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William Croft

1678 - 1727 Person Name: W. Croft (1678-1727) Composer of "[It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord]" in The American Hymnal for Chapel Service William Croft, Mus. Doc. was born in the year 1677 and received his musical education in the Chapel Royal, under Dr. Blow. In 1700 he was admitted a Gentleman Extraordinary of the Chapel Boyd; and in 1707, upon the decease of Jeremiah Clarke, he was appointed joint organist with his mentor, Dr. Blow. In 1709 he was elected organist of Westminster Abbey. This amiable man and excellent musician died in 1727, in the fiftieth year of his age. A very large number of Dr. Croft's compositions remain still in manuscript. Cathedral chants of the XVI, XVII & XVIII centuries, ed. by Edward F. Rimbault, London: D. Almaine & Co., 1844

John Goss

1800 - 1880 Person Name: J. Goss Composer of "[It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, And to sing praises unto Thy name, O most highest]" in Church Hymns and Tunes John Goss (b. Fareham, Hampshire, England, 1800; d. London, England, 1880). As a boy Goss was a chorister at the Chapel Royal and later sang in the opera chorus of the Covent Garden Theater. He was a professor of music at the Royal Academy of Music (1827-1874) and organist of St. Paul Cathedral, London (1838-1872); in both positions he exerted significant influence on the reform of British cathedral music. Goss published Parochial Psalmody (1826) and Chants, Ancient and Modern (1841); he edited William Mercer's Church Psalter and Hymn Book (1854). With James Turle he published a two-volume collection of anthems and Anglican service music (1854). Bert Polman

E. J. Hopkins

1818 - 1901 Person Name: Edward J. Hopkins Composer of "BONUM EST CONFITERI (Hopkins)" in The Hymnal Dr Edward John Hopkins MusDoc United Kingdom 1818-1901. Born at Westminster, England, the son of a clarinetist with the Royal Opera House orchestra, he became an organist (as did two of his brothers) and a composer. In 1826 he became a chorister of the Chapel Royal and sang at the coronation of King William IV in Westminster Abbey. He also sang in the choir of St. Paul’s Cathedral, a double schedule requiring skill and dexterity. On Sunday evenings he would play the outgoing voluntary at St. Martin’s in-the-field. He left Chapel Royal in 1834 and started studying organ construction at two organ factories. He took an appointment at Mitcham Church as organist at age 16, winning an audition against other organists. Four years later he became organist at the Church of St. Peter, Islington. In 1841 he became organist at St. Luke’s, Berwick St., Soho. Two Years later he was organist at Temple Church, which had a historic organ (built in 1683). He held this position for 55 years. In 1845 he married Sarah Lovett, and they had four sons and five daughters. He was closely associated with the Bach Society and was organist for the first English performances of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. In 1855 he collaborated with Edward Rimbault publishing “The organ, its history and construction” (3 editions 1855-70-77). In 1864 he was one of the founders of the “College of organists”. In 1882 he received an honorary Doctorate of Music from the Archbishop of Canterbury. He composed 30+ hymn tunes and some psalm chants, used by the Church of England. He died in London, England. John Perry

Thomas Tallis

1505 - 1585 Person Name: T. Tallis Composer (attributed to) of "[It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord]" in The Hymnal of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America 1940 Thomas Tallis (b. Leicestershire [?], England, c. 1505; d. Greenwich, Kent, England 1585) was one of the few Tudor musicians who served during the reigns of Henry VIII: Edward VI, Mary, and Elizabeth I and managed to remain in the good favor of both Catholic and Protestant monarchs. He was court organist and composer from 1543 until his death, composing music for Roman Catholic masses and Anglican liturgies (depending on the monarch). With William Byrd, Tallis also enjoyed a long-term monopoly on music printing. Prior to his court connections Tallis had served at Waltham Abbey and Canterbury Cathedral. He composed mostly church music, including Latin motets, English anthems, settings of the liturgy, magnificats, and two sets of lamentations. His most extensive contrapuntal work was the choral composition, "Spem in alium," a work in forty parts for eight five-voice choirs. He also provided nine modal psalm tunes for Matthew Parker's Psalter (c. 1561). Bert Polman

Anonymous

Person Name: Anon. Composer of "[It is a good thing to give thanks] Anon." in The Church Hymnal In some hymnals, the editors noted that a hymn's author is unknown to them, and so this artificial "person" entry is used to reflect that fact. Obviously, the hymns attributed to "Author Unknown" "Unknown" or "Anonymous" could have been written by many people over a span of many centuries.

Henry Thomas Smart

1813 - 1879 Person Name: Henry Smart Composer of "[It is a good thing to give thanks]" in The Hymnal, Revised and Enlarged, as adopted by the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America in the year of our Lord 1892 Henry Smart (b. Marylebone, London, England, 1813; d. Hampstead, London, 1879), a capable composer of church music who wrote some very fine hymn tunes (REGENT SQUARE, 354, is the best-known). Smart gave up a career in the legal profession for one in music. Although largely self taught, he became proficient in organ playing and composition, and he was a music teacher and critic. Organist in a number of London churches, including St. Luke's, Old Street (1844-1864), and St. Pancras (1864-1869), Smart was famous for his extemporizations and for his accompaniment of congregational singing. He became completely blind at the age of fifty-two, but his remarkable memory enabled him to continue playing the organ. Fascinated by organs as a youth, Smart designed organs for important places such as St. Andrew Hall in Glasgow and the Town Hall in Leeds. He composed an opera, oratorios, part-songs, some instrumental music, and many hymn tunes, as well as a large number of works for organ and choir. He edited the Choralebook (1858), the English Presbyterian Psalms and Hymns for Divine Worship (1867), and the Scottish Presbyterian Hymnal (1875). Some of his hymn tunes were first published in Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861). Bert Polman

Richard Farrant

1525 - 1580 Person Name: R. Farrant Composer of "[It is a good thing to give thanks]" in The Church Hymnal Like many composers of his day, the early years of Richard Farrant’s (c.1525- November 30, 1580) life are not well documented. The first acknowledgment of him is in a list of the Gentleman of the Chapel Royal in 1552. It is assumed from that list that his birth was around 1525. Although, that cannot be accurately determined. During his life he was able to establish himself as a successful composer, develop the English drama considerably, founded the first Blackfriar Theatre, and be the first to write verse-anthems. He married Anne Bower, daughter of Richard Bower who was Master of the Chapel Royal choristers at the time. With Anne he conceived ten children, one of whom was also named, Richard. As a member of the Gentleman of the Chapel Royal, Farrant was active in ceremonies surrounding the royal family. He began his work with the Chapel Royal around 1550 under the reign of Edward VI. Fortunately, for Farrant, this is a time that saw huge developments in Latin Church Music. Composers like William Byrd and Christopher Tye were busy expanding and elaborating on the Church Music of the day. In Farrant's twelve years with the Chapel Royal, he was able to participate in funerals for Edward VI and Mary I, and coronations for Mary I and Elizabeth I. After his work there, he took up a post as organist at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor. For Farrant, the post at at Windsor became a permanent one that he retained for the rest of his life. Along with this, he also acquired the position of Master of the Chapel Royal choristers in November of 1569. Having the choirs of both of these institutions at his disposal gave him an outlet to showcase all of his compositions and plays. In fact, every winter he was able to produce a play for the Queen herself. These positions also allowed him to move back to London in 1576 and begin a public theater of sorts where he rehearsed some of his choir music openly. It was soon after, in 1580, that he passed away, having left his house to his wife. Unlike many composers of his day that stuck to only music composition, Farrant also wrote many plays. One of his most important contributions to drama in England is of course the creation of the first Blackfriars Theatre. This eventually became one of the most important places in London for drama to develop during the Renaissance. Farrant is also one of the earliest and most well known composers that began to mix the two mediums of music and drama. It was this uncommon mixture that allowed him to begin to develop the composition style of 'verse.' This becomes prominent in a lot of his pieces including the anthems "When as we sat in Babylon" and "Call to remembrance" and "Hide not thou thy face." --en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Alexander Robert Reinagle

1799 - 1877 Person Name: Reinagle Composer of "[It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord]" in Augsburg Songs for Sunday Schools and other services Alexander Robert Reinagle United Kingdom 1799-1877. Born at Brighton, Sussex, England, gf Austrian descent, he came from a family of musicians, studying music with his father (a cellist), then with Raynor Taylor in Edinburgh, Scotland. Reinagle became a well-known organ teacher. He became organist at St Peter’s Church, Oxford (1823-1853). He was also a theatre musician. He wrote Teaching manuals for stringed instruments as well. He also compiled books of hymn tunes, one in 1830: “Psalm tunes for the voice and the pianoforte”, the other in 1840: “A collection of Psalm and hymn tunes”. He also composed waltzes. In 1846 he married Caroline Orger, a pianist, composer, and writer in her own right. No information found regarding children. In the 1860s he was active in Oxford music-making and worked with organist, John Stainer, then organist at Magdalen College. Reinagle also composed a piano sonata and some church music. At retirement he moved to Kidlington, Oxfordshire, England. He died at Kidlington. John Perry

John Randall

1717 - 1799 Person Name: Dr. Randall Composer of "[It is a good thing to give thanks]" in The Hymnal, Revised and Enlarged, as adopted by the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America in the year of our Lord 1892

Edward F. Rimbault

1816 - 1876 Person Name: Dr. Rimbault Composer of "[It is a good thing to give thanks]" in The Hymnal, Revised and Enlarged, as adopted by the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America in the year of our Lord 1892 Edward Francis Rimbault PhD LLD United Kingdom 1816-1876. Born in Soho, London, England, son of an organist and composer of French descent, he was taught music by his father., Samuel Wesley, and Wiliam Crotch. At age 16 he became organist of the Swiss Church in Soho. He later became organist at various churches, including St Peter’s, Vere Street, and St John’s Wood Presbyterian Church. He edited many collections of music, journals, and publications of music, and arranged music compositions. In addition to editing or arranging contemporary operas, he had a strong interest in editing or arranging earlier English music. He studied the musical treatises in the library of Archbishop Tenison, one of the oldest public libraries in London. In 1838, At age 22 he began lecturing about the history of English music, and was in much demand due to the interest aroused. He did editorial work for the Percy Society, the Camden Society, the Motet Society, and the Handel Society. For the latter he edited the “Messiah”, “Saul”, and “Samson” He was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and was granted membership in the Academy of Music in Stockholm, Sweden. Gottingen University also conferred upon him a PhD. His reputation was such that he was offered a teaching position at Harvard University in the U.S., which he turned down. In 1848 he was given an honorary degree by the University of Oxford. In 1849 he published a collection of English nursery rhymes and the tunes to which they were sung. Rimbault authored 76 books, a few named here include : “Bibliotheca madrigaliana” (1847); “The pianoforte” (1860); “Early English organ builders and their works” (1865). In 1855 he co-authored “The organ- its history and construction” with John Hopkins. He did a small amount of composing as well. He wrote an operetta in 1838, and a musical drama. He also composed a large number of pianoforte scores for operas by others. He was an admirable harmonium player. Traveling to various auctions for years, he accumulated a rare collection of books. After his death his extensive collection was auctioned off in 1877, with many items going to the British Library. About 300 items were sold to an individual, and upon his death in 1888, the ‘Drexel collection’ was bequeathed to the Lenox Library (precursor of the New York Public Library). Today, the collection is part of the Music Division of the NY Public Library for the Performing Arts. He was an author, editor, arranger, composer, lithographer, translator, scribe, adapter, and bookseller. He died at London, England. No information found regarding a family. John Perry