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Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy

1809 - 1847 Person Name: Felix Mendelsohn Scripture: Psalm 18:2 Harmonizer of "[Sing praise to God our rock]" in Chalice Hymnal 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

Jacques Berthier

1923 - 1994 Person Name: Jacques Berthier (1923-1994) Scripture: Psalm 18:2-3 Composer of "[You are my salvation; I trust in you]" in Ancient and Modern 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

J. Soaper

1743 - 1794 Scripture: Psalm 18:25-32 Composer of "[With the merciful Thou wilt show Thyself merciful]" in The Methodist Hymn-Book with Tunes

James T. Lightwood

1856 - 1944 Person Name: J. T. Lightwood Scripture: Psalm 18:35 Composer of "[With the merciful Thou wilt show Thyself merciful]" in The Methodist Hymn-Book with Tunes Born: 1856, Leeds, England. Died: 1944, Lytham, Lancashire, England. Son of Wesleyan minister Edward Lightwood, James was born and baptized while his father was on the Leeds Brunswick Circuit. He attended Kingswood School (1866-72), earned a BA from London University, and became Headmaster of Pembroke House, a private school in Lytham. He went on to serve for three years as a member of the Board of Improvement Commissioners in Lytham, on the Lytham Council for six years, and as Chairman of the Streets Committee for four years. His resolution to bring gas into Fairhaven was eventually carried by one vote. Apart from music, his other great love was cycling. He began cycling in 1874 on a "boneshaker." By 1885, he was a member of the Cyclists Touring Club (CTC), and soon gained prominence. He was Chief Consul for Lancashire, and a member of the Council of the CTC from 1887. Honorary life membership came in 1907 in recognition of his services to the club, and in particular with publication of the club’s route books and other writings. Music was his great love, though, and hymnody in particular. He was an accomplished organist, and after two years as deputy organist at the Drive Wesleyan Church, St. Annes, he was appointed Honorary Organist and Choirmaster in 1894. When the pressure of work due to his appointment as editor of the new Methodist publication The Choir and organizing the newly formed Music Department of the Methodist Publishing House, the trustees at Drive Church made him a grant of £20 to assist him in his research in hymnology. While advising Methodism on musical matters, he found the unique 1761 Snetzler organ for the New Room at Bristol. Lightwood’s works include: Hymn Tunes and Their Story (London: Charles H. Kelly, 1905) Charles Dickens and Music, 1912 Samuel Wesley, Musician: The Story of His Life Cyclists’ Touring Club: The Romance of 50 Years Cycling, 1928 The Music of the Methodist Hymn-Book (London: The Epworth Press, 1935) http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/l/i/g/lightwood_jt.htm

Claude Goudimel

1514 - 1572 Scripture: Psalm 18:1-3 Harmonizer of "GENEVA 124 (OLD 124th)" in Voices Together The music of Claude Goudimel (b. Besançon, France, c. 1505; d. Lyons, France, 1572) was first published in Paris, and by 1551 he was composing harmonizations for some Genevan psalm tunes-initially for use by both Roman Catholics and Protestants. He became a Calvinist in 1557 while living in the Huguenot community in Metz. When the complete Genevan Psalter with its unison melodies was published in 1562, Goudimel began to compose various polyphonic settings of all the Genevan tunes. He actually composed three complete harmonizations of the Genevan Psalter, usually with the tune in the tenor part: simple hymn-style settings (1564), slightly more complicated harmonizations (1565), and quite elaborate, motet-like settings (1565-1566). The various Goudimel settings became popular throughout Calvinist Europe, both for domestic singing and later for use as organ harmonizations in church. Goudimel was one of the victims of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of Huguenots, which occurred throughout France. Bert Polman