Basil Harwood

Basil Harwood (11 April 1859 – 3 April 1949) was an organist and composer in the English church music tradition, best known today for his liturgical works, particularly his anthem O How Glorious is the Kingdom (1898) and his Service in A flat (1892), which still remain popular in English churches. He wrote numerous hymn tunes, several of which became well-known including Luckington ("Let All the World in Every Corner Sing") and Thornbury ("O Jesus I Have Promised" and "Thy hand, O God, has guided").

Early life

Basil Harwood was born on 11 April 1859 at Woodhouse, Olveston, Gloucestershire, the youngest child of Edward Harwood (1818–1907), a banker.Template:Sfn His mother Mary, née Sturge (1840–1867), was of Quaker extraction, and Harwood was brought up in that faith until a switch to Anglicanism in 1869 following his father's second marriage.Template:Sfn

Education

As a boy, Harwood attended Walton Lodge preparatory school in Clevedon, followed in 1864 by Charterhouse.Template:Sfn In 1876 he won a scholarship to Trinity College, Oxford, where he was placed in the second class in classical moderations (1879) and the third in modern history (1881).Template:Sfn He took his music degree (BMus) in 1880, studying with C. W. Corfe, then the university's Choragus.Template:Sfn

After Oxford, Harwood spent a year in Leipzig studying composition with Jadassohn and the organ with Papperitz.Template:Sfn

Career

Harwood's first professional position was organist of St Barnabas', Pimlico in 1883, a post he held until 1887.Template:Sfn He then served as organist at Ely Cathedral for five years, followed by a final move to Oxford in 1892 where he remained organist of Christ Church Cathedral until his retirement in 1909.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

He became Doctor of Music (DMus) in 1896, submitting as his doctoral work a setting of Psalm 86, Inclina domine.Template:Sfn

During his time in Oxford Harwood acted as conductor of the Oxford Orchestral Association (1892–8), and became the first conductor of the Oxford Bach Choir in 1896.Template:Sfn He held the position of Precentor of Keble College between 1892 and 1903, and was Choragus at the university from 1900 until his retirement.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn He edited The Oxford Hymn Book (1908)Template:Sfn as well as acting as an Oxford examiner for several academic years between 1900 and 1915.Template:Sfn

Works

Harwood's musical works sit within the 'English' tradition established by Wesley, Stainer, Parry and Stanford.Template:Sfn He is best known today for his liturgical works, particularly his anthem O How Glorious is the Kingdom (1898), notable for its organ accompaniment and (said Henry Ley) "a coda based on a haunting melody of great beauty".Template:Sfn Ley also identified When the Son of Man Shall Come (1900) as one of his finest anthems.Template:Sfn There are nine liturgical settings: the Service in A flat (1892) is still popular with English choirs,Template:Sfn while the lesser known Service in E minor (1919) is his most extensive and mature.Template:Sfn He wrote numerous hymn tunes, several of which became well-known including Luckington ("Let All the World in Every Corner Sing"), Thornbury ("O Jesus I Have Promised" and "Thy hand, O God, has Guided"), and St Audrey ("Sing ye Faithful, Sing with Gladness").Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

He produced a number of choral works, often for church festivals, including Inclina Domine (Gloucester Festival 1898); As by the Streams of Babylon (Oxford Bach Choir 1907); Jesus, Thy Boundless Love (St Paul's Cathedral 1909); Song on May Morning (Leeds Festival 1913); Love Incarnate (Gloucester Festival 1925); Ye Choirs of New Jerusalem (Gloucester Festival 1928); and Sacrifice Triumphant (1939).Template:Sfn There are also some part songs and solo songs.Template:Sfn

Harwood's organ style was distinctive and technically challenging.Template:Sfn He made significant contributions to the repertory of organ works for the concert hall, most requiring considerable virtuoso technique. The Organ Sonata in C sharp minor, op. 5, composed in 1886, was called by critics "the finest organ sonata composed by an Englishman".Template:Sfn Other notable organ works include the Dithyramb, op.7 (1892, much admired by Edward Elgar who told Harwood he always had a desire to score it), the Paean (1903, first performed by Walter Parratt at the opening of the reconstructed organ in York Minster, and later recorded by Reginald Goss-Custard at Liverpool Cathedral), and the Toccata, op.49 (1930).Template:Sfn There is also a Sonata for chamber organ and a full scale Concerto in D major for organ & orchestra, op. 24, which the composer played at the Gloucester Festival in 1910. His love of plainchant and hymn tunes is often evident in his organ works.Template:Sfn

Personal life

Harwood was deeply religious and was said to have had a quiet, gentle, and reserved personality.Template:Sfn On 27 December 1899 he married one of his former pupils, Mabel Ada Jennings (1871–1974). The couple had two sons, John Edward Godfrey (born 1900) and Basil Anthony (born 1903).Template:Sfn In 1909 Harwood took early retirement and returned to Gloucestershire to manage his family estate there.Template:Sfn

In 1936 Harwood and his wife moved to London, where they remained except for some temporary absences in Bournemouth and then Shiplake during the war.Template:Sfn Harwood died on 3 April 1949 at his home, 50 Courtfield Gardens, Kensington, aged 89.Template:Sfn His ashes were interred in St Barnabas's Church, Pimlico.Template:Sfn

Bibliography

• Template:Cite journal
• Template:Cite ODNB
• Template:Cite journal
• Template:Cite journal

External links

• Template:IMSLP
• Template:ChoralWiki

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