Daniel Godfrey Vanity Fair 10 March 1888

Daniel Godfrey (4 September 1831 – 30 June 1903) was a

bandmaster A bandmaster is the leader and conductor of a band, usually a concert band, military band, brass band or a marching band. British Armed Forces In the British Army, bandmasters of the Royal Corps of Army Music now hold the rank of staff s ...

, composer and arranger of compositions for

military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the tit ...

s. He was for many years bandmaster of the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

Life

He was born in Westminster in 1831, eldest of four sons of Charles Godfrey, bandmaster of the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

for fifty years. His eldest brother, George William Godfrey, was well known as a playwright. Daniel Godfrey was educated at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

, where he subsequently became professor of military music and was elected a fellow. In his early days he was a flute player in the orchestra of

Louis-Antoine Jullien Louis George Maurice Adolphe Roche Albert Abel Antonio Alexandre Noë Jean Lucien Daniel Eugène Joseph-le-brun Joseph-Barême Thomas Thomas Thomas-Thomas Pierre Arbon Pierre-Maurel Barthélemi Artus Alphonse Bertrand Dieudonné Emanuel Josué V ...

and at the

Royal Italian Opera The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal O ...

. In 1856, on the recommendation of Sir Michael Costa, he was, through the influence of the

Prince Consort Albert Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Franz August Karl Albert Emanuel; 26 August 1819 – 14 December 1861) was the consort of Queen Victoria from their marriage on 10 February 1840 until his death in 1861. Albert was born in the Saxon duch ...

, appointed bandmaster of the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

. One of his first duties was to play into London the brigade of guards returning from the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

. In 1863 he composed his "Guards" waltz for the ball given by the officers of the guards to the Prince and Princess of Wales, later

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

and

Queen Alexandra Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 to 6 May 1910 as the wife of King ...

, on their marriage. This became popular, as did his "Mabel" and "Hilda" waltzes. He was also successful as an arranger of compositions for military bands. Godfrey made a tour with his band in the United States in 1876, in celebration of the centenary of

American Independence The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

. It was the first visit of an English military band since the creation of the republic, and a special Act of Parliament had to be passed to authorise it. At the

Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria The Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria was celebrated on 20 and 21 June 1887 to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession on 20 June 1837. It was celebrated with a Thanksgiving Service at Westminster Abbey, and a banquet to which ...

in 1887, he was promoted second-lieutenant – the first bandmaster who received a commission in the army – and he was decorated with the

Jubilee Medal A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...

. In 1891 he reached the age limit of sixty, but his period of service was extended for five years. He retired from the army on 4 September 1896, with the reputation of England's leading bandmaster. Subsequently he formed a private military band which played at the chief exhibitions in England, and with which he twice toured America and Canada. He died in

Beeston, Nottinghamshire Beeston is a town in the Borough of Broxtowe, Nottinghamshire, England, south-west of Nottingham city centre. To its north-east is the University of Nottingham's main campus, University Park. The pharmaceutical and retail chemist group Boots h ...

, on 30 June 1903 aged 71. Godfrey married in 1856 Joyce Boyles, and they had two sons and three daughters. His eldest son,

Dan Godfrey Sir Daniel Eyers "Dan" Godfrey (20 June 1868 – 20 July 1939) was a British music conductor and member of a musical dynasty that included his father Daniel Godfrey (1831–1903). His son, also Dan Godfrey, was also a musician, station man ...

(1868–1939), became a successful conductor.

References

Attribution *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Godfrey, Daniel 1831 births 1903 deaths 19th-century British composers British military musicians Fellows of the Royal Academy of Music Academics of the Royal Academy of Music Grenadier Guards soldiers Grenadier Guards officers