Person Results

Switch back to the old search page.Advanced Search

Showing 1 - 5 of 5Results Per Page: 10 20 50

Arthur Sullivan

1842 - 1900 Person Name: Arthur Seymour Sullivan Composer of "LUX EOI" in The Cyber Hymnal Arthur Seymour Sullivan (b Lambeth, London. England. 1842; d. Westminster, London, 1900) was born of an Italian mother and an Irish father who was an army bandmaster and a professor of music. Sullivan entered the Chapel Royal as a chorister in 1854. He was elected as the first Mendelssohn scholar in 1856, when he began his studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He also studied at the Leipzig Conservatory (1858-1861) and in 1866 was appointed professor of composition at the Royal Academy of Music. Early in his career Sullivan composed oratorios and music for some Shakespeare plays. However, he is best known for writing the music for lyrics by William S. Gilbert, which produced popular operettas such as H.M.S. Pinafore (1878), The Pirates of Penzance (1879), The Mikado (1884), and Yeomen of the Guard (1888). These operettas satirized the court and everyday life in Victorian times. Although he composed some anthems, in the area of church music Sullivan is best remembered for his hymn tunes, written between 1867 and 1874 and published in The Hymnary (1872) and Church Hymns (1874), both of which he edited. He contributed hymns to A Hymnal Chiefly from The Book of Praise (1867) and to the Presbyterian collection Psalms and Hymns for Divine Worship (1867). A complete collection of his hymns and arrangements was published posthumously as Hymn Tunes by Arthur Sullivan (1902). Sullivan steadfastly refused to grant permission to those who wished to make hymn tunes from the popular melodies in his operettas. Bert Polman

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy

1809 - 1847 Person Name: Mendelssohn, 1809-47 Composer of "CONTEMPLATION" in The Methodist Hymn-Book with Tunes Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (b. Hamburg, Germany, 1809; d. Leipzig, Germany, 1847) was the son of banker Abraham Mendelssohn and the grandson of philosopher Moses Mendelssohn. His Jewish family became Christian and took the Bartholdy name (name of the estate of Mendelssohn's uncle) when baptized into the Lutheran church. The children all received an excellent musical education. Mendelssohn had his first public performance at the age of nine and by the age of sixteen had written several symphonies. Profoundly influenced by J. S. Bach's music, he conducted a performance of the St. Matthew Passion in 1829 (at age 20!) – the first performance since Bach's death, thus reintroducing Bach to the world. Mendelssohn organized the Domchor in Berlin and founded the Leipzig Conservatory of Music in 1843. Traveling widely, he not only became familiar with various styles of music but also became well known himself in countries other than Germany, especially in England. He left a rich treasury of music: organ and piano works, overtures and incidental music, oratorios (including St. Paul or Elijah and choral works, and symphonies. He harmonized a number of hymn tunes himself, but hymnbook editors also arranged some of his other tunes into hymn tunes. Bert Polman

C. Hubert H. Parry

1848 - 1918 Person Name: Sir H. Parry Composer of "RUSTINGTON" in Mirfield Mission Hymn Book Charles Hubert Hastings Parry KnBch/Brnt BMus United Kingdom 1848-1918. Born at Richmond Hill, Bournemouth, England, son of a wealthy director of the East India Company (also a painter, piano and horn musician, and art collector). His mother died of consumption shortly after his birth. His father remarried when he was three, and his stepmother favored her own children over her stepchildren, so he and two siblings were sometimes left out. He attended a preparatory school in Malvern, then at Twyford in Hampshire. He studied music from 1856-58 and became a pianist and composer. His musical interest was encouraged by the headmaster and by two organists. He gained an enduring love for Bach’s music from S S Wesley and took piano and harmony lessons from Edward Brind, who also took him to the ‘Three Choirs Festival in Hereford in 1861, where Mendelssohn, Mozart, Handel, and Beethoven works were performed. That left a great impression on Hubert. It also sparked the beginning of a lifelong association with the festival. That year, his brother was disgraced at Oxford for drug and alcohol use, and his sister, Lucy, died of consumption as well. Both events saddened Hubert. However, he began study at Eton College and distinguished himself at both sport and music. He also began having heart trouble, that would plague him the rest of his life. Eton was not known for its music program, and although some others had interest in music, there were no teachers there that could help Hubert much. He turned to George Elvey, organist of St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, and started studying with him in 1863. Hubert eventually wrote some anthems for the choir of St George’s Chapel, and eventually earned his music degree. While still at Eton, Hubert sat for the Oxford Bachelor of Music exam, the youngest person ever to have done so. His exam exercise, a cantata: “O Lord, Thou hast cast us out” astonished the Heather Professor of Music, Sir Frederick Ouseley, and was triumphantly performed and published in 1867. In 1867 he left Eton and went to Exeter College, Oxford. He did not study music there, his music concerns taking second place, but read law and modern history. However, he did go to Stuttgart, Germany, at the urging of Henry Hugh Pierson, to learn re-orchestration, leaving him much more critical of Mendelssohn’s works. When he left Exeter College, at his father’s behest, he felt obliged to try insurance work, as his father considered music only a pastime (too uncertain as a profession). He became an underwriter at Lloyd’s of London, 1870-77, but he found the work unappealing to his interests and inclinations. In 1872 he married Elizabeth Maude Herbert, and they had two daughters: Dorothea and Gwendolen. His in-laws agreed with his father that a conventional career was best, but it did not suit him. He began studying advanced piano with W S Bennett, but found it insufficient. He then took lessons with Edward Dannreuther, a wise and sympathetic teacher, who taught him of Wagner’s music. At the same time as Hubert’s compositions were coming to public notice (1875), he became a scholar of George Grove and soon an assistant editor for his new “Dictionary of Music and Musicians”. He contributed 123 articles to it. His own first work appeared in 1880. In 1883 he became professor of composition and musical history at the Royal College of Music (of which Grove was the head). In 1895 Parry succeeded Grove as head of the college, remaining in the post the remainder of his life. He also succeeded John Stainer as Heather Professor of Music at the University of Oxford (1900-1908). His academic duties were considerable and likely prevented him from composing as much as he might have. However, he was rated a very fine composer, nontheless, of orchestrations, overtures, symphonies, and other music. He only attempted one opera, deemed unsuccessful. Edward Elgar learned much of his craft from Parry’s articles in Grove’s Dictionary, and from those who studied under Parry at the Royal College, including Ralph Vaughn Williams, Gustav Holst, Frank Bridge, and John Ireland. Parry had the ability when teaching music to ascertain a student’s potential for creativity and direct it positively. In 1902 he was created a Baronet of Highnam Court in Gloucester. Parry was also an avid sailor and owned several yachts, becoming a member of the Royal Yacht Squadron in 1908, the only composer so honored. He was a Darwinian and a humanist. His daughter reiterated his liberal, non-conventional thinking. On medical advice he resigned his Oxford appointment in 1908 and produced some of his best known works. He and his wife were taken up with the ‘Suffrage Movement’ in 1916. He hated to see the WW1 ravage young potential musical talent from England and Germany. In 1918 he contracted Spanish flu during the global pandemic and died at Knightsscroft, Rustington, West Sussex. In 2015 they found 70 unpublished works of Parry’s hidden away in a family archive. It is thought some may never have been performed in public. The documents were sold at auction for a large sum. Other works he wrote include: “Studies of great composers” (1886), “The art of music” (1893), “The evolution of the art of music” (1896), “The music of the 17th century” (1902). His best known work is probably his 1909 study of “Johann Sebastian Bach”. John Perry

Joseph Barnby

1838 - 1896 Composer of "[Lord, Thy ransomed church is waking]" in Hymn Tunes Joseph Barnby (b. York, England, 1838; d. London, England, 1896) An accomplished and popular choral director in England, Barnby showed his musical genius early: he was an organist and choirmaster at the age of twelve. He became organist at St. Andrews, Wells Street, London, where he developed an outstanding choral program (at times nicknamed "the Sunday Opera"). Barnby introduced annual performances of J. S. Bach's St. John Passion in St. Anne's, Soho, and directed the first performance in an English church of the St. Matthew Passion. He was also active in regional music festivals, conducted the Royal Choral Society, and composed and edited music (mainly for Novello and Company). In 1892 he was knighted by Queen Victoria. His compositions include many anthems and service music for the Anglican liturgy, as well as 246 hymn tunes (published posthumously in 1897). He edited four hymnals, including The Hymnary (1872) and The Congregational Sunday School Hymnal (1891), and coedited The Cathedral Psalter (1873). Bert Polman

Sarah Geraldina Stock

1839 - 1898 Person Name: Sarah G. Stock Author of "Lord, Thy Ransomed Church Is Waking" in The Cyber Hymnal Stock, Sarah Geraldina, born Dec. 27, 1838, has devoted much time to literature with special reference to Mission work and Sunday Schools. Her prose publications include Lessons on Israel in Egypt, &c, 1874; The Child's Life of our Lord, 1879; Bible Stories from the Old Testament, &c, 1882, and others. Her hymns in common use include:— 1. A debtor! For the love of God unbounded. Missions. Written for the Church Missionary Almanack, 1878, and also issued as a C. M. S. leaflet. 2. Behind and Before. Departure of Missionaries. Written for India's Women, and sung for the first time at the dismissal of Church of England Zenana missionaries, Sep. 30, 1887. Since issued as a C. M. S. leaflet. 3. Called to Thy service, Lord. Holy Matrimony. Written for the marriage of Mr. W. Merry and Miss Grainger, of the "Home of Industry," Bethnal Green Road, London, March 14, 1889. 4. Coldly the wind is sweeping. For Workers. Published in the Church Sunday School Magazine, 1885. 5. Jesus! All-sufficiency. Teachers’ Devotional Meetings. Published in the Church Sunday School Magazine, 1882. 6. Lord of light, and Fount of love. Home Missions. Published in the Church Sunday School Magazine, 1875; in Hymns for Special Services, &c. Bemrose & Sons, &c. 7. Lord, Thy ransomed Church is waking. Home Missions. Written for the London February Mission, 1874, and published in the Church Sunday School Magazine, Feb., 1874, and subsequently in several hymn-books. 8. 0 Master! when Thou callest. Departure of Missionaries. Written for India's Women, and first sung at the Valedictory Meeting of the Church of England Zenana Society, Oct. 2, 1888. 9. Open stood the gates of heaven. Christmas. Published in the Church S. S. Musical Leaflets, No. 6, with music by C. H. Nottingham. 10. Shut out from heaven's glory. Harvest. Published in the same Leaflets, as No. 9. 11. The tender light of home behind. Departure of Missionaries. Written for India's Women, Sep. 1887, and first sung at the Valedictory Meeting of the Church of England Zenana Society, Sep. 30, 1887. 12. There's a fight to be fought, there's a work to be done. Missions. Written for the Church Missionary Gleaners' Annual Meeting, Nov. 1888, and issued as a C. M. S. leaflet. 13. We know not how the rays that stream. Holy Trinity. Written for the Church S. S. Magazine. Published in an abridged form as "We cannot read the mystery," in the Church Sunday School Hymn Book, 1868. 14. With voice of joy and singing. Thanksgiving. Written for the opening of Miss Annie Macpherson's "Home of Industry," Bethnal Green Road, London, 1887, and issued as a leaflet. Of these hymns, Nos. 1, 7, 8, 11, and 12, were published in Eight Missionary Hymns and Poems, C. M. S., 1889. Miss Stock contributed 3 hymns to the "Golden Songs," which appeared in the Sunday School Union Sunday S. Chronicle, 1875; 7 for children to the Sunday at Home. She has also written several others on various subjects, which have been issued as leaflets. Her hymns are bright and musical, and should be sought out by hymnal compilers. Her poems are published as Joy in Sorrow, 1884. She died Aug. 29, 1898. -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ========================= Stock, Sarah G., p. 1094, i. The following additional hymns by Miss Stock have come into common use, mainly through the Church Missionary Hymn Book, 1899; and Hymns of Consecration and Faith, enlarged edition, 1902:— 1. A cry as of pain, Again and again, [Claims of the Heathen.] Written for the C.M.S. Gleaners' Union Anniversary, Oct. 31, 1890, and printed in the Gleaner, June 1891, p. 90. 2. He shall reign o^er all the earth. [The World for Christ.] Actual date unknown. 3. Hear ye not the tramp of reapers? [For Gleaners’ Union Meetings.] Written for the Gleaners' Union Anniversary, 1889. 4. Jesus calls. He it is Who died to save thee. [Follow Jesus.] Written for the Gleaners' Union Anniversary, 1892, and printed in the Gleaner, Dec. 1892. 5. Let the song go round the earth. [Jesus Christ is Lord.] Praise for Salvation, Written in 1898 for the Church Missionary Hymn Book, 1899. 6. Lord of love, and truth, and grace. [Intercession for the Heathen.] Date unknown. 7. 0 when shall their souls find a rest? [Mighty to save.] Written for the Gleaners' Union Anniversary,1893. 8. Once Thy servants toiled in rowing. [Divine Guardianship.] Written for the Gleaner, and printed therein Feb. 1892, p. 18. 9. Round Thy footstool, Saviour, see. [Consecration for Service.] Written for a Ladies' Meeting at the C.M.S. House, c. 1896. 10. Some one shall go at the Master's word. [The Call of the Heathen.] Written for the Gleaners' Union Anniversary, 1893. 11. The love of Christ constraining. [Farewell of Missionaries.] Written for the Valedictory Meeting of the Church of England Zenana Society in 1891. 12. They are waiting everywhere. [The Call of the Heathen.] Written for the Gleaners' Union Anniversary, 1093, and printed in the Gleaner, Dec. 1893, p. 192. 13. Thy servants, Lord, are dear to Thee. [Intercession for Missionaries.] Date unknown. 14. Treasures we have gathered here. [For a Missionary Exhibition.] Written for the opening of the Birmingham Missionary Exhibition, Oct. 1896, and printed in the Gleaner Dec. 1896, p. 195. 15. We are children of the King. [Children's Mission Hymn.] Written for the C.M.S. "Sowers' Band," 1891. The whole of these hymns were included in the Church Missionary Hymn Book, 1899, and Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5,7, and 10, in Hymns of Consecration and Faith, 1902. These hymns are of a special Missionary character, as their titles indicate, and in them Miss Stock has maintained her reputation as a hymn writer. Her death took place at Penmaenmaur, Aug. 27, 1898. The above details are from MS. notes supplied to us by her brother, Mr. Eugene Stock. We must add that on p. 1094, Nos. 2 and 11 are given as two distinct hymns. This is an error. No. 2, "Behind and Before," is the Title of No. 11, "The tender light of home behind." --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

Export as CSV

Go Ad-Free

User Links

User Links

Discover

Collections

Store

Connect