FARMER (J. Farmer)

Composer: John Farmer

Born: Au­gust 16, 1835, Not­ting­ham, Eng­land. Died: Ju­ly 17, 1901, at his home in Ox­ford, Eng­land. Buried: St. Se­pul­chre’s Cem­e­tery, Jer­­icho, Ox­ford, Eng­land. Eldest child of butch­er John Far­mer and mill­in­er Ma­ry Black­shaw Far­mer, John learned to play the pi­a­no, vi­o­lin, and harp when young. He was ap­pren­ticed to his un­cle Hen­ry Far­mer, an or­gan­ist, com­pos­er, and mu­sic teacher with a mu­sic and mu­sic­al in­stru­ment bus­i­ness in Not­ting­ham. At age 14, John went to st­udy at the Leip­zig Con­ser­va­to­ry, then three years lat­er un­der An­dre­as Spaeth in Co­burg for a year. He re­turned to Eng­land in 1853, and en­tered his father’s lac… Go to person page >

Tune Information

Title: FARMER (J. Farmer)
Composer: John Farmer (1892)
Meter: 7.6.7.6 D
Incipit: 11135 65531 72111
Key: C Major
Copyright: Public Domain

Texts

The Corn Is Ripe for Reaping

Go Forward, Christian Soldier

Go forward, Christian soldier,
Beneath His banner true!
The Lord Himself, thy Leader,
Shall all thy foes subdue.
His love foretells thy trials;
He knows thine hourly need;
He can with bread of heaven
Thy fainting spirit feed.

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O happy time of reaping, Fields flow with ruddy grain

Notes

The tune FARMER is marked by dramatically ascending melodic phrases and energetic rhythms in its opening lines. Sing in harmony throughout, possibly reserving unison for the third stanza. Use solid organ accompaniment; accompany with brass if possible.

Presumably, the source of FARMER is John Farmer's Hymns and Chorales (1892). A self-taught pianist, violinist, and harpist, Farmer (b. Nottingham, England, 1836; d. Oxford, England, 1901) studied music in Leipzig, Germany, and Coburg, Germany. He taught in Zurich from 1857 to 1861 but then returned to England, where he taught at Harrow School–not in a traditional, academic manner but through lighthearted choral singing. In 1885 he became organist at Balliol College, Oxford, a position he retained until his death. At Balliol he introduced Sunday evening performances of classical music despite the objections of many church folk. He also wrote many songs for the Harrow School as well as oratorios and operas. Farmer was a major force in introducing Bach and Brahms to the English public. He edited works of Bach as well as Hymns and Chorales for Schools and Colleges (1892).

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook, 1988

Timeline

Media

The Cyber Hymnal #875
Text: Christ Is the World's Redeemer
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)
The Cyber Hymnal #5181
Text: Of Mercy and of Justice
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)
The Cyber Hymnal #9336
Text: The Southern Cross
  • PDF (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer Score (NWC)
Psalter Hymnal (Gray) #390
Text: The Day of Resurrection
  • Full Score (PDF, XML)
  • Bulletin Score (PDF)
  • Bulletin Score (melody only) (PDF)

Instances

Instances (1 - 5 of 5)

Hymnal #185

Text InfoTune InfoTextScoreAudioPage Scan

Psalter Hymnal (Gray) #390

TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #875

TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #5181

TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #9336

Include 44 pre-1979 instances
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