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He has been said to be `the father of English Cathedral music'. Details of his early life are unknown; he is first heard of in 1532 as a `player of organs' at Dover Priory. He was conducting the choir at St Mary-at-Hill, London in 1537; and shortly afterwards moved fo Waltham Abbey, Essex until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1540. He then apparently became a lay clerk at Canterbury Cathedral; and by 1543 was a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal, then located at Greenwich. He remained in the royal service for the remainder of his life, receiving from Queen Mary in 1557 a 21-year lease on the manor of Minster, Isle of Thanet. He evidently accommodated his music to Roman Catholic and Protestant sovereigns alike.
In 1575 the Queen granted him and his pupil William Byrd a 21-year monopoly in music printing, although their operations were not financially successful. He wrote a few songs and music for strings and for keyboard; but his chief glory is his church choral music, often on a grand scale. His mastery of polyphony is shown most remarkably by his motet Spem in alium for eight five-part choirs.
He is buried in Greenwich Parish Church.
(See also DNB; GDM; OCM)
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He was the son of a labourer, who became an itinerant teacher of music and psalmody, heard of in Barnes, Ewell, Cambridge, Stamford, Boston and Leicester. Described as `a blend of genius, eccentricity and self-esteem', he referred to his Compleat Melody, or The Harmony of Sion (1735) as `the most curiousest book that ever was published', and called later editions The Royal Melody Compleat. With his son, formerly a chorister of Trinity College Cambridge, he published The Psalm Singer's Jewel 1760. His New Musical Grammar (1746) became The Elements of Musick Display'd (1772), and reached an eighth edition in 1830.
He also published many other collections of tunes. In these it is often not possible to distinguish between tunes of his own composition and those by others which he had altered; but he seems to have written more than 100 tunes in addition to anthems and other church music. He eventually settled as a bookseller and music teacher in St Neots.
(See also DNB; GDM; OCM)
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(See also DNB; Julian p.920a)
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He was a chorister at Magdalen College Oxford, and then studied classics at Christ Church, Oxford, and theology at Westcott House, Cambridge. He was ordained in 1931, and served curacies at Hinckley, Leicestershire and Kingswood, Surrey; then became Precentor and Sacristan of Bristol Cathedral 1936-39. He was assistant to the BBC Head of Religious Broadcasting 1939-52; Warden and Chaplain of the RSCM 1953-58; Vicar of Cerne Abbas, Dorset 1958-68; and Canon Residentiary and Precentor of Salisbury Cathedral 1969-75.
While at the BBC he was one of the editors of The BBC Hymn Book 1951; in 1962 he joined the board of Hymns Ancient & Modern and played a major part in the preparation of 100 Hymns for Today 1969, More Hymns for Today 1980, A&M New Standard 1983 and Worship Songs Ancient & Modern 1992. He served also on the music committee for Hymns & Psalms 1983.
He was a member of the (anglican) Liturgical Commission, and closely concerned with the preparation of The Alternative Service Book 1980 and The ASB Psalter. He was chairman of The Hymn Society of G.B. & Ireland 1975-80; and was a Fellow both of the RSCM and of St Michael's College Tenbury. He composed songs, carols, and well over thirty hymn tunes.
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(See also DNB; OCEL; Julian p.1118)
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His family moved from Northumberland to South Shields, where from the age of 11 he played the organ for Lenten weekday services in the Parish Church. From schools in South Shields and St Albans he went to Battersea Grammar School, and in 1887 to Oxford University as a non-Collegiate student; but in 1889 he won a choral scholarship to King's College Cambridge. He founded the Cambridge University Music Club for the study of chamber music, was music critic for The Cambridge Review, and met many notable musicians of the time. He did not complete his degree; but became organist of Elstow School, near Bedford 1890-92; and of St John's Cathedral, Antigua 1892-93. Having contracted malaria, he returned to England and was briefly at Thanet College, Margate and St John's School, Leatherhead 1894-95.
In 1896 he was received into the Roman Catholic Church; and after a few months at St Dominic's, Newcastle, became organist of Downside Abbey and music master at the Abbey School 1896-1901; then Director of Music at Westminster Cathedral 1901-24, where he raised the choral music to a high standard.
He was music editor of The Westminster Hymnal 1912, the first official hymn-book for English Roman Catholics, and edited much music of the Tudor period. He also published editions of Calvin's Psalter of 1539 and the Scottish Psalter of 1635, 200 Folk Carols 1932; a book on Catholic Church Music, several masses and motets, a requiem, and a book of sea shanties. He conducted the Western Madrigal Society 1913-21; was visiting lecturer and examiner in music at Birmingham University, examiner in music for the National University of Ireland, and a member of the staff of Trinity College of Music, London.
He was knighted in 1922.
(See also OCM)
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He studied theology, philosophy and music at Frankfurt-an-der-Oder from 1602-05. In 1605 he became (Lutheran) Cantor at Schmiegel; then, after further study at the Universities of Helmstedt and Wittenberg, he was Kantor and schoolmaster at Fraustadt 1609-14; and pastor at nearby Oberprietschen 1614-35, where he was succeeded by his son and his grandson.
In addition to the tune now known as St Theodulph, he wrote one other hymn tune and two wedding songs.
(See also GDM)
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His Cornish parents, who had emigrated to Australia before he was born, returned to England when he was three years old. He studied with Charles Wood, C.H.H.Parry, Frank Bridge, Walter Parratt and C.V.Stanford at the Royal College of Music, where he won several medals. He was assistant organist at Whitefield's Tabernacle, London 1911-14; organist of Holy Trinity Castlenau, Barnes, London 1914-16; and St James's Sussex Gardens, Paddington 1916-19. He then went to the Temple Church as acting organist under Walford Davies, succeeding him as organist in 1923, and holding the post until 1981 (although the church was bombed in 1941 and not rebuilt until 1954).
He was music advisor and organist to the BBC 1941-70, curator-organist of the Royal Albert Hall, and taught and examined for the RCM and Royal College of Organists; concurrently he was city and university organist at Birmingham 1949-81. He was a fellow of the RSCM, a Bard of the Welsh Eisteddfod, a Freeman of the City of London, and was knighted in 1982.
He won international renown as an organ recitalist; and, particularly through recordings and broadcasts, as director of the Temple Church choir. He was music editor of School Worship 1926, The Choral Psalter 1940; The Broadcast Psalter 1948, and one of the editors of The BBC Hymn Book 1951.
(See also GDM)
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He was the son of a Congregational minister, and was educated at Caterham School and the Guildhall School of Music.
He was organist at Caterham Congregational Church 1917-20; Elm Road Baptist Church, Beckenham, Kent 1920-27; Park (Congregational) Chapel, Crouch End, London 1927-57; and The City Temple 1957-75. He was Professor of Harmony and Composition at the Royal Academy of Music 1931-75; an examiner for the Royal College of Organists and London University; and author of a number of text-books.
He was the most notable musician of his time in English Congregational churches, and a prolific composer of piano and organ music, anthems, cantatas, songs and instrumental pieces. He was chairman of the music committee for Congregational Praise 1951, to which he contributed 15 tunes.
(See also GDM)
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He was the son of a Scottish minister. He was educated at Edinburgh University, was briefly a schoolmaster at Karkinch, Fife, and was ordained to the Presbyterian ministry in 1802. He served at Sprouston, Roxburgh 1802-08; East Church, Perth 1808-10; New Greyfriars, Edinburgh 1810-14; and St George's, Edinburgh 1814-31. For use at St George's, he and R.A.Smith compiled Sacred Harmony (1820, revised 1825) containing 13 tunes by Thomson himself. Together he and Robert Smith did much to improve congregational singing among Scottish Presbyterians.
He was an outstanding preacher, a leading public figure, and a copious writer.
(See also DNB)
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(See also DNB; Julian pp.1173-74)
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He was the son of a solicitor, and was educated at Winchester College and at Trinity College Cambridge. He was ordained in 1852 and was vicar of Barrington, Cambridgeshire 1852-67.
He published Psalms and Hymns 1853, containing 28 psalms and 18 hymns set to tunes of his own. A biblical scholar of some distinction, he wrote a book on Ancient Jerusalem and contributed to William Smith's Dictionary of the Bible and to The Speaker's Commentary. For some years he was actively associated with the S.P.C.K.
(See also DNB; Julian pp.1175b-1176a)
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- [ Sing praise to God who reigns above ]
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He was a leading minister and member of the Churches of Christ in the UK. A history of the Association of the Churches of Christ in Great Britain and Ireland, by David M.Thompson (Let Sects and Parties Fall: Berean Press, 1980), contains numerous references to G.Y.Tickle and to events in which he was involved. Several of these are summarised below; they are arranged here in chronological order, not the order in which they occur in David Thompson's narratives.
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(See also HSB No.214)
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(See also DNB; Julian pp.1182b-1183)
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He was a chorister at Wells Cathedral 1810-13. and then articled to J.J.Goss (uncle of Sir John Goss), but was largely self-taught.
While organist of Christ Church Blackfriars 1819-29 and St James's Bermondsey 1829-31, he was also assistant organist at Westminster Abbey; he became organist and master of the choristers there in 1831, and after his retirement in 1875 he continued to live in the cloisters and retained a titular connection with the Abbey.
He co-edited The People's Music Book 1844 (with Vincent Novello and Edward Taylor), edited Psalms & Hymns for Public Worship (SPCK) 1862, and composed anthems, hymn tunes, and (especially) chants. His monument in the west cloisters of the Abbey is inscribed with a quotation from his anthem `Vouchsafe, O Lord'; there is also a memorial window with portraits of himself and his wife in the north choir aisle.
(See also DNB; GDM; OCM)
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He graduated at St Catharine's Hall Cambridge in 1805 as a Senior Wrangler. He became tutor at St Catharine's in 1806, and Lucasian Professer of Mathematics 1822-26, meanwhile being ordained in 1813. In 1826 he accepted the college living at Gimingham-with-Trunch, Norfolk; but returned to Cambridge as Regius Professor of Divinity, holding the post from 1827-42. He was Dean of Peterborough 1830-42; Dean of Westminster 1842-45; and Bishop of Ely 1845-64.
Well versed in the fine arts, he had considerable musical ability; he was a vigorous controversialist in theology, and wrote many polemical tracts and pamphlets in addition to church music.
(See also DNB)
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(See also Julian p.1189)
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Surviving records are patchy. He was a lay clerk, perhaps previously a choirboy, of King's College Cambridge; and he graduated Mus.Bac. there in 1536 and Mus.D. in 1543. He became choirmaster at Ely Cathedral c.1542 (perhaps also organist); and, following ordination in 1560, Rector of Doddington 1561 and, for some of the time, simultaneously Rector of two nearby villages - although apparently neither preaching nor parish management were his forte. From 1545 he was a member (probably part-time) of the Chapel Royal.
After the dissolution of the monasteries, the recovery of music owed much to him. He has been termed `the father of the anthem', having set a model that others followed. He composed for both the Latin and the English rites, but is best known for his (non-liturgical) setting of The Acts of the Apostles, translated into Englyshe Metre . . . 1553.
(See also DNB; GDM; OCM; Julian p.1189)
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(The Rejoice & Sing Enchiridion:edited by David Goodall; last amended 15/11/03)