John H. Maunder › Texts

John Henry Maunder United Kingdom 1858-1920. Born at Chelsea, England,,the son of a carpenter, he attended the Royal Academy of Music. He began his career as a theatre composer, but later specialized in sacred music for the Anglican Church. He became an author and composer, as well as a musician. He was organist at St. Matthew’s, Sydenham (1876-77); St. Paul’s, Forest hill (1878-1879); and at churches in Blackheath and Sutton. He married Ellen Fanny Fulgoux Dakin, and they had a daughter, Winifred. He provided musical accompaniment for concerts in Albert Hall, and, in 1881, conducted the Civil Service Vocal Union. He wrote about 20 church anthems, 10 cantatas, several carols, tunes for around 30 hymns, 19 songs and ballads, 12 services and canticles, two operettas, and six instrumentals. His best known cantata was “Olivet to Calvary”. He was known for his good musical style and great technical facility. His compositions were full of melodic ideas and were written for ease of interpretation. He died at West Brompton, London, England.

John Perry