Hills of the North, rejoice

This year, to mark our collective musical celebrations of advent, I have decided to record an Advent Hymn for each of the four Sundays of Advent, this being the first.

Martin Edward Fallas Shaw OBE FRCM (9 March 1875 – 24 October 1958) was an English composer, conductor and (in his early life) theatre producer. His over 300 published works include songs, hymns, carols, oratorios, several instrumental works, a congregational mass setting (the Anglican Folk Mass) and four operas including a ballad opera.

He was born in London, the son of the James Shaw, composer of church music and organist of Hampstead Parish Church. He studied under Stanford at the Royal College of Music, together with a generation of composers that included Holst, Vaughan Williams and John Ireland. He began his career as an organist, serving at Emmanuel Church, West Hampstead, from 1895 to 1903. He subsequently took posts as Organist and Director of Music, first at St Mary's, Primrose Hill, where his vicar was Percy Dearmer, and later at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London. He was also Master of Music at the Guildhouse, London. Working with Percy Dearmer, Martin was music editor of The English Carol Book (1913, 1919) and, with Ralph Vaughan Williams, of Songs of Praise (1925, 1931) and The Oxford Book of Carols (1928).

With Gordon Craig, he founded the Purcell Operatic Society in 1899, dedicated to reviving the music of Henry Purcell and other long-neglected English composers of the period.

In 1932 Shaw received the Lambeth degree of Doctor of Music. He was appointed an OBE in 1955 and was made a FRCM in 1958.

This tune, "Little Cornard" (66 66 88) is sung to "Hills Of The North Rejoice", a favourite of mine ever since learning it as a small child at school in weekly hymn practice. For those who like singing along, the score (including the lyrics by C E Oakley) is attached as a PDF. One full verse is played as introduction. I play it pretty straight throughout. I hope you enjoy it!