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Orlando Gibbons

1583 - 1625 Person Name: Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625) Composer of "SONG 13" in The Oxford Hymn Book Orlando Gibbons (baptised 25 December 1583 – 5 June 1625) was an English composer, virginalist and organist of the late Tudor and early Jacobean periods. He was a leading composer in the England of his day. Gibbons was born in Cambridge and christened at Oxford the same year – thus appearing in Oxford church records. Between 1596 and 1598 he sang in the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, where his brother Edward Gibbons (1568–1650), eldest of the four sons of William Gibbons, was master of the choristers. The second brother Ellis Gibbons (1573–1603) was also a promising composer, but died young. Orlando entered the university in 1598 and achieved the degree of Bachelor of Music in 1606. James I appointed him a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal, where he served as an organist from at least 1615 until his death. In 1623 he became senior organist at the Chapel Royal, with Thomas Tomkins as junior organist. He also held positions as keyboard player in the privy chamber of the court of Prince Charles (later King Charles I), and organist at Westminster Abbey. He died at age 41 in Canterbury of apoplexy, and a monument to him was built in Canterbury Cathedral. A suspicion immediately arose that Gibbons had died of the plague, which was rife in England that year. Two physicians who had been present at his death were ordered to make a report, and performed an autopsy, the account of which survives in The National Archives: We whose names are here underwritten: having been called to give our counsels to Mr. Orlando Gibbons; in the time of his late and sudden sickness, which we found in the beginning lethargical, or a profound sleep; out of which, we could never recover him, neither by inward nor outward medicines, & then instantly he fell in most strong, & sharp convulsions; which did wring his mouth up to his ears, & his eyes were distorted, as though they would have been thrust out of his head & then suddenly he lost both speech, sight and hearing, & so grew apoplectical & lost the whole motion of every part of his body, & so died. Then here upon (his death being so sudden) rumours were cast out that he did die of the plague, whereupon we . . . caused his body to be searched by certain women that were sworn to deliver the truth, who did affirm that they never saw a fairer corpse. Yet notwithstanding we to give full satisfaction to all did cause the skull to be opened in our presence & we carefully viewed the body, which we found also to be very clean without any show or spot of any contagious matter. In the brain we found the whole & sole cause of his sickness namely a great admirable blackness & syderation in the outside of the brain. Within the brain (being opened) there did issue out abundance of water intermixed with blood & this we affirm to be the only cause of his sudden death. His death was a shock to peers and the suddenness of his passing drew comment more for the haste of his burial – and of its location at Canterbury rather than the body being returned to London. His wife, Elizabeth, died a little over a year later, aged in her mid-30s, leaving Orlando's eldest brother, Edward, to care for the children left orphans by this event. Of these children only the eldest son, Christopher Gibbons, went on to become a musician. One of the most versatile English composers of his time, Gibbons wrote a quantity of keyboard works, around thirty fantasias for viols, a number of madrigals (the best-known being "The Silver Swan"), and many popular verse anthems. His choral music is distinguished by his complete mastery of counterpoint, combined with his wonderful gift for melody. Perhaps his most well known verse anthem is This is the record of John, which sets an Advent text for solo countertenor or tenor, alternating with full chorus. The soloist is required to demonstrate considerable technical facility at points, and the work at once expresses the rhetorical force of the text, whilst never being demonstrative or bombastic. He also produced two major settings of Evensong, the Short Service and the Second Service. The former includes a beautifully expressive Nunc dimittis, while the latter is an extended composition, combining verse and full sections. Gibbons's full anthems include the expressive O Lord, in thy wrath, and the Ascension Day anthem O clap your hands together for eight voices. He contributed six pieces to the first printed collection of keyboard music in England, Parthenia (to which he was by far the youngest of the three contributors), published in about 1611. Gibbons's surviving keyboard output comprises some 45 pieces. The polyphonic fantasia and dance forms are the best represented genres. Gibbons's writing exhibits full mastery of three- and four-part counterpoint. Most of the fantasias are complex, multisectional pieces, treating multiple subjects imitatively. Gibbons's approach to melody in both fantasias and dances features a capability for almost limitless development of simple musical ideas, on display in works such as Pavane in D minor and Lord Salisbury's Pavan and Galliard. In the 20th century, the Canadian pianist Glenn Gould championed Gibbons's music, and named him as his favorite composer. Gould wrote of Gibbons's hymns and anthems: "ever since my teen-age years this music ... has moved me more deeply than any other sound experience I can think of." In one interview, Gould compared Gibbons to Beethoven and Webern: ...despite the requisite quota of scales and shakes in such half-hearted virtuoso vehicles as the Salisbury Galliard, one is never quite able to counter the impression of music of supreme beauty that lacks its ideal means of reproduction. Like Beethoven in his last quartets, or Webern at almost any time, Gibbons is an artist of such intractable commitment that, in the keyboard field, at least, his works work better in one's memory, or on paper, than they ever can through the intercession of a sounding-board. To this day, Gibbons's obit service is commemorated every year in King's College Chapel, Cambridge. --wikipedia.org

Henry Thomas Smart

1813 - 1879 Person Name: Henry Smart Composer of "[And now, O Father, mindful of the love]" 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

William Bright

1824 - 1901 Person Name: William Bright (1824-1901) Author of "And now, O Father, mindful of the love" in The Oxford Hymn Book Bright, William, D.D., born at Doncaster, Dec. 14, 1824, and educated at University College, Oxford, where he graduated B.A. (first class in Lit. Hum.) in 1846, M.A. in 1849. In 1847 he was Johnson's Theological Scholar: and in 1848 he also obtained the Ellerton Theological Essay prize. He was elected Fellow in 1847, and subsequently became Tutor of his College. Taking Holy Orders in 1848, he was for some time Tutor at Trinity College, Glenalmond; but in 1859 he returned to Oxford, and in 1868 became Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History and Canon of Christ Church. His publications include:— (1) Ancient Collects, selected from various Rituals, 1857, 2nd ed., 1862; (2) History of the Church from the Edict of Milan to the Council of Chalcedon, 1860; (3) Sermons of St. Leo the Great on the Incarnation, translated with notes, 1862; (4) Faith and Life, 1864-66; (5) Chapters of Early English Church History, 1877; (6) Private Prayers for a Week; (7) Family Prayers for a Week; (8) Notes on the Canons of the First tour Councils. He has also edited (9) Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History, 1872; (10) St. Athanasius's Oration against the Arians, &c, 1873; (11) Socrates' Ecclesiastical Hist.; (12) with the Rev. P. G. Medd, Latin Version of the Prayer Book, 1865-69. His poetical works are, (13) Athanasius and other Poems, by a Fellow of a College, 1858; and (14) Hymns & Other Poems, 1866; revised and enlarged, 1874. The last two works contain original hymns and translations. To the hymn-books he is known through his original compositions, seven of which are given in the revised edition of Hymns Ancient & Modern and some are found elsewhere. In addition to “And now the wants are told," and "At Thy feet, O Christ, we lay" (q.v.), there are:— 1. And now, 0 Father, mindful of the love. Holy Communion. Published in Hymns Ancient & Modern1875. Part of a composition in his Hymns, &c. 2. Behold us, Lord, before Thee met. Confirmation. Printed in the Monthly Packet, Nov. 1867, and, in a revised form, in the Appendix to Hymns Ancient & Modern, 1868. 3. How oft, O Lord, Thy face hath shone. St. Thomas. Published in Hymns Ancient & Modern, 1875. 4. Once, only once, and once for all. Holy Communion. Written in 1865, and published in his Hymns, &c, 1866, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines. It was given in the Appendix to Hymns Ancient & Modern, 1868; the new edition, 1875, and several other collections. 5. We know Thee, Who Thou art. Prayer after Pardon. Written in 1865, and published in his Hymns , &c, 1866, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines. It was included in the Appendix to Hymns Ancient & Modern, 1868, &c. Canon Bright's hymns merit greater attention than they have received at the hands of compilers. He died March 6, 1901. -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) =================== Bright, William, p. 182, i. Other hymns in common use are:— 1. God the Father, God the Son. Litany of the Resurrection. Second stanza, "Risen Lord, victorious King." From Iona, &c, 1886. 2. Pie sat to watch o'er customs paid. St. Matthew. In the 1889 Supplemental Hymns to Hymns Ancient & Modern. 3. Holy Name of Jesus. Name of Jesus. From Iona, &c., 1886. 4. Now at the night's return we raise. Evening. Rugby School Hymn Book, 1876, and others. 5. Thou the Christ for ever one. Mission to the Jews. In the 1889 Supplemental Hymns to Hymns Ancient & Modern. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

Ralph Vaughan Williams

1872 - 1958 Person Name: R. Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) Arranger (attributed to) of "SONG 1" in Hymns for Today's Church (2nd ed.) 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

John Wilson

1905 - 1992 Composer of "" in Hymns and Psalms Born January 21, 1905, in Bournville, Birmingham, England; died July 16, 1992, in Guildford, Surrey, England. He served as Vice President of the Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland, and was a Fellow of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada. Leland Bryant Ross from a biographical article in the journal of the Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland: https://hymnsocietygbi.org.uk/1992/10/treasure-no-58-john-wilson-1905-92

Charles Vincent

1852 - 1934 Person Name: C. Vincent Composer of "DONUM DEI" in The Church Hymnal Vincent, Charles; b. 9-19-1852, Houghton-le-Spring, Durham, d. 2-28-34, Monte Carlo; English organist. Full name Charles John Vincent, Jr.

William Henry Monk

1823 - 1889 Person Name: William H. Monk Composer of "UNDE ET MEMORES" in The Hymnal William H. Monk (b. Brompton, London, England, 1823; d. London, 1889) is best known for his music editing of Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861, 1868; 1875, and 1889 editions). He also adapted music from plainsong and added accompaniments for Introits for Use Throughout the Year, a book issued with that famous hymnal. Beginning in his teenage years, Monk held a number of musical positions. He became choirmaster at King's College in London in 1847 and was organist and choirmaster at St. Matthias, Stoke Newington, from 1852 to 1889, where he was influenced by the Oxford Movement. At St. Matthias, Monk also began daily choral services with the choir leading the congregation in music chosen according to the church year, including psalms chanted to plainsong. He composed over fifty hymn tunes and edited The Scottish Hymnal (1872 edition) and Wordsworth's Hymns for the Holy Year (1862) as well as the periodical Parish Choir (1840-1851). Bert Polman

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