Harry Wakefield Bramma (born 11 November 1936,

Shipley, West Yorkshire Shipley is a historic market town and civil parish in the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, by the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, north of Bradford. The population of the Shipley ward on Bradford City Council taken ...

) is a British organist and composer of

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 accompanie ...

. He served as director of the

Royal School of Church Music The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) is a Christian music education organisation dedicated to the promotion of music in Christian worship, in particular the repertoire and traditions of Anglican church music, largely through publications, tr ...

from 1989 to 1998 and as director of music at

All Saints, Margaret Street All Saints, Margaret Street, is a Grade I listed Anglo-Catholic church in London. The church was designed by the architect William Butterfield and built between 1850 and 1859. It has been hailed as Butterfield's masterpiece and a pioneering buil ...

, 1989–2004. Bramma was educated at

Bradford Grammar School Bradford Grammar School (BGS) is a co-educational independent day school located in Frizinghall, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Entrance is by examination, except for the sixth form, where admission is based on GCSE results. The school ...

and his early musical education included organ lessons under

Melville Cook Alfred Melville Cook (18 June 1912 – 22 May 1993) was a British organist, conductor, composer and teacher. Early life and education Cook was born in Gloucester. He was a chorister at Gloucester Cathedral (1923–1928) and articled pupil th ...

, organist of

Leeds Parish Church Leeds Minster, or the Minster and Parish Church of Saint Peter-at-Leeds (formerly Leeds Parish Church) is the minster church of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It stands on the site of the oldest church in the city and is of architectural and l ...

. He went on to read theology and music at

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 th ...

from 1955 to 1960, studying as

organ scholar An organ scholar is a young musician employed as a part-time assistant organist at a cathedral, church or institution where regular choral services are held. The idea of an organ scholarship is to provide the holder with playing, directing and adm ...

of Pembroke College. He graduated

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

in 1958 and

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

in 1960. Bramma initially started a career in teaching, and held the post of director of music at the King Edward VI School, Retford 1961–63. In 1963 he took the job as assistant organist at

Worcester Cathedral Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, in Worcestershire, England, situated on a bank overlooking the River Severn. It is the seat of the Bishop of Worcester. Its official name is the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Bles ...

, under Christopher Robinson, also becoming director of music at

the King's School, Worcester The King's School, Worcester is an English independent day school refounded by Henry VIII in 1541. It occupies a site adjacent to Worcester Cathedral on the banks of the River Severn in the centre of the city of Worcester. It offers mixed-sex ma ...

in 1965. Bramma's students at the King's School included a number of noted musicians, among them

Nicholas Cleobury Nicholas Cleobury (born 23 June 1950) is an English conductor. Cleobury was organ scholar at Worcester College, Oxford, conductor of Schola Cantorum of Oxford and held assistant organist posts at Chichester Cathedral and Christ Church, Oxford b ...

Stephen Cleobury Sir Stephen John Cleobury ( ; 31 December 1948 – 22 November 2019)Andrew Millington,

Jonathan Nott Jonathan Nott (born 25 December 1962, in Solihull, England) is an English conductor. Biography The son of a priest at Worcester Cathedral, Nott was a music student and choral scholar at St John's College, Cambridge, and also studied singing a ...

Adrian Partington Adrian Frederick Partington (born 1 October 1958) is an English conductor, chorus master, organist and pianist. He is director of music at Gloucester Cathedral, joint conductor of the Three Choirs Festival and artistic director for the Glouceste ...

and Geoffrey Webber. In 1976 became organist and director of music at

Southwark Cathedral Southwark Cathedral ( ) or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge. It is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Southwar ...

, and in 1989 moved on to become director of the Royal School of Church Music. He has been noted as an influential composer of modern church music. His compositions include settings of the ancient Latin Christian hymns '' O Salutaris'' and ''

Tantum Ergo "Tantum ergo" is the incipit of the last two verses of Pange lingua, a Medieval Latin hymn generally attributed to St Thomas Aquinas c. 1264, but based by Aquinas upon various earlier fragments. The "Genitori genitoque" and "Procedenti ab utroque" ...

''; ''I will receive the cup of salvation'', a setting of poetic text by St. Teresa of Avila; ''Alleluya. This is the day''; an arrangement of the

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...

funeral hymn ''

Kontakion of the Departed The kontakion (Greek , plural , ''kontakia'') is a form of hymn performed in the Orthodox and the Eastern Catholic liturgical traditions. The kontakion originated in the Byzantine Empire around the 6th century and is closely associated with Sai ...

''; a set of preces and responses; and music for Advent and

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

References

* ‘BRAMMA, Harry Wakefield’, Who's Who 2011, A & C Black, 2011; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2010 ; online edn, Oct 201
accessed 30 July 2011
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bramma, Harry 1936 births Living people British classical organists British male organists Cathedral organists British classical composers British male classical composers Classical composers of church music People from Shipley, West Yorkshire Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford Musicians from Bradford 21st-century English composers 20th-century English composers People educated at Bradford Grammar School 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers 21st-century organists 20th-century British male musicians 21st-century British male musicians Male classical organists