Person Results

Switch back to the old search page.Advanced Search

Showing 1 - 5 of 5Results Per Page: 10 20 50

Johann Crüger

1598 - 1662 Person Name: Johann Cruger Composer of "GRÄFENBERG" in The Mennonite Hymnary, published by the Board of Publication of the General Conference of the Mennonite Church of North America Johann Crüger (b. Grossbriesen, near Guben, Prussia, Germany, 1598; d. Berlin, Germany, 1662) Crüger attended the Jesuit College at Olmutz and the Poets' School in Regensburg, and later studied theology at the University of Wittenberg. He moved to Berlin in 1615, where he published music for the rest of his life. In 1622 he became the Lutheran cantor at the St. Nicholas Church and a teacher for the Gray Cloister. He wrote music instruction manuals, the best known of which is Synopsis musica (1630), and tirelessly promoted congregational singing. With his tunes he often included elaborate accompaniment for various instruments. Crüger's hymn collection, Neues vollkomliches Gesangbuch (1640), was one of the first hymnals to include figured bass accompaniment (musical shorthand) with the chorale melody rather than full harmonization written out. It included eighteen of Crüger's tunes. His next publication, Praxis Pietatis Melica (1644), is considered one of the most important collections of German hymnody in the seventeenth century. It was reprinted forty-four times in the following hundred years. Another of his publications, Geistliche Kirchen Melodien (1649), is a collection arranged for four voices, two descanting instruments, and keyboard and bass accompaniment. Crüger also published a complete psalter, Psalmodia sacra (1657), which included the Lobwasser translation set to all the Genevan tunes. Bert Polman =============================== Crüger, Johann, was born April 9, 1598, at Gross-Breese, near Guben, Brandenburg. After passing through the schools at Guben, Sorau and Breslau, the Jesuit College at Olmütz, and the Poets' school at Regensburg, he made a tour in Austria, and, in 1615, settled at Berlin. There, save for a short residence at the University of Wittenberg, in 1620, he employed himself as a private tutor till 1622. In 1622 he was appointed Cantor of St. Nicholas's Church at Berlin, and also one of the masters of the Greyfriars Gymnasium. He died at Berlin Feb. 23, 1662. Crüger wrote no hymns, although in some American hymnals he appears as "Johann Krüger, 1610,” as the author of the supposed original of C. Wesley's "Hearts of stone relent, relent" (q.v.). He was one of the most distinguished musicians of his time. Of his hymn tunes, which are generally noble and simple in style, some 20 are still in use, the best known probably being that to "Nun danket alle Gott" (q.v.), which is set to No. 379 in Hymns Ancient & Modern, ed. 1875. His claim to notice in this work is as editor and contributor to several of the most important German hymnological works of the 16th century, and these are most conveniently treated of under his name. (The principal authorities on his works are Dr. J. F. Bachmann's Zur Geschichte der Berliner Gesangbücher 1857; his Vortrag on P. Gerhard, 1863; and his edition of Gerhardt's Geistliche Lieder, 1866. Besides these there are the notices in Bode, and in R. Eitner's Monatshefte für Musik-Geschichte, 1873 and 1880). These works are:— 1. Newes vollkömmliches Gesangbuch, Augspur-gischer Confession, &c, Berlin, 1640 [Library of St. Nicholas's Church, Berlin], with 248 hymns, very few being published for the first time. 2. Praxis pietatis melica. Das ist: Ubung der Gottseligkeit in Christlichen und trostreichen Gesängen. The history of this, the most important work of the century, is still obscure. The 1st edition has been variously dated 1640 and 1644, while Crüger, in the preface to No. 3, says that the 3rd edition appeared in 1648. A considerable correspondence with German collectors and librarians has failed to bring to light any of the editions which Koch, iv. 102, 103, quotes as 1644, 1647, 1649, 1650, 1651, 1652, 1653. The imperfect edition noted below as probably that of 1648 is the earliest Berlin edition we have been able to find. The imperfect edition, probably ix. of 1659, formerly in the hands of Dr. Schneider of Schleswig [see Mützell, 1858, No. 264] was inaccessible. The earliest perfect Berlin edition we have found is 1653. The edition printed at Frankfurt in 1656 by Caspar Röteln was probably a reprint of a Berlin edition, c. 1656. The editions printed at Frankfurt-am-Main by B. C. Wust (of which the 1666 is in the preface described as the 3rd) are in considerable measure independent works. In the forty-five Berlin and over a dozen Frankfurt editions of this work many of the hymns of P. Gerhardt, J. Franck, P. J. Spener, and others, appear for the first time, and therein also appear many of the best melodies of the period. 3. Geistliche Kirchen-Melodien, &c, Leipzig, 1649 [Library of St. Katherine's Church, Brandenburg]. This contains the first stanzas only of 161 hymns, with music in four vocal and two instrumental parts. It is the earliest source of the first stanzas of various hymns by Gerhardt, Franck, &c. 4. D. M. Luther's und anderer vornehmen geisU reichen und gelehrten Manner Geistliche Lieder und Psalmen, &c, Berlin, 1653 [Hamburg Town Library], with 375 hymns. This was edited by C. Runge, the publisher, and to it Crüger contributed some 37 melodies. It was prepared at the request of Luise Henriette (q.v.), as a book for the joint use of the Lutherans and the Re¬formed, and is the earliest source of the hymns ascribed to her, and of the complete versions of many hymns by Gerhardt and Franck. 5. Psalmodia Sacra, &c, Berlin, 1658 [Royal Library, Berlin]. The first section of this work is in an ed. of A. Lobwasser's German Psalter; the second, with a similar title to No. 4, and the date 1657, is practically a recast of No. 4,146 of those in 1653 being omitted, and the rest of the 319 hymns principally taken from the Praxis of 1656 and the hymn-books of the Bohemian Brethren. New eds. appeared in 1676, 1700, 1704, 1711, and 1736. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] -- Excerpt from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ======================= Crüger, Johann, p. 271, ii. Dr. J. Zahn, now of Neuendettelsau, in Bavaria, has recently acquired a copy of the 5th ed., Berlin, 1653, of the Praxis. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

Henry J. Gauntlett

1805 - 1876 Person Name: H. J. Gauntlett, Mus. Doc. Composer of "ST. FULBERT" in Worship Song Henry J. Gauntlett (b. Wellington, Shropshire, July 9, 1805; d. London, England, February 21, 1876) When he was nine years old, Henry John Gauntlett (b. Wellington, Shropshire, England, 1805; d. Kensington, London, England, 1876) became organist at his father's church in Olney, Buckinghamshire. At his father's insistence he studied law, practicing it until 1844, after which he chose to devote the rest of his life to music. He was an organist in various churches in the London area and became an important figure in the history of British pipe organs. A designer of organs for William Hill's company, Gauntlett extended the organ pedal range and in 1851 took out a patent on electric action for organs. Felix Mendelssohn chose him to play the organ part at the first performance of Elijah in Birmingham, England, in 1846. Gauntlett is said to have composed some ten thousand hymn tunes, most of which have been forgotten. Also a supporter of the use of plainchant in the church, Gauntlett published the Gregorian Hymnal of Matins and Evensong (1844). Bert Polman

H. W. Baker

1821 - 1877 Person Name: Henry W. Baker Composer of "ST. TIMOTHY" in The Pilgrim 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)

Anonymous

Person Name: Anoymous Author of "Thy way is on the deep, O Lord!" in A Collection of Hymns, for the Christian Church and Home In some hymnals, the editors noted that a hymn's author is unknown to them, and so this artificial "person" entry is used to reflect that fact. Obviously, the hymns attributed to "Author Unknown" "Unknown" or "Anonymous" could have been written by many people over a span of many centuries.

James Martineau

1805 - 1900 Author of "Thy way is in the deep, O Lord" in Services for Congregational Worship. The New Hymn and Tune Book Martineau, James, LL.D., D.D., born at Norwich, April 21, 1805, the son of a manufacturer and wine merchant of Huguenot descent. After four years at the Norwich grammar school, and two as a pupil of Dr. Lant Carpenter, at Bristol, and a short experience in the shops of a mechanical engineer at Derby, he entered as a Divinity student in Manchester College, York. His first ministry was at Eustace St. Chapel, Dublin [1828-32], as assistant to his cousin, the Rev. Philip Taylor. From 1832 to 1857 he was in Liverpool, as minister of the congregation meeting in Paradise St. Chapel, and from 1849 in the new Hope St. Church. In 1840 he was appointed professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy and Political Economy in Manchester New College and in 1857 followed the college to London, becoming its Principal in 1869 and resigning in 1885. On settling in London he became also minister of Little Portland St. Chapel, first in conjunction with the Rev. J. J. Taylor, and afterwards alone till his resignation in 1872. He received the degree of D.C.L. from Oxford in 1888. Died Jan. 11, 1900. The chief of Dr. Martineau's works hitherto published are four volumes of sermons, Endeavours after the Christian Life, 2 vols., 1843 and 1847; Hours of Thought on Sacred Things, 2 vols., 1876 and 1879; Studies of Christianity, 1858; Essays Philosophical and Theological 2 vols., 1866 and 1868, collected from various Reviews; A Study of Spinoza, 1882; and Types of Ethical Theories, 2 vols., 1885, 2nd ed. 1886. These contain the substance of his teaching as a Christian minister and an expounder of a spiritual philosophy of religion. By early training and matured conviction a Unitarian of the Catholic and spiritual type, Dr. Martineau has served not only the little group of churches with which he is immediately connected, but the Church Universal by his gifts of sympathy and insight into the deepest questions of human life. He has strengthened the foundations of faith in the light of modern knowledge, and added treasures, the worth of which have yet to be fully measured, to the rich store of the devout literature of the Church. The Catholic spirit and deeply Christian temper impressed upon all Dr. Martineau's literary work give their distinctive character to the three hymn-books which he has edited, viz.:— (1) A Collection of Hymns for Christian Worship. Dublin: Printed for the Congregation of Eustace Street 1831. This collection of 273 hymns already clearly indicates the principles of selection afterwards to be more fully worked out. It was made for the use of a society, "whose worship is paid solely to the God and Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ," and in adopting the hymns of Dr. Watts and others, such changes are made as are required by theological consistency; but the preface pleads for a wider latitude of choice than had been usual in older selections, "bringing all the resources of lyric poetry (the poetry of the affections) into the service of religion." There are 18 hymns by Bishop Heber introduced, and special mention is made of his merit in ”first liberalizing the style of poetry designed for our churches." During his ministry in Liverpool Dr. Martineau published:— (2) Hymns for the Christian Church and Home. Collected and edited by James Martineau. London, 1840. This with his own congregation took the place of the old Paradise St. collection of 1815, and was quickly recognised as pre-eminent among the books in use among the non-subscribing churches. Dr. Martineau's last collection was:— (3) Hymns of Praise and Prayer, collected and edited by James Martineau, LL.D., D.D. “Vatum suspiria solatium Ecclesiae." London, 1873. Dr. Martineau's own hymns:— 1. A Voice upon the mid-night air. Good Friday 2. Thy way is in [on] the deep, 0 Lord. Trust. 3. "Where is your God?" Inward witness of God. They have been hitherto published anonymously, but the authorship is now acknowledged. Nos. 1, 2, appeared first in his Hymns, &c, 1840, and 3 in his Hymns, &c.,1873. They are also found in other collections in Great Britain and America. [Rev. Valentine D. Davis, B.A.] -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Export as CSV

User Links

User Links

Discover

Collections

Store

Connect