William Herbert Jude (1851–1922), usually credited as W.H. Jude, was an English composer and organist. Born in

Westleton Westleton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk. It is located north of Leiston and north-east of Saxmundham near the North Sea coast. The village is on the edge of the Suffolk Sandlings, an area of lowland heathland. T ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

in September 1851, his parents later moved to Norfolk.Osbeck, Kenneth W., ''101 more hymn stories'', (Kregel Publications, 1985) , pp. 155–156.Tubb, Benjamin; Miller, M.D.,
William Herbert Jude
, ''Public Domain Music'', (www.pdmusic.org) He was a precocious child, and attended

Wisbech Grammar School Wisbech Grammar School is an 11–18 mixed, Church of England, independent day school and sixth form in Wisbech, Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. Founded by the Guild of the Holy Trinity in 1379, it is one of the oldest schools in the co ...

where records note that by age eight he was composing incidental music for school plays.White, L., ''A History of Wisbech Grammar School'' (Wisbech, 1939), 136. He later attended Liverpool Organ School and Liverpool College of Music, also becoming college principal for a while.Sowcroft, Philip L.
Garland 7
''A Garland of Light Music Composers''. By 1881, Jude was listed in the census as living at 33 Oxford Street,

Mount Pleasant, Liverpool Mount Pleasant is a street in Liverpool city centre. It is towards one end of Hope Street, and is the location of the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. It is situated on the site of one of the hills which surrounded the village of Liverpool bef ...

with his wife Catherine. At this time, he was organist for the Blue Coat Hospital and Stretford Town Hall near Manchester, as well as being a lecturer and teacher. As a recitalist, he was asked to "open" over 1000 new organs across the UK, Ireland and Australia. He was frequently referred to as "the most brilliant organist of the day". Christian texts and topics appear frequently in Jude's compositions. He was an admirer of the British evangelist Rodney "Gipsy" Smith, and published a collection of ''Gipsy Smith's Favourite Solos'' in 1903. Jude appears to have supported the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

; "Fight the Drink", a song by Jude with lyrics by A Sargant, appears in a collection of his music with the note that it was "sung at the Crystal Palace Festival by 5000 people". Between 1890 and 1894, the composer embarked on a tour of Australia and New Zealand. Beginning in 1904, he served as editor for several musical periodicals, including ''Monthly Hymnal'', ''Minister of Music'', and ''Music and the Higher Life''. He also compiled several hymnbooks; ''Mission Hymns'' in 1911 and ''Festival Hymns'' in 1916. He died on 8 August 1922 in London.

Compositions

As a composer, he mainly focused on vocal music, and wrote at least two operettas; ''Innocents Abroad, or Going Over to Rome'' in 1882 and ''The Mighty Deep'' in 1917, as well as numerous individual songs and hymn tunes. Although nearly all of his music has slipped into obscurity, at the turn of the 20th century, his ballad "The Mighty Deep" from his 1917 operetta of the same name was very popular. Other nautical ballads include "'Neath the Rolling Tide", "Every Inch a Sailor", "The Skipper" and "Plymouth Sound". Other songs include "The Trumpeter's March" "La Garde Suisse" "Cavalry March" "Behold! I Stand at the Door", "Consecration", "I Gave My Life For Thee", "The Landlord's Daughter" and "The Young Brigade". He also composed organ music and piano solos such as the ''Festival March in C''. Many of his compositions are of the Victorian parlour music variety. He was a keen writer of high-Victorian hymns, and his hymn tune "Galilee" was widely printed and applied to several texts, although notably "Jesus Calls Us" by

Cecil Frances Alexander Cecil Frances Alexander (April 1818 – 12 October 1895) was an Anglo-Irish hymnwriter and poet. Amongst other works, she wrote "All Things Bright and Beautiful", "There is a green hill far away" and the Christmas carol "Once in Royal David's Cit ...

. In 1900, he published a collection of his own hymn tunes entitled ''Music and the Higher Life''. Several of his hymn settings, such as "

Onward, Christian Soldiers "Onward, Christian Soldiers" is a 19th-century English hymn. The words were written by Sabine Baring-Gould in 1865, and the music was composed by Arthur Sullivan in 1871. Sullivan named the tune "St Gertrude," after the wife of his friend Erne ...

", "

Eventide Eventide, an archaic word for evening, may also refer to: * ''Eventide'' (EP), a 1998 EP by Monique Brumby * ''Eventide'' (''Magic: The Gathering''), a 2008 trading card expansion set * '' Eventide: A Scene in the Westminster Union'', an 1878 pa ...

" and "

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" is an English Christmas carol that first appeared in 1739 in the collection ''Hymns and Sacred Poems''. The carol, based on , tells of an angelic chorus singing praises to God. As it is known in the modern era, it f ...

" are better known in alternative settings. Jude wrote the words of a few hymns. "Speak to me, Lord, and calm this silent grief;" "The Crowning Day," and "That beautiful city of rest ... The home of those I love best.""Jude's Mission Hymnal", 1911, Reid Bros Ltd., London. Hymns No. 3, 52, and 90. The themes suggest writing out of personal experience of bereavement. His hymn tunes generally show great attention to the words, as seen in his settings of "Depth of Mercy" (Charles Wesley), "Rock of Ages" ( A M Toplady), and "When I Survey" (Isaac Watts).

References

Bibliography

*Henniker, Maurice, ''Illustrated life of W. H. Jude : organist, composer, descriptive vocalist, and Ambassador for Christ'' (London: Jarrold & Sons, 1900) Bib ID 611927 *Jude, William Herbert, ''

Gipsy Smith Rodney "Gipsy" Smith Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, MBE (31 March 1860 – 4 August 1947) was a British Evangelism, evangelist who conducted evangelistic campaigns in the United States and Great Britain for over 70 year ...

's Favourite Solos'', (London: Country life, 1903) *Jude, William Herbert, ''Music and the Higher Life: A Collection of Descriptive and Choral Hymns, Solos and Choruses'' (London : Reid Bros, 1900)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jude, W.H. 1851 births 1922 deaths 19th-century classical composers 20th-century classical composers English classical composers Light music composers English classical organists British male organists English Romantic composers People from Suffolk Coastal (district) People educated at Wisbech Grammar School English hymnwriters Musicians from Cambridgeshire 20th-century English composers 19th-century British composers 20th-century British male musicians 19th-century British male musicians Male classical organists