Edgar Pettman was an English organist, choral conductor and music editor. Born in Dunkirk, Kent

Dunkirk, Kent

Dunkirk is a village and civil parish between Faversham and Canterbury in southeast England.-Toponymy:The origin of the village's name is still not very clear, but it is understood to come from a house called "Dunkirk", lived in by a Fleming from Dunkerque on the border between France and...

, in 1881 he entered the Royal Academy of Music

Royal Academy of Music

The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...

 where he was taught under George Alexander Macfarren

George Alexander Macfarren

Sir George Alexander Macfarren was an English composer.-Life:George Alexander Macfarren was born in London on 2 March 1813 to George Macfarren, a dancing-master, dramatic author, and journalist, and Elizabeth Macfarren, née Jackson. At the age of seven, Macfarren was sent to Dr...

. He was organist at a number of London churches, including St Mary's, Kilburn and St James's Church, Piccadilly

St James's Church, Piccadilly

St James’s Church, Piccadilly is an Anglican church on Piccadilly in the centre of London, UK. It was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren....

 until his retirement in 1924. Although the composer of a number of anthems and other church music, he is best known for his 1892 book Modern Christmas carols in which he arranged a number of now popular carols such as I Saw a Maiden

Lullay, mine liking

"Lullay, mine liking" is a Middle English lyric poem or carol of the 15th century which frames a narrative describing an encounter of the Nativity with a song sung by the Virgin Mary to the infant Christ...

and Gabriel's Message

Gabriel's Message

"Gabriel's Message" or "The angel Gabriel from heaven came" is a Basque Christmas folk carol about the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary by the archangel Gabriel that she would become the mother of Jesus Christ the Son of God...

, both harmonised hymns based on Basque

Basque music

The strict classification of Basque music remains a controversial issue, complicated in part by the growing diversification of such music, but by and large it is made in the Basque Country, it reflects traits related to that society/tradition and it is devised by people from the Basque...

 carol melodies. He was also an early editor of the works of Thomas Tallis

Thomas Tallis

Thomas Tallis was an English composer. Tallis flourished as a church musician in 16th century Tudor England. He occupies a primary place in anthologies of English church music, and is considered among the best of England's early composers. He is honoured for his original voice in English...

, publishing an edition in 1900.