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John Chandler

1806 - 1876 Person Name: John Chandler, 1806-1876 Topics: Canticles and Scripture Paraphrases Alterer (translation) of "What star is this" in The Book of Praise John Chandler, one of the most successful translators of hymns, was born at Witley in Surrey, June 16, 1806. He was educated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, B.A. 1827, M.A. 1830. Ordained deacon in 1831 and priest in 1832, he succeeded his father as the patron and vicar of Whitley, in 1837. His first volume, entitled The Hymns of the Primitive Church, now first Collected, Translated and Arranged, 1837, contained 100 hymns, for the most part ancient, with a few additions from the Paris Breviary of 1736. Four years later, he republished this volume under the title of hymns of the Church, mostly primitive, collected, translated and arranged for public use, 1841. Other publications include a Life of William of Wykeham, 1842, and Horae sacrae: prayers and meditations from the writings of the divines of the Anglican Church, 1854, as well as numerous sermons and tracts. Chandler died at Putney on July 1, 1876. --The Hymnal 1940 Companion =============== Chandler, John, M.A.,one of the earliest and most successful of modern translators of Latin hymns, son of the Rev. John F. Chandler, was born at Witley, Godalming, Surrey, June 16, 1806, and educated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, where he graduated in 1827. He took Holy Orders in 1831, and became Vicar of Witley in 1837. He died at Putney, July 1, 1876. Besides numerous Sermons and Tracts, his prose works include Life of William of Wykeham, 1842; and Horae Sacrae; Prayers and Meditations from the writings of the Divines of the Anglican Church, with an Introduction, 1844. His translations, he says, arose out of his desire to see the ancient prayers of the Anglican Liturgy accompanied by hymns of a corresponding date of composition, and his inability to find these hymns until he says, "My attention was a short time ago directed to some translations [by Isaac Williams] which appeared from time to time in the British Magazine, very beautifully executed, of some hymns extracted from the Parisian Breviary,with originals annexed. Some, indeed, of the Sapphic and Alcaic and other Horatian metres, seem to be of little value; but the rest, of the peculiar hymn-metre, Dimeter Iambics, appear ancient, simple, striking, and devotional—in a word in every way likely to answer our purpose. So I got a copy of the Parisian Breviary [1736], and one or two other old books of Latin Hymns, especially one compiled by Georgius Cassander, printed at Cologne, in the year 1556, and regularly applied myself to the work of selection and translation. The result is the collection I now lay before the public." Preface, Hymns of the Primitive Church, viii., ix. This collection is:— (1) The Hymns of the Primitive Church, now first Collected, Translated, and Arranged, by the Rev. J. Chandler. London, John W. Parker, 1837. These translations were accompanied by the Latin texts. The trsanslations rearranged, with additional translations, original hymns by Chandler and a few taken from other sources, were republished as (2) The Hymns of the Church, mostly Primitive, Collected, Translated, and Arranged/or Public Use, by the Rev. J. Chandler, M.A. London, John W. Parker, 1841. From these works from 30 to 40 translations have come gradually into common use, some of which hold a foremost place in modern hymnals, "Alleluia, best and sweetest;" "Christ is our Corner Stone;" "On Jordan's bank the Baptist's cry;" "Jesus, our Hope, our hearts' Desire;" "Now, my soul, thy voice upraising;" "Once more the solemn season calls;" and, "O Jesu, Lord of heavenly grace;" being those which are most widely used. Although Chandler's translations are somewhat free, and, in a few instances, doctrinal difficulties are either evaded or softened down, yet their popularity is unquestionably greater than the translations of several others whose renderings are more massive in style and more literal in execution. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Lowell Mason

1792 - 1872 Topics: Holy Scriptures; Inspiration of Scriptures; Scriptures, The Holy Composer of "UXBRIDGE" in The Hymnal Dr. Lowell Mason (the degree was conferred by the University of New York) is justly called the father of American church music; and by his labors were founded the germinating principles of national musical intelligence and knowledge, which afforded a soil upon which all higher musical culture has been founded. To him we owe some of our best ideas in religious church music, elementary musical education, music in the schools, the popularization of classical chorus singing, and the art of teaching music upon the Inductive or Pestalozzian plan. More than that, we owe him no small share of the respect which the profession of music enjoys at the present time as contrasted with the contempt in which it was held a century or more ago. In fact, the entire art of music, as now understood and practiced in America, has derived advantage from the work of this great man. Lowell Mason was born in Medfield, Mass., January 8, 1792. From childhood he had manifested an intense love for music, and had devoted all his spare time and effort to improving himself according to such opportunities as were available to him. At the age of twenty he found himself filling a clerkship in a banking house in Savannah, Ga. Here he lost no opportunity of gratifying his passion for musical advancement, and was fortunate to meet for the first time a thoroughly qualified instructor, in the person of F. L. Abel. Applying his spare hours assiduously to the cultivation of the pursuit to which his passion inclined him, he soon acquired a proficiency that enabled him to enter the field of original composition, and his first work of this kind was embodied in the compilation of a collection of church music, which contained many of his own compositions. The manuscript was offered unavailingly to publishers in Philadelphia and in Boston. Fortunately for our musical advancement it finally secured the attention of the Boston Handel and Haydn Society, and by its committee was submitted to Dr. G. K. Jackson, the severest critic in Boston. Dr. Jackson approved most heartily of the work, and added a few of his own compositions to it. Thus enlarged, it was finally published in 1822 as The Handel and Haydn Society Collection of Church Music. Mason's name was omitted from the publication at his own request, which he thus explains, "I was then a bank officer in Savannah, and did not wish to be known as a musical man, as I had not the least thought of ever making music a profession." President Winchester, of the Handel and Haydn Society, sold the copyright for the young man. Mr. Mason went back to Savannah with probably $500 in his pocket as the preliminary result of his Boston visit. The book soon sprang into universal popularity, being at once adopted by the singing schools of New England, and through this means entering into the church choirs, to whom it opened up a higher field of harmonic beauty. Its career of success ran through some seventeen editions. On realizing this success, Mason determined to accept an invitation to come to Boston and enter upon a musical career. This was in 1826. He was made an honorary member of the Handel and Haydn Society, but declined to accept this, and entered the ranks as an active member. He had been invited to come to Boston by President Winchester and other musical friends and was guaranteed an income of $2,000 a year. He was also appointed, by the influence of these friends, director of music at the Hanover, Green, and Park Street churches, to alternate six months with each congregation. Finally he made a permanent arrangement with the Bowdoin Street Church, and gave up the guarantee, but again friendly influence stepped in and procured for him the position of teller at the American Bank. In 1827 Lowell Mason became president and conductor of the Handel and Haydn Society. It was the beginning of a career that was to win for him as has been already stated the title of "The Father of American Church Music." Although this may seem rather a bold claim it is not too much under the circumstances. Mr. Mason might have been in the average ranks of musicianship had he lived in Europe; in America he was well in advance of his surroundings. It was not too high praise (in spite of Mason's very simple style) when Dr. Jackson wrote of his song collection: "It is much the best book I have seen published in this country, and I do not hesitate to give it my most decided approbation," or that the great contrapuntist, Hauptmann, should say the harmonies of the tunes were dignified and churchlike and that the counterpoint was good, plain, singable and melodious. Charles C. Perkins gives a few of the reasons why Lowell Mason was the very man to lead American music as it then existed. He says, "First and foremost, he was not so very much superior to the members as to be unreasonably impatient at their shortcomings. Second, he was a born teacher, who, by hard work, had fitted himself to give instruction in singing. Third, he was one of themselves, a plain, self-made man, who could understand them and be understood of them." The personality of Dr. Mason was of great use to the art and appreciation of music in this country. He was of strong mind, dignified manners, sensitive, yet sweet and engaging. Prof. Horace Mann, one of the great educators of that day, said he would walk fifty miles to see and hear Mr. Mason teach if he could not otherwise have that advantage. Dr. Mason visited a number of the music schools in Europe, studied their methods, and incorporated the best things in his own work. He founded the Boston Academy of Music. The aim of this institution was to reach the masses and introduce music into the public schools. Dr. Mason resided in Boston from 1826 to 1851, when he removed to New York. Not only Boston benefited directly by this enthusiastic teacher's instruction, but he was constantly traveling to other societies in distant cities and helping their work. He had a notable class at North Reading, Mass., and he went in his later years as far as Rochester, where he trained a chorus of five hundred voices, many of them teachers, and some of them coming long distances to study under him. Before 1810 he had developed his idea of "Teachers' Conventions," and, as in these he had representatives from different states, he made musical missionaries for almost the entire country. He left behind him no less than fifty volumes of musical collections, instruction books, and manuals. As a composer of solid, enduring church music. Dr. Mason was one of the most successful this country has introduced. He was a deeply pious man, and was a communicant of the Presbyterian Church. Dr. Mason in 1817 married Miss Abigail Gregory, of Leesborough, Mass. The family consisted of four sons, Daniel Gregory, Lowell, William and Henry. The two former founded the publishing house of Mason Bros., dissolved by the death of the former in 1869. Lowell and Henry were the founders of the great organ manufacturer of Mason & Hamlin. Dr. William Mason was one of the most eminent musicians that America has yet produced. Dr. Lowell Mason died at "Silverspring," a beautiful residence on the side of Orange Mountain, New Jersey, August 11, 1872, bequeathing his great musical library, much of which had been collected abroad, to Yale College. --Hall, J. H. (c1914). Biography of Gospel Song and Hymn Writers. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company.

Henry Alford

1810 - 1871 Topics: liturgical Scripture Songs Author of "Come, Ye Thankful People, Come" Alford, Henry, D.D., son of the Rev. Henry Alford, Rector of Aston Sandford, b. at 25 Alfred Place, Bedford Row, London, Oct. 7, 1810, and educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating in honours, in 1832. In 1833 he was ordained to the Curacy of Ampton. Subsequently he held the Vicarage of Wymeswold, 1835-1853,--the Incumbency of Quebec Chapel, London, 1853-1857; and the Deanery of Canterbury, 1857 to his death, which took. place at Canterbury, Jan. 12, 1871. In addition he held several important appointments, including that of a Fellow of Trinity, and the Hulsean Lectureship, 1841-2. His literary labours extended to every department of literature, but his noblest undertaking was his edition of the Greek Testament, the result of 20 years' labour. His hymnological and poetical works, given below, were numerous, and included the compiling of collections, the composition of original hymns, and translations from other languages. As a hymn-writer he added little to his literary reputation. The rhythm of his hymns is musical, but the poetry is neither striking, nor the thought original. They are evangelical in their teaching, but somewhat cold and conventional. They vary greatly in merit, the most popular being "Come, ye thankful people, come," "In token that thou shalt not fear," and "Forward be our watchword." His collections, the Psalms and Hymns of 1844, and the Year of Praise, 1867, have not achieved a marked success. His poetical and hymnological works include— (1) Hymns in the Christian Observer and the Christian Guardian, 1830. (2) Poems and Poetical Fragments (no name), Cambridge, J. J. Deighton, 1833. (3) The School of the Heart, and other Poems, Cambridge, Pitt Press, 1835. (4) Hymns for the Sundays and Festivals throughout the Year, &c.,Lond., Longman ft Co., 1836. (5) Psalms and Hymns, adapted for the Sundays and Holidays throughout the year, &c, Lond., Rivington, 1844. (6) Poetical Works, 2 vols., Lond., Rivington, 1845. (7) Select Poetical Works, London, Rivington, 1851. (8) An American ed. of his Poems, Boston, Ticknor, Reed & Field, 1853(9) Passing away, and Life's Answer, poems in Macmillan's Magazine, 1863. (10) Evening Hexameters, in Good Words, 1864. (11) On Church Hymn Books, in the Contemporary Review, 1866. (12) Year of Praise, London, A. Strahan, 1867. (13) Poetical Works, 1868. (14) The Lord's Prayer, 1869. (15) Prose Hymns, 1844. (16) Abbot of Muchelnaye, 1841. (17) Hymns in British Magazine, 1832. (18) A translation of Cantemus cuncti, q.v. -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ================== Alford, Henry, p. 39, ii. The following additional hymns by Dean Alford are in common use:— 1. Herald in the wilderness. St. John Baptist. (1867.) 2. Let the Church of God rejoice. SS. Simon and Jude. (1844, but not in his Psalms & Hymns of that year.) 3. Not in anything we do. Sexagesima. (1867.) 4. O Thou at Whose divine command. Sexagesima. (1844.) 5. 0 why on death so bent? Lent. (1867.) 6. Of all the honours man may wear. St. Andrew's Day. (1867.) 7. Our year of grace is wearing to a close. Close of the Year. (1867.) 8. Saviour, Thy Father's promise send. Whit-sunday. (1844.) 9. Since we kept the Saviour's birth. 1st Sunday after Trinity. (1867.) 10. Thou that art the Father's Word. Epiphany. (1844.) 11. Thou who on that wondrous journey. Quinquagesima. (1867.) 12. Through Israel's coasts in times of old. 2nd Sunday after Epiphany. (1867.) 13. Thy blood, O Christ, hath made our peace. Circumcision . (1814.) 14. When in the Lord Jehovah's name. For Sunday Schools. (1844.) All these hymns are in Dean Alford's Year of Praise, 1867, and the dates are those of their earliest publication, so far as we have been able to trace the same. --Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

Frederick C. Atkinson

1841 - 1896 Topics: liturgical Scripture Songs Composer of "[Spirit of God, descend upon my heart]" in Voices United 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

James McGranahan

1840 - 1907 Topics: Scripture, Bible Composer of "[Sinners Jesus will receive]" in Church Hymns and Gospel Songs James McGranahan USA 1840-1907. Born at West Fallowfield, PA, uncle of Hugh McGranahan, and son of a farmer, he farmed during boyhood. Due to his love of music his father let him attend singing school, where he learned to play the bass viol. At age 19 he organized his first singing class and soon became a popular teacher in his area of the state. He became a noted musician and hymns composer. His father was reluctant to let him pursue this career, but he soon made enough money doing it that he was able to hire a replacement farmhand to help his father while he studied music. His father, a wise man, soon realized how his son was being used by God to win souls through his music. He entered the Normal Music School at Genesco, NY, under William B Bradbury in 1861-62. He met Miss Addie Vickery there. They married in 1863, and were very close to each other their whole marriage, but had no children. She was also a musician and hymnwriter in her own right. For a time he held a postmaster’s job in Rome, PA. In 1875 he worked for three years as a teacher and director at Dr. Root’s Normal Music Institute. He because well-known and successful as a result, and his work attracted much attention. He had a rare tenor voice, and was told he should train for the operatic stage. It was a dazzling prospect, but his friend, Philip Bliss, who had given his wondrous voice to the service of song for Christ for more than a decade, urged him to do the same. Preparing to go on a Christmas vacation with his wife, Bliss wrote McGranahan a letter about it, which McGranahan discussed with his friend Major Whittle. Those two met in person for the first time at Ashtubula, OH, both trying to retrieve the bodies of the Bliss’s, who died in a bridge-failed train wreck. Whittle thought upon meeting McGranahan, that here is the man Bliss has chosen to replace him in evangelism. The men returned to Chicago together and prayed about the matter. McGranahan gave up his post office job and the world gained a sweet gospel singer/composer as a result. McGranahan and his wife, and Major Whittle worked together for 11 years evangelizing in the U.S., Great Britain, and Ireland. They made two visits to the United Kingdom, in 1880 and 1883, the latter associated with Dwight Moody and Ira Sankey evangelistic work. McGranahan pioneered use of the male choir in gospel song. While holding meetings in Worcester, MA, he found himself with a choir of only male voices. Resourcefully, he quickly adapted the music to those voices and continued with the meetings. The music was powerful and started what is known as male choir and quartet music. Music he published included: “The choice”, “Harvest of song”, “Gospel Choir”,, “Gospel hymns #3,#4, #5, #6” (with Sankey and Stebbins), “Songs of the gospel”, and “Male chorus book”. The latter three were issued in England. In 1887 McGranahan’s health compelled him to give up active work in evangelism. He then built a beautiful home, Maplehurst, among friends at Kinsman, OH, and settled down to the composition of music, which would become an extension of his evangelistic work. Though his health limited his hours, of productivity, some of his best hymns were written during these days. McGranahan was a most lovable, gentle, modest, unassuming, gentleman, and a refined and cultured Christian. He loved good fellowship, and often treated guests to the most delightful social feast. He died of diabetes at Kinsman, OH, and went home to be with his Savior. John Perry

Clara H. Scott

1841 - 1897 Person Name: Clara Scott, 1841-97 Topics: The Church of Jesus Christ The Scriptures Author of "Open my eyes that I may see" in Complete Mission Praise Clara Harriett Fiske Jones Scott USA 1841-1897. Born at Elk Grove, IL, daughter of a farmer, the family moved to Chicago in 1856. Clara enrolled in the first Chicago Musical Institute, after founders, Chauncy M Cady and William Bradbury, opened it in 1858. Following her graduation from the program, she found employment at the new Lyons Girl’s Seminary (also founded in 1858) in Lyons, IA. While working there, she met Henry Clay Scott, who worked for Scott & Ovington Brothers wholesale crockery company. The two married in 1861 in McGregor, IA. They had two daughters, Medora and Mary. The family moved to Austin, IL, near Chicago in the 1870s. She become a composer, hymnwriter, and publisher. She was the first woman to publish a volume of anthems, ‘The Royal anthem book’ in 1882. Horatio Palmer, a friend, helped her publish her songs. She issued three collections of songs. In 1895 she and her husband, now an invalid, moved to Chicago. In 1897 she was returning to her friend’s house after attending a funeral in DuBuque, IA. She was driving a horse-drawn buggy with two friends, Martha Hay and D D Myers. The buggy’s hold-back strap snapped, spooking the horse, who raced forward, colliding with a coping stone, causing the buggy to roll. Clara and Martha were thrown out and both died instantly. The third lady, D D, was severly injured. Clara’s funeral was well-attended by music writers, teachers, professors, publishers, and friends. Two of her own compositions were sung by a quartet of close friends. She died at Dubuque, IA. John Perry

Jack W. Hayford

1934 - 2023 Person Name: Jack Hayford Topics: Choruses Scripture and Praise Author of "Majesty" in The Hymnal for Worship and Celebration

Robert Grant

1779 - 1838 Topics: Worship Holy Scriptures Author of "The starry firmament on high" in The Seventh-Day Adventist Hymn and Tune Book Robert Grant (b. Bengal, India, 1779; d. Dalpoorie, India, 1838) was influenced in writing this text by William Kethe’s paraphrase of Psalm 104 in the Anglo-Genevan Psalter (1561). Grant’s text was first published in Edward Bickersteth’s Christian Psalmody (1833) with several unauthorized alterations. In 1835 his original six-stanza text was published in Henry Elliott’s Psalm and Hymns (The original stanza 3 was omitted in Lift Up Your Hearts). Of Scottish ancestry, Grant was born in India, where his father was a director of the East India Company. He attended Magdalen College, Cambridge, and was called to the bar in 1807. He had a distinguished public career a Governor of Bombay and as a member of the British Parliament, where he sponsored a bill to remove civil restrictions on Jews. Grant was knighted in 1834. His hymn texts were published in the Christian Observer (1806-1815), in Elliot’s Psalms and Hymns (1835), and posthumously by his brother as Sacred Poems (1839). Bert Polman ======================== Grant, Sir Robert, second son of Mr. Charles Grant, sometime Member of Parliament for Inverness, and a Director of the East India Company, was born in 1785, and educated at Cambridge, where he graduated in 1806. Called to the English Bar in 1807, he became Member of Parliament for Inverness in 1826; a Privy Councillor in 1831; and Governor of Bombay, 1834. He died at Dapoorie, in Western India, July 9, 1838. As a hymnwriter of great merit he is well and favourably known. His hymns, "O worship the King"; "Saviour, when in dust to Thee"; and "When gathering clouds around I view," are widely used in all English-speaking countries. Some of those which are less known are marked by the same graceful versification and deep and tender feeling. The best of his hymns were contributed to the Christian Observer, 1806-1815, under the signature of "E—y, D. R."; and to Elliott's Psalms & Hymns, Brighton, 1835. In the Psalms & Hymns those which were taken from the Christian Observer were rewritten by the author. The year following his death his brother, Lord Glenelg, gathered 12 of his hymns and poems together, and published them as:— Sacred Poems. By the late Eight Hon. Sir Robert Grant. London, Saunders & Otley, Conduit Street, 1839. It was reprinted in 1844 and in 1868. This volume is accompanied by a short "Notice," dated "London, Juno 18, 1839." ===================== Grant, Sir R., p. 450, i. Other hymns are:— 1. From Olivet's sequester'd scats. Palm Sunday. 2. How deep the joy, Almighty Lord. Ps. lxxxiv. 3. Wherefore do the nations wage. Ps. ii. These are all from his posthumous sacred Poems, 1839. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

Keith Getty

b. 1974 Person Name: Keith Getty, b. 1974 Topics: The Holy Scriptures Author of "Speak, O Lord as we come to you" in Singing the Faith Keith Getty (b. December 16, 1974) is a world-renowned modern hymn writer. Keith developed a passion for writing good songs for the church in his twenties, and began writing for his small Baptist church. He writes and performs with his wife, Kristyn and they regularly tour the United States and the United Kingdom. (Also known as Julian Keith Getty) Laura de Jong

Stuart Townend

Person Name: Stuart Townend, b. 1963 Topics: The Holy Scriptures Author of "Speak, O Lord as we come to you" in Singing the Faith Stuart Townend (b. 1963) grew up in West Yorkshire, England, the youngest son of an Anglican vicar. He started learning piano at a young age, and began writing music at age 22. He has produced albums for Keith Routledge and Vinesong, among many others, and has also released eight solo albums to date. Some of his better-known songs include “How Deep the Father’s Love,” “The King of Love,” and “The Power of the Cross.” He continues to work closely with friends Keith and Kristyn Getty, and is currently a worship leader in Church of Christ the King in Brighton, where he lives with wife Caroline, and children Joseph, Emma and Eden. Laura de Jong