J. FREDERICK BRIDGE

Sir John Frederick Bridge (1844-1924) was born in central England. At age 6, he was admitted as “practising boy” (probationer) to the choir at Rochester Cathedral when his father was appointed a vicar-choral. At age 14, he left the cathedral choir to apprentice with the organist of Rochester Cathedral. While still a student, he was appointed organist of the village church of Shorne and then Strood Parish Church. He studied composition with John Goss, of the Royal Academy of Music, and earned his Bachelor of Music degree at Oxford. He became organist of Holy Trinity Church, Windsor, then at Manchester Cathedral, and earned his Doctor of Music degree at Oxford. He then became organist and master of the choristers at Westminster Abbey. He was in charge of music for great state occasions, including Queen Victoria’s jubilee (1887), the Coronation of King Edward VII (1902), the national memorial service for Edward VII (1910), George V’s coronation (1911), and the re-inauguration of Henry VII’s Chapel as the chapel of the Order of the Bath (1913). For those, he organized and composed some and organized the music. He was professor of harmony and counterpoint at Royal College of Music, professor of music at Gresham College, and professor of music at the University of London. He was also the conductor of the Royal Choral Society, introducing many new works, including those by Elgar, Vaughan Williams and Parry.

All are mixed chorus; some contain divisi.

SET	TITLE	VOICING	TEXT	LISTEN
	A singer’s requiem			LISTEN X Stop audio before closing
	Bold Turpin		Dickens	LISTEN X Stop audio before closing
	Cupid detected (arr.)			LISTEN X Stop audio before closing
	It was a lover and his lass (arr.)			LISTEN X Stop audio before closing
	Loose the sail, rest the oar		Charles Kingsley	LISTEN X Stop audio before closing
	Peace		I. J. I. Pocock	LISTEN X Stop audio before closing
	The Goose		Tennyson	LISTEN X Stop audio before closing
Shakespeare Songs No. 3	The Goslings		Weatherley	LISTEN X Stop audio before closing
	When the sun sinks to rest		Samuel Lover	LISTEN X Stop audio before closing