Hubert Parry

Sir Hubert Parry pursued studies with Pierson and Dannreuther while at Oxford, later establishing himself in dual capacities as an educator and a highly productive composer. His first publications appeared in 1860 and encompassed piano compositions, vocal works, and sacred music. Among the founding faculty members at the Royal College of Music, he also supplied entries to Grove’s dictionary during the period when Grove served as president of that institution. In 1894 Parry succeeded Grove as director of the RCM, and from 1900 to 1908 he occupied a professorship at Oxford. Commissioned for the coronation of Edward VII, his anthem “I was glad” has remained a fixture at subsequent coronation services throughout England. On the scholarly side he produced a major biography of Bach together with the treatise “The Evolution of the Art of Music.” Parry’s compositions continue to merit revival today on account of their inherent energy and their engagement with Wagnerian musical procedures.