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Justin Morgan

1747 - 1798 Person Name: Justin Morgan, 1747-1798 Composer (attributed to) of "AMANDA" in The Cyber Hymnal Justin Morgan, born February 28, 1747, died March 22, 1798, was a New England composer, born in West Springfield, Massachusetts, and later resident in Vermont. He was also a horse breeder, and is perhaps best known as the owner of Figure, the sire of the Morgan Horse breed. See Wikipedia for more details.

Isaac Watts

1674 - 1748 Person Name: Watts Author of "Through every age, eternal God" in African Methodist Episcopal hymn and tune book Isaac Watts was the son of a schoolmaster, and was born in Southampton, July 17, 1674. He is said to have shown remarkable precocity in childhood, beginning the study of Latin, in his fourth year, and writing respectable verses at the age of seven. At the age of sixteen, he went to London to study in the Academy of the Rev. Thomas Rowe, an Independent minister. In 1698, he became assistant minister of the Independent Church, Berry St., London. In 1702, he became pastor. In 1712, he accepted an invitation to visit Sir Thomas Abney, at his residence of Abney Park, and at Sir Thomas' pressing request, made it his home for the remainder of his life. It was a residence most favourable for his health, and for the prosecution of his literary labours. He did not retire from ministerial duties, but preached as often as his delicate health would permit. The number of Watts' publications is very large. His collected works, first published in 1720, embrace sermons, treatises, poems and hymns. His "Horae Lyricae" was published in December, 1705. His "Hymns" appeared in July, 1707. The first hymn he is said to have composed for religious worship, is "Behold the glories of the Lamb," written at the age of twenty. It is as a writer of psalms and hymns that he is everywhere known. Some of his hymns were written to be sung after his sermons, giving expression to the meaning of the text upon which he had preached. Montgomery calls Watts "the greatest name among hymn-writers," and the honour can hardly be disputed. His published hymns number more than eight hundred. Watts died November 25, 1748, and was buried at Bunhill Fields. A monumental statue was erected in Southampton, his native place, and there is also a monument to his memory in the South Choir of Westminster Abbey. "Happy," says the great contemporary champion of Anglican orthodoxy, "will be that reader whose mind is disposed, by his verses or his prose, to imitate him in all but his non-conformity, to copy his benevolence to men, and his reverence to God." ("Memorials of Westminster Abbey," p. 325.) --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A., 1872. ================================= Watts, Isaac, D.D. The father of Dr. Watts was a respected Nonconformist, and at the birth of the child, and during its infancy, twice suffered imprisonment for his religious convictions. In his later years he kept a flourishing boarding school at Southampton. Isaac, the eldest of his nine children, was born in that town July 17, 1674. His taste for verse showed itself in early childhood. He was taught Greek, Latin, and Hebrew by Mr. Pinhorn, rector of All Saints, and headmaster of the Grammar School, in Southampton. The splendid promise of the boy induced a physician of the town and other friends to offer him an education at one of the Universities for eventual ordination in the Church of England: but this he refused; and entered a Nonconformist Academy at Stoke Newington in 1690, under the care of Mr. Thomas Rowe, the pastor of the Independent congregation at Girdlers' Hall. Of this congregation he became a member in 1693. Leaving the Academy at the age of twenty, he spent two years at home; and it was then that the bulk of the Hymns and Spiritual Songs (published 1707-9) were written, and sung from manuscripts in the Southampton Chapel. The hymn "Behold the glories of the Lamb" is said to have been the first he composed, and written as an attempt to raise the standard of praise. In answer to requests, others succeeded. The hymn "There is a land of pure delight" is said to have been suggested by the view across Southampton Water. The next six years of Watts's life were again spent at Stoke Newington, in the post of tutor to the son of an eminent Puritan, Sir John Hartopp; and to the intense study of these years must be traced the accumulation of the theological and philosophical materials which he published subsequently, and also the life-long enfeeblement of his constitution. Watts preached his first sermon when he was twenty-four years old. In the next three years he preached frequently; and in 1702 was ordained pastor of the eminent Independent congregation in Mark Lane, over which Caryl and Dr. John Owen had presided, and which numbered Mrs. Bendish, Cromwell's granddaughter, Charles Fleetwood, Charles Desborough, Sir John Hartopp, Lady Haversham, and other distinguished Independents among its members. In this year he removed to the house of Mr. Hollis in the Minories. His health began to fail in the following year, and Mr. Samuel Price was appointed as his assistant in the ministry. In 1712 a fever shattered his constitution, and Mr. Price was then appointed co-pastor of the congregation which had in the meantime removed to a new chapel in Bury Street. It was at this period that he became the guest of Sir Thomas Abney, under whose roof, and after his death (1722) that of his widow, he remained for the rest of his suffering life; residing for the longer portion of these thirty-six years principally at the beautiful country seat of Theobalds in Herts, and for the last thirteen years at Stoke Newington. His degree of D.D. was bestowed on him in 1728, unsolicited, by the University of Edinburgh. His infirmities increased on him up to the peaceful close of his sufferings, Nov. 25, 1748. He was buried in the Puritan restingplace at Bunhill Fields, but a monument was erected to him in Westminster Abbey. His learning and piety, gentleness and largeness of heart have earned him the title of the Melanchthon of his day. Among his friends, churchmen like Bishop Gibson are ranked with Nonconformists such as Doddridge. His theological as well as philosophical fame was considerable. His Speculations on the Human Nature of the Logos, as a contribution to the great controversy on the Holy Trinity, brought on him a charge of Arian opinions. His work on The Improvement of the Mind, published in 1741, is eulogised by Johnson. His Logic was still a valued textbook at Oxford within living memory. The World to Come, published in 1745, was once a favourite devotional work, parts of it being translated into several languages. His Catechisms, Scripture History (1732), as well as The Divine and Moral Songs (1715), were the most popular text-books for religious education fifty years ago. The Hymns and Spiritual Songs were published in 1707-9, though written earlier. The Horae Lyricae, which contains hymns interspersed among the poems, appeared in 1706-9. Some hymns were also appended at the close of the several Sermons preached in London, published in 1721-24. The Psalms were published in 1719. The earliest life of Watts is that by his friend Dr. Gibbons. Johnson has included him in his Lives of the Poets; and Southey has echoed Johnson's warm eulogy. The most interesting modern life is Isaac Watts: his Life and Writings, by E. Paxton Hood. [Rev. H. Leigh Bennett, M.A.] A large mass of Dr. Watts's hymns and paraphrases of the Psalms have no personal history beyond the date of their publication. These we have grouped together here and shall preface the list with the books from which they are taken. (l) Horae Lyricae. Poems chiefly of the Lyric kind. In Three Books Sacred: i.To Devotion and Piety; ii. To Virtue, Honour, and Friendship; iii. To the Memory of the Dead. By I. Watts, 1706. Second edition, 1709. (2) Hymns and Spiritual Songs. In Three Books: i. Collected from the Scriptures; ii. Composed on Divine Subjects; iii. Prepared for the Lord's Supper. By I. Watts, 1707. This contained in Bk i. 78 hymns; Bk. ii. 110; Bk. iii. 22, and 12 doxologies. In the 2nd edition published in 1709, Bk. i. was increased to 150; Bk. ii. to 170; Bk. iii. to 25 and 15 doxologies. (3) Divine and Moral Songs for the Use of Children. By I. Watts, London, 1715. (4) The Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, And apply'd to the Christian State and Worship. By I. Watts. London: Printed by J. Clark, at the Bible and Crown in the Poultry, &c, 1719. (5) Sermons with hymns appended thereto, vol. i., 1721; ii., 1723; iii. 1727. In the 5th ed. of the Sermons the three volumes, in duodecimo, were reduced to two, in octavo. (6) Reliquiae Juveniles: Miscellaneous Thoughts in Prose and Verse, on Natural, Moral, and Divine Subjects; Written chiefly in Younger Years. By I. Watts, D.D., London, 1734. (7) Remnants of Time. London, 1736. 454 Hymns and Versions of the Psalms, in addition to the centos are all in common use at the present time. --Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ================================== Watts, I. , p. 1241, ii. Nearly 100 hymns, additional to those already annotated, are given in some minor hymn-books. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907) ================= Watts, I. , p. 1236, i. At the time of the publication of this Dictionary in 1892, every copy of the 1707 edition of Watts's Hymns and Spiritual Songs was supposed to have perished, and all notes thereon were based upon references which were found in magazines and old collections of hymns and versions of the Psalms. Recently three copies have been recovered, and by a careful examination of one of these we have been able to give some of the results in the revision of pp. 1-1597, and the rest we now subjoin. i. Hymns in the 1709 ed. of Hymns and Spiritual Songs which previously appeared in the 1707 edition of the same book, but are not so noted in the 1st ed. of this Dictionary:— On pp. 1237, L-1239, ii., Nos. 18, 33, 42, 43, 47, 48, 60, 56, 58, 59, 63, 75, 82, 83, 84, 85, 93, 96, 99, 102, 104, 105, 113, 115, 116, 123, 124, 134, 137, 139, 146, 147, 148, 149, 162, 166, 174, 180, 181, 182, 188, 190, 192, 193, 194, 195, 197, 200, 202. ii. Versions of the Psalms in his Psalms of David, 1719, which previously appeared in his Hymns and Spiritual Songs, 1707:— On pp. 1239, U.-1241, i., Nos. 241, 288, 304, 313, 314, 317, 410, 441. iii. Additional not noted in the revision:— 1. My soul, how lovely is the place; p. 1240, ii. 332. This version of Ps. lxiv. first appeared in the 1707 edition of Hymns & Spiritual Songs, as "Ye saints, how lovely is the place." 2. Shine, mighty God, on Britain shine; p. 1055, ii. In the 1707 edition of Hymns & Spiritual Songs, Bk. i., No. 35, and again in his Psalms of David, 1719. 3. Sing to the Lord with [cheerful] joyful voice, p. 1059, ii. This version of Ps. c. is No. 43 in the Hymns & Spiritual Songs, 1707, Bk. i., from which it passed into the Ps. of David, 1719. A careful collation of the earliest editions of Watts's Horae Lyricae shows that Nos. 1, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, p. 1237, i., are in the 1706 ed., and that the rest were added in 1709. Of the remaining hymns, Nos. 91 appeared in his Sermons, vol. ii., 1723, and No. 196 in Sermons, vol. i., 1721. No. 199 was added after Watts's death. It must be noted also that the original title of what is usually known as Divine and Moral Songs was Divine Songs only. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907) =========== See also in: Hymn Writers of the Church

William B. Bradbury

1816 - 1868 Person Name: W. B. Bradbury Composer of "ZEPHYR" in African Methodist Episcopal hymn and tune book William Bachelder Bradbury USA 1816-1868. Born at York, ME, he was raised on his father's farm, with rainy days spent in a shoe-shop, the custom in those days. He loved music and spent spare hours practicing any music he could find. In 1830 the family moved to Boston, where he first saw and heard an organ and piano, and other instruments. He became an organist at 15. He attended Dr. Lowell Mason's singing classes, and later sang in the Bowdoin Street church choir. Dr. Mason became a good friend. He made $100/yr playing the organ, and was still in Dr. Mason's choir. Dr. Mason gave him a chance to teach singing in Machias, ME, which he accepted. He returned to Boston the following year to marry Adra Esther Fessenden in 1838, then relocated to Saint John, New Brunswick. Where his efforts were not much appreciated, so he returned to Boston. He was offered charge of music and organ at the First Baptist Church of Brooklyn. That led to similar work at the Baptist Tabernacle, New York City, where he also started a singing class. That started singing schools in various parts of the city, and eventually resulted in music festivals, held at the Broadway Tabernacle, a prominent city event. He conducted a 1000 children choir there, which resulted in music being taught as regular study in public schools of the city. He began writing music and publishing it. In 1847 he went with his wife to Europe to study with some of the music masters in London and also Germany. He attended Mendelssohn funeral while there. He went to Switzerland before returning to the states, and upon returning, commenced teaching, conducting conventions, composing, and editing music books. In 1851, with his brother, Edward, he began manufacturring Bradbury pianos, which became popular. Also, he had a small office in one of his warehouses in New York and often went there to spend time in private devotions. As a professor, he edited 59 books of sacred and secular music, much of which he wrote. He attended the Presbyterian church in Bloomfield, NJ, for many years later in life. He contracted tuberculosis the last two years of his life. John Perry

Joseph Haydn

1732 - 1809 Person Name: F. J. Haydn Composer of "HURSLEY" in The Christian Hymnal Franz Joseph Haydn (b. Rohrau, Austria, 1732; d. Vienna, Austria, 1809) Haydn's life was relatively uneventful, but his artistic legacy was truly astounding. He began his musical career as a choirboy in St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna, spent some years in that city making a precarious living as a music teacher and composer, and then served as music director for the Esterhazy family from 1761 to 1790. Haydn became a most productive and widely respected composer of symphonies, chamber music, and piano sonatas. In his retirement years he took two extended tours to England, which resulted in his "London" symphonies and (because of G. F. Handel's influence) in oratorios. Haydn's church music includes six great Masses and a few original hymn tunes. Hymnal editors have also arranged hymn tunes from various themes in Haydn's music. Bert Polman

Jan Hus

1369 - 1415 Person Name: John Huss Composer of "HAGUE" in The American Vocalist [John Huss] Jan Hus was born in Bohemia (part of the region, along with Moravia, we now call the Czech Republic), ca. 1370. He studied philosophy and theology at Prague University. Though only regarded as an average student, he received an undergraduate degree in 1396 and a Masters in 1398. In 1402 he was ordained as a priest in the Catholic Church and became rector and priest at Bethlehem Chapel. Hus lived in a time of great political and religious upheaval and to fully understand the man and his circumstances, some background is necessary. Domestic political turmoil was emerging in Bohemia and in the early 1400s the Catholic Church was enmeshed in the Great Schism in which three rival popes vied for control of the church. The schism led to the formation of the Council of Constance (1414-1418). This Council would prove pivotal to the fate of Jan Hus. It could be said that the story of Hus actually began in Oxford, England. Although Hus never studied there, Oxford was the home of Hus' greatest human influence, Jon Wyclif. Wyclif died in 1384 but several Bohemians were students at Oxford in the late 1300s and, upon their return to Bohemia, they brought many of Wyclif's writings with them. These were soon translated into Czech. Hus himself translated some of Wyclif's work at the turn of the century. Needless to say, the Catholic Church despised Wyclif. In 1415, the aforementioned Council of Constance condemned Wyclif, ordered his writings to be burned, and directed his bones to be exhumed and cast out of the consecrated ground where he was buried. In 1428, under papal command, his remains were dug up, burned, and the ashes were thrown in a nearby stream! As the Wyclif movement waned in England, it found traction in Bohemia through the preaching of Hus. He became the chief exponent and defender of Wyclif at Prague University where he also was appointed dean of the faculty of Philosophy in 1402. Drawing large crowds, he became an extremely popular preacher among the common people and the aristocracy. Hus sought to reach the general populace with the word of God by preaching in Czech as well as Latin. Though not his intent, his Czech preaching stimulated an increasingly fervent nationalism. Hus' themes were staunchly anti-clergy. His reputation for unblemished purity stood in sharp contrast with the corruption and worldliness of the existing religious clergy, especially in Bohemia. He denounced evil and immorality in the church. He once wrote, "The church shines in its walls, but starves in its poor saints; it clothes its stones with gold, but leaves its children naked." He held that Christ, not Peter, was the foundation of the church, and he taught, like Wyclif, that popes were not inerrant but some had been heretics! One might describe Hus as Wyclif in action. In his premier work, De ecclesia, Hus followed Wyclif on several matters. He taught that the Roman pope and cardinals were not the church. He held that, "Not every priest is a saint, but every saint is a priest." E.H. Gillett summarized Hus' views on church organization: "In the early church there were but two grades of office, deacon and presbyter; all beside are of later and human invention. But God can bring back his church to the old pattern." In following Wyclif, Hus consistently elevated the Bible over church tradition and viewed it as the only binding principle in life. Even Wyclif's teachings were only accepted when Hus found them in agreement with scripture. These were dangerous ideas to hold in the early 15th century, especially in the cultural, religious, and political atmosphere of central Europe. In 1408, Wyclif's Czech translations came under scrutiny from the Catholic hierarchy. In 1409, the archbishop of Prague became openly antagonistic toward both Wyclif and Hus. By 1410, Pope Alexander V issued a papal bull ordering the surrender and burning of all of Wyclif's writings. Hus refused to relinquish his copies and the archbishop excommunicated him. Hus defied this order and continued preaching in Bethlehem Chapel. Despite receiving support from the nobility, pressure was mounting. Yet, Hus would not be deterred. In a letter to the Pope, Hus stated that he was bound to speak the truth and that he was ready to suffer a dreadful death, rather than declare something contrary to the will of Christ. That same year he antagonized the pope when he publicly denounced the selling of indulgencies in order to finance a crusade against the king of Naples. By 1412 Hus' preaching had alienated him from the archbishop, the university, and the clergy. At the advice of the king Hus withdrew from Prague. His popularity grew as he continued preaching in the fields, forests, and marketplaces of southern Bohemia. About this time he wrote that for one, "to cease from preaching, in obedience to the mandate of the pope or archbishop, would be to disobey God and imperil his own salvation." Czech sentiment remained with him, but Hus' writings and reputation began to draw negative attention across Europe. In 1414, the Council of Constance began. Sigismund (king of the Romans and heir to the throne of Bohemia) convinced Hus to appear before the Council and guaranteed his safe conduct to Constance and back. Hus could have remained in Bohemia under the protection of many loyal princes, but he was hoping his arguments would be heard and was willing to be convinced if proven wrong. It was his goal to confirm his beliefs with the truth. He once wrote, if anyone can "instruct me by the sacred Scriptures or by good reasoning I am willing to follow him. From the outset of my studies, I have made it a rule to joyfully and humbly recede from a former opinion when in any matter I perceive a more rational opinion." Hus would not get this opportunity at Constance. Almost immediately upon his arrival — despite the guarantee of safety — Hus was sent to prison on November 25, 1414. He was interrogated, abused, and fell ill. During his lengthy imprisonment, he was deprived of all books including the Bible. He was tried on several counts related to his embrace of Wyclif's writings. The Council repeatedly aligned Hus with the already regarded, though dead, heretic Wyclif. Among the final charges levied against him was that he defended Wyclif as a good Christian, salvation did not depend on the pope, and only God himself could excommunicate someone from the church. Several attempts were made to get Hus to recant. He refused them all. His final sentence came on July 6, 1415. At the sentencing, he was placed on a high stool in the middle of the church and sentenced to death. The chronicler of the events noted that they placed a hood over his head, with pictures of the devil and the word "heresiarch" (a leader of heretics), then committed his soul to the devil. Hus responded, "And I commit myself to the most gracious Lord Jesus." In a letter written the night before his sentencing, Hus prayed that if his death would contribute anything to God's glory, then he might be able to meet it without fear. Hands bound behind his back, Hus was chained to the stake. Wood and hay were piled up to his chin. Rosin was sprinkled on it. He was given one last chance to recant and be set free. Bravely, he refused and said, "I shall die with joy today in the faith of the gospel which I have preached." As they lit the flames around him he sang out twice, "Christ thou Son of the Living God, have mercy upon me." He died singing and praying. It is no wonder that historians refer to Wyclif and Hus as "pre-reformers." Luther was not directly influenced by Hus, and was unaware of his work when he began his own reform movement. But, as he learned of Hus he grew to admire him. Luther condemned the burning of Hus and wrote of him, "If such a man is to be regarded as a heretic, then no person under the sun can be looked upon as a true Christian." In the Prague library, there is a hymn to Hus' memory, dating from 1572, with three medallions pictured. On the first medallion is a picture of Wyclif striking sparks against a stone. The second shows Hus kindling fire from the sparks. And the third depicts Luther holding aloft a flaming torch. --lavistachurchofchrist.org/ (excerpts)

Henry K. Oliver

1800 - 1885 Person Name: H. K. Oliver Composer of "FEDERAL STREET" in The Y.M.C.A. Praise Book Henry Kemble Oliver (b. Beverly, MA, 1800; d. Salem, MA, 1885) was educated at Harvard and Dartmouth. He taught in the public schools of Salem (1818-1842) and was superintendent of the Atlantic Cotton Mills in Lawrence, Massachusetts (1848-1858). His civic service included being mayor of Lawrence (18591861) and Salem (1877-1880), state treasurer (1861-1865), and organizer of the Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics and Labor (1867-1873). Oliver was organist at several churches, including Park Street Congregational Church in Boston, North Church in Salem, and the Unitarian Church in Lawrence. A founder of the Mozart Association and several choral societies in Salem, he published his hymn tunes in Hymn and Psalm Tunes (1860) and Original Hymn Tunes (1875). Bert Polman

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