Hugh Archibald Clarke (August 15, 1839 – December 16, 1927) was a Canadian

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

, and music teacher.

Early life

Hugh Archibald Clarke was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada in 1839."Hugh Clarke"
''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. Clarke was exposed to music at a very young age, this interest is edified by his father, James Paton Clarke, who was a Mus. Doc. of

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. At the age of twelve, Clarke began to play the organ at his church. After Clarke and his wife, Jane Searle, immigrant to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he volunteered as the organist at the Second Presbyterian Church for 22 years. In Pennsylvania, Clarke established himself as an organist and teacher. In 1875, he was appointed professor of music at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

and remained an instructor there for 50 years. Eventually, he was named head of the

School of Fine Arts The School of Fine Arts or College of Fine Arts is the official name or part of the name of several schools of fine arts, often as an academic part of a larger university. These include: The Americas North America *Alabama School of Fine ...

in 1920. He also formed and led the university's Abt Male Chorus. Clarke became known as one of the earliest specialists in music theory in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, the other being John Knowles Paine who taught at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. Some of his known students include William Wallace Gilchrist,

John Sylvanus Thompson John Sylvanus Thompson (8 March 1889 – 1963) was an American pianist, composer, and educator. He was born in Williamstown, Pennsylvania, to James C. Thompson, a merchant in a general store, and his Welsh wife, Emma J. Thompson (née Hall). J ...

, and Clarke's own daughter, the literary critic and composer

Helen A. Clarke Helen Archibald Clarke (November 13, 1860 – February 8, 1926) was an American literary critic, book editor, composer and lyricist, and the co-founder of the journal ''Poet Lore''. She was influential in shaping the American literary taste of h ...

. Clarke died in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in 1927 at the age of 88.http://www.brainyhistory.com/topics/h/hugh.html

Works

Clarke wrote several books and musical pieces that are acknowledged worldwide. His most notable work, which earned him an honorary doctorate, is his 1886 composition to the ''Archanians'' by

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states ...

. Other well-known pieces are the music for the play ''

Iphigenia in Tauris ''Iphigenia in Tauris'' ( grc, Ἰφιγένεια ἐν Ταύροις, ''Iphigeneia en Taurois'') is a drama by the playwright Euripides, written between 414 BC and 412 BC. It has much in common with another of Euripides's plays, ''Helen'', as w ...

'' by

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful e ...

, the cantata ''The Music of the Spheres'', and the oratorio ''Jerusalem''.

Books

* ''Pronouncing Dictionary of Musical Terms'' * ''A System of Harmony: Founded on Key Relationship, by Means of Which a Thorough Knowledge of the Rules That Govern the Combinations and Successions of Sounds May Be Easily Acquired with or without a Teacher'' * ''Counterpoint Strict and Free; Double Counterpoint, Imitation, Fugue and Canon'' * ''Harmony on the Inductive Method'' * ''Melodies of Mood and Tense'' * ''Harold'' * ''The Scratch Club'' * ''Highways and Byways of Music'' * ''Music and the Comrade Arts''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Hugh Archibald 1839 births 1927 deaths Canadian classical organists Canadian male composers Male classical organists People from Old Toronto University of Pennsylvania faculty