. Hopkins

1818 - 1901 Person Name: Edward J. Hopkins Composer of "BENEDICTION" in The Pilgrim Hymnal Dr Edward John Hopkins MusDoc United Kingdom 1818-1901. Born at Westminster, England, the son of a clarinetist with the Royal Opera House orchestra, he became an organist (as did two of his brothers) and a composer. In 1826 he became a chorister of the Chapel Royal and sang at the coronation of King William IV in Westminster Abbey. He also sang in the choir of St. Paul’s Cathedral, a double schedule requiring skill and dexterity. On Sunday evenings he would play the outgoing voluntary at St. Martin’s in-the-field. He left Chapel Royal in 1834 and started studying organ construction at two organ factories. He took an appointment at Mitcham Church as organist at age 16, winning an audition against other organists. Four years later he became organist at the Church of St. Peter, Islington. In 1841 he became organist at St. Luke’s, Berwick St., Soho. Two Years later he was organist at Temple Church, which had a historic organ (built in 1683). He held this position for 55 years. In 1845 he married Sarah Lovett, and they had four sons and five daughters. He was closely associated with the Bach Society and was organist for the first English performances of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. In 1855 he collaborated with Edward Rimbault publishing “The organ, its history and construction” (3 editions 1855-70-77). In 1864 he was one of the founders of the “College of organists”. In 1882 he received an honorary Doctorate of Music from the Archbishop of Canterbury. He composed 30+ hymn tunes and some psalm chants, used by the Church of England. He died in London, England. John Perry

Joseph Barnby

1838 - 1896 Composer of "LONGWOOD" in The American Hymnal for Chapel Service Joseph Barnby (b. York, England, 1838; d. London, England, 1896) An accomplished and popular choral director in England, Barby showed his musical genius early: he was an organist and choirmaster at the age of twelve. He became organist at St. Andrews, Wells Street, London, where he developed an outstanding choral program (at times nicknamed "the Sunday Opera"). Barnby introduced annual performances of J. S. Bach's St. John Passion in St. Anne's, Soho, and directed the first performance in an English church of the St. Matthew Passion. He was also active in regional music festivals, conducted the Royal Choral Society, and composed and edited music (mainly for Novello and Company). In 1892 he was knighted by Queen Victoria. His compositions include many anthems and service music for the Anglican liturgy, as well as 246 hymn tunes (published posthumously in 1897). He edited four hymnals, including The Hymnary (1872) and The Congregational Sunday School Hymnal (1891), and coedited The Cathedral Psalter (1873). Bert Polman

John Bacchus Dykes

1823 - 1876 Person Name: Rev. J. B. Dykes Composer of "PAX DEI" in Isles of Shoals Hymn Book and Candle Light Service As a young child John Bacchus Dykes (b. Kingston-upon-Hull' England, 1823; d. Ticehurst, Sussex, England, 1876) took violin and piano lessons. At the age of ten he became the organist of St. John's in Hull, where his grandfather was vicar. After receiving a classics degree from St. Catherine College, Cambridge, England, he was ordained in the Church of England in 1847. In 1849 he became the precentor and choir director at Durham Cathedral, where he introduced reforms in the choir by insisting on consistent attendance, increasing rehearsals, and initiating music festivals. He served the parish of St. Oswald in Durham from 1862 until the year of his death. To the chagrin of his bishop, Dykes favored the high church practices associated with the Oxford Movement (choir robes, incense, and the like). A number of his three hundred hymn tunes are still respected as durable examples of Victorian hymnody. Most of his tunes were first published in Chope's Congregational Hymn and Tune Book (1857) and in early editions of the famous British hymnal, Hymns Ancient and Modern. Bert Polman

Orlando Gibbons

1583 - 1625 Person Name: Orlando Gibbons, 1583-1625 Composer of "SONG 22" in The Riverdale Hymn Book Orlando Gibbons (baptised 25 December 1583 – 5 June 1625) was an English composer, virginalist and organist of the late Tudor and early Jacobean periods. He was a leading composer in the England of his day. Gibbons was born in Cambridge and christened at Oxford the same year – thus appearing in Oxford church records. Between 1596 and 1598 he sang in the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, where his brother Edward Gibbons (1568–1650), eldest of the four sons of William Gibbons, was master of the choristers. The second brother Ellis Gibbons (1573–1603) was also a promising composer, but died young. Orlando entered the university in 1598 and achieved the degree of Bachelor of Music in 1606. James I appointed him a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal, where he served as an organist from at least 1615 until his death. In 1623 he became senior organist at the Chapel Royal, with Thomas Tomkins as junior organist. He also held positions as keyboard player in the privy chamber of the court of Prince Charles (later King Charles I), and organist at Westminster Abbey. He died at age 41 in Canterbury of apoplexy, and a monument to him was built in Canterbury Cathedral. A suspicion immediately arose that Gibbons had died of the plague, which was rife in England that year. Two physicians who had been present at his death were ordered to make a report, and performed an autopsy, the account of which survives in The National Archives: We whose names are here underwritten: having been called to give our counsels to Mr. Orlando Gibbons; in the time of his late and sudden sickness, which we found in the beginning lethargical, or a profound sleep; out of which, we could never recover him, neither by inward nor outward medicines, & then instantly he fell in most strong, & sharp convulsions; which did wring his mouth up to his ears, & his eyes were distorted, as though they would have been thrust out of his head & then suddenly he lost both speech, sight and hearing, & so grew apoplectical & lost the whole motion of every part of his body, & so died. Then here upon (his death being so sudden) rumours were cast out that he did die of the plague, whereupon we . . . caused his body to be searched by certain women that were sworn to deliver the truth, who did affirm that they never saw a fairer corpse. Yet notwithstanding we to give full satisfaction to all did cause the skull to be opened in our presence & we carefully viewed the body, which we found also to be very clean without any show or spot of any contagious matter. In the brain we found the whole & sole cause of his sickness namely a great admirable blackness & syderation in the outside of the brain. Within the brain (being opened) there did issue out abundance of water intermixed with blood & this we affirm to be the only cause of his sudden death. His death was a shock to peers and the suddenness of his passing drew comment more for the haste of his burial – and of its location at Canterbury rather than the body being returned to London. His wife, Elizabeth, died a little over a year later, aged in her mid-30s, leaving Orlando's eldest brother, Edward, to care for the children left orphans by this event. Of these children only the eldest son, Christopher Gibbons, went on to become a musician. One of the most versatile English composers of his time, Gibbons wrote a quantity of keyboard works, around thirty fantasias for viols, a number of madrigals (the best-known being "The Silver Swan"), and many popular verse anthems. His choral music is distinguished by his complete mastery of counterpoint, combined with his wonderful gift for melody. Perhaps his most well known verse anthem is This is the record of John, which sets an Advent text for solo countertenor or tenor, alternating with full chorus. The soloist is required to demonstrate considerable technical facility at points, and the work at once expresses the rhetorical force of the text, whilst never being demonstrative or bombastic. He also produced two major settings of Evensong, the Short Service and the Second Service. The former includes a beautifully expressive Nunc dimittis, while the latter is an extended composition, combining verse and full sections. Gibbons's full anthems include the expressive O Lord, in thy wrath, and the Ascension Day anthem O clap your hands together for eight voices. He contributed six pieces to the first printed collection of keyboard music in England, Parthenia (to which he was by far the youngest of the three contributors), published in about 1611. Gibbons's surviving keyboard output comprises some 45 pieces. The polyphonic fantasia and dance forms are the best represented genres. Gibbons's writing exhibits full mastery of three- and four-part counterpoint. Most of the fantasias are complex, multisectional pieces, treating multiple subjects imitatively. Gibbons's approach to melody in both fantasias and dances features a capability for almost limitless development of simple musical ideas, on display in works such as Pavane in D minor and Lord Salisbury's Pavan and Galliard. In the 20th century, the Canadian pianist Glenn Gould championed Gibbons's music, and named him as his favorite composer. Gould wrote of Gibbons's hymns and anthems: "ever since my teen-age years this music ... has moved me more deeply than any other sound experience I can think of." In one interview, Gould compared Gibbons to Beethoven and Webern: ...despite the requisite quota of scales and shakes in such half-hearted virtuoso vehicles as the Salisbury Galliard, one is never quite able to counter the impression of music of supreme beauty that lacks its ideal means of reproduction. Like Beethoven in his last quartets, or Webern at almost any time, Gibbons is an artist of such intractable commitment that, in the keyboard field, at least, his works work better in one's memory, or on paper, than they ever can through the intercession of a sounding-board. To this day, Gibbons's obit service is commemorated every year in King's College Chapel, Cambridge. --wikipedia.org

Thoro Harris

1874 - 1955 Composer of "[Thou Life within my life, than self more near]" in Songs of Summerland Born: March 31, 1874, Washington, DC. Died: March 27, 1955, Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Buried: International Order of Odd Fellows Cemetery, Eureka Springs, Arkansas. After attending college in Battle Creek, Michigan, Harris produced his first hymnal in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1902. He then moved to Chicago, Illinois at the invitation of Peter Bilhorn, and in 1932, to Eureka Springs, Arkansas. He composed and compiled a number of works, and was well known locally as he walked around with a canvas bag full of handbooks for sale. His works include: Light and Life Songs, with William Olmstead & William Kirkpatrick (Chicago, Illinois: S. K. J. Chesbro, 1904) Little Branches, with George J. Meyer & Howard E. Smith (Chicago, Illinois: Meyer & Brother, 1906) Best Temperance Songs (Chicago, Illinois: The Glad Tidings Publishing Company, 1913) (music editor) Hymns of Hope (Chicago, Illinois: Thoro Harris, undated, circa 1922) --www.hymntime.com/tch

Frederick C. Atkinson

1841 - 1896 Composer of "MORECAMBE" in Hymns of the Church Born: August 21, 1841, Norwich, Norfolk, England. Died: November 30, 1896, East Dereham, Norfolk, England. As a boy Atkinson was a chorister and assistant organist at Norwich Cathedral. In 1867 he graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree from Cambridge and then served as organist and choirmaster in St. Luke's Church, Manningham, Bradford. He also held that position at Norwich Cathedral and at St. Mary's Parish Church in Lewisham. Atkinson wrote hymn tunes, anthems, and complete Anglican services, as well as songs and piano pieces. Psalter Hymnal Handbook, 1988

Eliza Scudder

1821 - 1896 Author of "Thou Life within my life, than self more near" in Hymns of the Spirit for Use in the Free Churches of America Scudder, Eliza , niece of Dr. E. H. Sears, (q.v.), was born in Boston, U.S.A., Nov. 14,1821, and now (1888) lives in Salem, Massachusetts. Formerly an Unitarian, she some time ago joined the Protestant Episcopal Church. Her hymns in common use are:— 1. From past regret and present[faithlessness] feebleness . Repentance. In the Quiet Hours, Boston, 1875. 2. I cannot find Thee! Still on restless pinion . Seeking after God. Appeared in Longfellow and Johnson's Unitarian Hymns of the Spirit, 1864. 3. In Thee my powers and treasures live. Faith. 4. Life of our life, and light of all our seeing! Prayer. In the Boston Quiet Hours, 1875. 5. The day is done; the weary day of thought and toil is past. Evening. In Sermons and Songs of the Christian Life, by E. H. Sears, Boston, 2nd ed.,1878, p. 296, entitled "Vesper Hymn," and dated "October, 1874." This is possibly her finest hymn. 6. Thou grace divine, encircling all . Divine Grace. Appeared in Dr. E. H. Sears's Pictures of the Olden Time, as shown in the Fortunes of a Family of Pilgrims, 1857. It was written in 1852, and included in the Boston Hymns of the Spirit, 1864. It has sometimes been taken as "An Ancient Catholic Hymn" (Universalist's Psalms & Hymns 1865), but in error. 7. Thou long disowned, reviled, oppresst. The Spirit of Truth. In the Boston Hymns of the Spirit, 1864. Of these hymns, Nos. 2, 6, and 7 are in Dr. Martineau's Hymns, 1873. Some of Miss Scudder's poetical pieces appeared in Dr. Sears's Monthly Religious Magazine. Her Hymns and Sonnets, by E. S., were published by Lockwood, Brooks & Co., Boston, 1880. From this her hymn "Thou hast gone up again" (Ascension), is taken. [Rev. F. M. Bird, M.A.] -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ==================== Scudder, Eliza, pp. 1035, L, 1589, i. Miss Scudder died in 1896. Her Hymns & Sonnets, with biographical notes, &c, by Horace E. Scudder, was published by Houghton & Mifflin, 1897. In The Pilgrim Hymnal, 1904, the hymn," Thou Life within my life," begins with st. ii. of "From past regret and present [faithlessness] feebleness," p. 1035, i. 1), which was written in Feb. 1871. Another of Miss Scudder's hymns is “ Let whosoever will enquire" (New Heaven), from which "My God, I rather look to Thee," in Horder's Worship Song, 1905, is taken. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

Walter Eli Yoder

1889 - 1964 Person Name: Walter E. Yoder Arranger of "[Thou Life within my life]" in Junior Hymns

Robbins Battell

1819 - 1895 Composer of "BATTELL" in The Pilgrim Hymnal Robbins Battell, was born in Norfolk, Connecticut in 1819 and died there in 1895. He was the son of Joseph Battell, a wealthy merchant. He graduated from Yale in 1839 and was an adviser to Abraham Lincoln, and a benefactor to his town and Yale University. Battell was also a composer and art collector. Nancy Naber. Source: Historic Buildings of Connecticut

Export as CSV