ENGELBERG

Composer: Charles V. Stanford

Charles V. Stanford (b. Dublin, Ireland, 1852; d. Marylebone, London, England, 1924) composed ENGELBERG as a setting for William W. How's "For All the Saints" (505). The tune was published in the 1904 edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern with no less than six different musical settings. It is clearly a fine congregational hymn but also a stunning choral anthem when used with some of the additional settings that Stanford supplied.

ENGELBERG is an attractive, energetic melody with many ascending motives, designed for unison singing with no pauses between stanzas. Try using other instruments in addition to organ (as stanza 5 suggests). Accompanists could play the third and fourth stanzas in a more subdued manner and then play the climactic final stanza with great strength and vigor.

A distinguished composer and teacher of composition, Stanford began his musical career at an early age. Before the age of ten he had composed several pieces and given piano recitals of works by Handel and Bach. He studied at Queen's College, Cambridge, England, as well as in Leipzig and Berlin. At the age of twenty-one he was asked to become organist at the famous Trinity College, Cambridge. At that time he also began a prestigious career in conducting, which included appearances with the London Bach Choir from 1885 to 1902, and he traveled widely in England, Europe, and the United States. His teaching career was equally impressive. Stanford taught composition at both the Royal College of Music and Cambridge University; among his students were Ralph Vaughan Williams (PHH 316) and Gustav Holst. He was knighted in 1902. Stanford wrote over two hundred compositions in nearly all musical genres, including symphonies, operas, chamber music, and songs. Most notable in his church music are several complete services, anthems, and unison hymn tunes.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

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