John Stainer

Stainer earned recognition as a skilled organist and instructor, which led to his appointment as organist of St. Paul's Cathedral in Tenbury together with a professorship in music at Oxford. Although he himself regarded most of his compositions as little more than amateur efforts, his anthems and other service music continue to be performed. Among his notable works stand “The Crucifixion” and the “Sevenfold Amen.” During his tenure at St. Paul's he undertook reforms of both the musical content of the liturgy and the seating arrangements within the choir. Building on suggestions already advanced by earlier musicians, he raised the choristers’ pay, instituted weekly communion, introduced regular rehearsals and processions, and broadened the ensemble’s repertory. Beyond his cathedral responsibilities, Stainer collaborated with Ousley to establish the Musical Association in 1874 and subsequently assumed the posts of organist and principal at the National Training School for Musicians. His most enduring contributions lie in musicological research and in the manuscripts he assembled; these projects produced the volume Early Bodleian Music, a collection of Christmas carols, and a private archive of eighteenth-century songbooks.