C. Hubert. H. Parry

Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet (27 February 1848 – 7 October 1918) was an English composer, teacher and historian of music.
Photo of C. Hubert H. Parry

Parry’s first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is best known for the choral song “Jerusalem”, his 1902 setting for the coronation anthem “I was glad”, the choral and orchestral ode Blest Pair of Sirens, and the hymn tune “Repton”, which sets the words “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind”. His orchestral works include five symphonies and a set of Symphonic Variations. He also composed the music for Ode to Newfoundland, the Newfoundland and Labrador provincial anthem (and former national anthem).

After early attempts to work in insurance at his father’s behest, Parry was taken up by George Grove, first as a contributor to Grove’s massive Dictionary of Music and Musicians in the 1870s and 80s, and then in 1883 as professor of composition and musical history at the Royal College of Music, of which Grove was the first head. In 1895 Parry succeeded Grove as head of the college, remaining in the post for the rest of his life. He was concurrently Heather Professor of Music at the University of Oxford from 1900 to 1908. He wrote several books about music and music history, the best-known of which is probably his 1909 study of Johann Sebastian Bach.

(Wikipedia.org, Hubert Parry, CC BY-SA 3.0)

Further Reading

“A Portrait of Parry.” BBC3 Sunday Feature. Uploaded 07 Oct. 2018. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0000nkn. Accessed 05 Oct. 2020.

“Hubert Parry (1848-1918).” BBC3 Composer of the Week. Uploaded 14 May 2014. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p01z2pzp. Accessed 05 Oct. 2020.

“A Man Out of Time – Why Parry’s music and ideas were at odds with his image.” BBC3 Composer of the Week.  Accessed 07 Mar. 2021.

“Parry, Charles Hubert Hastings: Manuscripts and letters in the Royal College Music Library.” https://www.rcm.ac.uk/media/Parry%20-%20Handlist%20of%20MSS.pdf. London: Royal College of Music. Accessed 05 Oct. 2020.

Benoliel, Benard. Parry before Jerusalem – Studies of his Life and Music. [S.l.]: Routledge, 2020.

Dibble, Jeremy. C. Hubert H. Parry – His Life and Music. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Fuller-Maitland, J.A.  “Hubert Parry”.  The Musical Quarterly, July 1919, 299-307.

Graves, Charles L. Hubert Parry – His Life and Works. Best Books, 2001.

Hold, Trevor. Parry to Finzi – Twenty English Song Composers. Rochester: The Boydell Press, 2005.

Parry, H. and H.C. Colles. College Addresses delivered to Pupils of the Royal College of Music. London: Macmillan and Co., 1920.

Town, Stephen. An Imperishable Heritage – British Choral Music from Parry to Dyson. New York: Routledge, 2016.

Wattanapat, Nugunn.  Sir Hubert Parry: An Intellectual Portrait. 2016. Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/12010/