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Anonymous

Person Name: Anon. Author of "Though faint, yet pursuing, we go on our way" in The Seventh-Day Adventist Hymn and Tune Book 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.

Thomas Hastings

1784 - 1872 Person Name: T. Hastings Arranger of "GOSHEN" in Laudes Domini Hastings, Thomas, MUS. DOC., son of Dr. Seth Hastings, was born at Washington, Lichfield County, Connecticut, October 15, 1784. In 1786, his father moved to Clinton, Oneida Co., N. Y. There, amid rough frontier life, his opportunities for education were small; but at an early age he developed a taste for music, and began teaching it in 1806. Seeking a wider field, he went, in 1817, to Troy, then to Albany, and in 1823 to Utica, where he conducted a religious journal, in which he advocated his special views on church music. In 1832 he was called to New York to assume the charge of several Church Choirs, and there his last forty years were spent in great and increasing usefulness and repute. He died at New York, May 15, 1872. His aim was the greater glory of God through better musical worship; and to this end he was always training choirs, compiling works, and composing music. His hymn-work was a corollary to the proposition of his music-work; he wrote hymns for certain tunes; the one activity seemed to imply and necessitate the other. Although not a great poet, he yet attained considerable success. If we take the aggregate of American hymnals published duriug the last fifty years or for any portion of that time, more hymns by him are found in common use than by any other native writer. Not one of his hymns is of the highest merit, but many of them have become popular and useful. In addition to editing many books of tunes, Hastings also published the following hymnbooks:— (1) Spiritual Songs for Social Worship: Adapted to the Use of Families and Private Circles in Seasons of Revival, to Missionary Meetings, &c, Utica, 1831-2, in which he was assisted by Lowell Mason; (2) The Mother's Hymn-book, 1834; (3) The Christian Psalmist; or, Watts's Psalms and Hymns, with copious Selections from other Sources, &c, N. Y., 1836, in connection with "William Patton; (4) Church Melodies, N. Y., 1858, assisted by his son, the Rev. T. S. Hastings; (5) Devotional Hymns and Poems, N. Y., 1850. The last contained many, but not all, of his original hymns. (6) Mother's Hymn-book, enlarged 1850. The authorship of several of Hastings's hymns has been somewhat difficult to determine. All the hymns given in the Spiritual Songs were without signatures. In the Christian Psalmist some of his contributions were signed "Anon." others "M. S.," whilst others bore the names of the tune books in which they had previously appeared; and in the Church Melodies some were signed with his name, and others were left blank. His MSS [manuscript] and Devotional Hymns, &c, enable us to fix the authorship of over 50 which are still in common use. These, following the chronological order of his leading work, are:— i. From the Spiritual Songs, 1831:— 1. Before Thy footstool kneeling. In Sickness. No. 358, in 3 stanzas of 8 lines. 2. Bleeding hearts defiled by sin. Fulness of Christ. No. 261, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines. 3. Child of sin and sorrow, Filled with dismay. Lent. No. 315, in 2 stanzas of 8 lines. It is sometimes given as "Child of sin and sorrow, Where wilt thou flee?" It is in extensive use. 4. Delay not, delay not, 0 sinner draw near. Exhortation to Repentance. No. 145, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines. Given in several important collections. 5. Forgive us, Lord, to Thee we cry. Forgiveness desired. No. 165, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines. 6. Gently, Lord, 0 gently lead us. Pilgrimage of Life. No. 29, in 2 stanzas of 8 lines. It is given in several collections. The first two lines are taken from a hymn which appeared in the Christian Lyre, 1830. 7. Go forth on wings of fervent prayer. For a blessing on the distribution of Books and Tracts. No. 250, in 4 stanzas of 5 lines. It is sometimes given as “Go forth on wings of faith and prayer," as in the Baptist Praise Book, N. Y., 1871, No. 1252; but the alterations are so great as almost to constitute it a new hymn. 8. Hail to the brightness of Zion's glad morning. Missionary Success. No. 239, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines. In several hymnbooks in Great Britain and America. 9. How calm and beautiful the morn. Easter. No. 291, in 5 stanzas of 6 lines. Very popular. 10. In this calm, impressive hour. Early Morning. No. 235, pt. i. in 3 stanzas of 6 lines. In several collections. 11. Jesus, save my dying soul. Lent. No. 398, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines. A deeply penitential hymn. 12. Now be the gospel banner. Missions. No. 178, in 2 stanzas of 8 lines. In several collections (see below). 13. Now from labour, and from care. Evening. No. 235. Pt. ii. in 3 stanzas of 6 lines. This hymn, with No. 10 above, "In this calm," &c, constitute one hymn of 6 st. in the Spiritual Songs, but divided into two parts, one for Morning and the other for Evening. Both parts are popular as separate hymns. 14. 0 God of Abraham, hear. Prayer on behalf of Children. No. 288, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines. In use in Great Britain. 15. 0 tell me, Thou Life and delight of my soul. Following the Good Shepherd. No. 151, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines, on Cant. i. 7, 8. 16. Return, O wanderer, to thy home. The Prodigal recalled. No. 183, in 3 stanzas of 4 lines, with the refrain, " Return, return " (see below). 17. Soft and holy is the place. Public Worship. No. 351, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines. In Dr. Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, N. Y., 1872, and some other collections, the opening line is altered to "Sweet and holy is the place." 18. That warning voice, 0 sinner, hear. Exhortation to Repentance. No. 231, in 4 stanzas of 6 lines. 19. To-day the Saviour calls. Lent. No. 176, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines. Dr. Hastings says, in a communication to Dr. Stevenson (Hymns for Church and Home, 1873), this hymn “was offered me in a hasty sketch which I retouched." The sketch was by the Rev. S. F. Smith. 20. Why that look of sadness. Consolation. No. 268, in 3 stanzas of 8 lines. 21. Zion, dreary and in anguish. The Church Comforted. No. 160, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines. Concerning the two hymns, No. 12, "Now be the gospel banner"; and No. 16, "Beturn, O wanderer, to thy home," Dr. Stevenson has the following note in his Hymns for Church and Home, London, 1873:— "In a letter to the Editor, Dr. Hastings wrote, not more than a fortnight before his death, 'These two hymns of mine were earlier compositions, the former ["Now be," &c.] for a Utica Sunday School celebration, the latter ["Return, 0 wanderer," &c.] after hearing a stirring revival sermon on the Prodigal Son, by the Rev. Mr. Kint, at a large union meeting in the Presbyterian Church, where two hundred converts were present. The preacher at the close eloquently exclaimed with tender emphasis, "Sinner, come home! come home! come home!" It was easy afterwards to write, "Return, 0 wanderer."'" Several additional hymns in the Spiritual Songs, 1831, have been ascribed to Dr. Hastings, but without confirmation. The sum of what can be said on his behalf is that the hymns are in his style, and that they have not been claimed by others. They are:— 22. Drooping souls, no longer mourn. Pardon promised. No. 40, in 3 stanzas of 8 1., of which st. i., ii. are altered from J. J. Harrod's Public, Parlour, and Cottage Hymns, Baltimore, 1823, that is, 8 years before the Spiritual Songs were published. 23. Dying souls, fast bound in sin. Pardon offered. No. 41, in 5 stanzas of 8 lines. It is usually given in an abridged form. ii. From his Mother's Hymn Book, 1834:—- 24. Forbid them not, the Saviour cried. Holy Baptism. No. 44. 25. God of mercy, hear our prayer. On behalf of Cliildrcn, No. 48, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines. It was included in J. Campbell's Comprehensive Hymn Book, Lond., 1837, and subsequently in several collections. 26. God of the nations, bow Thine ear. Missions. No. 115, in 4 stanzas of 6 lines. In several collections. 27. How tender is Thy hand. Affliction. No. 99, in 5 stanzas of 41. 28. Jesus, while our hearts are bleeding. Death. Resignation. No. 95, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines. This is in extensive use and is one of his best and most popular hymns. 29. Lord, I would come to Thee. Self-dedication of a Child. No. 72, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines. 30. 0 Lord, behold us at Thy feet. Lent. No. 59, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines. It is doubtful if this is by Hastings. It is sometimes signed "Mrs. T." 31. The rosy light is dawning. Morning. No. 11, in 3 stanzas of 8 lines. 32. The Saviour bids us [thee] watch and pray. Watch and Pray. No. 119, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines. 33. Thou God of sovereign grace. On behalf of Children. No. 66, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines. 34. Wherever two or three may meet. Divine Service. No. 56. 35. Within these quiet walls, 0 Lord. Mothers' Meetings. No. 58, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines. In Spurgeon's Our Own Hymn Book, 1866, No. 1010, it begins, "Within these peaceful walls." This reading is from J. Campbell's Comprehensive Hymn Book, London, 1837. It is very doubtful if this is by Hastings. iii. From the Christian Psalmist, 1836:— 36. Children, hear the melting story. On the life of Christ. No. 430, in 3 stanzas of 6 lines. It is given as from the Union Minstrel, and the statement that it is by Hastings is very doubtful, no evidence to that effect being in the possession of his family. Dr. Hatfield, in his Church Hymn Book, dates it 1830, and gives it as "Anon." 37. Go, tune thy voice to sacred song. Praise No. 190, in 5 stanzas of 5 lines, and given as from "ms." 38. He that goeth forth with weeping. Missions No. 212, in 2 stanzas of 8 lines, and given as from "ms." It is in several collections. 39. I love the Lord, Whose gracious ear. Ps. cxvi. Page 186, in 4 stanzas of 6 lines, as from "ms." 40. Lord of the harvest, bend Thine ear. For the Increase of the Ministry. No. 407, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines, as from "ms." This hymn Dr. Hastings altered for his Devotional Hymns & Poems, 1850, but it has failed to replace the original in the hymnbooks. iv. From the Reformed Dutch Additional Hymns, 1846:— 41. Child of sorrow, child of care [woe]. Trust. No. 168, in 2 stanzas of 8 lines, appeared in W. Hunter's Minstrel of Zion, 1845. 42. Heirs of an immortal crown. Christian Warfare. No. 136, in 2 stanzas of 8 lines. 43. O Saviour, lend a listening ear. Lent. No. 175. Stanzas vi., i., iv., v., altered. 44. The Lord Jehovah lives. Ps. xviii. No. 26, in 4 stanzas of 6 lines. These three hymns, together with many others, are given in the Dutch Reformed Hymns of the Church, N. Y., 1869. In the 1847 Psalms & Hymns there were, including these, 38 hymns by Hastings, and 2 which are doubtful. v. From Dr. Hastings's Devotional Hymns and Religious Poems, 1850:— 45. In time of fear, when trouble's near. Encouragement in Trial. Page 95, in 3 stanzas of 4 lines. In use in Great Britain. vi. From Church Melodies, 1858:—- 46. For those in bonds as bound with them. Missions. No. 416, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines, on Heb. xiii. 3. 47. Forget thyself, Christ bids thee come. Holy Communion. No. 683, in 3 stanzas of 6 lines. 48. Jesus, Merciful and Mild. Leaning on Christ. No. 585, in 4 stanzas of 8 1. In several collections. 49. Pilgrims in this vale of sorrow. Self-denial. No. 397, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines. 50. Saviour, I look to Thee. Lent. In time of Trouble. No. 129, in 4 stanzas of 7 lines. 51. Saviour of our ruined race. Holy Communion. No. 379, in 3 stanzas of 6 lines. 52. Why that soul's commotion? Lent. No. 211, in 3 stanzas of 8 lines. It is doubtful if this is by Hastings. vii. In Robinson's Songs of the Church, 1862: 53. Be tranquil, 0 my soul. Patience in Affliction. No. 519, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines. Altered in Robinson's Songs for the Sanctuary, 1865. 54. Peace, peace, I leave with you. Peace, the benediction of Christ. No. 386, in 3 stanzas of 7 lines. 55. Saviour, Thy gentle voice. Christ All in All. No. 492, in 3 stanzas of 7 lines. viii. In Bobinson's Songs for the Sanctuary, 1865:— 56. God of the morning ray. Morning. No. 53, in 2 stanzas of 7 lines. Of Hastings's hymns about 40 are in the Reformed Dutch Psalms & Hymns, 1847; 39 in Robinson's Songs for the Sanctuary, 1865; 15 in Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, 1872; and 13 in the Lyra Sacra Americana, 1868. They are also largely represented in other collections. Many other of his compositions are found in collections now or recently in common use, but these are not of the highest merit. [Rev. F. M. Bird, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ======================== Hastings, T., p. 494, i. Additional hymns are:— 1. Children hear the wondrous story; and "Sinners, hear the melting story," are altered forms of No. 36, on p. 495, i. 2. Father, we for our children plead. On behalf of Children. 3. Forgive my folly, O Lord most holy. Lent. 4. Hosanna to the King, That for, &c. Praise to Jesus. 5. I look to Thee, O Lord, alone. Pardon desired. 6. Jesus, full of every grace. Pardon desired. 7. O why should gloomy thoughts arise? The Mourner Encouraged. 8. Peace to thee, O favoured one. Peace in Jesus. 9. Saviour, hear us through Thy merit. Forgiveness. Of these hymns, No. 3 is in Hasting’s Spiritual Songs, 1831; No. 9 in his Mother's Hymn Book, 1834, and his Devotional Hymns, 1850; and Nos. 4, 5 & 8 in his Devotional Hymns, 1850. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

J. N. Darby

1800 - 1882 Person Name: John N. Darby Author of ""Faint, yet pursuing"" in Laudes Domini Darby, John Nelson, M.A., youngest son of John Darby of Leap, King's Co., Ireland, was born at Westminster, Nov. 18, 1800; educated at Trinity College, Dublin, where he graduated in 1819; and in due course was called to the Bar. He subsequently took Holy Orders; but in a short time allied himself with the Plymouth Brethren. In the exercise of his ministry amongst them he visited most parts of the world, and translated the Bible into English, French, and German. His published works, including a Synopsis of the Books of the Bible; Notes on Revelations, &c, are numerous. He died at Bournemouth, April 29, 1882. His hymns in common use are:— 1. Hark, ten thousand voices crying. The Second Advent anticipated. Praise. Appeared in Hymns for the Poor of the Flock, 1837, and repeated in Psalms and Hymns and Sacred Songs, Lend., Walther, 1842, and A Few Hymns, &c, 1856. It is also given in a few collections other than those for use amongst the “Brethren." 2. O Lord, thy love's unbounded, So sweet, &c. God's unchanging Love. Given in A Few Hymns, &c., 1856, No. 82, in 8 stanzas of 4 lines. Another hymn in the same collection, No. 85, begins with the same first line: "O Lord, Thy love's unbounded! So full, so vast, so free!" This is in 2 stanzas of 8 lines, and is attributed in the "S. MSS." to J. N. Darby, in common with the first. 3. Rest of the saints above. Heaven. In A Few Hymns, &c, 1856, No. 79, in 14 stanzas of 4 lines. 4. Rise, my soul, thy God directs thee. Divine Guidance. 1st published in Hymns for the Poor of the Flock, 1837; and again in Psalms and Hymns, 1842 (as above); and A Few Hymns, &c, 1856, in 10 stanzas of 41. It is also in Dr. Walker's Cheltenham Psalms and Hymns, 1855-1831. 5. This world is a wilderness wide. Following Christ. This is No. 139, in 8 stanzas of 4 lines, in A Few Hymns, &c, 1856. 6. Though faint, yet pursuing, we go on our way. Divine Strength and Defence. This hymn was given anonymously in the Baptist Psalms and Hymns, 1858, No. 558, in 5 stanzas of 8 lines. In the 1871 ed. of the same collection, it appeared as by "John N. Darby (?) 1861." Here we have a doubt and an error. The doubt is with respect to the authorship; and the error is in the date. A hymn published in 1858 cannot be accurately dated "1861." The evidence for the J. N. Darby authorship is most unsatisfactory. We can simply name it "Anon." All these hymns were published anonymously; and the ascriptions of authorship of 1-5 are given from the "S. MSS." The same manuscripts say that he edited the work above referred to: A Few Hymns and some Spiritual Songs, Selected, 1856, for the Little Flock. Lond. Groombridge & Sons. -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ================== Darby, John N. , p. 279, ii. Respecting the hymn "Though faint, yet pursuing, &c." (No. 6), Miller says in his Singers & Songs of the Church, 1869, p. 587, that Mr. Darby told him that he was not its author. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

Benjamin Beddome

1717 - 1795 Person Name: B. Beddome Author of "The Lord Is Our Leader" in Christ in Song Benjamin Beddome was born at Henley-in Arden, Warwickshire, January 23, 1717. His father was a Baptist minister. He studied at various places, and began preaching in 1740. He was pastor of a Baptist society at Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, until his death in 1795. In 1770, he received the degree of M.A. from the Baptist College in Providence, Rhode Island. He published several discourses and hymns. "His hymns, to the number of 830, were published in 1818, with a recommendation from Robert Hall." Montgomery speaks of him as a "writer worthy of honour both for the quantity and the quality of his hymns." --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872. ========================= Beddome, Benjamin , M.A. This prolific hymnwriter was born at Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire, Jan. 23, 1717, where his father, the Rev. John Beddome, was atthat time Baptist Minister. He was apprenticed to a surgeon in Bristol, but removing to London, he joined, in 1739, the Baptist church in Prescott St. At the call of this church he devoted himself to the work of the Christian ministry, and in 1740 began to preach at Bourton-on-the-Water, in Gloucestershire. Declining invitations to remove to London or elsewhere, he continued pastor at Bourton until his death, on Sep. 3, 1795, at the age of 78. Mr. Beddome was for many years one of the most respected Baptist ministers in the West of England. He was a man of some literary culture. In 1770 he received the degree of M.A. from Providence College, Rhode Island. He was the author of an Exposition of the Baptist Catechism, 1752, in great repute at the time, and reprinted by Dr. C. Evans in 1772. It was his practice to prepare a hymn every week to be sung after his Sunday morning sermon. Though not originally intended for publication, he allowed thirteen of these to appear in the Bristol Baptist Collection of Ash & Evans (1769), and thirty-six in Dr. Rippon's Baptist Selection (1787), whence a number of them found their way into the General Baptist Hymn Book of 1793 and other collections. In 1817, a posthumous collection of his hymns was published, containing 830 pieces, with an introduction by the Rev. Robert Hall, and entitled "Hymns adapted to Public Worship or Family Devotion, now first published from the Manuscripts of the late Rev. B. Beddome, M.A." Preface dated "Leicester, Nov. 10, 1817." Some of the early copies bear the same date on the title page. Copies bearing both the 1817 and 1818 dates are in the British Museum. The date usually given is 1818. Some hymns are also appended to his Sermons, seven volumes of which were published l805—1819; and over twenty are given in the Baptist Register of various dates. Beddome's hymns were commended by Montgomery as embodying one central idea, "always important, often striking, and sometimes ingeniously brought out." Robert Hall's opinion is just, when in his "Recommendatory Preface" to the Hymns, &c, he says, p. vii.:— "The man of taste will be gratified with the beauty and original turns of thought which many of them ex¬hibit, while the experimental Christian will often perceive the most secret movements of his soul strikingly delineated, and sentiments pourtrayed which will find their echo in every heart." With the exception of a few composed for Baptisms and other special occasions, their present use in Great Britain is limited, but in America somewhat extensive. One of the best is the Ordination Hymn, "Father of Mercies, bow Thine ear." Another favourite is “ My times of sorrow and of joy," composed, by a singular coincidence, to be sung on Sunday, Jan. 14, 1778, the day on which his son died, most unexpectedly, in Edinburgh. "Let party names no more," is very popular both in Great Brit, and America. "Faith, His a precious gift," "Witness, ye men and angels, now," and the hymn for Holy Baptism, "Buried beneath the yielding wave," are also found in many collections. Beddome's popularity is, however, now mainly in America. [Rev. W. R. Stevenson, M.A.] Beddome is thus seen to be in common use to the extent of about 100 hymns. In this respect he exceeds every other Baptist hymnwriter; Miss Steele ranking second. The authorities for Beddome's hymns are: (1) A Collection of Hymns adapted to Public Worship, Bristol, W. Pine, 1769, the Collection of Ash & Evans; (2) Dr. Rippon's Selections 1787, and later editions; (3) Sermons printed from the Manuscripts of the late Rev. Benjamin Beddome, M.A.,... with brief Memoir of the Author, Dunstable & Lond., 1805-1819; (4) Dr. Rippon's Baptist Register, 1795, &c.; (5) The Beddome Manuscripts, in the Baptist College, Bristol; (6) and Hymns adapted to Public Worship, or Family Devotion now first published, from Manuscripts of the late Rev. B. Beddome, A.M. With a Recommendatory Preface by the Rev. R. Hall, A.M. Lond., 1817. In his Preface, Mr. Hall gives this account of the Beddome Manuscript:— "The present Editor was entrusted several years ago with the MSS, both in prose and verse, with permission from the late Messrs. S. & B. Beddome, sons of the Author, to publish such parts of them as he might deem proper. He is also indebted to a descendant of the Rev. W. Christian, formerly pastor of the Baptist Church at Sheepshead, Leicestershire, for some of the Author's valuable hymns, which had been carefully preserved in the family. From both these sources, as well as others of less consequence, the present interesting volume has been derived." -- Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ======================= Beddome, Benjamin, pp. 121-124. Other hymns in common use:— 1. Great God, before Thy mercy-seat. (1817). Lent. 2. Great God, oppressed with grief and fear. (1787.) Reading H. Scripture. 3. How glorious is Thy word, 0 God. Holy Scripture. From "When Israel, &c," p. 124, i. 4. In God I ever will rejoice. Morning. From his Hymns, &c, 1817. 5. Jesus, my Lord, divinely fair. (1817.) Jesus the King of Saints. Begins with stanza ii. of “Listen, ye mortals, while I sing." 6. Rejoice, for Christ the Saviour reigns. Missions. Altered form of "Shout, for the blessed, &c," p. 123, ii. 7. Satan, the world, and sin. (1817.) In Temptation. 8. Thou, Lord of all above. (1817.) Lent. 9. Unto Thine altar, Lord. (1787.) Lent. 10. Ye saints of every rank, with joy. (1800.) Public Worship. The dates given above are, 1787 and 1800, Rippon's Selection; and 1817 Beddome's Hymns. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II

John Bacchus Dykes

1823 - 1876 Person Name: Rev. J. B. Dykes, Mus. Doc. Composer of "[Though faint, yet pursuing]" 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 As a young child John Bacchus Dykes (b. Kingston-upon-Hull' England, 1823; d. Ticehurst, Sussex, England, 1876) took violin and piano lessons. At the age of ten he became the organist of St. John's in Hull, where his grandfather was vicar. After receiving a classics degree from St. Catherine College, Cambridge, England, he was ordained in the Church of England in 1847. In 1849 he became the precentor and choir director at Durham Cathedral, where he introduced reforms in the choir by insisting on consistent attendance, increasing rehearsals, and initiating music festivals. He served the parish of St. Oswald in Durham from 1862 until the year of his death. To the chagrin of his bishop, Dykes favored the high church practices associated with the Oxford Movement (choir robes, incense, and the like). A number of his three hundred hymn tunes are still respected as durable examples of Victorian hymnody. Most of his tunes were first published in Chope's Congregational Hymn and Tune Book (1857) and in early editions of the famous British hymnal, Hymns Ancient and Modern. Bert Polman

Thomas Koschat

1845 - 1914 Person Name: Thos Koschat Composer of "[Though faint, yet pursuing, we go on our way]" in Pentecostal Hymns Nos. 3 and 4 Combined Thomas Koschat Austria 1845-1914. Born at Viktring, Austria, he studied chemistry in Vienna (1865-67). A Roman Catholic, in 1866 he joined the Vienna State Opera and sang bass in the Hofoper (court opera) Choir, and eventually became choir director. In 1874 he joined the choir at St. Stephen’s Cathedral. In 1877 he joined the Hofmusikkapelle (choir) and served as a soloist there. From 1877-1906 he founded and sang with the Koschat Quintet, touring Europe and America extensively. He was well-known for his ‘Karntnerlider’ Carinthian folk songs. Emperor Wilhelm awarded him the ‘Adler Order of the Red Eagle’. He wrote several books and also published a book of poems in the Carinthian dialect. He died in Vienna, Austria. He was a musician, author, composer, librettist, adapter, and contributor. John Perry

John Reading

1645 - 1692 Person Name: J. Reading Composer of "ADESTE FIDELES" in University Hymns b. c1645, Lincoln; d. 1692, Winchester; English composer and organist; organist to Winchester Cathedral from 1675 to 1681; Adeste fideles has been attributed to him.

Gaetano Donizetti

1797 - 1848 Person Name: Donizetti Composer of "PAULINA" in Hymns of Grace and Truth Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (born 29 November 1797 – died 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer from Bergamo, Lombardy. Donizetti came from a non-musical background but, at an early age, he was taken under the wing of composer Simon Mayr who had set up the Lezioni Caritatevoli and had enrolled him by means of a full scholarship. There he received detailed training in the arts of fugue and counterpoint, and it was from there that Mayr was instrumental in obtaining a place for the young man at the Bologna Academy. In Bologna, at the age of 19, he wrote his first one-act opera, the comedy Il Pigmalione, although it does not appear to have been performed during his lifetime. Through his life, Donizetti wrote about 70 operas, but an offer in 1822 from Domenico Barbaja, the impresario of the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, which followed the composer's ninth opera, led to his move to that city and the composition of 28 operas which were given their premieres at that house or in one of the city's smaller houses including the Teatro Nuovo or the Teatro del Fondo. This continued until the production of Caterina Cornaro in January 1844. In all, Naples presented 51 of Donizetti's operas. During this period, success came primarily with the comic operas, the serious ones failing to attract significant audiences. However, the situation changed with the appearance in 1830 of the serious opera, Anna Bolena which was the first to make a major impact on the Italian and international opera scene and, at the same time, to shift the balance for the composer away from success with only comedic operas. However, even after 1830, his best-known works did also include comedies such as L'elisir d'amore (1832) and Don Pasquale (1843). But significant historical dramas did appear and became successful, sometimes outside Naples before reaching that city. Most significantly, they included Lucia di Lammermoor (the first to be written by librettist Salvadore Cammarano) in 1835, as well as "one of [his] most successful Neapolitan operas", Roberto Devereux in Up to that point, all of his operas had been written to Italian librettos. However, moving to Paris in 1838, Donizetti set his operas to French texts; these include La favorite and La fille du régiment and were first performed in that city from 1840 onward. It appears that much of the attraction of moving to Paris was not just for larger fees and prestige, but his chafing against the censorial limitations which existed in Italy, thus giving him a much greater freedom to choose subject matter. By 1845 severe illness caused him to be moved back to Bergamo to die in 1848. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of bel canto opera during the first fifty years of the Nineteenth Century. The youngest of three sons, Donizetti was born in 1797 in Bergamo's Borgo Canale quarter located just outside the city walls. His family was very poor and had no tradition of music, his father Andrea, being the caretaker of the town pawnshop. Simone Mayr, a German composer of internationally successful operas had become maestro di cappella at Bergamo's principal church in 1802 and he then founded the Lezioni Caritatevoli school in Bergamo in 1805 for the purpose of providing musical training, including classes in literature, beyond that which choirboys ordinarily received up until the time that their voices broke. In 1807, Andrea Donizetti attempted to enroll both his sons, but the elder, Giuseppe (then 18), was considered too old. Gaetano (then 9) was accepted. While not especially successful as a choirboy during the first three trial months of 1807, there being some concern about a diffetto di gola (throat defect), in every other regard Mayr was reporting that Gaetano "surpasses all the others in musical progress". Mayr was able to persuade the authorities that the young boy's talents were worthy of keeping him in the school, and he remained there for nine years until 1815. However, as William Ashbrook notes, in 1809 he was threatened with having to leave because his voice was changing. In 1810 he applied for and was accepted by the local art school, the Academia Carrara, but it is unknown whether he attended classes. Then, in 1811, Mayr once again intervened. Having written both libretto and music for a "pasticcio-farsa", Il piccolo compositore di musica, as the final concert of the academic year, he cast five your students amongst them Donizetti, his young pupil, as "the little composer". As Ashbrook notes this "was nothing less than Mayr's argument that Donizetti be allowed to continue his musical studies". In Bologna, he justified the faith which Mayr had placed in him and in 1816 he wrote what Allitt describes as "his initial exercises in operatic style", the opera Il pigmalione, as well as composing portions of Olympiade and L'ira d'Achille in 1817, these two being no more than "suggest[ing] the work of a student". Encouraged by Mayr to return to Bergamo in 1817, he began his "quartet years" as well as composing piano pieces and most likely being part of quartets where he would have played and heard music of other composers. In addition, he began seeking employment. After some minor compositions under the commission of Paolo Zancla, Donizetti wrote his ninth opera, Zoraida di Granata. This work impressed Domenico Barbaia, a prominent theatre manager, and Donizetti was offered a contract to compose in Naples. Writing in Rome and Milan in addition to Naples, Donizetti achieved some popular success in the 1820s (although critics were often unimpressed). It was not until 1830 that he became well known internationally, when his Anna Bolena was premiered in Milan, and this brought him instant fame throughout Europe. L'elisir d'amore, a comedy produced in 1832, came soon after, and is deemed to be one of the masterpieces of 19th-century opera buffa (as is his Don Pasquale, written for Paris in 1843). Shortly after L'elisir d'amore, Donizetti composed Lucia di Lammermoor, based on The Bride of Lammermoor, the novel by Sir Walter Scott. This became his most famous opera, and one of the high points of the bel canto tradition, reaching a stature similar to that of Bellini's Norma. Donizetti's wife, Virginia Vasselli, gave birth to three children, none of whom survived. Within a year of his parents' deaths, on 30 July 1837 his wife died from cholera. By 1843, Donizetti was exhibiting symptoms of syphilis and probable bipolar disorder. After being institutionalized in 1845, he was sent to Paris, where he could be cared for. After visits from friends, including Giuseppe Verdi, Donizetti was taken back to Bergamo, his hometown. After several years in the grip of insanity, he died in 1848 in the house of a noble family, the Scotti. Donizetti was buried in the cemetery of Valtesse but in the late 19th century his body was transferred to Bergamo's Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore near the grave of his teacher Simon Mayr. Donizetti, a prolific composer, is best known for his operatic works, but he also wrote music in a number of other forms, including some church music, a number of string quartets, and some orchestral pieces. Altogether, he composed about 75 operas, 16 symphonies, 19 string quartets, 193 songs, 45 duets, 3 oratorios, 28 cantatas, instrumental concertos, sonatas, and other chamber pieces. --en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ (excerpts)