Sir Edward Cuthbert Bairstow (22 August 18741 May 1946) was an English

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational ...

and

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 Def ...

in the

Anglican church music Anglican church music is music that is written for Christian worship in Anglican religious services, forming part of the liturgy. It mostly consists of pieces written to be sung by a church choir, which may sing ''a cappella'' or accompanied ...

tradition.

Life and career

Bairstow was born in Trinity Street,

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence i ...

in 1874. His grandfather Oates Bairstow was founder of the eponymous clothing firm. He studied the organ with John Farmer at

Balliol College Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the ...

, Oxford, and while articled under

Frederick Bridge Sir John Frederick Bridge (5 December 1844 – 18 March 1924) was an English organist, composer, teacher and writer. From a musical family, Bridge became a church organist before he was 20, and he achieved his ambition to become a cathedral ...

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

received tuition from

Walter Alcock Sir Walter Galpin Alcock (29 December 186111 September 1947) was an English organist and composer. He held a number of prominent positions as an organist and played at the coronations of three monarchs. He was professor of organ in the Royal Co ...

. He studied organ and theory at the

University of Durham , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills ( Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_cha ...

, receiving the Bachelor of Music in 1894, and the Doctor of Music in 1901.p. 10
/ref> After holding posts in London,

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the north-east and Warrington ...

and

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...

, he served as organist of

York Minster The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Arch ...

from 1913 to his death, when he was succeeded by his former pupil Francis Jackson. Jackson went on to write a biography of Bairstow. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the G ...

in 1932. Notorious for his terseness and bluntness, Bairstow did not always endear himself to others. Asked whether he would be willing to follow the example of his predecessor at York, Thomas Tertius Noble, and emigrate to the United States, he replied that he would "rather go to the devil". Comfortably ensconced in Yorkshire, where he was a close friend of the equally blunt

Charles Harry Moody Dr Charles Harry Moody Hon. FRCO (22 March 1874 - 10 May 1965) was a composer and organist based in England. Life He was born in Stourbridge, Worcestershire on 22 March 1874, the son of Charles Moody (1825 – 1893) and Lydia Glover (1829-1904) ...

, organist at

Ripon Cathedral The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Wilfrid, commonly known as Ripon Cathedral, and until 1836 known as Ripon Minster, is a cathedral in Ripon, North Yorkshire, England. Founded as a monastery by monks of the Irish tradition in the 660s, i ...

, he refused an offer to succeed

Sydney Nicholson Sir Sydney Hugo Nicholson (9 February 1875 – 30 May 1947) was an English choir director, organist and composer, now chiefly remembered as the founder of the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) and the compiler of ''The Parish Psalter''. Li ...

at Westminster Abbey. He instead recommended his erstwhile pupil

Ernest Bullock Sir Ernest Bullock (1890–1979) was an English organist, composer, and teacher. He was organist of Exeter Cathedral from 1917 to 1928 and of Westminster Abbey from 1928 to 1941. In the latter post he was jointly responsible for the music at the ...

, who was duly appointed to the post.

Key dates

*1893 Organist of All Saints, Norfolk Square *1899 Organist of

Wigan Parish Church All Saints' Church in Wallgate, Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, is an Anglican parish church. It is in the deanery of Wigan, the archdeaconry of Warrington and the Diocese of Liverpool. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List ...

*1906 Organist of Leeds Parish Church *1913 Master of Music,

*1932 Knighted for services to music

Compositions

Bairstow's compositions are mainly for the church. He wrote 29 anthems, ranging from large-scale works for choir and organ such as ''Blessed city, heavenly Salem'' to miniatures like ''I sat down under his shadow'' and ''Jesu, the very thought of thee''. Among his anthems, '' Let all mortal flesh keep silence'' is perhaps the best known. His service music includes published settings in D (Evening 1906, Communion 1913, Morning 1925), E♭ (Full Setting, 1923), and G (Evening, 1940), and several unpublished works. He also composed psalm chants, hymn tunes, and a cantata, ''The Prodigal Son'', for choir and chamber orchestra. Bairstow was also active as an instrumental composer, mainly for the organ, and some 12 pieces were published in his lifetime, among them the 1937 Sonata in E♭. His small output of chamber music includes a set of variations for two pianos and another set of variations for violin and piano, both long out of print.

Key works

*''If the Lord had not helped me'' *''Blessed city, Heavenly Salem'' (based on the plainsong " Urbs beata") *''Lord, Thou hast been our refuge'' * ''I sat down under his shadow'' *'' Let all mortal flesh keep silence'' *''The Lamentations of Jeremiah'' *''Sing ye to the Lord'' *''Save us, O Lord'' *''Though I speak with the tongues of men'' *''Jesu grant me this I pray'' (Taken from "

Orlando Gibbons Orlando Gibbons ( bapt. 25 December 1583 – 5 June 1625) was an English composer and keyboard player who was one of the last masters of the English Virginalist School and English Madrigal School. The best known member of a musical fam ...

") *'' The King of love my shepherd is'' * Evening Service in G minor * Evening Service in D
Evening song, for organ
(From the Sibley Music Library Digital Score Collection)
Prelude, Elegy and Toccata for organ
(From the Sibley Music Library Digital Score Collection)

Books

*''Counterpoint and Harmony'': MacMillan/Stainer & Bell, 1937, 1945 (2nd ed). Republished 2007 by the Bairstow Press, , . *''The Evolution of Musical Form'': Oxford University Press, 1943. *''Singing Learned from Speech: A Primer for Teachers and Students'': Macmillan, 1945.

References

*Francis Jackson. "Bairstow, Sir Edward C(uthbert)", ''

Grove Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and th ...

'', ed. L. Macy (accessed 19 August 2005)
grovemusic.com
(subscription access). *Francis Jackson: ''Blessed City: The Life and Works of Edward C. Bairstow 1874-1946''. York, William Sessions Ltd., 1993. , ; 2nd rev. ed. Hyperion Books, 1997. ,

External links

* *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bairstow, Edward 1874 births 1946 deaths English classical composers English classical organists British male organists Cathedral organists Musicians from Huddersfield Classical composers of church music Knights Bachelor Composers awarded knighthoods Musicians awarded knighthoods Alumni of Durham University Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford English male classical composers Male classical organists Presidents of the Independent Society of Musicians