Basil Harwood (11 April 1859 – 3 April 1949) was an organist and composer in the English church music tradition, best known today for his liturgical works, particularly his anthem ''O How Glorious is the Kingdom'' (1898) and his ''Service in A flat'' (1892), which still remain popular in English churches. He wrote numerous hymn tunes, several of which became well-known including ''Luckington'' ("Let All the World in Every Corner Sing") and ''Thornbury ''("O Jesus I Have Promised" and "Thy hand, O God, has Guided").

Early life

Basil Harwood was born on 11 April 1859 at Woodhouse,

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. The civil parish population at the 2011 census was 2, ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) 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 county town is the city of Gl ...

, the youngest child of Edward Harwood (1818–1907), a banker. His mother Mary, née Sturge (1840–1867), was of

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

extraction, and Harwood was brought up in that faith until a switch to

Anglicanism Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

in 1869 following his father's second marriage.

Education

As a boy, Harwood attended Walton Lodge preparatory school in

Clevedon Clevedon (, ) is an English seaside town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, part of the ceremonial county of Somerset. It recorded a parish population of 21,281 in the United Kingdom Census 2011, estimated at 21,442 i ...

, followed in 1864 by

Charterhouse Charterhouse may refer to: * Charterhouse (monastery), of the Carthusian religious order Charterhouse may also refer to: Places * The Charterhouse, Coventry, a former monastery * Charterhouse School, an English public school in Surrey London ...

. In 1876 he won a scholarship to

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

, where he was placed in the second class in

classical moderations Honour Moderations (or ''Mods'') are a set of examinations at the University of Oxford at the end of the first part of some degree courses (e.g., Greats or '' Literae Humaniores''). Honour Moderations candidates have a class awarded (hence the ' ...

(1879) and the third in modern history (1881). He took his music degree (

BMus Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or music school, conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consi ...

) in 1880, studying with C. W. Corfe, then the university's Choragus. After Oxford, Harwood spent a year in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

studying composition with Jadassohn and the organ with Papperitz.

Career

Harwood's first professional position was organist of St Barnabas', Pimlico in 1883, a post he held until 1887. He then served as organist at

Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is an Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The cathedral has its origins in AD 672 when St Etheldreda built an abbey church. The presen ...

for five years, followed by a final move to Oxford in 1892 where he remained organist of Christ Church Cathedral until his retirement in 1909. He became

Doctor of Music The Doctor of Music degree (D.Mus., D.M., Mus.D. or occasionally Mus.Doc.) is a higher doctorate awarded on the basis of a substantial portfolio of compositions and/or scholarly publications on music. Like other higher doctorates, it is granted b ...

(DMus) in 1896, submitting as his doctoral work a setting of Psalm 86, ''Inclina domine''. During his time in Oxford Harwood acted as conductor of the Oxford Orchestral Association (1892–8), and became the first conductor of the

Oxford Bach Choir The Oxford Bach Choir is an amateur choir based in Oxford, England. Founded by Basil Harwood in 1896 to further the music of J.S. Bach in Oxford, the Choir merged in 1905 with the Oxford Choral & Philharmonic Society, whose origins can be trace ...

in 1896. He held the position of

Precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...

Keble College 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 th ...

between 1892 and 1903, and was Choragus at the University from 1900 until his retirement. He edited ''The Oxford Hymn Book'' (1908) as well as acting as an Oxford examiner for several academic years between 1900 and 1915.

Works

Harwood's musical works sit within the 'English' tradition established by Wesley,

Stainer Stainer is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Greg Stainer (born 1976), British musician *Jacob Stainer (c. 1617–1683), Austrian luthier *John Stainer (1840–1901), English classical composer and organist *Pauline Stainer (born ...

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and

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

. He is best known today for his liturgical works, particularly his anthem ''O How Glorious is the Kingdom'' (1898) and his ''Service in A flat'' (1892), which still remain popular with English choirs. He wrote numerous

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 (or more) harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm (chords change frequently), with or without refrain ...

s, several of which became well-known including ''Luckington'' ("Let All the World in Every Corner Sing"), ''Thornbury ''("O Jesus I Have Promised" and "Thy hand, O God, has Guided"), and ''St Audrey'' ("Sing ye Faithful, Sing with Gladness"). He produced a number of choral works, often for church festivals, including ''Inclina Domine'' (Gloucester Festival 1898); ''As by the Streams of Babylon'' (Oxford Bach Choir 1907); ''Jesus, Thy Boundless Love '' (St Paul's Cathedral 1909); ''Song on May Morning'' (Leeds Festival 1913); ''Love Incarnate'' (Gloucester Festival 1925); ''Ye Choirs of New Jerusalem'' (Gloucester Festival 1928); and ''Sacrifice Triumphant'' (1939). Harwood's organ style was distinctive and technically challenging. He made significant contributions to the repertory of English

Romantic music Romantic music is a stylistic movement in Western Classical music associated with the period of the 19th century commonly referred to as the Romantic era (or Romantic period). It is closely related to the broader concept of Romanticism—the ...

with works requiring considerable virtuoso technique such as ''Sonata no.1 in C sharp minor'' op.5, ''Dithyramb'' op.7, and ''Toccata'' op.49. His love of

plainchant Plainsong or plainchant (calque from the French ''plain-chant''; la, cantus planus) is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in Latin text. ...

and

s is often evident in his organ works.

Personal life

Harwood was deeply religious and was said to have had a quiet, gentle, and reserved personality. On 27 December 1899 he married one of his former pupils, Mabel Ada Jennings (1871–1974). The couple had two sons, John Edward Godfrey (born 1900) and Basil Anthony (born 1903). In 1909 Harwood took early retirement and returned to Gloucestershire to manage his family estate there. In 1936 Harwood and his wife moved to London, where they remained except for some temporary absences in

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and then

Shiplake Shiplake consists of three settlements: Shiplake, Shiplake Cross and Lower Shiplake. Together these villages form a civil parish situated beside the River Thames south of Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. The river forms the parish bounda ...

during the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

. Harwood died on 3 April 1949 at his home, 50 Courtfield Gardens,

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

, aged 89. His ashes were interred in St Barnabas's Church, Pimlico.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Harwood, Basil 20th-century classical composers Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford English classical organists British male organists Cathedral organists English classical composers 1859 births 1949 deaths People educated at Charterhouse School Musicians from Gloucestershire Organists of Ely Cathedral People from Olveston People from Shiplake 20th-century British composers 20th-century British male musicians Male classical organists