Basil Harwood
Encyclopedia
Basil Harwood was an English
organist
and composer
.
(the second youngest of 12 children) on 11 April 1859. His mother died in 1867 when Basil was eight. His parents were Quakers
but his elder sister Ada, on reaching 21 in 1867, converted to the Anglican
Church. Basil was allowed to attend the ceremony at the Church of England
in Almondsbury
and this is where he was first drawn to organ music and choral singing. His father, Edward, remarried two years later in 1869 to a lady from an Anglican family. Basil was now sent to the Montpellier School in Weston-super-Mare for a year. In 1871, at 12 he was enrolled in Clevedon, the preparatory school for Charterhouse
where he was first to formally study music.
He went up to Charterhouse
in 1874 and left in 1876 having won a leaving Exhibition to Trinity College, Oxford
where he initially studied Classics (1879) and Modern History (1880). He then studied for a further two years, 1881–1882, at the Leipzig
Conservatory under Carl Reinecke
and Salomon Jadassohn
. It was here in 1882, Basil composed his first anthem for chorus and organ O Saving Grace. He returned from Leipzig to realise that he had now passed the age limit to study music formally.
In 1883, Basil became organist of St. Barnabas Church, Pimlico
completing his Sonata in C# Minor here in 1885, selling the copyright to the publisher Schott for one shilling a year or two later. After this success, he then moved to Ely Cathedral
in 1887 where he wrote the bulk of Dithyramb, possibly his greatest organ work. His final appointment was as organist at Christ Church, Oxford
and as precentor of Keble College, Oxford
from 1892 to 1909. Whilst there he co-founded and conducted the Oxford Bach Choir
which helped to earn him his degree as Doctor of Music. He conducted the Oxford Orchestral Association (1892–1898). He was musical editor of the 1908 Oxford Hymn Book and Examiner for Musical Degrees (1900–1925)
During this time, he met and married Mabel Ada Jennings (the daughter of George Jennings
) (who had become a pupil of his in 1896) at All Souls St. Marylebone, London
(27 December 1899). Mabel had studied music herself, piano and composition, and was also a writer. She may well have composed lyrics for some of his lesser known tunes.
At an advanced age she wrote a small volume of collected poems named Questing Soul.
He retired early at 50 (in 1909) after the death of his father, Edward Harwood, from whom he inherited the family estate of Woodhouse having outlived his seven older brothers. Soon after moving in he had a three manual chamber organ built in the library by Bishop & Sons of Ipswich (now in Minehead Parish Church), on which he promptly finished his Sonata in F# Minor. He continued to compose prolifically.
He was a keen walker, and named many of his hymn tune
s after local places that he loved to visit, the most notable being the hymn tune
s such as Tockington
, Olveston
, Almondsbury
and Thornbury
.
In 1936 advancing in years, he let the Woodhouse estate and moved to Bournemouth
. Part of the estate, Woodhouse Down, was later sold to his contemporary Robert Baden-Powell who was two years older than he was and who had also attended Charterhouse School
, and is used as a Scout
Camp to this day.
In 1939, at eighty, he moved to London
, taking a flat in Fleet Street
. After a long life, he died on 3 April 1949, eight days short of his 90th birthday, at Courtfield Gardens in the Royal Borough of Kensington, London
. A memorial service was held in St Paul's Cathedral
on 22 April 1949. Mabel survived him, dying shortly before her 103rd birthday on 20 July 1974. He was survived by two sons; Major John Edward Godfrey Harwood (1900–1996) and Basil Antony Harwood (1903–1990) Senior Master of the Supreme Court, Q.B.D. and Queen's Remembrancer.
His remains are interred in St. Barnabas Church, Pimlico
and marked by a plaque inset in floor of the chancel, close to where he would have stood to conduct the choir.
s, church music
and works for the organ
; his Service
in A flat, the anthem
O how Glorious and the hymn
tunes Luckington
("Let all the world in every corner sing") and Thornbury ("Thy hand O God has guided"), first used during a festival of the London Church Choir Association, remain in the Anglican
repertory.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
organist
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
.
Life
Basil Harwood was born in Woodhouse, GloucestershireGloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
(the second youngest of 12 children) on 11 April 1859. His mother died in 1867 when Basil was eight. His parents were Quakers
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
but his elder sister Ada, on reaching 21 in 1867, converted to the Anglican
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
Church. Basil was allowed to attend the ceremony at the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
in Almondsbury
Almondsbury
Almondsbury is a large village near junction 16 of the M5 motorway, in South Gloucestershire, England.-Description:The village is split by a steep hill, part of the escarpment overlooking the Severn floodplain. At the bottom of the hill is Lower Almondsbury where a pub and hotel, The Bowl Inn, is...
and this is where he was first drawn to organ music and choral singing. His father, Edward, remarried two years later in 1869 to a lady from an Anglican family. Basil was now sent to the Montpellier School in Weston-super-Mare for a year. In 1871, at 12 he was enrolled in Clevedon, the preparatory school for Charterhouse
Charterhouse School
Charterhouse School, originally The Hospital of King James and Thomas Sutton in Charterhouse, or more simply Charterhouse or House, is an English collegiate independent boarding school situated at Godalming in Surrey.Founded by Thomas Sutton in London in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian...
where he was first to formally study music.
He went up to Charterhouse
Charterhouse School
Charterhouse School, originally The Hospital of King James and Thomas Sutton in Charterhouse, or more simply Charterhouse or House, is an English collegiate independent boarding school situated at Godalming in Surrey.Founded by Thomas Sutton in London in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian...
in 1874 and left in 1876 having won a leaving Exhibition to Trinity College, Oxford
Trinity College, Oxford
The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...
where he initially studied Classics (1879) and Modern History (1880). He then studied for a further two years, 1881–1882, at the Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
Conservatory under Carl Reinecke
Carl Reinecke
Carl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke was a German composer, conductor, and pianist.-Biography:Reinecke was born in Altona, Hamburg, Germany; until 1864 the town was under Danish rule. He studied with his father, Johann Peter Rudolph Reinecke, a music teacher...
and Salomon Jadassohn
Salomon Jadassohn
Salomon Jadassohn was a German composer and a renowned teacher of piano and composition at the Leipzig Conservatory.-Life:...
. It was here in 1882, Basil composed his first anthem for chorus and organ O Saving Grace. He returned from Leipzig to realise that he had now passed the age limit to study music formally.
In 1883, Basil became organist of St. Barnabas Church, Pimlico
Pimlico
Pimlico is a small area of central London in the City of Westminster. Like Belgravia, to which it was built as a southern extension, Pimlico is known for its grand garden squares and impressive Regency architecture....
completing his Sonata in C# Minor here in 1885, selling the copyright to the publisher Schott for one shilling a year or two later. After this success, he then moved to Ely Cathedral
Ely Cathedral
Ely Cathedral is the principal church of the Diocese of Ely, in Cambridgeshire, England, and is the seat of the Bishop of Ely and a suffragan bishop, the Bishop of Huntingdon...
in 1887 where he wrote the bulk of Dithyramb, possibly his greatest organ work. His final appointment was as organist at Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
and as precentor of Keble College, Oxford
Keble College, Oxford
Keble College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to the south by Museum Road, and to the west by Blackhall...
from 1892 to 1909. Whilst there he co-founded and conducted the Oxford Bach Choir
Oxford Bach Choir
The Oxford Bach Choir is one of the UK's best-known amateur choirs. It was founded by Basil Harwood in 1896 and is based in Oxford, England.There are around 200 voices in the choir...
which helped to earn him his degree as Doctor of Music. He conducted the Oxford Orchestral Association (1892–1898). He was musical editor of the 1908 Oxford Hymn Book and Examiner for Musical Degrees (1900–1925)
During this time, he met and married Mabel Ada Jennings (the daughter of George Jennings
George Jennings
George Jennings was an English sanitary engineer and plumber who invented the first public toilets.Josiah George Jennings was born on 10 November 1810 in Eling, at the edge of the New Forest in Hampshire. He was the eldest of seven children of Jonas Joseph Jennings and Mary Dimmock...
) (who had become a pupil of his in 1896) at All Souls St. Marylebone, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(27 December 1899). Mabel had studied music herself, piano and composition, and was also a writer. She may well have composed lyrics for some of his lesser known tunes.
At an advanced age she wrote a small volume of collected poems named Questing Soul.
He retired early at 50 (in 1909) after the death of his father, Edward Harwood, from whom he inherited the family estate of Woodhouse having outlived his seven older brothers. Soon after moving in he had a three manual chamber organ built in the library by Bishop & Sons of Ipswich (now in Minehead Parish Church), on which he promptly finished his Sonata in F# Minor. He continued to compose prolifically.
He was a keen walker, and named many of his hymn tune
Hymn tune
A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm , and no refrain or chorus....
s after local places that he loved to visit, the most notable being the hymn tune
Hymn tune
A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm , and no refrain or chorus....
s such as Tockington
Tockington
Tockington is a village in South Gloucestershire, England. Historically the village developed around farming based mainly on the rearing of cattle on the fertile flood plains. In more recent times Tockington has become an attractive location for commuters, being situated within the Green Belt and...
, Olveston
Olveston
Olveston is a small village and larger parish in South Gloucestershire, England. The parish comprises the villages of Olveston and Tockington, and the hamlets of Old Down, Ingst and Awkley. Alveston became a separate parish in 1846...
, Almondsbury
Almondsbury
Almondsbury is a large village near junction 16 of the M5 motorway, in South Gloucestershire, England.-Description:The village is split by a steep hill, part of the escarpment overlooking the Severn floodplain. At the bottom of the hill is Lower Almondsbury where a pub and hotel, The Bowl Inn, is...
and Thornbury
Thornbury
-Placenames:Australia*Thornbury, Victoria*Thornbury railway station, MelbourneCanada*Thornbury, OntarioEngland*Thornbury, Devon*Thornbury, Herefordshire*Thornbury, South Gloucestershire**Thornbury Castle*Thornbury, West YorkshireNew Zealand...
.
In 1936 advancing in years, he let the Woodhouse estate and moved to Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
. Part of the estate, Woodhouse Down, was later sold to his contemporary Robert Baden-Powell who was two years older than he was and who had also attended Charterhouse School
Charterhouse School
Charterhouse School, originally The Hospital of King James and Thomas Sutton in Charterhouse, or more simply Charterhouse or House, is an English collegiate independent boarding school situated at Godalming in Surrey.Founded by Thomas Sutton in London in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian...
, and is used as a Scout
Boy Scout
A Scout is a boy or a girl, usually 11 to 18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split this age group into a junior and a senior section...
Camp to this day.
In 1939, at eighty, he moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, taking a flat in Fleet Street
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a street in central London, United Kingdom, named after the River Fleet, a stream that now flows underground. It was the home of the British press until the 1980s...
. After a long life, he died on 3 April 1949, eight days short of his 90th birthday, at Courtfield Gardens in the Royal Borough of Kensington, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. A memorial service was held in St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
on 22 April 1949. Mabel survived him, dying shortly before her 103rd birthday on 20 July 1974. He was survived by two sons; Major John Edward Godfrey Harwood (1900–1996) and Basil Antony Harwood (1903–1990) Senior Master of the Supreme Court, Q.B.D. and Queen's Remembrancer.
His remains are interred in St. Barnabas Church, Pimlico
Pimlico
Pimlico is a small area of central London in the City of Westminster. Like Belgravia, to which it was built as a southern extension, Pimlico is known for its grand garden squares and impressive Regency architecture....
and marked by a plaque inset in floor of the chancel, close to where he would have stood to conduct the choir.
Works
He composed cantataCantata
A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
s, church music
Anglican church music
Anglican church music is music that is written for liturgical performance in Anglican church services.Almost all of it is written for choir with or without organ accompaniment...
and works for the organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
; his Service
Service (music)
In Anglican church music, a service is a musical setting of certain parts of the liturgy, generally for choir with or without organ accompaniment.-Morning Prayer:*Venite *Te Deum or Benedicite...
in A flat, the anthem
Anthem
The term anthem means either a specific form of Anglican church music , or more generally, a song of celebration, usually acting as a symbol for a distinct group of people, as in the term "national anthem" or "sports anthem".-Etymology:The word is derived from the Greek via Old English , a word...
O how Glorious and the hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
tunes Luckington
Luckington
Luckington is a village in north-west Wiltshire, England, on the road linking Old Sodbury and Malmesbury — the B4040. Its name means a settlement connected with Luca.- People :...
("Let all the world in every corner sing") and Thornbury ("Thy hand O God has guided"), first used during a festival of the London Church Choir Association, remain in the Anglican
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
repertory.
Organ and Choral Works
- Op.2 No.1 Agnus Dei
- Op.2 No.2 O Salutaris
- Op.5 Sonata No.1 in C sharp minor 1886
- Op.6 Morning & Evening Canticles in A flat major (Choir)
- Op.7 Dithyramb
- Op.12 O How Glorious is the Kingdom
- Op.13 No.1 Sing and Rejoice
- Op.13 No.2 When the Son of Man shall come
- Op.14 Short Setting of the Office for the Holy Communion in D major 1902
- Op.15 No.1 Communion in F major 1902
- Op.15 No.2 Interlude in D major 1902
- Op.15 No.3 Paean 1902
- Op.15 No.4 Short Postlude for Ascensiontide 1902
- Op.15 No.5 Requiem Aeternam 1902
- Op.15 No.6 Andante Tranquillo 1902
- Op.16 Capriccio for Organ 1903
- Op.18 Two Sketches for Organ 1903
- Op.20 As by the Streams of Babylon (Choir) 1907
- Op.21 This is the day which the Lord hath made
- Op.22 Jesus, Thy Boundless Love to Me 1909
- Op.24 Concerto in D major for Organ & Orchestra
- Op.25 Three Cathedral Preludes (Organ)
- Op.26 Sonata No. 2 in F sharp minor 1912
- Op.27 Song on May Morning 1913
- Op.32 In an Old Abbey 1923
- Op.34 Christmastide 1920
- Op.35 Short and Easy Setting of the Office for the Holy Communion in key of E flat 1920
- Op.38 Morning & Evening Canticles in E minor (Choir)
- Op.39 Rhapsody for Organ 1922
- Op.40 Wedding March 1923
- Op.41 O How Plentiful is Thy Goodness
- Op.42 Three Preludes on Anglican Chants (Organ) 1925
- Op.44 Processional (Organ) 1926
- Op.45 Three Short Pieces for Organ 1927
- Op.46 In Exitu Israel (Organ) 1928
- Op.49 Toccata (Organ)
- Op.51 Prelude, Larghetto and Finale (Organ) 1931
- Op.54 Let the People Praise Thee O God
- Op.60 No.2 All My Heart this Night Rejoices
- Op.64 Draw Nigh to God
- Op.70 Voluntary for Organ in D flat major 1926
- Communion for Organ on the hymn tune “Irish”
- Evensong for St Etheldreda
- Lullaby
Hymn Tunes
- Luckington - Let All the World in Every Corner Sing
- Thornbury 1898 – Thy Hand O God hath Guided [and] O Jesus I Have Promised
- O How Glorious is The Kingdom 1894
- Draw Nigh to God
- I am the Living Bread
- In God's Holy Dwelling
- Great God, and Wilt Thou Condescend?
- St Audrey - Blessed Thomas, Doubt No Longer
- Sweet Saviour, Bless Us
- O Sacred Banquet