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Alfred Barratt

1879 - 1968 Person Name: Rev. Alfred Barratt Author of "Dark Silence of Night" in Songs for All Barratt, Alfred. (New Springs, Wigan, Lancashire, England, October 25, 1879--December, 1968). Coming to the United States as a young man, he studied at Gordon College, Massachusetts, and Newton Theological Seminary, Mass. He was ordained in December, 1913, by the Baptists in Connecticut, then by the Wheeling WV Presbytery, Presbyterian Church in the USA, in 1924. He was pastor of Dallas, West Virginia, then of a series of churches in the Presbytery of Clarion, Pennsylvania. In 1937 he was awarded the Doctor of Literature degree by Bob Jones College. On November 26, 1962, he wrote the undersigned: "For 39 long years I have labored hard and steady writing sermons, children's story sermons, and hymns. Up to the present day I have written 4,477 hymns. 80 percent of my sermons are published in books and magazines." --William J. Reynolds, DNAH Archives

Martin Junge

Translator (Spanish) of "For God alone" in Agape

Fred R. Anderson

b. 1941 Alterer of "My Soul in Silence Waits for God" in The Presbyterian Hymnal

Marty Haugen

b. 1950 Person Name: Marty Haugen, b. 1950 Harmonizer of "BEACH SPRING" in One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism Marty Haugen (b. 1950), is a prolific liturgical composer with many songs included in hymnals across the liturgical spectrum of North American hymnals and beyond, with many songs translated into different languages. He was raised in the American Lutheran Church, received a BA in psychology from Luther College, yet found his first position as a church musician in a Roman Catholic parish at a time when the Roman Catholic Church was undergoing profound liturgical and musical changes after Vatican II. Finding a vocation in that parish to provide accessible songs for worship, he continued to compose and to study, receiving an MA in pastoral studies at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul Minnesota. A number of liturgical settings were prepared for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and more than 400 of his compositions are available from several publishers, especially GIA Publications, who also produced some 30 recordings of his songs. He is composer-in-residence at Mayflower Community Congregational Church in Minneapolis and continues to compose and travel to speak and teach at worship events around the world. Emily Brink

Estelle White

b. 1925 Author of "As gentle as silence" in Anglican Hymns Old and New (Rev. and Enl.)

John R. Sweney

1837 - 1899 Person Name: Jno. R. Sweney Composer of "[“Eternity!—where?”]" in On Joyful Wing John R. Sweney (1837-1899) was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and exhibited musical abilities at an early age. At nineteen he was studying with a German music teacher, leading a choir and glee club, and performing at children’s entertainments. By twenty-two he was teaching at a school in Dover, Delaware. Soon thereafter, he was put in charge of the band of the Third Delaware Regiment of the Union Army for the duration of the Civil War. After the war, he became Professor of Music at the Pennsylvania Military Academy, and director of Sweney’s Cornet Band. He eventually earned Bachelor and Doctor of Music degrees at the Academy. Sweney began composing church music in 1871 and became well-known as a leader of large congregations. His appreciators stated “Sweney knows how to make a congregation sing” and “He had great power in arousing multitudes.” He also became director of music for a large Sunday school at the Bethany Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia of which John Wanamaker was superintendent (Wanamaker was the founder of the first major department store in Philadelphia). In addition to his prolific output of hymn melodies and other compositions, Sweney edited or co-edited about sixty song collections, many in collaboration with William J. Kirkpatrick. Sweney died on April 10, 1899, and his memorial was widely attended and included a eulogy by Wanamaker. Joe Hickerson from "Joe's Jottings #9" used by permission

John Henry Newman

1801 - 1890 Author of "'Twas night, still night, a solemn silence hung" Newman, John Henry , D.D. The hymnological side of Cardinal Newman's life and work is so small when compared with the causes which have ruled, and the events which have accompanied his life as a whole, that the barest outline of biographical facts and summary of poetical works comprise all that properly belongs to this work. Cardinal Newman was the eldest son of John Newman, and was born in London, Feb. 21, 1801. He was educated at Ealing under Dr. John Nicholas, and at Trinity College, Oxford, where he graduated in honours in 1820, and became a Fellow of Oriel in 1822. Taking Holy Orders in 1824, he was for a short time Vice-Principal of St. Alban's Hall, and then Tutor of Oriel. His appointment to St. Mary's, Oxford, was in the spring of 1828. In 1827 he was Public Examiner, and in 1830 one of the Select University Preachers. His association with Keble, Pusey, and others, in what is known as "The Oxford Movement," together with the periodical publication of the Tracts for the Times, are matters of history. It is well known how that Tract 90, entitled Bernards on Certain Passages in the Thirty-nine Articles, in 1841, was followed by his retirement to Littlemore; his formal recantation, in February, 1843, of all that he had said against Rome; his resignation in September of the same year of St. Mary's and Littlemore; and of his formal application to be received into the communion of the Church of Rome, Oct. 8, 1845. In 1848 he became Father Superior of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri, at Birmingham; in 1854 Rector of the newly founded Roman Catholic University at Dublin; and in 1858 he removed to the Edgbaston Oratory, Birmingham. In 1879 he was created a Cardinal, and thus received the highest dignity it is in the power of the Pope to bestow. Cardinal Newman's prose works are numerous, and his Parochial Sermons especially being very popular. His Apologia pro Vita Sua, 1864, is a lucid exposition and masterly defence of his life and work. Cardinal Newman's poetical work began with poems and lyrical pieces which he contributed to the British Magazine, in 1832-4 (with other pieces by Keble and others), under the title of Lyra Apostolica. In 1836 these poems were collected and published under the same title, and Greek letters were added to distinguish the authorship of each piece, his being δ. Only a few of his poems from this work have come into use as hymns. The most notable is, "Lead, kindly Light". His Tract for the Times, No. 75, On the Roman Breviary, 1836, contained translations of 14 Latin hymns. Of these 10 were repeated in his Verses on Religious Subjects, 1853, and his Verses on Various Occasions, 1865, and translations of 24 additional Latin hymns were added. Several of these translations are in common use, the most widely known being "Nunc Sancte nobis" ("Come, Holy Ghost, Who ever One"). His collection of Latin hymns from the Roman and Paris Breviaries, and other sources was published as Hymni Ecclesiae, in 1838, and again in 1865. His Dream of Gerontius, a poem from which his fine hymn, "Praise to the Holiest in the height," is taken, appeared in his Verses on Various Occasions, in 1868. Cardinal Newman's influence on hymnology has not been of a marked character. Two brilliant original pieces, and little more than half a dozen translations from the Latin, are all that can claim to rank with his inimitable prose. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ================= Newman, John Henry, p. 822, ii. He died at Edgbaston, Birmingham, Aug. 11, 1890. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907) ============== Newman, Card. J. H., pp. 802, ii.; 1581, ii. The following are also in use at the present time, but, except No. 13, almost exclusively in R. C. collections. The dates in brackets are those given in Newman's Verses, 1868; all thus marked were composed in the Birmingham Oratory at these dates:— i. In the Rambler, 1850. 1. In the far North our lot is cast. [S. Philip Neri.] (1850.) March, 1850, p. 250. In the Birmingham Oratory Hymn Book, 1857 and 1906, it begins, " On Northern coasts," and in the Parochial Hymn Book, 1880, with st. ii. " Founder and Sire! to mighty Rome." 2. The Angel-lights of Christmas morn. [Candlemas.] (1849.) March, 1850, p. 251. 3. There sat a Lady all on the ground. [B. V. M.] (1849.) May, 1850, p. 425. ii. Verses, 1853. 4. All is Divine which the Highest has made. [For an inclement May.] (1850.) 1853, p. 128. 5. Green are the leaves, and sweet the flowers. [May.] (1850.) 1853, p. 125. 6. My oldest friend, mine from the hour. [Guardian Angel] (1853.) 1853, p. 12. 7. The holy monks conceal'd from men. [S. Philip Neri.] (1850.) 1853, p. 134. 8. The one true Faith, the ancient Creed. [The Catholic Faith.] 1853, p. 140. 9. This is the saint of sweetness and compassion. [S. Philip Neri.] 1853, p. 136. Rewritten (1857) as "This is the saint of gentleness and kindness" in the Birmingham Oratory Hymn Book, 1857, No. 49. iii. Birmingham Oratory Hymn Book, 1857. 10. Help, Lord, the souls which Thou hast made. [The Faithful Departed.] (1857.) 1857, No. 76. iv. Birmingham Oratory H. Book, 1862. 11. I ask not for fortune, for silken attire. [S. Philip Neri.] (1857.) 1862, No. 54. 12. Thou champion high. [S. Michael.] (1862.) 1862, No. 41. v. Dream of Gerontius, 1866. 13. Firmly I believe and truly. [The Faith of a Christian.] 1866, p. 9; Verses, 1868, p. 318; The English Hymnal 1906. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907) ----- John Henry Newman was born in London, in 1801. He studied at Trinity College, Oxford, graduating B.A. in 1820, and was subsequently Fellow of Oriel College. In 1825, he became Vice Principal of S. Alban's Hall, and was Tutor of his college for several years. In 1828, he became incumbent of S. Mary's, Oxford, with the chaplaincy of Littlemore. In 1842, he went to preside over a Brotherhood he had established at Littlemore. He was the author of twenty-four of the "Tracts for the Times," amongst them the celebrated Tract No. 90, which brought censure upon its author. In 1845, he left the Church of England and entered the Church of Rome. He was appointed Father Superior of the Oratory of S. Philip Neri, at Birmingham, and in 1854, Rector of the new Roman Catholic University at Dublin, an office he filled till 1858. He has published a large number of works. --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872. ====================

Franz Schubert

1797 - 1828 Person Name: Franz P. Schubert, 1797-1858 Composer of "[Glory, glory to God in the highest]" in The Praise Book Franz Peter Schubert, 31 January 1797 – 19 November 1828) was an Austrian composer. In a short lifespan of just 31 years, Schubert was a prolific composer, writing some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies (including the famous "Unfinished Symphony"), liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music. Appreciation of Schubert's music during his lifetime was limited, but interest in his work increased significantly in the decades following his death. Franz Liszt, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms and Felix Mendelssohn, among others, discovered and championed his works in the 19th century. Today, Schubert is seen as one of the leading exponents of the early Romantic era in music and he remains one of the most frequently performed composers. Early life and education Schubert was born in Himmelpfortgrund (now a part of Alsergrund), Vienna, on 31 January 1797. His father, Franz Theodor Schubert, the son of a Moravian peasant, was a parish schoolmaster; his mother, Elisabeth Vietz, was the daughter of a Silesian master locksmith, and had also been a housemaid for a Viennese family prior to her marriage. Of Franz Theodor's fourteen children (one illegitimate child was born in 1783), nine died in infancy; five survived. Their father was a well-known teacher, and his school in Lichtental, a part of Vienna's 9th district, was well attended. He was not a musician of fame or with formal training, but he taught his son some elements of music. At the age of five, Schubert began receiving regular instruction from his father and a year later was enrolled at his father's school. His formal musical education also started around the same time. His father continued to teach him the basics of the violin, and his brother Ignaz gave him piano lessons. At the age of seven, Schubert began receiving lessons from Michael Holzer, the local church organist and choirmaster. Holzer's lessons seem to have mainly consisted of conversations and expressions of admiration and the boy gained more from his acquaintance with a friendly joiner's apprentice who used to take him to a neighboring pianoforte warehouse where he had the opportunity to practice on better instruments. He also played the viola in the family string quartet, with brothers Ferdinand and Ignaz on violin and his father on the cello. Schubert wrote many of his early string quartets for this ensemble. Schubert first came to the attention of Antonio Salieri, then Vienna's leading musical authority, in 1804, when his vocal talent was recognized. In October 1808, he became a pupil at the Stadtkonvikt (Imperial seminary) through a choir scholarship. At the Stadtkonvikt, Schubert was introduced to the overtures and symphonies of Mozart. His exposure to these pieces and various lighter compositions, combined with his occasional visits to the opera set the foundation for his greater musical knowledge. One important musical influence came from the songs of Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg, who was an important Lied composer of the time, which, his friend Joseph von Spaun reported, he "wanted to modernize". Schubert's friendship with Spaun began at the Stadtkonvikt and endured through his lifetime. In those early days, the more well-to-do Spaun furnished the impoverished Schubert with manuscript paper. Meanwhile, his genius began to show in his compositions. Schubert was occasionally permitted to lead the Stadtkonvikt's orchestra, and Salieri decided to begin training him privately in musical composition and theory in these years. It was the first germ of that amateur orchestra for which, in later years, many of his compositions were written. During the remainder of his stay at the Stadtkonvikt he wrote a good deal of chamber music, several songs, some miscellaneous pieces for the pianoforte and, among his more ambitious efforts, a Kyrie (D. 31) and Salve Regina (D. 27), an octet for wind instruments (D. 72/72a, said to commemorate the 1812 death of his mother), a cantata for guitar and male voices (D. 110, in honor of his father's birthday in 1813), and his first symphony (D. 82). At the end of 1813, he left the Stadtkonvikt, and returned home for studies at the Normalhauptschule to train as a teacher. In 1814, he entered his father's school as teacher of the youngest students. For over two years, the young man endured the drudgery of the work, which he performed with very indifferent success. There were, however, other interests to compensate. He continued to receive private lessons in composition from Salieri, who did more for Schubert’s musical training than any of his other teachers. Salieri and Schubert would part ways in 1817. In 1814, Schubert met a young soprano named Therese Grob, the daughter of a local silk manufacturer. Several of his songs (Salve Regina and Tantum Ergo) were composed for her voice, and she also performed in the premiere of his first Mass (D. 105) in September 1814. Schubert intended to marry Grob, but was hindered by the harsh marriage consent law of 1815, which required the ability to show the means to support a family. In November 1816, after failing to gain a position at Laibach, Schubert sent Grob's brother Heinrich a collection of songs, which were retained by her family into the 20th century. One of Schubert's most prolific years was 1815. He composed over 20,000 bars of music, more than half of which was for orchestra, including nine church works, a symphony, and about 140 Lieder. In that year, he was also introduced to Anselm Hüttenbrenner and Franz von Schober, who would become his lifelong friends. Another friend, Johann Mayrhofer, was introduced to him by Spaun in 1814. Maynard Solomon suggested that Schubert was erotically attracted to men, a thesis that has, at times, been heatedly debated. Musicologist and Schubert expert Rita Steblin claimed that he was "chasing women". Supported by friends Significant changes happened in 1816. Schober, a student of good family and some means, invited Schubert to room with him at his mother's house. The proposal was particularly opportune, for Schubert had just made the unsuccessful application for the post of Kapellmeister at Laibach, and he had also decided not to resume teaching duties at his father's school. By the end of the year, he became a guest in Schober's lodgings. For a time, he attempted to increase the household resources by giving music lessons, but they were soon abandoned, and he devoted himself to composition. "I compose every morning, and when one piece is done, I begin another." During this year, he focused on orchestral and choral works, although he also continued to write Lieder. Much of this work was unpublished, but manuscripts and copies circulated among friends and admirers. In early 1817, Schober introduced Schubert to Johann Michael Vogl, a prominent baritone twenty years Schubert's senior. Vogl, for whom Schubert went on to write a great many songs, became one of Schubert's main proponents in Viennese musical circles. He also met Joseph Hüttenbrenner (brother to Anselm), who also played a role in promoting Schubert's music. These, and an increasing circle of friends and musicians, became responsible for promoting, collecting, and, after his death, preserving his work. In late 1817, Schubert's father gained a new position at a school in Rossau (not far from Lichtental). Schubert rejoined his father and reluctantly took up teaching duties there. In early 1818, he was rejected for membership in the prestigious Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, something that might have furthered his musical career. However, he began to gain more notice in the press, and the first public performance of a secular work, an overture performed in February 1818, received praise from the press in Vienna and abroad. Schubert spent the summer of 1818 as music teacher to the family of Count Johann Karl Esterházy at their château in Zseliz (then in Hungary, now in Slovakia). His duties were relatively light (teaching piano and singing to the two daughters, Marie and Karoline), and the pay was relatively good. As a result, he happily continued to compose during this time. It may have been at this time that he wrote one of his now world-famous compositions, the Marche militaire No. 1 in D major. Marie and Karoline both being his piano students, and the original score of "Marche Militaire" being a piano duet, lend credence to this view. On his return from Zseliz, he took up residence with his friend Mayrhofer. The respite at Zseliz led to a succession of compositions for piano duet. During the early 1820s, Schubert was part of a close-knit circle of artists and students who had social gatherings together that became known as "Schubertiaden". The tight circle of friends with which Schubert surrounded himself was dealt a blow in early 1820. Schubert and four of his friends were arrested by the Austrian police, who (in the aftermath of the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars) were on their guard against revolutionary activities and suspicious of any gathering of youth or students. One of Schubert's friends, Johann Senn, was put on trial, imprisoned for over a year, and then permanently forbidden to enter Vienna. The other four, including Schubert, were "severely reprimanded", in part for "inveighing against [officials] with insulting and opprobrious language". While Schubert never saw Senn again, he did set some of his poems, "Selige Welt" and "Schwanengesang", to music. The incident may have played a role in a falling-out with Mayrhofer, with whom he was living at the time. He was nicknamed "Schwämmerl" by his friends, which Gibbs describes as translating to "Tubby" or "Little Mushroom". "Schwammerl" is Austrian (and other) dialect for mushroom; the umlaut makes it a diminutive. Musical maturity The compositions of 1819 and 1820 show a marked advance in development and maturity of style. The unfinished oratorio "Lazarus" (D. 689) was begun in February; later followed, amid a number of smaller works, by the 23rd Psalm (D. 706), the Gesang der Geister (D. 705/714), the Quartettsatz in C minor (D. 703), and the "Wanderer Fantasy" for piano (D. 760). Of most notable interest is the staging in 1820 of two of Schubert's operas: Die Zwillingsbrüder (D. 647) appeared at the Theater am Kärntnertor on 14 June, and Die Zauberharfe (D. 644) appeared at the Theater an der Wien on 21 August. Hitherto, his larger compositions (apart from his masses) had been restricted to the amateur orchestra at the Gundelhof, a society which grew out of the quartet-parties at his home. Now he began to assume a more prominent position, addressing a wider public. Publishers, however, remained distant, with Anton Diabelli hesitantly agreeing to print some of his works on commission. The first seven opus numbers (all songs) appeared on these terms; then the commission ceased, and he began to receive the meager pittances which were all that the great publishing houses ever paid him. The situation improved somewhat in March 1821 when Vogl sang "Der Erlkönig" at a concert that was extremely well received. That month, Schubert composed a variation on a waltz by Anton Diabelli (D. 718), being one of the fifty composers who contributed to Vaterländischer Künstlerverein. The production of the two operas turned Schubert's attention more firmly than ever in the direction of the stage, where, for a variety of reasons, he was almost completely unsuccessful. All in all, he produced seventeen stage works, each of them failures which were quickly forgotten. In 1822, Alfonso und Estrella was refused, partly owing to its libretto. Fierrabras (D. 796) was rejected in the fall of 1823, but this was largely due to the popularity of Rossini and the Italian operatic style, and the failure of Carl Maria von Weber's Euryanthe. Die Verschworenen (The Conspirators, D. 787) was prohibited by the censor (apparently on the grounds of its title), and Rosamunde (D. 797) was withdrawn after two nights, owing to the poor quality of the play for which Schubert had written incidental music. Of these works, the two former are written on a scale which would make their performances exceedingly difficult (Fierrabras, for instance, contains over 1,000 pages of manuscript score), but Die Verschworenen is a bright attractive comedy, and Rosamunde contains some of the most charming music that Schubert ever composed. In 1822, he made the acquaintance of both Weber and Beethoven, but little came of it in either case. Beethoven is said to have acknowledged the younger man's gifts on a few occasions, but some of this is likely legend and in any case he could not have known the real scope of Schubert's music – especially not the instrumental works – as so little of it was printed or performed in the composer's lifetime. On his deathbed, Beethoven is said to have looked into some of the younger man's works and exclaimed, "Truly, the spark of divine genius resides in this Schubert!" but what would have come of it if he had recovered we can never know. Last years and masterworks Despite his preoccupation with the stage, and later with his official duties, Schubert found time during these years for a significant amount of composition. He completed the Mass in A flat (fr) (D. 678) and, in 1822, embarked suddenly on a work which more decisively than almost any other in those years showed his maturing personal vision, the "Unfinished Symphony" in B minor. The reason he left it unfinished after two movements and sketches some way into a third remains an enigma, and it is also remarkable that he did not mention it to any of his friends even though, as Brian Newbould notes, he must have felt thrilled by what he was achieving. The event has been debated endlessly without resolution. In 1823 Schubert, in addition to Fierrabras, also wrote his first song cycle, Die schöne Müllerin (D. 795), setting poems by Wilhelm Müller. This series, together with the later cycle "Winterreise" (D. 911, also setting texts of Müller in 1827) is widely considered one of the pinnacles of Lieder. He also composed the song Du bist die Ruh ("You are stillness/peace") D. 776 during this year. Also in that year, symptoms of syphilis first appeared. In 1824, he wrote the variations for flute and piano on "Trockne Blumen", from the cycle Die schöne Müllerin, and several string quartets. He also wrote the Arpeggione Sonata (D. 821), at a time when there was a minor craze over that instrument. In the spring of that year he wrote the Octet in F (D. 803), "A Sketch for a Grand Symphony"; and in the summer went back to Zseliz. There he became attracted to Hungarian musical idiom, and wrote the Divertissement à la hongroise (D. 818) for piano duet and the String Quartet in A minor (D. 804). It has been said that he held a hopeless passion for his pupil, the Countess Karoline Eszterházy, but the only work he dedicated to her was his Fantasie in F minor (D. 940) for piano duet. The setbacks of previous years were compensated for by the prosperity and happiness of 1825. Publication had been moving more rapidly; the stress of poverty was for a time lightened; and in the summer he had a pleasant holiday in Upper Austria, where he was welcomed with enthusiasm. It was during this tour that he produced his "Songs from Sir Walter Scott". This cycle contains Ellens dritter Gesang (D. 839), a setting of Adam Storck's German translation of Scott's hymn from The Lady of the Lake, which is widely, though mistakenly, referred to as "Schubert's Ave Maria". It opens with the greeting Ave Maria, which recurs in the refrain; the entire Scott/Storck text in Schubert's song is frequently substituted with the complete Latin text of the traditional Ave Maria prayer. In 1825, Schubert also wrote the Piano Sonata in A minor (Op. 42, D. 845), and began the "Great" C major

Eleanor Daley

b. 1955 Composer of "[For God alone my soul awaits in silence]" in Voices United

Robert Jackson

1840 - 1914 Arranger of "TRENTHAM" in Worship in Song After receiving his musical training at the Royal Academy of Music, Robert Jackson (b, Oldham, Lancashire, England, 1840; d. Oldham, 1914) worked briefly as organist at St. Mark's Church, Grosvenor Square, in London. But he spent most of his life as organist at St. Peter's Church in Oldham (1868-1914), where his father had previously been organist for forty-eight years. A composer of hymn tunes, Jackson was also the conductor of the Oldham Music Society and Werneth Vocal Society. Bert Polman