Charles Wood was an Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

 and teacher.

Born in Armagh

Armagh

Armagh is a large settlement in Northern Ireland, and the county town of County Armagh. It is a site of historical importance for both Celtic paganism and Christianity and is the seat, for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland, of the Archbishop of Armagh...

, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, he was the fifth child and third son of Charles Wood Sr. and Jemima Wood. His father was a tenor in the choir of the nearby St. Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh (Church of Ireland), and later worked as the Diocesan Registrar of the church. He was a cousin of Irish composer Ina Boyle

Ina Boyle

Ina Boyle was an Irish composer. She was born in Bushey Park near Enniskerry and took violin and cello lessons as a child. She studied counterpoint, harmony and composition with Drs. Kitson and Hewson in Dublin, and by correspondence with her cousin Charles Wood. She also traveled to London...

.

From around 1872 to 1883, Wood received his early education at the Armagh Cathedral Church School, in particular studying organ with Robert Turle and Thomas Marks. In 1883 he became one of fifty inaugural class members of the Royal College of Music

Royal College of Music

The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...

, studying composition with Charles Villiers Stanford

Charles Villiers Stanford

Sir Charles Villiers Stanford was an Irish composer who was particularly notable for his choral music. He was professor at the Royal College of Music and University of Cambridge.- Life :...

 and Charles Hubert Hastings Parry

Hubert Parry

Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet was an English composer, teacher and historian of music.Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is best known for the choral song "Jerusalem", the coronation anthem "I was glad" and the hymn tune "Repton", which sets the words...

 primarily, and horn

Horn (instrument)

The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....

 and piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

 secondarily. Following four years of training, he continued his studies at Selwyn College, Cambridge

Selwyn College, Cambridge

Selwyn College is a constituent college in the University of Cambridge in England, United Kingdom.The college was founded by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of the Rt Reverend George Selwyn , who rowed on the Cambridge crew in the first Varsity Boat Race in 1829, and went on to become the...

 through 1889, where he began teaching harmony

Harmony

In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...

 and counterpoint

Counterpoint

In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...

. In 1889 he attained a teaching position at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge

Gonville and Caius College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college is often referred to simply as "Caius" , after its second founder, John Keys, who fashionably latinised the spelling of his name after studying in Italy.- Outline :Gonville and...

, first as organ scholar

Organ scholar

An organ scholar is a young musician employed as a part-time assistant organist at an institution where regular choral services are held. The idea of an organ scholarship is to provide the holder with playing, directing and administrative experience....

 and then as fellow in 1894, becoming the first Director of Music and Organist. He was instrumental in the reflowering of music at the college, though more as a teacher and organiser of musical events than as composer. After Stanford died, Wood assumed his mentor's vacant role as University of Cambridge

University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...

 Professor of Music in 1924.

Like his better-known colleague, Charles Villiers Stanford

Charles Villiers Stanford

Sir Charles Villiers Stanford was an Irish composer who was particularly notable for his choral music. He was professor at the Royal College of Music and University of Cambridge.- Life :...

, Wood is chiefly remembered for his Anglican church music

Anglican church music

Anglican church music is music that is written for liturgical performance in Anglican church services.Almost all of it is written for choir with or without organ accompaniment...

. As well as his Communion Service

Mass (music)

The Mass, a form of sacred musical composition, is a choral composition that sets the invariable portions of the Eucharistic liturgy to music...

 in the Phrygian Mode

Phrygian mode

The Phrygian mode can refer to three different musical modes: the ancient Greek tonos or harmonia sometimes called Phrygian, formed on a particular set octave species or scales; the Medieval Phrygian mode, and the modern conception of the Phrygian mode as a diatonic scale, based on the latter...

, his settings of the Magnificat

Magnificat

The Magnificat — also known as the Song of Mary or the Canticle of Mary — is a canticle frequently sung liturgically in Christian church services. It is one of the eight most ancient Christian hymns and perhaps the earliest Marian hymn...

 and Nunc dimittis

Nunc dimittis

The Nunc dimittis is a canticle from a text in the second chapter of Luke named after its first words in Latin, meaning 'Now dismiss...'....

 are still popular with cathedral and parish church choirs, particularly the services in F, D, and G, and the two settings in E flat; during Passiontide

Passiontide

Passiontide is a name for the last two weeks of Lent, beginning on Passion Sunday and ending on Holy Saturday....

 his St Mark Passion

St. Mark Passion (Wood)

The St. Mark Passion of Charles Wood is a musical composition written in 1920. The work calls for solo tenor , solo baritone , chorus and organ, as well as minor roles for five solo basses , a solo treble , and a solo treble or alto...

is sometimes performed, and demonstrates Wood's interest in modal composition, in contrast to the late romantic harmonic style he more usually employs.

Wood's anthems with organ, Expectans expectavi, and O Thou, the Central Orb are both frequently performed and recorded; as are his unaccompanied anthems Tis the day of Resurrection, Glory and Honour and, most popular of all, Hail, gladdening light and its lessser-known equivalent for men's voices, Great Lord of Lords. All Wood's a cappella music demonstrates fastidious craftsmanship and a supreme mastery of the genre, and he is no less resourceful in his accompanied choral works which sometimes include unison sections and have stirring organ accompaniments, conveying a satisfying warmth and richness of emotional expression appropriate to his carefully chosen texts.

Wood collaborated with priest and poet George Ratcliffe Woodward

George Ratcliffe Woodward

George Ratcliffe Woodward was an Anglican priest who wrote mostly religious verse, both original and translated from ancient authors. The best-known of these were written to fit traditional melodies, mainly of the Renaissance...

 in the revival and popularisation of renaissance tunes to new English religious texts, notably co-editing three books of carols

Carol (music)

A carol is a festive song, generally religious but not necessarily connected with church worship, and often with a dance-like or popular character....

. He also wrote eight string quartet

String quartet

A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...

s, and was co-founder (in 1904) of the Irish Folk Song Society.

His pupils included Ralph Vaughan Williams

Ralph Vaughan Williams

Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...

 at Cambridge

Cambridge

The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...

 and Herbert Howells

Herbert Howells

Herbert Norman Howells CH was an English composer, organist, and teacher, most famous for his large output of Anglican church music.-Life:...

 at the Royal College of Music

Royal College of Music

The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...

.

String quartet

String quartet

A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...

s

• No. 1 in D minor (1885)
• No. 2 in E flat major, 'Highgate' (1892)
• No. 3 in A minor (1911/12?)
• No. 4 in E flat major, 'Harrogate' (1912)
• No. 5 in F major (1914/15?)
• No. 6 in D major (1915/16?)

Organ

Organ (music)

The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...

• Variations and fugue on 'Winchester Old' (1907/8)
• Three preludes on melodies from the Genevan Psalter
  Psalter
  A psalter is a volume containing the Book of Psalms, often with other devotional material bound in as well, such as a liturgical calendar and litany of the Saints. Until the later medieval emergence of the book of hours, psalters were the books most widely owned by wealthy lay persons and were...
  
   (1907/8)
• Sixteen preludes on melodies from the English and Scottish Psalters (1911/12)
• Suite in the Ancient Style (1915?)

Cantata

Cantata

A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....

s

• Ode to the West Wind, for tenor solo, mixed chorus and orchestra, Op.3 (1889?)
• Music — an ode for soprano solo, mixed chorus and orchestra (1892/3)
• A ballade of Dundee for bass solo, mixed chorus and orchestra (1904?)
• Eden Spirits for female voices and piano (1915?)

Sacred works

• Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis Collegium Regale in F (SATB double choir + organ)
• Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in D (SATB+organ)
• Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in G (SATB+organ)
• Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in E flat (SATB+organ)
• Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in E flat 'no. 2' (posthumous) (SATB+organ)
• Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in E (ATB double choir)
• Communion setting 'in the Phrygian mode'
• St Mark Passion
• Glorious And Powerful God
• Hail, gladdening Light (SATB double choir)
• Once He came in blessing (SATB double choir and T solo)
• Father, all-holy (SATB double choir)
• O King most high (SATB double choir)
• Glory and honour (SATB double choir)
• Great Lord of Lords (ATB double choir)
• Oculi Omnium (SATB choir)
• Haec Dies (SSATBB choir)
• Expectans expectavi (SATB+organ)
• O Thou, the central orb (SATB+organ)

Madrigal

Madrigal (music)

A madrigal is a secular vocal music composition, usually a partsong, of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Traditionally, polyphonic madrigals are unaccompanied; the number of voices varies from two to eight, and most frequently from three to six....

s

• If love be dead for SSATB (1886?)
• Slow, slow fresh fount for SSATB (1888)
• The bag of the bee for SSATB (1895-1925?)

Mixed Voices

(Scoring for SATB unless noted otherwise)

• How sweet the moonlight sleeps for SSATB (1887/8?)
• Blow, blow thou winter wind (1888?)
• The Hemlock Tree (1890/1?)
• Full fathom five (1890/1?)
• It was a lover (1892/3?)
• Wanderer's night song (1892/3)
• The widow bird (1895/6?)
• A land dirge (1898?)
• The countryman (1898?)
• A century's penultimate for SSATBB (1899)
• Nights of music (1899?)
• As the moon's soft splendour (1905?)
• The whispering waves (1905?)
• I call and I call for SSATB (1905?)
• How sweet the tuneful bells (1906)
• Come sleep (1908?)
• When whispering strains for SSATB (1908?)
• Fain would I change (1908?)
• Music, when soft voices die (1908?)
• Haymakers, rakers (1908?)
• Time (1914)
• Awake, awake (1914?)
• Love, what wilt thou (1921?)
• Follow, follow (1922?)
• Shepherd's Sunday song (1923?)
• Spring song (1923?)
• Autumn (1924?)
• Wassail (1925?)
• Lullaby (pub. 1927)
• The Lamb (pub. 1927)
• Down in yon summer vale, original for male voices (pub. 1927)
• Hence away, begone (pub. 1929)
• The solitary reaper (pub. 1930)
• Rose-cheeked Laura (pub. 1931)
• When to her lute (pub. 1933)
• Spring time (pub. 1937)

Male voices

• It was a lover for ATTB (1892/3?)
• It was an English ladye bright for baritone solo and TTBB (1899)
• Down in yon summer vale for TTBB (1901?)
• There comes a new moon for ATTB (1907/8?)
• When winds that move not for ATTB (1912/13?)
• The Russian lover for TTBB (1921/2?)
• Paty O'Toole for TTBB (1922)
• There be none of beauty's daughters for ATTB (1926)
• A clear midnight for TTBB (pub. 1926)
• When thou art nigh for TTBB (pub. 1927)
• Neptune's empire for TBB (pub. 1927)
• Robin Hood for TBB (pub. 1927)
• Carmen Caianum for unison men (1891/2?)

Female voices

• The nymph's faun for SSAA (1908?)
• Echo for SSA and piano (1908/9?)
• Cowslips for her covering for SSAA and piano (1912/13?)
• Good precepts for SSA and piano (1912/13?)
• Music when soft voices die for SSA and piano (1914/15?)
• Sunlight all golden for SSSS and piano (1918)
• The starlings for SSA (1918/19?)
• Lilies for SSA (1918/19?)
• Golden slumbers for SSSS (1919/20?)
• To music bent for SSA and piano or two violins (1920/1?)
• To welcome in the year for SSA (1923/24?)
• The blossom for SSA (pub. 1926)
• What is a day for SSA and piano (pub. 1927.)

Solo songs

• Irish Folk Songs (pub. 1897)
• Irish County Songs
  • Volume I (pub. 1914)
  • Volume II (pub. 1927)
  • Volume III (pub. 1928)
• Anglo-Irish Folk Songs Volume I (pub. 1931)

Charles Wood's skill in setting poetry to music is well-known to baritones in his setting of Walt Whitman's poem "Ethiopia Saluting the Colours" where he captures the mood of the American Civil War and the relationship between the black people forced into slavery and their deliverance by an unknown soldier bemused by the whole situation. Who is this woman and what is she doing here? She, in turn, knows little more than a brief summary of her life and therefore can add little to the soldier's questions.

Opera

• The Pickwick Papers (based on the novel by Charles Dickens
  Charles Dickens
  Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
  
  , premiered at the Royal College of Music
  Royal College of Music
  The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
  
   in 1922)

External links