William Gillies Whittaker (1876-1944) was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. He studied science at Armstrong College, University of Durham, received training in organ and singing, and became a member of its faculty. He later was Professor of Music at the University of Glasgow and principal of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music. He was a respected choral conductor with positions with Armstrong College, the Newcastle and Gateshead Choral Union and the Newcastle Bach Choir. Whittaker was a scholar of Bach and conductor Bach’s works. He was editor of a series of Bach’s cantatas and author of one of the definitive commentaries on Bach’s cantatas. He also edited instrumental works of the 17th and 18th centuries. He composed a number of larger choral works, piano pieces, songs, and choral arrangements. He is particularly known for his collection of “North Countrie Folk Songs” and choral arrangements of many of the songs.
The series of choral arrangements “North Country Folk Songs” was written over about a decade starting in 1910.