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Nolan Williams

Person Name: Nolan Williams, Jr. b. 1969 Arranger of "[We are standing on Holy Ground]" in African American Heritage Hymnal

1872 - 1958 Person Name: Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1872-1958 Adapter of "MONKS GATE" in CPWI Hymnal Through his composing, conducting, collecting, editing, and teaching, Ralph Vaughan Williams (b. Down Ampney, Gloucestershire, England, October 12, 1872; d. Westminster, London, England, August 26, 1958) became the chief figure in the realm of English music and church music in the first half of the twentieth century. His education included instruction at the Royal College of Music in London and Trinity College, Cambridge, as well as additional studies in Berlin and Paris. During World War I he served in the army medical corps in France. Vaughan Williams taught music at the Royal College of Music (1920-1940), conducted the Bach Choir in London (1920-1927), and directed the Leith Hill Music Festival in Dorking (1905-1953). A major influence in his life was the English folk song. A knowledgeable collector of folk songs, he was also a member of the Folksong Society and a supporter of the English Folk Dance Society. Vaughan Williams wrote various articles and books, including National Music (1935), and composed numerous arrangements of folk songs; many of his compositions show the impact of folk rhythms and melodic modes. His original compositions cover nearly all musical genres, from orchestral symphonies and concertos to choral works, from songs to operas, and from chamber music to music for films. Vaughan Williams's church music includes anthems; choral-orchestral works, such as Magnificat (1932), Dona Nobis Pacem (1936), and Hodie (1953); and hymn tune settings for organ. But most important to the history of hymnody, he was music editor of the most influential British hymnal at the beginning of the twentieth century, The English Hymnal (1906), and coeditor (with Martin Shaw) of Songs of Praise (1925, 1931) and the Oxford Book of Carols (1928). Bert Polman

Chas. H. Gabriel

1856 - 1932 Person Name: Charles Hutchinson Gabriel Author of "Hail the day" Pseudonyms: C. D. Emerson, Charlotte G. Homer, S. B. Jackson, A. W. Lawrence, Jennie Ree ============= For the first seventeen years of his life Charles Hutchinson Gabriel (b. Wilton, IA, 1856; d. Los Angeles, CA, 1932) lived on an Iowa farm, where friends and neighbors often gathered to sing. Gabriel accompanied them on the family reed organ he had taught himself to play. At the age of sixteen he began teaching singing in schools (following in his father's footsteps) and soon was acclaimed as a fine teacher and composer. He moved to California in 1887 and served as Sunday school music director at the Grace Methodist Church in San Francisco. After moving to Chicago in 1892, Gabriel edited numerous collections of anthems, cantatas, and a large number of songbooks for the Homer Rodeheaver, Hope, and E. O. Excell publishing companies. He composed hundreds of tunes and texts, at times using pseudonyms such as Charlotte G. Homer. The total number of his compositions is estimated at about seven thousand. Gabriel's gospel songs became widely circulated through the Billy Sunday-Homer Rodeheaver urban crusades. Bert Polman

Civilla D. Martin

1866 - 1948 Author of "Marching joyfully along" Martin, Civilla Durfee (Jordan Falls, Nova Scotia, August 21, 1866--March 9, 1948, Atlanta, Georgia). Daughter of James N. and Irene (Harding) Holden. She married Rev. John F. Geddes, Congregational minister of Coventryvilee, N.Y. at Jordan Falls Methodist Church, Shelbourne Co., Nova Scotia, on May 19, 1891. There is thus far no information about their marriage and its end. After several years of teaching school, she married Walter Stillman Martin, a Baptist minister, and traveled with him in evangelistic work. However, because of frail health, she was compelled to remain home much of the time. In 1916, they became members of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). They had one son, A.G. Martin. In her writing, she used only her initials, "C.D." rather than her full name of that of her composer-husband. She is reputed to have written several hundred hymns and religious songs. Her first one, "God Will Take Care of You," written in 1904 became world-famous. Her husband wrote the music for this and many of her other hymns. "His Eye is on the Sparrow" written in 1906 and set to music by Charles H. Gabriel, has also received wide acclaim. In addition to the above, "Like As A Father," "A Welcome for Me," and "The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power" are among her better-known hymns. Her husband and collaborator, W.S. Martin (1862-1935) preceded her in death. For the last 29 years of her life, she made her home in Atlanta, Georgia, where she was a member of the First Christian Church. Her funeral was held on March 10, 1948 at Spring Hill and the interment was in the West View Cemetery in Atlanta. --Carlton C. Buck, DNAH Archives and email from Rev. Lester M. Settle (Glenholme, Nova Scotia) to Mary Louise VanDyke 18 September 2008, DNAH Archives.

Geron Davis

b. 1960 Person Name: Geron Davis, b. 1960 Author of "We Are Standing on Holy Ground" in African American Heritage Hymnal Geron Davis USA 1960- .Born at Bogalusa, LA, the son of a minister, he was musically inclined. Living at Savannah, TN, and dedicating a new church, his father asked him to write a song for the dedication. Several weeks passed, but the song was not written. His father asked several more times. The night before the dedication, Davis sat at the new grand piano in the sanctuary, tired from his days’ work helping to ready the church for a service, and said to himself, “What do we want to say when we come into this building tomorrow to have a service for the first time?” He began playing chords. Within a short time, he had the song that would be his most famous, ‘Holy Ground’. He didn’t copy it on paper, but taught it to two of his siblings the following morning before church, and they sang it the next morning in the service. His mother cried when she heard it, thinking her children never sounded better. The congregation loved it. Someone later asked him if he realized that he had written something so powerful? He soon recorded his song for a friend’s album. Another friend asked if he could shop the song around, and soon came back with an offer from Meadowgreen Music to record it. Meadowgreen bought the song and music and told Davis, “This song will live beyond you. It will be bigger than you can imagine”. Bill Clinton was a fan of the song and had it sung at his inauguration and at his mother’s funeral in 1994. It was also recorded by Barbara Streisand. Davis married Becky Cannon, and they had two children, Gerica and Neiman. Together, Davis and wife have written, recorded, and performed a number of songs, some of which have become well-known to churches around the world. They formed a group with Davis’ sister, Alyson Lovern, and brother-in-law, Shelton, called “Kindred Souls’. In 2002 the group released an album: ‘Let It Rain’, which gained considerable attention on AC charts. Dozens of other famous groups have recorded their songs. They live in the Nashville, TN, area. John Perry

Charles Walker Ray

1832 - 1917 Person Name: C. W. Ray Author of "The New Year" in Spicy Breezes Rv Charles Walker Ray DD USA 1832-1917. Born at Otselic, NY, he became a Baptist minister. He was educated at Hamlton College, Clinton, NY. He earned his doctorate from Monongahela College, Jefferson, PA. That school closed in 1894. He pastored at North Stonington, CT, for a number of years. He also served at Plymouth, NY. He married Julia Tracy Sheffield, and they had a son, Arthur. He wrote a number of books and song books: “Grace Vernon Bussell, the heroine of western Australia” (1878); “Spicy breezes” (1883); “The day school crown” (1892); “The revival helper: a collection of songs for Christian work and worship” (1893); “Bright blossoms of song” (1895); “Zion’s delight” (1901); “The song of songs of the King and his bride-an interpretation” (1913); “The fallacies and vagaries of misinterpretation” (1914). He died at Philadelphia, PA. John Perry

Virgil O. Stamps

1892 - 1940 Composer of "[We are standing now by the silent river]" in New Perfect Praise

Charles Edward Prior

1856 - 1927 Person Name: Chas. Edw. Prior Composer of "[We are standing on the threshold]" in Spicy Breezes Charles Edward Prior, 1856-1927 Prior played the piano at the Italian Baptist Mission in Hartford, Connecticut, in the late 19th Century. Music-- Go Stand and Speak Work for Us All --hymntime.com/tch

Laurene Highfield

1870 - 1970 Author of "The Border Land" in Living Praise Laurene Highfield was born in Quincy, Illinois. She wrote about three hundred hymns and sacred songs, the libretto of one orotorio and several cantatas among other works. NN