Henry John Gauntlett (b. Wellington, Shropshire, England, 1805; d. Kensington, London, England, 1876) originally composed HOUGHTEN for the text "O Worship the King" (428). Sing the theme stanza (st. 1) in parts and the other stanzas in unison, or vice versa. When singing the entire psalm, sing stanzas 2 through 13 antiphonally. Singing of only part of the psalm should always include the theme stanza.
When he was nine years old, Gauntlett became organist at his father's church in Olney, Buckinghamshire. At his father's insistence he studied law, practicing it until 1844, after which he chose to devote the rest of his life to music. He was an organist in various churches in the London area and became an important figure in the history of British pipe organs. A designer of organs for William Hill's company, Gauntlett extend¬ed the organ pedal range and in 1851 took out a patent on electric action for organs. Felix Mendelssohn chose him to play the organ part at the first performance of Elijah in Birmingham, England, in 1846. Gauntlett is said to have composed some ten thousand hymn tunes, most of which have been forgotten. A number of them, including HOUGHTEN (1861), were first published in various editions of The Congregational Psalmist (1858-1886). A supporter of the use of plainchant in the church, Gauntlett published the Gregorian Hymnal of Matins and Evensong (1844).
--Psalter Hymnal Handbook, 1988
Henry J. Gauntlett (b. Wellington, Shropshire, July 9, 1805; d. London, England, February 21, 1876) When he was nine years old, Henry John Gauntlett (b. Wellington, Shropshire, England, 1805; d. Kensington, London, England, 1876) became organist at his father's church in Olney, Buckinghamshire. At his father's insistence he studied law, practicing it until 1844, after which he chose to devote the rest of his life to music. He was an organist in various churches in the London area and became an important figure in the history of British pipe organs. A designer of organs for William Hill's company, Gauntlett extendÂed the organ pedal range and in 1851 took out a patent on electric action for organs. Felix Mendelssohn chose him to play the or… Go to person page >
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