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William T. Sleeper

1819 - 1904 Person Name: William W. Sleeper Topics: The Nation Patriotism Composer of "AMERICA, THE BEAUTIFUL" in The Hymnal of Praise Sleeper, W. T. is given in I. D. Sankey’s Sacred Songs & Solos, 1881, as the author of “A ruler once came to Jesus by night” (Need for the New Birth). --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907) =============== William T. Sleeper (1819-1904)] Born: February 9, 1819, Danbury, New Hampshire. Died: September 24, 1904, Wellesley, Massachusetts. Sleeper attended Phillips-Exeter Academy, the University of Vermont, and the Andover Theological Seminary. After ordination, he conducted home ministry work in Massachusetts and Maine. He later became pastor of the Summer Street Congregational Church in Worcester, Massachusetts, where he served over 30 years. His works include: The Rejected King, and Hymns of Jesus, 1883. -- www.hymntime.com

Johann Anastasius Freylinghausen

1670 - 1739 Person Name: Johann A. Freylinghauseh Topics: National Composer of "MACHT HOCH DIE TÜR" in Trinity Hymnal Freylinghausen, Johann Anastasius, son of Dietrich Freylinghausen, merchant and burgomaster at Gandersheim, Brunswick, was born at Gandersheim, Dec. 2, 1670. He entered the University of Jena at Easter, 1689. Attracted by the preaching of A. H. Francke and J. J. Breithaupt, he removed to Erfurt in 1691, and at Easter, 1692, followed them to Halle. About the end of 1693 he returned to Gandersheim, and employed himself as a private tutor. In 1695 he went to Glaucha as assistant to Francke; and when Francke became pastor of St. Ulrich's, in Halle,1715, Freylinghausen became his colleague, and in the same year married his only daughter. In 1723 he became also sub-director of the Paedagogium and the Orphanage; and after Francke's death in 1727, succeeded him as pastor of St. Ulrich's and director of the Francke Institutions. Under his fostering care these Institutions attained their highest development. From a stroke of paralysis in 1728, and a second in 1730, he recovered in great measure, but a third in 1737 crippled his right side, while the last, in Nov., 1738, left him almost helpless. He died on Feb. 12, 1739, and was buried beside Francke (Koch, vi. 322-334; Allgemine Deutsche Biographie, vii. 370-71; Bode, pp. 69-70; Grote's Introduction, &c.) Almost all Freylinghausen's hymns appeared in his own hymnbook, which was the standard collection of the Halle school, uniting the best productions of Pietism with a good representation of the older "classical" hymns. This work, which greatly influenced later collections, and was the source from which many editors drew not only the hymns of Pietism, but also the current forms of the earlier hymns (as well as the new "Halle" melodies, a number of which are ascribed to Freylinghausen himself) appeared in two parts, viz.:— i. Geistreiches Gesang-Buch, den Kern alter und neuer Lieder...in sich haltend &c, Halle. Gedrucktund verlegt im Waysen-Hause, 1704 [Hamburg], with 683 hymns and 173 melodies. To the second edition, 1705 [Rostock University], an Appendix was added with Hymns 684-758, and 21 melodies. Editions 3-18 are practically the same so far as the hymns are concerned, save that in ed. 11, 1719 [Berlin], and later issues, four hymns, written by J. J. Rambach at Freylinghausen's request, replaced four of those in eds. 1-10. ii. Neues Geistreiches Gesangbuch,&c, Halle . . . 1714 [Berlin], with 815 hymns and 154 melodies. In the 2nd edition, 1719 [Rostock University], Hymns 816-818, with one melody, were added. In 1741 these two parts were combined by G. A. Francke, seven hymns being added, all but one taken from the first edition, 1718, of the so-called Auszug, which was compiled for congregational use mainly from the original two parts: and this reached a second, and last, edition in 1771. So far as the melodies are concerned, the edition of 1771 is the most complete, containing some 600 to 1582 hymns. (Further details of these editions in the Blätter für Hymnologie, 1883, pp. 44-46, 106-109; 1885, pp. 13-14.) A little volume of notes on the hymns and hymnwriters of the 1771 edition, compiled by J. H. Grischow and completed by J. G. Kirchner, and occasionally referred to in these pages, appeared as Kurzgefasste Nachricht von ältern und ncuern Liederverfassern at Halle, 1771. As a hymnwriter Freylinghausen ranks not only as the best of the Pietistic school, but as the first among his contemporaries. His finest productions are distinguished by a sound and robust piety, warmth of feeling depth of Christian experience, scripturalness, clearness and variety of style, which gained for them wide acceptance, and have kept them still in popular use. A complete edition of his 44 hymns, with a biographical introduction by Ludwig Grote, appeared as his Geistliche Lieder, at Halle, 1855. A number of them, including No. v., are said to have been written during severe attacks of toothache. Two (“Auf, auf, weil der Tag erschienen"; "Der Tag ist hin") are noted under their own first lines. i. Hymns in English common use: -- i. Monarche aller Ding. God's Majesty. 1714, as above, No. 139, in 11 stanzas of 6 lines, repeated in Grote, 1855, p. 88, and as No. 38 in the Berlin Geistliche Lieder, ed. 1863. A fine hymn of Praise, on the majesty and love of God. Translated as:— Monarch of all, with lowly fear, by J. Wesley, in Hymns & Sacred Poems, 1739 (P. Works, 1868-1872, vol. i. p. 104), in 8 stanzas of 4 lines, from st. i., ii., v.-vii., ix.-xi. Repeated in full in the Moravian Hymnbook, 1754, pt. i., No. 456 (1886, No. 176); and in J. A. Latrobe's Collection, 1841. The following forms of this translation are also in common use:-- (1) To Thee, 0 Lord, with humble fear, being Wesley's st. i., iii.-v., vii., viii. altered as No. 156 in Dr. Martineau's Hymns for Christian Church & Home, 1840, and repeated in Miss Courtauld's Psalms, Hymns & Anthems, 1860, and in America in the Cheshire Association Unitarian Collection, 1844. (2) Thou, Lord, of all the parent art, Wesley's, st. iii.-v., vii. altered in the College Hymnal, N. Y., 1876. (3) Thou, Lord, art Light; Thy native ray, Wesley's st. iv., v., vii., in Hymns of the Spirit, 1864. ii. 0 reines Wesen, lautre Quelle. Penitence. Founded on Psalm li. 12, 1714, as above, No. 321, in 7 stanzas of 8 lines, repeated in Grote, 1855, p. 41, and in Bunsen's Versuch, 1833, No. 777 (ed. 1881, No. 435). The only translation in common use is:— Pure Essence: Spotless Fount of Light. A good and full translation by Miss Winkworth in the first series of her Lyra Germanica, 1855, p. 43, and in her Chorale Book for England, 1863, No. 113. iii. Wer ist wohl wie du. Names and offices of Christ. One of his noblest and most beautiful hymns, a mirror of his inner life, and one of the finest of the German "Jesus Hymns." 1704, as above, No. 66, in 14 st. of 6 l., repeated in Grote, 1855, p. 33, and is No. 96 in the Berlin Geistliche Lieder, ed. 1863. The translations in common use are: 1. 0 Jesu, source of calm repose, by J. Wesley, being a free translation of st. i., iii., v., viii., xiii. First published in his Psalms & Hymns, Charlestown, 1737 (Poetical Works, 1868-1872, vol. i. p. 161). Repeated in full as No. 462 in pt. i. of the Moravian Hymnbook, 1754. In the 1826 and later editions (1886, No. 233) it begins, "Jesus, Thou source." The original form was included as No. 49 in the Wesley Hymns & Spiritual Songs , 1753, and, as No. 343, in the Wesley Hymnbook, 1780 (1875, No. 353). Varying centos under the original first line are found in Mercer's Church Psalter & Hymn Book, 1855-1864; Kennedy , 1863; Irish Church Hymnal, 1869-1873; J. L. Porter's Collection, 1876, &c. It has also furnished the following centos:— (1) Messiah! Lord! rejoicing still, being Wesley's st. iv.-vi. altered in Dr. Martineau's Collection of Hymns for Christian Worship, 1840. (2) Lord over all, sent to fulfil, Wesley's st. iv., iii., v., vi. in the American Methodist Episcopal Hymnbook, 1849. 2. Who is like Thee, Who? a translation of st. i., ii., v., vii., x., xiii., as No. 687, in pt. i. of the Moravian Hymnbook, 1754. Translations of st. xi., xiv. were added in 1789, and the first line altered in 1801(1886, No. 234), to "Jesus, who with Thee." The translations of st. i., ii., x., xiv., from the 1801, altered and beginning, "Jesus, who can be," are included in America in the Dutch Reformed Hymns of the Church, 1869; Hymns & Songs of Praise, N. Y., 1874; and Richards's Collection, N.Y., 1881. 3. Who is there like Thee, a good translation of st. i., ii., viii., xiv., by J. S. Stallybrass, as No. 234 in Curwen's Sabbath Hymnbook, 1859, repeated in the Irish Church Hymnal, 1873, and in W. F. Stevenson's Hymns for Church & Home, 1873. 4. Who is, Jesus blest, a translation of stanzas i., ii., v., vi., xii., xiv., by M. Loy, in the Ohio Lutheran Hymnal, 1880. 5. Who, as Thou, makes blest, a good translation, omitting st. vii., ix., x., contributed by Dr. F. W Gotch to the Baptist Magazine, 1857. Repeated in the 1880 Supplement to the Baptist Psalms & Hymns, 1858. The translations not in common use are: — (1) "Whither shall we flee," by Miss Dunn, 1857, p. 55. (2) "Who has worth like Thine," in the U. P. Juvenile Miss. Magazine, 1857, p. 217. (3) "Thou art First and Best," by Miss Winkworth, 1869, p. 267. ii. Hymns translated into English but not in common use:— iv. Herr und Gott der Tag und Nächte. Evening. 1705, as above, No. 755, in 6 stanzas, Grote, p. 105. Translated by H. J. Buckoll, 1842, p. 106, beginning with stanza. ii. v. Mein Herz, gieb dioh rufrieden. Cross and Consolation. First in the Halle Stadt Gesangbuch, 1711, No. 503, in 11 stanzas; repeated 1714, No. 450, and in Grote, p. 71. Translated by Dr. G. Walker, 1860, p. 86. vi. 0 Lamm, das keine Sünde je beflecket. Passiontide. 1714, No. 85, in 19 stanzas, Grote, p. 14. Translated as, (1) "Lamb, for Thy boundless love I praises offer," of st. xii. as stanza i. of No. 1023 in the Supplement of 1808 to the Moravian Hymn Book, 1801 (1849, No. 121). (2) "O Lamb, whom never spot of sin defiled," in the British Magazine, June, 1838, p. 625. vii. 0 Lamm, das meine Sündenlast getragen. Easter Eve. 1714, No. 95, in 8 stanzas; Grote, p. 23. Translated as "Christ Jesus is that precious grain," a translation of st. v. by F. W. Foster, as No. 71 in the Moravian Hymnbook, 1789 (1886, No. 921). viii. Zu dir, Herr Jesu, komme ich. Penitence. Founded on St. Matthew xi. 28-30. 1714, as above, No. 306, in 4 stanzas; Grote, p. 39. Translated by Dr. H. Mills, 1845 (1856, p. 80). [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

John Sullivan Dwight

1813 - 1893 Person Name: John S. Dwight, 1813-93 Topics: The Nation Author of "God Bless Our Native Land" in Lutheran Worship John Sullivan Dwight, born, in Boston, May 13, 1813, was a virtuoso in music, and an enthusiastic student of the art and science of tonal harmony. He joined a Harvard musical club known as "The Pierian Sodality" while a student at the University, and after his graduation became a prolific writer on musical subjects. Six years of his life were passed in the "Brook Farm Community." He was best known by his serial magazine, Dwight's Journal of Music, which was continued from 1852 to 1881. His death occurred in 1893. The Story of the Hymns and Tunes, Brown & Butterworth, 1906. ===================== Dwight, John Sullivan, son of Timothy Dwight (p. 316, ii.), was born at Boston, U.S.A., May 13, 1812, and educated at Harvard, and at the Cambridge Theological College. He laboured in the ministry for six years, and then devoted himself to literary work. For nearly 30 years he was editor of a Journal of Music. His connection with hymnody is very slight. (See "God bless our native land," p. 1566, i.) --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

James Russell Lowell

1819 - 1891 Person Name: James Russell Lowell, 1819-1891 Topics: The Nation Author of "Once to Every Man and Nation" in Pilgrim Hymnal Lowell, James Russell, LL.D., was born at Cambridge, Massachusetts, February 22, 1819; graduated at Harvard College, 1838, and was called to the Bar in 1840. Professor of Modern Languages and Literature (succeeding the Poet Longfellow) in Harvard, 1855; American Minister to Spain, also to England in 1881. He was editor of the Atlantic Monthly, from 1857 to 1862; and of the North American Review from 1863 to 1872. Professor Lowell is the most intellectual of American poets, and first of her art critics and humorists. He has written much admirable moral and sacred poetry, but no hymns. One piece, “Men, whose boast it is that ye" (Against Slavery), is part of an Anti-Slavery poem, and in its present form is found in Hymns of the Spirit, 1864. Part of this is given in Songs for the Sanctuary, N.Y., 1865, as "They are slaves who will not choose.” [Rev. F. M. Bird, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

William Croft

1678 - 1727 Person Name: William Croft, 1678-1727 Topics: Special Topics The Nation Composer (attr.) of "ST. ANNE (Croft)" in Trinity Hymnal (Rev. ed.) William Croft, Mus. Doc. was born in the year 1677 and received his musical education in the Chapel Royal, under Dr. Blow. In 1700 he was admitted a Gentleman Extraordinary of the Chapel Boyd; and in 1707, upon the decease of Jeremiah Clarke, he was appointed joint organist with his mentor, Dr. Blow. In 1709 he was elected organist of Westminster Abbey. This amiable man and excellent musician died in 1727, in the fiftieth year of his age. A very large number of Dr. Croft's compositions remain still in manuscript. Cathedral chants of the XVI, XVII & XVIII centuries, ed. by Edward F. Rimbault, London: D. Almaine & Co., 1844

Johann Franck

1618 - 1677 Person Name: Johann Franck, 1618-1677 Topics: The Life in Christ Community, Nation and World Author of "Lord God, we worship Thee" in Hymnal and Liturgies of the Moravian Church Johann Franck (b. Guben, Brandenburg, Germany, 1618; d. Guben, 1677) was a law student at the University of Köningsberg and practiced law during the Thirty Years' War. He held several positions in civil service, including councillor and mayor of Guben. A significant poet, second only to Paul Gerhardt in his day, Franck wrote some 110 hymns, many of which were published by his friend Johann Crüger in various editions of the Praxis Pietatis melica. All were included in the first part of Franck’s Teutsche Gedichte bestehend im geistliche Sion (1672). Bert Polman ============= Franck, Johann, son of Johann Franck, advocate and councillor at Guben, Brandenburg, was born at Guben, June 1, 1618. After his father's death, in 1620, his uncle by marriage, the Town Judge, Adam Tielckau, adopted him and sent him for his education to the schools at Guben, Cottbus, Stettin and Thorn. On June 28, 1638, he matriculated as a student of law at the University of Königsberg, the only German university left undisturbed by the Thirty Years' War. Here his religious spirit, his love of nature, and his friendship with such men as Simon Dach and Heinrich Held, preserved him from sharing in the excesses of his fellow students. He returned to Guben at Easter, 1640, at the urgent request of his mother, who wished to have him near her in those times of war during which Guben frequently suffered from the presence of both Swedish and Saxon troops. After his return from Prague, May, 1645, he commenced practice as a lawyer. In 1648 he became a burgess and councillor, in 1661 burgomaster, and in 1671 was appointed the deputy from Guben to the Landtag (Diet) of Lower Lusatia. He died at Guben, June 18, 1677; and on the bicentenary of his death, June 18, 1877, a monumental tablet to his memory was affixed to the outer wall of the Stadtkirche at Guben (Koch, iii. 378-385; Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, vii. 211-212; the two works by Dr. Hugo Jentsch of Guben, Johann Franck, 1877, and Die Abfassungszeit der geistlichen Lieder Johann Franck's, 1876). Of Franck's secular poems those before 1649 are much the best; his later productions becoming more and more affected and artificial, long-winded and full of classical allusions, and much inferior to those of Dach or Opitz. As a hymn writer he holds a high rank and is distinguished for unfeigned and firm faith, deep earnestness, finished form, and noble, pithy, simplicity of expression. In his hymns we miss the objectivity and congregational character of the older German hymns, and notice a more personal, individual tone; especially the longing for the inward and mystical union of Christ with the soul as in his "Jesus, meine Freude." He stands in close relationship with Gerhardt, sometimes more soaring and occasionally more profound, but neither on the whole so natural nor so suited for popular comprehension or Church use. His hymns appeared mostly in the works of his friends Weichmann, Crüger and Peter. They were collected in his Geistliches Sion, Guben, 1674, to the number of 110; and of these the 57 hymns (the other 53 being psalm versions of no great merit) were reprinted with a biographical preface by Dr. J. L. Pasig as Johann Franck's Geistliche Lieder, Grimma, 1846. Two of those translated into English are from the Latin of J. Campanus (q. v.). Four other hymns are annotated under their own first lines:—"Brunquell aller Güter"; "Dreieinigkeit der Gottheit wahrer Spiegel"; "Jesu, meine Freude"; "Schmücke dich, o liebe Secle." The rest are:— i. Hymns in English common use: -- i. Erweitert eure Pforten . [Advent]. Founded on Psalm xxiv. 7-10. First published in C. Peter's Andachts-Zymbeln, Freiberg, 1655, p. 25, in 7 stanzas of 8 lines; repeated 1674, p. 3, and 1846, p. 3, as above. Included in the 1688 and later editions of Crüger's Praxis pietatis, in Bollhagen's Gesang-Buch, 1736, &c. The only translation in common use is:—- Unfold your gates and open, a translation of st. 1, 3, 6, by A. T. Russell, as No. 30 in his Hymns & Psalms, 1851; repeated altered as No. 30 in Kennedy, 1863, and thus as No. 102 in Holy Song, 1869. ii. Herr Gott dich loben wir, Regier. Thanksgiving for Peace. Evidently written as a thanksgiving for the conclusion of the Thirty Years' War, by the Peace of Westphalia, Oct. 24, 1648. First published in the Crüger-Runge Gesang-Buch, Berlin, 1653, No. 306, in 9 st. of 8 l., as the first of the "Hymns of Thanksgiving for Peace attained"; and repeated 1674, p. 182, and 1846, p. 77, as above. Included in Crüger's Praxis, 1653, and many later collections, and, as No. 591, in the Unverfälschter Liedersegen, 1851. The only translation in common use is:— Lord God, we worship Thee, a very good version of st. 2, 3, 6, 8, by Miss Winkworth in her Chorale Book for England, 1863, No. 183. Repeated in full in the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge Church Hymns, 1871; the Hymnary, 1872; the Psalmist, 1878; and in America in the Pennsylvania Lutheran Church Book, 1868. In the American Protestant Episcopal Collection, 1871; the Hymns & Songs of Praise, N. Y. 1874; and the Ohio Lutheran Hymnal, 1880, the translation of stanza 8 is omitted. iii. Herr ich habe missgehandelt. Lent. Of this fine hymn of penitence stanza i. appeared as No. 19 in Cruger's Geistliche Kirchenmelodien , Leipzig, 1649. The full form in 8 stanzas of 6 lines is No. 41 in the Crüger-Runge Gesang-Buch, Berlin, 1653, entitled "For the forgiveness of sins," repeated 1674, p. 39, and 1846, p. 37, as above. Included in Crüger's Praxis, 1653, and others, and in the Unverfälschter Liedersegen, 1851. The only translation in common use is:— Lord, to Thee I make confession, a very good translation, omitting st. 4, 5, 6, by Miss Winkworth in her Chorale Book for England, 1863, No. 44, repeated in the Appendix to the Hymnal for St. John's, Aberdeen, 1865-1870; and in the Pennsylvania Lutheran Ch. Book, 1868; Evangelical Hymnal, N. Y., 1880; Ohio Lutheran Hymnal, 1880. Another translation is: "Lord, how oft I have offended," by N. L. Frothingham, 1870, p. 177. iv. Herr Jesu, Licht der Heiden. Presentation in the Temple. Founded on the account in St. Luke ii., and probably the finest hymn on the subject. Dr. Jentsch, 1876, p. 9, thinks it was written before Dec. 8, 1669, as C. Peter, who died then, left a melody for it. We have not found the full text earlier than 1674, as above, p. 10, in 6 stanzas of 8 lines, entitled "On the Festival of the Purification of Mary" (1846, p. 10). Included in the 1688 and later editions of Crüger's Praxis, and in the Unverfälschter Liedersegen, 1851, No. 197. The translations in common use are:— 1. Light of the Gentile world , a translation, omitting st. 6, by Miss Winkworth in the first service of her Lyra Germanica, 1855, p. 193 (ed. 1876, p. 195), and thence as No. 147 in the Pennsylvania Lutheran Hymn Book, 1865. This version is in S.M. Double. 2. Light of the Gentile Nations, a good translation, omitting st. 6, by Miss Winkworth in her Chorale Book for England, 1863, No. 80. Repeated in Dr. Thomas's Augustine Hymn Book, 1866, and in America in the Pennsylvania Lutheran Church Book, 1868, and the Ohio Lutheran Hymnal, 1880. ii. Hymns not in English common use: v. Du geballtes Weltgebäude. Christ above all earthly things. Stanza i. in Cruger's Kirchenmelodien, 1649, No. 116. The full text (beginning "Du o schönes) is No. 239 in the Crüger-Runge Gesang-Buch, 1653, in 8 stanzas, entitled "Longing after Eternal Life." Repeated, 1674, p. 194, and 1846, p. 60, as above. The translations are: (1) "Let who will in thee rejoice," by Miss Winkworth, 1855, p. 180 (1876, p. 182). (2) "O beautiful abode of earth," by Miss Warner, 1858 (1861, p. 233). (3) "Thou, O fair Creation-building," by N. L. Frothingham, 1870, p. 232. vi. Unsre müden Augenlieder. Evening. Probably written while a student at Königsberg. First published in J. Weichmann's Sorgen-lägerin, Königsberg, 1648, Pt. iii., No. 4, in 7 st.; repeated 1674, p. 213, and 1846, p. 91, as above. The only translation is by H. J. Buckoll, 1842, p. 79, beginning with st. vi., "Ever, Lord, on Thee relying." [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

H. W. Baker

1821 - 1877 Person Name: Henry Williams Baker, 1821-1877 Topics: The Nations; National and World Peace; The Kingdom of God on Earth The Nation, Peace Author of "O God of love, O King of peace" in The Hymnal Baker, Sir Henry Williams, Bart., eldest son of Admiral Sir Henry Loraine Baker, born in London, May 27, 1821, and educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated, B.A. 1844, M.A. 1847. Taking Holy Orders in 1844, he became, in 1851, Vicar of Monkland, Herefordshire. This benefice he held to his death, on Monday, Feb. 12, 1877. He succeeded to the Baronetcy in 1851. Sir Henry's name is intimately associated with hymnody. One of his earliest compositions was the very beautiful hymn, "Oh! what if we are Christ's," which he contributed to Murray's Hymnal for the Use of the English Church, 1852. His hymns, including metrical litanies and translations, number in the revised edition of Hymns Ancient & Modern, 33 in all. These were contributed at various times to Murray's Hymnal, Hymns Ancient & Modern and the London Mission Hymn Book, 1876-7. The last contains his three latest hymns. These are not included in Hymns Ancient & Modern. Of his hymns four only are in the highest strains of jubilation, another four are bright and cheerful, and the remainder are very tender, but exceedingly plaintive, sometimes even to sadness. Even those which at first seem bright and cheerful have an undertone of plaintiveness, and leave a dreamy sadness upon the spirit of the singer. Poetical figures, far-fetched illustrations, and difficult compound words, he entirely eschewed. In his simplicity of language, smoothness of rhythm, and earnestness of utterance, he reminds one forcibly of the saintly Lyte. In common with Lyte also, if a subject presented itself to his mind with striking contrasts of lights and shadows, he almost invariably sought shelter in the shadows. The last audible words which lingered on his dying lips were the third stanza of his exquisite rendering of the 23rd Psalm, "The King of Love, my Shepherd is:"— Perverse and foolish, oft I strayed, But yet in love He sought me, And on His Shoulder gently laid, And home, rejoicing, brought me." This tender sadness, brightened by a soft calm peace, was an epitome of his poetical life. Sir Henry's labours as the Editor of Hymns Ancient & Modern were very arduous. The trial copy was distributed amongst a few friends in 1859; first ed. published 1861, and the Appendix, in 1868; the trial copy of the revised ed. was issued in 1874, and the publication followed in 1875. In addition he edited Hymns for the London Mission, 1874, and Hymns for Mission Services, n.d., c. 1876-7. He also published Daily Prayers for those who work hard; a Daily Text Book, &c. In Hymns Ancient & Modern there are also four tunes (33, 211, 254, 472) the melodies of which are by Sir Henry, and the harmonies by Dr. Monk. He died Feb. 12, 1877. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Lowell Mason

1792 - 1872 Topics: The Kingdom of God on Earth The Nation; Nation, The Composer of "DORT" in The Hymnal Dr. Lowell Mason (the degree was conferred by the University of New York) is justly called the father of American church music; and by his labors were founded the germinating principles of national musical intelligence and knowledge, which afforded a soil upon which all higher musical culture has been founded. To him we owe some of our best ideas in religious church music, elementary musical education, music in the schools, the popularization of classical chorus singing, and the art of teaching music upon the Inductive or Pestalozzian plan. More than that, we owe him no small share of the respect which the profession of music enjoys at the present time as contrasted with the contempt in which it was held a century or more ago. In fact, the entire art of music, as now understood and practiced in America, has derived advantage from the work of this great man. Lowell Mason was born in Medfield, Mass., January 8, 1792. From childhood he had manifested an intense love for music, and had devoted all his spare time and effort to improving himself according to such opportunities as were available to him. At the age of twenty he found himself filling a clerkship in a banking house in Savannah, Ga. Here he lost no opportunity of gratifying his passion for musical advancement, and was fortunate to meet for the first time a thoroughly qualified instructor, in the person of F. L. Abel. Applying his spare hours assiduously to the cultivation of the pursuit to which his passion inclined him, he soon acquired a proficiency that enabled him to enter the field of original composition, and his first work of this kind was embodied in the compilation of a collection of church music, which contained many of his own compositions. The manuscript was offered unavailingly to publishers in Philadelphia and in Boston. Fortunately for our musical advancement it finally secured the attention of the Boston Handel and Haydn Society, and by its committee was submitted to Dr. G. K. Jackson, the severest critic in Boston. Dr. Jackson approved most heartily of the work, and added a few of his own compositions to it. Thus enlarged, it was finally published in 1822 as The Handel and Haydn Society Collection of Church Music. Mason's name was omitted from the publication at his own request, which he thus explains, "I was then a bank officer in Savannah, and did not wish to be known as a musical man, as I had not the least thought of ever making music a profession." President Winchester, of the Handel and Haydn Society, sold the copyright for the young man. Mr. Mason went back to Savannah with probably $500 in his pocket as the preliminary result of his Boston visit. The book soon sprang into universal popularity, being at once adopted by the singing schools of New England, and through this means entering into the church choirs, to whom it opened up a higher field of harmonic beauty. Its career of success ran through some seventeen editions. On realizing this success, Mason determined to accept an invitation to come to Boston and enter upon a musical career. This was in 1826. He was made an honorary member of the Handel and Haydn Society, but declined to accept this, and entered the ranks as an active member. He had been invited to come to Boston by President Winchester and other musical friends and was guaranteed an income of $2,000 a year. He was also appointed, by the influence of these friends, director of music at the Hanover, Green, and Park Street churches, to alternate six months with each congregation. Finally he made a permanent arrangement with the Bowdoin Street Church, and gave up the guarantee, but again friendly influence stepped in and procured for him the position of teller at the American Bank. In 1827 Lowell Mason became president and conductor of the Handel and Haydn Society. It was the beginning of a career that was to win for him as has been already stated the title of "The Father of American Church Music." Although this may seem rather a bold claim it is not too much under the circumstances. Mr. Mason might have been in the average ranks of musicianship had he lived in Europe; in America he was well in advance of his surroundings. It was not too high praise (in spite of Mason's very simple style) when Dr. Jackson wrote of his song collection: "It is much the best book I have seen published in this country, and I do not hesitate to give it my most decided approbation," or that the great contrapuntist, Hauptmann, should say the harmonies of the tunes were dignified and churchlike and that the counterpoint was good, plain, singable and melodious. Charles C. Perkins gives a few of the reasons why Lowell Mason was the very man to lead American music as it then existed. He says, "First and foremost, he was not so very much superior to the members as to be unreasonably impatient at their shortcomings. Second, he was a born teacher, who, by hard work, had fitted himself to give instruction in singing. Third, he was one of themselves, a plain, self-made man, who could understand them and be understood of them." The personality of Dr. Mason was of great use to the art and appreciation of music in this country. He was of strong mind, dignified manners, sensitive, yet sweet and engaging. Prof. Horace Mann, one of the great educators of that day, said he would walk fifty miles to see and hear Mr. Mason teach if he could not otherwise have that advantage. Dr. Mason visited a number of the music schools in Europe, studied their methods, and incorporated the best things in his own work. He founded the Boston Academy of Music. The aim of this institution was to reach the masses and introduce music into the public schools. Dr. Mason resided in Boston from 1826 to 1851, when he removed to New York. Not only Boston benefited directly by this enthusiastic teacher's instruction, but he was constantly traveling to other societies in distant cities and helping their work. He had a notable class at North Reading, Mass., and he went in his later years as far as Rochester, where he trained a chorus of five hundred voices, many of them teachers, and some of them coming long distances to study under him. Before 1810 he had developed his idea of "Teachers' Conventions," and, as in these he had representatives from different states, he made musical missionaries for almost the entire country. He left behind him no less than fifty volumes of musical collections, instruction books, and manuals. As a composer of solid, enduring church music. Dr. Mason was one of the most successful this country has introduced. He was a deeply pious man, and was a communicant of the Presbyterian Church. Dr. Mason in 1817 married Miss Abigail Gregory, of Leesborough, Mass. The family consisted of four sons, Daniel Gregory, Lowell, William and Henry. The two former founded the publishing house of Mason Bros., dissolved by the death of the former in 1869. Lowell and Henry were the founders of the great organ manufacturer of Mason & Hamlin. Dr. William Mason was one of the most eminent musicians that America has yet produced. Dr. Lowell Mason died at "Silverspring," a beautiful residence on the side of Orange Mountain, New Jersey, August 11, 1872, bequeathing his great musical library, much of which had been collected abroad, to Yale College. --Hall, J. H. (c1914). Biography of Gospel Song and Hymn Writers. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company.

W. H. Havergal

1793 - 1870 Person Name: William Henry Havergal, 1793- 1870 Topics: The Nation and Commonweal Composer of "[We praise Thee, O God]" in The Book of Praise Havergal, William Henry, M.A, son of William Havergal, was born at High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, 1793, and was educated at St. Edmund's Hall, Oxford (B.A. 1815, M.A. 1819). On taking Holy Orders he became in 1829 Rector of Astley, Worcestershire; in 1842, Rector of St. Nicholas, Worcester; and in 1860, Rector of Shareshill, near Wolverhampton. He was also Hon. Canon in Worcester Cathedral from 1845. He died April 18, 1870. His hymns, about 100 in all, were in many instances written for special services in his own church, and printed as leaflets. Several were included in W. Carus Wilson's Book of General Psalmody, 1840 (2nd ed., 1842); and in Metrical Psalms & Hymns for Singing in Churches, Worcester, Deighton, 1849, commonly known as the Worcester Diocesan Hymn Book, and of which he was the Editor. In Life Echoes, 1883, his hymns are given with those of Miss Havergal. Of those in common use the greater part are in Mercer, and Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory. Although his hymns are all good, and two or three are excellent, it is not as a hymnwriter but as a musician that Canon Havergal is best known. His musical works and compositions included, in addition to numerous individual hymn tunes and chants, the Gresham Prize Service, 1836; the Gresham Prize Anthem, 1845; Old Church Psalmody, 1849; History of the Old 100th Psalm tune, 1854, &c. He also reprinted Ravenscroft’s Psalter of 1611. His hymns in common use include:— 1. Blessed Jesus, lord and Brother. School Festivals, 1833. Published in Life Echoes, 1883. 2. Brighter than meridian splendour. Christ the glory of His Church. 1830. Published in W. C. Wilson's Book of General Psalms, 1840; the Worcester Psalms & Hymns, 1849, &c. 3. Christians, awake to joy and praise. Christmas Carol, c. 1860. Printed on broadsheet, with music by the author, and sold on behalf of the Lancashire Cotton Distress Fund. 4. Come, Shepherds, come, 'tis just a year. Christmas Carol. 1860. Published in Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory, 5. For ever and for ever, Lord. Missions, 1866, for the Church Mission Society. Published in Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory, 1872, and the Life Echoes, 1883. 6. Hallelujah, Lord, our voices. Sunday. 1828. Published in W. C. Wilson's Book of General Psalms, 1840; the Worcester Psalms & Hymns, 1849; Life Echoes, 1883, &c. 7. Heralds of the Lord of glory. Missions. First sung in Astley Church, Sep. 23, 1827. Published in Miss Havergal's Starlight through the Shadows, 1880; Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory, 1872, &c. 8. Hosanna, raise the pealing hymn. Praise to Christ, 1833, and first sung in Astley Church, June 9, 1833. Published in W. C. Wilson's Book of General Psalmody, 1840; the Worcester Psalms & Hymns, 1849; Life Echoes 1883, &c. 9. How vast the field of souls. Missions. 1858. Printed for Shareshill Church Miss. Anniversary, 1863, and published in Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory, 1872, and the Life Echoes, 1883. 10. In doubt and dread dismay. Missions. Written in 1837, and published in W. C. Wilson's Book of General Psalmody, 1840; the Worcester Psalms & Hymns, 1849, &c. 11. Jerusalem the golden, The home of saints shall be. Heaven. Published in Life Echoes, 1883. 12. My times are in Thy hand, Their best, &c. 1860. Published in Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory, 1872, the Records of the author's life and work, and Life Echoes, 1883. The editor of the Records says (p. 159) "this hymn has been much appreciated, and well illustrates the devotional and cheerful spirit of the writer." 13. No dawn of holy light. Sunday. 1825. Printed in 1831 on a leaflet, and published in W. C. Wilson's Book of General Psalmody, 1840; the Worcester Psalms & Hymns, 1849; Life Echoes, 1883, &c. 14. Our faithful God hath sent us. Harvest. Written at Shareshill in 1863, for a Harvest Festival. Published in Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory 1872, and Life Echoes, 1883. 15. Shout, 0 earth! from silence waking. Praise to Jesus for Redemption. 1841. Published in the Worcester Psalms & Hymns, 1849; Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory, 1872, &c. 16. So happy all the day. Christmas Carol, c. 1834. Published in Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory, 1872. 17. Soon the trumpet of salvation. Missions. 1826. Published in Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory, 1872. 18. To praise our Shepherd's [Saviour's] care. The Good Shepherd. Written after witnessing the death of Elizabeth Edwards, aged 12, of St. Nicholas, Worcester, and printed as a leaflet. Published in W. C. Wilson's Book of General Psalmody, 1840; the Worcester Psalms & Hymns, 1849; Life Echoes, &c, 1883. The author also published a Memoir of the child. 19. Widely 'midst the slumbering nations. Missions. 1828. Published in the Worcester Psalms & Hymns, 1849; Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory, 1872, &c. In addition to these hymns, his carols, "How grand, and how bright," "Our festal morn is come," and others are annotated under their respective first lines. Most of these carols and hymns were reprinted in Christmas Carols & Sacred Songs, Chiefly by the Rev. W. H. Havergal, London, Nisbet, 1869. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ===================== Havergal, W. H., p. 498, i. Other hymns are: — 1. Lord, if judgments now are waking. Second Advent. Published in W. Carus Wilson's Book of General Psalmody, 1840; in Kennedy, 1863, &c. 2. Remember, Lord, Thy word of old displayed. Missions. "Composed for a special prayer-meeting for missionary labourers, held in the author's schoolroom, in the parish of St. Nicholas's, Worcester." (W. F. Stevenson's Hymns for Church and Home, 1873, where the original text is also given.) It must be noted that No. 17, at p. 498, ii., "Soon the trumpet of salvation," was first published in A Collection of Original Airs adapted to Hymns, &c, 1826. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

Melchior Teschner

1584 - 1635 Person Name: Melchior Teschner, 1584-1635 Topics: Nations; National and World Peace Composer of "ST. THEODULPH" in Hymns of the Saints Melchior Teschner (b. Fraustadt [now Wschowa, Poland], Silesia, 1584; d. Oberpritschen, near Fraustadt, 1635) studied philosophy, theology, and music at the University of Frankfurt an-der-Oder and later studied at the universities of Helmstedt and Wittenberg, Germany. From 1609 until 1614 he served as cantor in the Lutheran church in Fraustadt, and from 1614 until his death he was pastor of the church in Oberpritschen. Bert Polman