Henry Houseley FRCO (20 September 1851 – 13 March 1925) was an English organist, composer and teacher,British musical biography. James Duff Brown, Stephen Samuel Stratton, 1897 who moved to Denver, Colorado.
Career
Henry Houseley was born on 20 September 1851 in Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire.Birth, hymnary.org, retrieved 18 December 2014 He received his musical education in Nottingham and London from James Turpin, and Edmund Hart Turpin., cyberhymnal.org, Retrieved 18 December 2014 In London Henry Houseley studied at the Royal College of Organists, earning an FRCO.FRCO, hymnary.org, retrieved 18 December 2014 He served as organist at St. Luke's Church, Derby, England; St. Thomas' Church, Nottingham.Local appointments , cyberhymnal.org, Retrieved 18 December 2014 Furthermore, he was also organist to the Nottingham Harmonic Society and music lecturer at the college in Nottingham.Music lecturer , cyberhymnal.org, Retrieved 18 December 2014 Being in England, he wrote most of his piano and organ music.
He moved to Denver, Colorado in 1888. From 1888 to at least 1901 he lived there. In 1892, he succeeded John Gower as organist of St. John's Episcopal Cathedral.Colorado magazine - Volumes 49-50 - Page 4. State Historical Society of Colorado, Colorado Historical Society 1972 He was also organist of the Temple Emmanuel church in Denver for 30 years.Temple Church , cyberhymnal.org, Retrieved 18 December 2014Organist Temple Church, hymnary.org, retrieved 18 December 2014 Outside of church commitments, he was for 25 years music director at the Rocky Mountain and Colorado Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasons, director of the Denver Symphony Orchestra, and director of the Denver Choral Society, which won a $1,000 prize in a Denver competition in 1896, and first prize at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904.Other activities, hymnary.org, retrieved 18 December 2014 Houseley also directed a men's chorus called the Apollo Club, played the organ at the Oakes Home (an old age home run by the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado), was on the faculties of the Denver Conservatory of Music and the University of Colorado, and was on the board of the Musical Society of Denver.Apollo Club, hymnary.org, retrieved 18 December 2014
He was a Founder of the American Guild of Organists.Guild of Organists, hymnary.org, retrieved 18 December 2014 Living in Colorado, He was a prolific composer: he wrote anthems, pieces for mixed chorus, arrangements for women's voices, men's voices, songs, piano works, organ pieces, and six operas, including Native Silver and Juggler.Composer, hymnary.org, retrieved 18 December 2014 Houseley started writing operas when he had moved to Colorado. He died on 13 March 1925 in Denver, Colorado and his ashes were interred in the east wall of the choir at St. John's Episcopal Cathedral.Death, hymnary.org, retrieved 18 December 2014
Appointments
Organist at St. Matthew's Church, Nottingham ????–1870 Organist at St. Luke's Church, Derby 1870–1882 Organist at St. Thomas' Church, Nottingham 1882–1888 Assistant Organist of St. John's Episcopal Cathedral, Denver 1888–1892 Organist of St. John's Episcopal Cathedral, Denver 1892–1925 Organist of the Temple Emmanuel church in Denver 1895?–1925?
Compositions
He wrote anthems, works for mixed chorus, songs, piano and organ pieces, and six operas.
Secular works The Best of all good company. Song (1875)The Best of all good company, umaryland.worldcat.org, retrieved 21 December 2014 I listened one autumn evening. Cavatina (1879)Fleur de Lys, umaryland.worldcat.org, retrieved 18 December 2014 Pretty Primrose (1891)Pretty Primrose , grainger.de, retrieved 18 December 2014 Mine Always (1892)Mine Always , grainger.de, retrieved 18 December 2014 Wait, Mister Postman! A Song sung often when once sung (1894)Mister Postman! , grainger.de, retrieved 18 December 2014 Only a broken heart, (1894), music Henry Houseley, text Sidney Francis King Death, for men's choir, music Henry Houseley (1900), text by Barry Cornwall (1787-1874) The Abyssinian patrol: march (1902 and 1905) Abysisinian patrol, umaryland.worldcat.org, retrieved 18 December 2014Abyssinian Patrol , grainger.de, retrieved 18 December 2014
Operas Native Silver (1891)Native Silver, operadata.stanford.edu, retrieved 18 December 2014 The Juggler (1895)The Juggler, operadata.stanford.edu, retrieved 18 December 2014 Love and whist. Operetta in one act (1898)Love and whist, umaryland.worldcat.org, retrieved 18 December 2014 Narcissus and Echo (1912)Narcissus and Echo, operadata.stanford.edu, retrieved 18 December 2014 Omar Khayyam: A Dramatic Cantata, for Soli, Chorus, and Orchestra (1917)
Sacred works The Last Tryst. Begin: "Beneath the elms" (1880) An Evening Service. Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis (1881) Crossing the Bar, partsong for choir (1900)Crossing the Bar, allmusic.com, retrieved 18 December 2014 Abide with me (1904) Far from my heavenly Home. Anthem (1904) Thy Will be done. Hymn-Anthem for Soprano or Tenor (1904) Jesu! the Very Thought of Thee. Hymn Anthem for Soprano Solo and Chorus (1904)Jesu! the Very Thought of Thee, librarything.com, retrieved 21 December 2014 Until God's day: sacred song, music Henry Houseley, text Frank L. Stanton (1907)Until God's day, books.google.nl, retrieved 18 December 2014
References