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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

1756 - 1791 Person Name: Mozart Hymnal Number: 71 Composer of "[Jesus, I my cross have taken]" in Magnificat Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Austria 1756-1791. Born at Salzburg, Austria, the son of Leopold Mozart, a minor composer and violinist, and youngest of seven children, he showed amazing ability on violin and keyboard from earliest childhood, even starting to compose music at age four when his father would play a piece and Mozart would play it exactly as did his father. At five, he composed some of his own music, which he played to his father, who wrote it down. When Mozart was eight, he wrote his first symphony, probably transcribed by his father. In his early years his father was his only teacher, teaching his children languages and academic subjects, as well as fundamentals of their strict Catholic faith. Some of his early compositions came as a surprise to his father, who eventually gave up composing himself when he realized how talented his son was. His family made several European journeys and he and his sister, Nanneri, performed as child prodigies, at the court of Prince-elector Maximillian II of Bavaria in Munich, and at the Imperial Courts in Vienna and Prague. A long concert tour followed, for 3.5 years, taking the family to courts in Munich, Mannheim, Paris, London, Dover, The Hague, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Mechelen, and again to Paris, and back home via Zurich, Donaueschingen, and Munich. During these trips Mozart met many musicians, acquainting himself with the works of other composers. He met Johann Christian Bach in London in 1764. Family trips were challenging, and travel conditions were primitive. They had to wait for invitations and reimbursements from nobility, and they endured long, near-fatal illnesses far from home. First Leopold (1764) got sick, then both children (1765). They traveled again to Vienna in 1767 and stayed there over a year. After a year back in Salzburg, Leopold and Wolfgang went to Italy (1769-1771), Leopold wished to display his son’s abilities as a performer and maturing composer. In Bologna, Italy, Wolfgang was accepted as a member of the famous Academia Filamonica. In Rome he heard Gregorio Allegri’s Miserere twice in performance. Back in the Sistine Chapel, Mozart wrote the whole performance out from memory, thus producing the first unauthorized copy of this closely guarded property of the Vatican. In the next few years Mozart wrote several operas performed with success in Italy, but his father’s hopes of securing a professional appointment for his son were not realized. At age 17 he was engaged as a musician at the Salzburg court, but grew restless and traveled in search of a better position. After returning to Salzburg, Mozart was employed as a court musician by the ruler of Salzburg, Prince Archbishop Hieronymus Colloredo. This gave Mozart ample opportunity to develop relationships with other musicians and his admirers, resulting in his development of new symphonies, sonatas, string quartets, masses, serenades, and some minor operas. In 1775 he wrote his only violin concertos, five in all. Again, he was discontent with work in Salzburg and traveled to find more opportunity to write operas. He and his father again visited Munich and Vienna, but neither visit was successful with the exception of his opera ‘La finta giardiniera’ in Munich. In 1777 he resigned his Salzburg position and went to Augsburg, Mannheim, Paris, and Munich again. In Mannheim he met and fell in love with Aloysia Weber, one of four daughters of a musical family. He could find no real employment there and left for Paris in 1778. He might have had a position as organist at Versailles, but he was not interested in that. He fell into debt and started pawning valuables. During these events his mother died. Meanwhile his father was still trying to find him a position in Salzburg. After checking out several other European cities and Munich, he again encountered Aloysia, but she was no longer interested in him, so he returned to Salzburg, having written another symphony, concerto, and piano sonata, and took the new appointment his father had found. However, he was still in discontent. Visiting Vienna in 1781, he was dismissed from his Salzburg position. He wrote another opera, ‘Idomeneo’, in 1781, that was successful in Munich. Two months later he was summoned to Vienna, where his employer, Archbishop Colloredo, wanted him around due to his notoriety. Mozart wished to meet the emperor and perform for him, and finally got that opportunity. It resulted in a part-time position and substantial commissions. Colloredo became a nemesis to Mozart’s career, finally releasing Mozart from his employ with a literal kick in the pants, much against his father’s wishes. However, he was now independent. Mozart then decided to settle in Vienna as a free lance performer and composer. He lived with the Fridolin Weber family, who had moved from Mannheim to Vienna. Fridolin, the father, had died, and they were taking in lodgers to make ends meet. His career there went well, and he performed as a pianist before the Emperor, establishing himself as the finest keyboard player in Vienna. He wrote another opera in 1782, again achieving success. Mozart had now become a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period and was known throughout Europe. Aloysia was now married to actor, Joseph Lange, and Mozart’s interest shifted to her sister, Constanze. In 1782 he married Constanze Weber Mozart Nissen. The marriage started out with a brief separation, and there was a problem getting Mozart’s father’s permission, which finally came. They had six children, but only two survived infancy: Carl and Franz. He lived in Vienna and achieved some notoriety, composing many of his best-known symphonies, concertos, and operas. In 1782-83 he became intimately acquainted with Johann Sebastian Bach and George Friederic Handel, as his friend, Gottfried van Swieten, owned many manuscripts of the Baroque masters, which Mozart studied intently. He altered his style of composition as a result. That year Mozart and his wife visited his father and sister, and he composed a liturgical piece, a Mass, with a singing part for his wife. He also met Joseph Hadyn in Vienna in 1784 and they became friends. They even played together in a string quartet from time to time. Mozart wrote six quartets dedicated to Hadyn. In 1785 Hadyn told Leopold Mozart, “Your son is the greatest composer known to me by person and repute, he has taste, and what is more, the greatest skill in composition”. Over the next several years Mozart booked several piano concertos in various places as a sole performer to delighted audiences, making substantial remuneration for his work. He and his wife then adopted a more luxurious lifestyle. They moved to an expensive apartment and he bought a fine fortepiano and billiard table. They sent their son, Karl, to an expensive boarding school and also kept servants. In 1784 Mozart became a Freemason and even composed Masonic music. Over the next several years he did little operatic writing and focused on his career as a piano soloist and writer of concertos. He again began operatic collaboration in 1785, creating ‘The marriage of Figaro’, then ‘Don Giovanni’ in 1787. That year his father died. Also that year he obtained a steady post under Emperor Joseph II as his chamber composer. This was part-time employment that was important when hard times arrived. However, Joseph aimed at keeping Mozart from leaving Vienna for better work. The Austrio-Turkish War made life difficult for musicians, and his aristocracy support had declined. He moved to save on expenses, but that did not help much, and he was reduced to borrowing funds from his friends, and pleading for loans. During this period he produced his last three symphonies. In 1789 he then set up on a journey to Leipzig, Dresden, and Berlin hoping to improve his fortunes. In 1790 he was highly productive, producing concertos, an opera, ‘The magic flute’, a series of string quintets, a motet, and an (unfinished) Requiem. Finances began to improve and he begin paying back his debts. Public reaction to his works also brought him great satisfaction. In 1791, while in Prague for the premiere of his opera, ‘La clemenza di Tito’, he fell ill. He continued professional functions for a short time, but had to go home and be nursed by his wife over the next couple of months. He died at Vienna, Austria, at the age of 35, a small thin man with undistinguishing characteristics. He was buried in a modest grave, having had a small funeral. Beethoven composed his early works in the shadow of Mozart, and Joseph Hadyn wrote “posterity will not see such a talent (as Mozart) again in 100 years”. 600+ works. Side note: Mozart enjoyed billiards, dancing, and had a pet canary, a starling, a dog, and a horse for recreational riding. He liked off-color humor. He wore elegant clothing when performing and had a modest tenor voice. John Perry

E. O. Excell

1851 - 1921 Hymnal Number: 126 Composer of "[There's a Stranger at the door]" in Magnificat Edwin Othello Excel USA 1851-1921. Born at Uniontown, OH, he started working as a bricklayer and plasterer. He loved music and went to Chicago to study it under George Root. He married Eliza Jane “Jennie” Bell in 1871. They had a son, William, in 1874. A member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, he became a prominent publisher, composer, song leader, and singer of music for church, Sunday school, and evangelistic meetings. He founded singing schools at various locations in the country and worked with evangelist, Sam Jones, as his song leader for two decades. He established a music publishing house in Chicago and authored or composed over 2,000 gospel songs. While assisting Gypsy Smith in an evangelistic campaign in Louisville, KY, he became ill, and died in Chicago, IL. He published 15 gospel music books between 1882-1925. He left an estate valued at $300,000. John Perry

W. Howard Doane

1832 - 1915 Person Name: W. H. Doane Hymnal Number: 131 Composer of "[Tell me the Old, Old Story]" in Magnificat An industrialist and philanthropist, William H. Doane (b. Preston, CT, 1832; d. South Orange, NJ, 1915), was also a staunch supporter of evangelistic campaigns and a prolific writer of hymn tunes. He was head of a large woodworking machinery plant in Cincinnati and a civic leader in that city. He showed his devotion to the church by supporting the work of the evangelistic team of Dwight L. Moody and Ira D. Sankey and by endowing Moody Bible Institute in Chicago and Denison University in Granville, Ohio. An amateur composer, Doane wrote over twenty-two hundred hymn and gospel song tunes, and he edited over forty songbooks. Bert Polman ============ Doane, William Howard, p. 304, he was born Feb. 3, 1832. His first Sunday School hymn-book was Sabbath Gems published in 1861. He has composed about 1000 tunes, songs, anthems, &c. He has written but few hymns. Of these "No one knows but Jesus," "Precious Saviour, dearest Friend," and "Saviour, like a bird to Thee," are noted in Burrage's Baptist Hymn Writers. 1888, p. 557. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907) =================== Doane, W. H. (William Howard), born in Preston, Connecticut, 1831, and educated for the musical profession by eminent American and German masters. He has had for years the superintendence of a large Baptist Sunday School in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he resides. Although not a hymnwriter, the wonderful success which has attended his musical setting of numerous American hymns, and the number of his musical editions of hymnbooks for Sunday Schools and evangelistic purposes, bring him within the sphere of hymnological literature. Amongst his collections we have:— (1) Silver Spray, 1868; (2) Pure Gold, 1877; (3) Royal Diadem, 1873; (4) Welcome Tidings, 1877; (5) Brightest and Best, 1875; (6) Fountain of Song; (7) Songs of Devotion, 1870; (8) Temple Anthems, &c. His most popular melodies include "Near the Cross," "Safe in the Arms of Jesus," "Pass me Not," "More Love to Thee," "Rescue the Perishing," "Tell me the Old, Old Story," &c. - John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

H. Ernest Nichol

1862 - 1928 Hymnal Number: 156 Composer of "[We've a story to tell to the nations]" in Magnificat H. Ernest Nichol (b. Hull, Yorkshire, England, 1862; d. Skirlaugh, Yorkshire, England, 1926) had begun a study program in civil engineering when he decided to study music instead. In 1888 he received a bachelor's degree in music from Oxford University. Nichol wrote some 130 hymn tunes and texts, many under the pseudonym “Colin Sterne” (derived from his middle and last name); many were first sung at church school programs. Psalter Hymnal Handbook ============= Nichol, Henry Ernest, was b. Dec. 10, 1862, at Hull. He took the degree of MUS. BAC. at Oxford in 1888. He has written fourteen sets of Sunday School Anniversary Hymns (130 in all), with original tunes, besides many published in leaflet form, mostly under the anagram of 1677 Colin Sterne. The following are in the Sunday School Hymnary, 1905, the dates being those of composition and publication by the author:— 1. Life is opening out before you. Christian Courage 1897. 2. Rest, O rest! at eve Thy children's voices. Evening. 1897. 3. We've a story to tell to the nations. Foreign Missions. 1896. 4. Where the flag is flying. Boys Brigade. 1901. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

Felice Giardini

1716 - 1796 Person Name: Felice de Giardini Hymnal Number: 162 Composer of "[Christ for the world we sing]" in Magnificat Felice Giardini, born in Italy. When young, he studied singing, harpsichord, and violin. He became a composer and violin virtuoso. By age 12 he was playing in theatre orchestras. His most instructive lesson: While playing a solo passage during an opera, he decided to show off his skills by improvising several bravura variations that the composer, Jommelli, had not written . Although the audience applauded loudly, Jomelli, who happened to be there, went up and slapped Giardini in the face. He learned a lesson from that. He toured Europe as a violinist, considered one of the greatest musical artists of his time. He served as orchestra leader and director of the Italian Opera in London, giving concerts. He tried to run a theatre in Naples, but encountered adversity. He went to Russia, but had little fortune there, where he died. John Perry

George Frideric Handel

1685 - 1759 Person Name: Handel Hymnal Number: 191 Composer of "[Joy to the world! The Lord is come]" in Magnificat George Frideric Handel (b. Halle, Germany, 1685; d. London, England, 1759) became a musician and composer despite objections from his father, who wanted him to become a lawyer. Handel studied music with Zachau, organist at the Halle Cathedral, and became an accomplished violinist and keyboard performer. He traveled and studied in Italy for some time and then settled permanently in England in 1713. Although he wrote a large number of instrumental works, he is known mainly for his Italian operas, oratorios (including Messiah, 1741), various anthems for church and royal festivities, and organ concertos, which he interpolated into his oratorio performances. He composed only three hymn tunes, one of which (GOPSAL) still appears in some modern hymnals. A number of hymnal editors, including Lowell Mason, took themes from some of Handel's oratorios and turned them into hymn tunes; ANTIOCH is one example, long associated with “Joy to the World.” Bert Polman

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy

1809 - 1847 Person Name: Mendelssohn Hymnal Number: 193 Composer of "[Hark! the herald angels sing]" in Magnificat Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (b. Hamburg, Germany, 1809; d. Leipzig, Germany, 1847) was the son of banker Abraham Mendelssohn and the grandson of philosopher Moses Mendelssohn. His Jewish family became Christian and took the Bartholdy name (name of the estate of Mendelssohn's uncle) when baptized into the Lutheran church. The children all received an excellent musical education. Mendelssohn had his first public performance at the age of nine and by the age of sixteen had written several symphonies. Profoundly influenced by J. S. Bach's music, he conducted a performance of the St. Matthew Passion in 1829 (at age 20!) – the first performance since Bach's death, thus reintroducing Bach to the world. Mendelssohn organized the Domchor in Berlin and founded the Leipzig Conservatory of Music in 1843. Traveling widely, he not only became familiar with various styles of music but also became well known himself in countries other than Germany, especially in England. He left a rich treasury of music: organ and piano works, overtures and incidental music, oratorios (including St. Paul or Elijah and choral works, and symphonies. He harmonized a number of hymn tunes himself, but hymnbook editors also arranged some of his other tunes into hymn tunes. Bert Polman

John Bacchus Dykes

1823 - 1876 Person Name: Rev. J. B. Dykes Hymnal Number: 204 Composer of "[Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty]" in Magnificat 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

Kate Hankey

1834 - 1911 Hymnal Number: 131 Author of "Tell Me the Old, Old Story" in Magnificat Arabella Katherine Hankey (b. Clapham, England, 1834; d. Westminster, London, England, 1911) was the daughter of a wealthy banker and was associated with the Clapham sect of William Wilberforce, a group of prominent evangelical Anglicans from the Clapham area. This group helped to establish the British and Foreign Bible Society, promoted the abolition of slavery, and was involved in improving the lot of England's working classes. Hankey taught Bible classes for shop girls in London, visited the sick in local hospitals, and used the proceeds of her writings to support various mission causes. Her publications include Heart to Heart (1870) and The Old, Old Story and Other Verses (1879). Bert Polman =============== Hankey, Katharine, has published several hymns of great beauty and simplicity which are included in her:— (1) The Old, Old Story, 1866; (2) The Old, Old Story, and other Verses, 1879; (3) Heart to Heart, 1870, enlarged in 1873 and 1876. In 1878 it was republished with music by the author. Miss Hankey's hymns which have come into common use are:— 1. Advent tells us, Christ is near. The Christian Seasons. Written for the Sunday School of St. Peter's, Eaton Square, London, and printed on a card with music by the author. 2. I love to tell the story Of unseen things above. The love of Jesus. This is a cento from No. 3, and is given in Bliss's Gospel Songs, Cincinnati, 1874, and other American collections. 3. I saw Him leave His Father's throne. Lovest than Me? Written in 1868. It is No. 33 of the Old, Old Story, and other Verses, 1879. 4. Tell me the old, old story. This Life of Jesus in verse was written in two parts. Pt. i., "The Story Wanted," Jan. 29; and Pt. ii., "The Story Told," Nov. 18, 1866. It has since been published in several forms, and sometimes with expressive music by the author, and has also been translated into various languages, including Welsh, German, Italian, Spanish, &c. The form in which it is usually known is that in I. P. Sankey's Sacred Songs & Solos. This is Part i. slightly altered. Miss Hankey's works contain many suitable hymns for Mission Services and Sunday Schools, and may be consulted both for words and music with advantage. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Mary Ann Thomson

1834 - 1923 Hymnal Number: 165 Author of "O Zion, Haste, Thy Mission High Fulfilling" in Magnificat Thomson, Mary Ann, wife of Mr. John Thomson, Librarian of the Free Library, Philadelphia, was born in London, England, December 5, 1834. She has written about forty hymns, which have appeared mostly in the Churchman, New York, and in the Living Church, Chicago. Four of her hymns are found in the Protestant Episcopal Hymnal, 1892. Of the origin of the missionary hymn by Mrs. Thomson which is found in our Hymnal she writes as follows: I wrote the greater part of the hymn, "O Zion, haste," in the year 1868. I had written many hymns before, and one night, while I was sitting up with one of my children who was ill of typhoid fever, I thought I should like to write a missionary hymn to the tune of the hymn beginning "Hark, hark, my soul, angelic songs are swelling," as I was fond of that tune; but as I could not then get a refrain I liked, I left the hymn unfinished, and about three years later I finished it by writing the refrain which now forms part of it. By some mistake 1891 is given instead of 1871 as the date of the hymn in the (Episcopal) Hymnal. I do not think it is ever sung to the tune for which I wrote it. Rev. John Anketell told me, and I am sure he is right, that it is better for a hymn to have a tune of its own, and I feel much indebted to the composer of the tune "Tidings" for writing so inspiring a tune to my words. Hymn Writers of the Church by Wilber F. Tillett and Charles S. Nutter, 1915 ================== Thomson, Mary Ann, wife of John Thomson, Librarian of the Free Library, Phila., was born in London, England, Dec. 5, 1834. She has written several hymns and poems. To 1895, eight of these appeared in The Churchman (New York); and thirty-four in The Living Church (Chicago). Of her hymns the following were included in The Hymnal, Revised and Enlarged .. . The P. E. Church, U.S.A., 1892 :— 1. Now the blessed Dayspring. [Annunciation B. V. M.] Begins with stanza ii. of "Through the sins and sorrows," which appeared in The Living Church, March 29, 1890. 2. O King of saints, we give Thee praise and glory. [All Saints.] First published in The Living Church, Nov. 8, 1890. In the first ed. of The Book of Praise, N.Y., 1894, it was attributed to Bp. W. W. How in error. 3. O Sion, haste, thy mission high fulfilling. [Missions.] No. 249 in The Hymnal, &c., 1892. 4. Saviour, for the little one. [Burial of a Child.] The Hymnal, &c., 1892, No. 247. Mrs. Thomson's Christmas Carol, "Lo! amid the shades of night," appeared, with music by B. Cecil Klein, in The Churchman, N.Y., Dec. 19, 1891, and separately at Phila. in 1892. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)