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John Francis Wade

1711 - 1786 Person Name: John F. Wade, c. 1711-1786 Hymnal Number: 499 Author of "O Come, All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles)" in RitualSong John Francis Wade (b. England, c. 1711; d. Douay, France, 1786) is now generally recognized as both author and composer of the hymn "Adeste fideles," originally written in Latin in four stanzas. The earliest manuscript signed by Wade is dated about 1743. By the early nineteenth century, however, four additional stanzas had been added by other writers. A Roman Catholic, Wade apparently moved to France because of discrimination against Roman Catholics in eighteenth-century England—especially so after the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745. He taught music at an English college in Douay and hand copied and sold chant music for use in the chapels of wealthy families. Wade's copied manuscripts were published as Cantus Diversi pro Dominicis et Festis per annum (1751). Bert Polman

Godfrey Thring

1823 - 1903 Person Name: Godfrey Thring, 1823-1903 Hymnal Number: 626 Author (st. 2) of "Crown Him with Many Crowns" in RitualSong Godfrey Thring (b. Alford, Somersetshire, England, 1823; d. Shamley Green, Guilford, Surrey, England, 1903) was born in the parsonage of Alford, where his father was rector. Educated at Balliol College, Oxford, England, he was ordained a priest in the Church of England in 1847. After serving in several other parishes, Thring returned to Alford and Hornblotten in 1858 to succeed his father as rector, a position he retained until his own retirement in 1893. He was also associated with Wells Cathedral (1867-1893). After 1861 Thring wrote many hymns and published several hymnals, including Hymns Congregational (1866), Hymns and Sacred Lyrics (1874), and the respected A Church of England Hymn Book Adapted to the Daily Services of the Church Throughout the Year (1880), which was enlarged as The Church of England Hymn Book (1882). Bert Polman ================ Thring, Godfrey, B.A., son of the Rev. J. G. D. Thring, of Alford, Somerset, was born at Alford, March 25, 1823, and educated at Shrewsbury School, and at Balliol College, Oxford, B.A. in 1845. On taking Holy Orders he was curate of Stratfield-Turgis, 1846-50; of Strathfieldsaye, 1850-53; and of other parishes to 1858, when he became rector of Alford-with-Hornblotton, Somerset. R.D. 1867-76. In 1876 he was preferred as prebend of East Harptree in Wells cathedral. Prebendary Thring's poetical works are:— Hymns Congregational and Others, 1866; Hymns and Verses, 1866; and Hymns and Sacred Lyrics, 1874. In 1880 he published A Church of England Hymnbook Adapted to the Daily Services of the Church throughout the Year; and in 1882, a revised and much improved edition of the same as The Church of England Hymn Book, &c. A great many of Prebendary Thring's hymns are annotated under their respective first lines; the rest in common use include:— 1. Beneath the Church's hallowed shade. Consecration of a Burial Ground. Written in 1870. This is one of four hymns set to music by Dr. Dykes, and first published by Novello & Co., 1873. It was also included (but without music) in the author's Hymns & Sacred Lyrics, 1874, p. 170, and in his Collection, 1882. 2. Blessed Saviour, Thou hast taught us. Quinquagesima. Written in 1866, and first published in the author's Hymns Congregational and Others, 1866. It was republished in his Hymns & Sacred Lyrics, 1874; and his Collection, 1882. It is based upon the Epistle for Quinquagesima. 3. Blot out our sins of old. Lent. Written in 1862, and first published in Hymns Congregational and Others

William Kethe

? - 1594 Person Name: William Kethe, d. c. 1593 Hymnal Number: 849 Author of "All People That on Earth Do Dwell" in RitualSong William Kethe (b. Scotland [?], d. Dorset England, c. 1594). Although both the time and place of Kethe's birth and death are unknown, scholars think he was a Scotsman. A Protestant, he fled to the continent during Queen Mary's persecution in the late 1550s. He lived in Geneva for some time but traveled to Basel and Strasbourg to maintain contact with other English refugees. Kethe is thought to be one of the scholars who translated and published the English-language Geneva Bible (1560), a version favored over the King James Bible by the Pilgrim fathers. The twenty-five psalm versifications Kethe prepared for the Anglo-Genevan Psalter of 1561 were also adopted into the Scottish Psalter of 1565. His versification of Psalm 100 (All People that on Earth do Dwell) is the only one that found its way into modern psalmody. Bert Polman ======================== Kethe, William, is said by Thomas Warton in his History of English Poetry, and by John Strype in his Annals of the Reformation, to have been a Scotsman. Where he was born, or whether he held any preferment in England in the time of Edward VI., we have been unable to discover. In the Brieff discours off the troubles begonne at Franckford, 1575, he is mentioned as in exile at Frankfurt in 1555, at Geneva in 1557; as being sent on a mission to the exiles in Basel, Strassburg, &c, in 1558; and as returning with their answers to Geneva in 1559. Whether he was one of those left behind in 1559 to "finishe the bible, and the psalmes bothe in meeter and prose," does not appear. The Discours further mentions him as being with the Earl of Warwick and the Queen's forces at Newhaven [Havre] in 1563, and in the north in 1569. John Hutchins in his County history of Dorset, 1774, vol. ii. p. 316, says that he was instituted in 1561 as Rector of Childe Okeford, near Blandford. But as there were two Rectors and only one church, leave of absence might easily be extended. His connection with Okeford seems to have ceased by death or otherwise about 1593. The Rev. Sir Talbot H. B. Baker, Bart., of Ranston, Blandford, who very kindly made researches on the spot, has informed me that the Registers at Childe Okeford begin with 1652-53, that the copies kept in Blandford date only from 1732 (the earlier having probably perished in the great fire there in 1731), that no will can be found in the district Probate Court, and that no monument or tablet is now to be found at Childe Okeford. By a communication to me from the Diocesan Registrar of Bristol, it appears that in a book professing to contain a list of Presentations deposited in the Consistory Court, Kethe is said to have been presented in 1565 by Henry Capel, the Patron of Childe Okeford Inferior. In the 1813 edition of Hutchins, vol. iii. pp. 355-6, William Watkinson is said to have been presented to this moiety by Arthur Capel in 1593. Twenty-five Psalm versions by Kethe are included in the Anglo-Genevan Psalter of 1561, viz. Ps. 27, 36, 47, 54, 58, 62, 70, 85, 88, 90, 91, 94, 100, 101, 104, 107, 111, 112, 113, 122, 125, 126, 134, 138, 142,—the whole of which were adopted in the Scottish Psalter of 1564-65. Only nine, viz. Ps. 104, 107, 111, 112, 113, 122, 125, 126, 134, were included in the English Psalter of 1562; Ps. 100 being however added in 1565. Being mostly in peculiar metres, only one, Ps. 100, was transferred to the Scottish Psalter of 1650. The version of Ps. 104, "My soul, praise the Lord," is found, in a greatly altered form, in some modern hymnals. Warton calls him ”a Scotch divine, no unready rhymer," says he had seen a moralisation of some of Ovid by him, and also mentions verses by him prefixed to a pamphlet by Christopher Goodman, printed at Geneva in 1558; a version of Ps. 93 added to Knox's Appellation to the Scottish Bishops, also printed at Geneva in 1558; and an anti-papal ballad, "Tye the mare Tom-boy." A sermon he preached before the Sessions at Blandford on Jan. 17, 1571, was printed by John Daye in 1571 (preface dated Childe Okeford, Jan. 29,157?), and dedicated to Ambrose Earl of Warwick. [Rev James Mearns, M.A]. -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ==================== Kethe, William, p. 624, i., line 30. The version which Warton describes as of Psalm 93 is really of Psalm 94, and is that noted under Scottish Hymnody, p. 1022, ii., as the version of Psalms 94 by W. Kethe. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

John L. Bell

b. 1949 Hymnal Number: 385 Arranger of "[Kyrie eleison]" in RitualSong John Bell (b. 1949) was born in the Scottish town of Kilmarnock in Ayrshire, intending to be a music teacher when he felt the call to the ministry. But in frustration with his classes, he did volunteer work in a deprived neighborhood in London for a time and also served for two years as an associate pastor at the English Reformed Church in Amsterdam. After graduating he worked for five years as a youth pastor for the Church of Scotland, serving a large region that included about 500 churches. He then took a similar position with the Iona Community, and with his colleague Graham Maule, began to broaden the youth ministry to focus on renewal of the church’s worship. His approach soon turned to composing songs within the identifiable traditions of hymnody that began to address concerns missing from the current Scottish hymnal: "I discovered that seldom did our hymns represent the plight of poor people to God. There was nothing that dealt with unemployment, nothing that dealt with living in a multicultural society and feeling disenfranchised. There was nothing about child abuse…,that reflected concern for the developing world, nothing that helped see ourselves as brothers and sisters to those who are suffering from poverty or persecution." [from an interview in Reformed Worship (March 1993)] That concern not only led to writing many songs, but increasingly to introducing them internationally in many conferences, while also gathering songs from around the world. He was convener for the fourth edition of the Church of Scotland’s Church Hymnary (2005), a very different collection from the previous 1973 edition. His books, The Singing Thing and The Singing Thing Too, as well as the many collections of songs and worship resources produced by John Bell—some together with other members of the Iona Community’s “Wild Goose Resource Group,” —are available in North America from GIA Publications. Emily Brink

Gregory Murray

1905 - 1992 Person Name: A. Gregory Murray, OSB Hymnal Number: 398 Composer of "[Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia]" in RitualSong

Jacques Berthier

1923 - 1994 Hymnal Number: 401 Composer of "[Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia]" in RitualSong Jacques Berthier (b. Auxerre, Burgundy, June 27, 1923; d. June 27, 1994) A son of musical parents, Berthier studied music at the Ecole Cesar Franck in Paris. From 1961 until his death he served as organist at St. Ignace Church, Paris. Although his published works include numerous compositions for organ, voice, and instruments, Berthier is best known as the composer of service music for the Taizé community near Cluny, Burgundy. Influenced by the French liturgist and church musician Joseph Gelineau, Berthier began writing songs for equal voices in 1955 for the services of the then nascent community of twenty brothers at Taizé. As the Taizé community grew, Berthier continued to compose most of the mini-hymns, canons, and various associated instrumental arrangements, which are now universally known as the Taizé repertoire. In the past two decades this repertoire has become widely used in North American church music in both Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions. Bert Polman

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy

1809 - 1847 Person Name: Felix Mendelssohn, 1809-1847 Hymnal Number: 502 Composer of "MENDELSSOHN" in RitualSong Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (b. Hamburg, Germany, 1809; d. Leipzig, Germany, 1847) was the son of banker Abraham Mendelssohn and the grandson of philosopher Moses Mendelssohn. His Jewish family became Christian and took the Bartholdy name (name of the estate of Mendelssohn's uncle) when baptized into the Lutheran church. The children all received an excellent musical education. Mendelssohn had his first public performance at the age of nine and by the age of sixteen had written several symphonies. Profoundly influenced by J. S. Bach's music, he conducted a performance of the St. Matthew Passion in 1829 (at age 20!) – the first performance since Bach's death, thus reintroducing Bach to the world. Mendelssohn organized the Domchor in Berlin and founded the Leipzig Conservatory of Music in 1843. Traveling widely, he not only became familiar with various styles of music but also became well known himself in countries other than Germany, especially in England. He left a rich treasury of music: organ and piano works, overtures and incidental music, oratorios (including St. Paul or Elijah and choral works, and symphonies. He harmonized a number of hymn tunes himself, but hymnbook editors also arranged some of his other tunes into hymn tunes. Bert Polman

James R. Murray

1841 - 1905 Person Name: James R. Murray, 1841-1905 Hymnal Number: 515 Composer of "MUELLER" in RitualSong L.P.M. (1905, April 12). Obituary. New Church Messenger, p.209. Murray.--At Cincinnati, March 10, 1905, James Ramsey Murray. Funeral services in the Church of the New Jersualem, March 13th. James R. Murray was widely known in the musical world as the author of many songs and song books, and in the New Church in Chicago and Cincinnati as an affectionate, intelligent, and loyal New Churchman. He was born in Andover (Ballard Vale), Mass., March 17, 1841. In early life he developed musical talent, and composed many minor pieces for local and special occasions. Later at North Reading, Mass., he attended Dr. George F. Root's School of Music, and was associated with William Bradbury and Dr. Lowell Mason. He enlisted in the Fourteenth Regiment of infantry, commonly known as the Essex County Regiment, and afterwards was changed to the First Regiment, Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, which was engaged in most of the battles fought by the Second Army Corps up to the surrender of General Lee. "Daisy Deane," the first and most popular of his early song successes, was composed in 1863 in Virginia while in camp, words by his cousin, Thomas F. Winthrop. This song is known all over the world, and the Salvation Army is using an arrangement of it for one of their war cry songs. In 1868 Mr. Murray married Isabella Maria Taylor of Andover; and they removed to Chicago. Here three children were born to them, two passing early to their heavenly home, the youngest, Winthrop Root Murray, is still living. It was during these first years in Chicago that Mr. and Mrs. Murray became interested in the New Church, while he was engaged with Root and Cady as editor of the Long Visitor, afterwards merged with the Musical Visitor. After the great fire of 1871 Mr. and Mrs. Murray returned East, where he was engaged in teaching in Lawrence and Andover, and as organist at the Old South Church in Andover. In 1881 they removed to Cincinnati and Mr. Murray became the editor of the Musical Viistor [sic] and head of the publication department of the John Church Company. Among the most popular of his books are "Pure Diamonds," "Royal Gems," "The Prize" and "Murray's Sacred Songs." The following titles will recall some of his best loved sacred songs: "At Last," "Calm on the Listening Ear of Night," "I Shall Be Satisfied," "There Shall No Evil Befall Thee," "Thine, O Lord, Is the Greatness," "The Way Was Mine," "How Beautiful Upon the Mountains," "Angels from the Realms of Glory." His last great labor in the publishing department of the John Church Company was the seeing through the press five volumes of Wagner's music dramas, with full score and original German text, and an English translation. The immense and careful labor involved in the preparation of these volumes, with a really smooth and excellent English translation, had perhaps, as it was done under pressure, something to do with Mr. Murray's breakdown. Although for some reason Mr. Murray's name does not appear on the title page of these volumes, his friends knew of the place the work held in his affections and ambition. Mr. Murray was a member of the Church Council of the Cincinnati Society for the last four years and took a deep interest in the building of the New Church, and in the inauguration of services, with all the changes looking to the improvement of the musical part of the service. The vested choir, organized by Mr. and Mrs. Lawson, which Mr. Murray as councilman had urged from the beginning, in their entrance to the church each Sunday singing the processional hymn participated in the funeral service, with a congregation of brethren and friends, all moved by deep love and profound respect for the consistent life and faith of a worthy Churchman and beloved friend. --DNAH Archives =================================== For a discussion of Murray and the tune MUELLER, see: Stulken, M.K. (1981). Hymnal companion to the Lutheran Book of Worship. Philadelphia : Fortress Press, p.170. =================================== Also available in the DNAH Archives: 1. An excerpt from Christie, George A. (1927). New Free Church. In Music in Andover. Papers read at "Fagot Party" of the Andover Natural History Society. 2. Unsourced essay about Murray written soon after his death, likely from Andover, Mass., perhaps authored by Charlotte Helen Abbott.

Johann Sebastian Bach

1685 - 1750 Person Name: J. S. Bach, 1685-1750 Hymnal Number: 529 Harmonizer of "SALZBURG" in RitualSong Johann Sebastian Bach was born at Eisenach into a musical family and in a town steeped in Reformation history, he received early musical training from his father and older brother, and elementary education in the classical school Luther had earlier attended. Throughout his life he made extraordinary efforts to learn from other musicians. At 15 he walked to Lüneburg to work as a chorister and study at the convent school of St. Michael. From there he walked 30 miles to Hamburg to hear Johann Reinken, and 60 miles to Celle to become familiar with French composition and performance traditions. Once he obtained a month's leave from his job to hear Buxtehude, but stayed nearly four months. He arranged compositions from Vivaldi and other Italian masters. His own compositions spanned almost every musical form then known (Opera was the notable exception). In his own time, Bach was highly regarded as organist and teacher, his compositions being circulated as models of contrapuntal technique. Four of his children achieved careers as composers; Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, and Chopin are only a few of the best known of the musicians that confessed a major debt to Bach's work in their own musical development. Mendelssohn began re-introducing Bach's music into the concert repertoire, where it has come to attract admiration and even veneration for its own sake. After 20 years of successful work in several posts, Bach became cantor of the Thomas-schule in Leipzig, and remained there for the remaining 27 years of his life, concentrating on church music for the Lutheran service: over 200 cantatas, four passion settings, a Mass, and hundreds of chorale settings, harmonizations, preludes, and arrangements. He edited the tunes for Schemelli's Musicalisches Gesangbuch, contributing 16 original tunes. His choral harmonizations remain a staple for studies of composition and harmony. Additional melodies from his works have been adapted as hymn tunes. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)