Edmund Thomas Chipp (25 December 1823 – 17 December 1886) was an English organist and composer. His compositions were principally

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chri ...

organ music and

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...

Life and career

Chipp was born in London on Christmas Day, 25 December 1823. He was the eldest son of musician (Thomas) Paul Chipp(1793–1870) harpist, principal drummer of his day and chorister of the

Chapel Royal The Chapel Royal is an establishment in the Royal Household serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the British Royal Family. Historically it was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarch. The term is now also appl ...

, Whitehall. He was educatedStephen, 1887, page 258 in the Chapel Royal as a chorister, and later became a member of

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...

's and then

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

's private band. He was a Chorister of the Chapel Royal under William Hawes from the age of seven until he was 17. On 28 June 1838 Chipp sang at the

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of o ...

. Chipp studied the organ under George Cooper (organist at

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London ...

and

St. James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster in London. Al ...

d.1838), and violin. He became a Member of the Society of British Musicians in 1842 and of the

Royal Society of Musicians The Royal Society of Musicians of Great Britain is a charity in the United Kingdom that supports musicians. It is the oldest music-related charity in Great Britain, founded in 1738 as the ''Fund for Decay'd Musicians'' by a declaration of trust sign ...

in 1848. He was violinist in Her Majesty's Private Band from 1844, and a violinist in the Philharmonic and other orchestras. In 1859 he obtained a music degree at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and 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 ...

in 1861, the first to obtain this degree under the professorship of

William Sterndale Bennett Sir William Sterndale Bennett (13 April 18161 February 1875) was an English composer, pianist, conductor and music educator. At the age of ten Bennett was admitted to the London Royal Academy of Music (RAM), where he remained for ten years. B ...

. He died whilst on convalescent holiday in Nice, France on 17 December 1886. On Christmas Eve 1886 he was buried on the western side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...

, in the Chipp family grave (plot no.3184). Family grave of Edmund Chipp in Highgate Cemetery

''The Musical Times'' of 1 February 1887 stated: "In our last issue it was our painful duty to record the loss which the musical world sustained by the death of Dr E.T. Chipp," followed by his biography over two pages.This included reference to his work in demonstrating organs: "Mr Chipp's skill as an organist was by no means confined to his church duties; he was often called upon to display the resources of new organs. On these occasions he frequently performed the whole of his programme from memory."

Organist

During his career, Chipp's appointments included: *Organist at the Italian Opera House ''circa'' 1843–45. *St. John's Chapel, Downside Hill,

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the London Borough o ...

, London 1846-46 *St. Olave's,

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

, London 1847 succeeding "''The Father of Church Music''" Dr. Henry John Gauntlett (1805–1876). Gauntlett had designed a new grand organ for St Olaves, which was built between 1844 and 1846. Shortly after the installation was completed in March 1846, Chipp was formally invited to take up the position of organist. Chipp resigned in 1852 upon being appointed organist at

St Mary-at-Hill St Mary-at-Hill is an Anglican parish church in the Ward of Billingsgate, City of London. It is situated on Lovat Lane, a cobbled street off Eastcheap. It was founded in the 12th century as "St. Mary de Hull" or "St. Mary de la Hulle". It was se ...

. *In 1862 the grand Ulster Hall opened in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

and Chipp was recruited to celebrate it. :"The opening of the Ulster Hall brought Belfast a capacious new concert auditorium and a musician of outstanding ability, Edmund Thomas Chipp, to play its organ and conduct the town's two principal musical societies." His appointment at Belfast was for 3 years, during which he gave many recitals; 57 in his first season, but conducting only 2 concertos, most notably in March 1864 of the Mendelssohn G Minor Piano Concerto. "This performance was to remain for many years the only piano concerto, and for that matter the only one by a composer of canonic status, to be played in the Ulster Hall." *

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 present ...

,1867 Chief Organist and Magister Choristarum, held until his death in 1886.

Chipp and the Mendelssohn organ sonatas

Mendelssohn's '' Six Grand Sonatas for the Organ, Op. 65'' were published by Coventry and Hollier in July 1845. Chipp gave probably the first public performance of any of the sonatas just a few months later at Walker's organ factory in April 1846. In 1847 Chipp played the third sonata to Mendelssohn on the organ at the

Hanover Square Rooms The Hanover Square Rooms or the Queen's Concert Rooms were assembly rooms established, principally for musical performances, on the corner of Hanover Square, London, by Sir John Gallini in partnership with Johann Christian Bach and Carl Friedric ...

. This testimonial was received (the original draft was retrieved by Sir

George Grove Sir George Grove (13 August 182028 May 1900) was an English engineer and writer on music, known as the founding editor of ''Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians''. Grove was trained as a civil engineer, and successful in that profession, b ...

whilst researching Mendelssohn's life in Europe):

I have heard Mr. Edmund Chipp perform on the organ and the manner in which he played one of the most difficult of my Organ Sonatas has given me a very high opinion of his talents and his skill as a musician and as a performer. -London, 7th Mai, 1847. FELIX MENDELSSOHN BARTHOLDY

On 13 December 1848 Chipp performed all six of the Mendelssohn sonatas from memory, at a recital at the William Hill organ factory,Scholes, 1947, page 596 a feat mentioned in several of his obituaries.''The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular'', 1 February 1887, pages 100–101Edwards, 1901, 796 Between 1850 and 1855 Chipp went on to collate and transcribe the full scores of all Mendelssohn's unpublished works in his own leisure time whilst he was a member of Her Majesty's Private Band at St George's Chapel at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original c ...

Compositions

For Organ

*Andante Varied *Austrian Hymn *Four Pieces 1: “O Sanctissima” with two variations and finale; 2: Andante con moto; 3: Intermezzo; 4: Fugue in A minor *God Preserve the Emperor, written for The Birmingham Festival, 1849 *Twenty-four Sketches (Op. 11) (1: Andante Religioso; 2: In Memoriam M.F.G.C; 3: Con moto; 4: Adagio ma non troppo; 5: Con moto molto tranquillo; 6: Andante tranquillo; 7: Andante e molto Sostenuto; 8: Con moto ma non troppo presto; 9: Con moto molto tranquillo; 10: Canzonet; 11: Lento; 12: Pastorale; 13: In Memoriam F.M.B.; 14: Larghetto; 15: Moderato e Tranquillo; 16: Andante con Moto; 17: Moderato e Sostenuto; 18: Andante ma non troppo; 19: In Memoriam M.F.G.C.; 20: Grazioso; 21: Andante Maestoso e con energetico; 22: Moderato e legato; 23: Andante e Sostenuto; 24: Ave Maria) *Variations on “God Preserve the Emperor” (Op. 2) *Variations on “The Harmonious Blacksmith” (Op. 1)

Choral

*''Job'' (1875) *''Naomi'' Chipp compositions were included in the 2007 Historic Organ Sound Archive Project

OSA Osa or OSA may refer to: Places * Osa Peninsula, a peninsula in Costa Rica * Osa (canton), a canton in the province of Puntarenas in Costa Rica * Osa Conservation Area, an administrative area in Costa Rica * Osa, India, a village in Allahabad, ...

and National Pipe Organ Register.

References

Sources

* * * Edwards, F.G. (1895) ''Mendelssohn's Organ sonatas'', Proceedings of the Musical Association, 21st session, 1894–5, pp. 1–16. London. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chipp, Edmund 1823 births 1886 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery Musicians from London English organists British male organists Organists of Ely Cathedral Members of the Royal Society of Musicians Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge 19th-century English musicians 19th-century British male musicians 19th-century classical musicians Male classical organists 19th-century organists