Edmund Fellowes
Encyclopedia
Edmund Horace Fellowes CH
MVO
(11 November 1870–21 December 1951), was a Church of England
clergyman and musical scholar who became well known for his work in promoting the revival of sixteenth and seventeenth century English
music.
, London, on 11 November 1870, the fifth child of Horace Decimus Fellowes, assistant director of the Royal Army Clothing Depot
, and his wife Louisa Emily, daughter of Edmund Packe, a Captain in the Royal Horse Guards
. Fellowes showed musical ability at an early age and in 1878 received an offer from Joseph Joachim
to become his violin pupil, the offer was not taken up and Fellowes went to Winchester College
. He studied as an undergraduate at Oriel College, Oxford from 1889 to 1892, taking a fourth class in theology and becoming a Bachelor of Music
and Master of Arts in 1896.
Fellowes became an ordained deacon in 1894 and priest in 1895, and held a curacy in Wandsworth, after which he became precentor of Bristol Cathedral
in 1897. On 12 January 1899 he married Lilian Louisa, a daughter of Admiral Sir Richard Vesey Hamilton. He was a minor canon of St. George's Chapel, Windsor from 1900 to 1951 and from 1924 to 1927, he was in charge of the choir following the death of the conductor Sir Walter Parratt
.
Fellowes' compassion for mid-16th century - mid-17th century music led him to edit thirty-six volumes of madrigal
s, thirty-two volumes of lute song
s, and twenty volumes of William Byrd
's music, as well as a broad array of Tudor Church Music. His work covered not only the music, but important biographical and critical writing such as The English Madrigal Composers, published in 1921 and William Byrd, published in 1936. Fellowes was honorary librarian of St. Michael's College, Tenbury
from 1918 until 1948, and during this time he arranged and catalogued the musical library of Sir Frederick Ouseley
. He was succeeded in this post by Watkins Shaw
.
Fellowes' works were recognised by his alma mater and he was appointed an honorary fellow
of Oriel in 1937, he also received honorary doctorates
in music from Dublin University in 1917, Oxford University
in 1939, and Cambridge University
in 1950. Fellowes was interested in cricket, and in 1930, he published History of Winchester Cricket. He was appointed a Member of the Royal Victorian Order
in 1931 and in 1944 he became a Companion of Honour
. He was president of the Musical Association from 1942 until 1947, where he aided them secure a Royal affiliation, and president of the Church Music Society from 1946 until 1951, following on from Archbishop Lang
. Fellowes died at 12 Clarence Road, Clewer Within, Windsor, on 21 December 1951.
Fellowes' editions of English Tudor church music represent a very significant contribution to 20th Century musical scholarship, bringing to new prominence composers such as Byrd and Orlando Gibbons
, whose work was thus made accessible to composers and scholars, notably Ralph Vaughan Williams
, whose revision of The English Hymnal was influenced by study of these themes in Fellowes' editions. He lectured extensively on the subject, travelling numerous times to the United States for this purpose. His was the foremost work in the Anglican Tudor revival of the early 20th Century.
Other interests included cricket, writing A History of Winchester Cricket, and music performance, titling his memoirs the Memoirs of an Amateur Musician.
's funeral, his work on Tudor
Church Music, letters from Adrian Boult
, Edward Elgar
, Gustav Holst
, Herbert Howells
, Hubert Parry
, John Stainer
, Charles Villiers Stanford
, Leopold Stokowski
, Ralph Vaughan Williams
, Henry Walford Davies
, and Henry Wood
.
St. George's Chapel, Windsor, maintains a collection of his letters to him from Sir Henry Walford Davies
1924-1930 (11 items), H. C. Colles 1931 (2 items) and C. Hylton Stewart 1929 (3 items).
The Bodleian Library
: Music Library on Broad Street
, Oxford
maintains correspondence including letters to Frederick Ouseley
, formerly "The Tenbury Collection" at St. Michael's College, Tenbury
.
Order of the Companions of Honour
The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded by King George V in June 1917, as a reward for outstanding achievements in the arts, literature, music, science, politics, industry or religion....
MVO
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
(11 November 1870–21 December 1951), was a Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
clergyman and musical scholar who became well known for his work in promoting the revival of sixteenth and seventeenth century English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
music.
Life and work
Fellowes was born in PaddingtonPaddington
Paddington is a district within the City of Westminster, in central London, England. Formerly a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965...
, London, on 11 November 1870, the fifth child of Horace Decimus Fellowes, assistant director of the Royal Army Clothing Depot
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, and his wife Louisa Emily, daughter of Edmund Packe, a Captain in the Royal Horse Guards
Royal Horse Guards
The Royal Horse Guards was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry.Founded August 1650 in Newcastle Upon Tyne by Sir Arthur Haselrig on the orders of Oliver Cromwell as the Regiment of Cuirassiers, the regiment became the Earl of Oxford's Regiment during the reign of...
. Fellowes showed musical ability at an early age and in 1878 received an offer from Joseph Joachim
Joseph Joachim
Joseph Joachim was a Hungarian violinist, conductor, composer and teacher. A close collaborator of Johannes Brahms, he is widely regarded as one of the most significant violinists of the 19th century.-Origins:...
to become his violin pupil, the offer was not taken up and Fellowes went to Winchester College
Winchester College
Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...
. He studied as an undergraduate at Oriel College, Oxford from 1889 to 1892, taking a fourth class in theology and becoming a Bachelor of Music
Bachelor of Music
Bachelor of Music is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree; the majority of work consists of prescribed music courses and study in applied music, usually requiring a...
and Master of Arts in 1896.
Fellowes became an ordained deacon in 1894 and priest in 1895, and held a curacy in Wandsworth, after which he became precentor of Bristol Cathedral
Bristol Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity is the Church of England cathedral in the city of Bristol, England, and is commonly known as Bristol Cathedral...
in 1897. On 12 January 1899 he married Lilian Louisa, a daughter of Admiral Sir Richard Vesey Hamilton. He was a minor canon of St. George's Chapel, Windsor from 1900 to 1951 and from 1924 to 1927, he was in charge of the choir following the death of the conductor Sir Walter Parratt
Walter Parratt
Sir Walter Parratt KCVO was an English organist and composer.-Biography:Born in Huddersfield, son of a parish organist, Parratt began to play the pipe organ from an early age, and held posts as an organist while still a child...
.
Fellowes' compassion for mid-16th century - mid-17th century music led him to edit thirty-six volumes of 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, thirty-two volumes of lute song
Lute song
The lute song was a generic form of music in the late Renaissance and very early Baroque eras, generally consisting of a singer accompanying himself on a lute, though lute songs may often have been performed by a singer and a separate lutenist...
s, and twenty volumes of William Byrd
William Byrd
William Byrd was an English composer of the Renaissance. He wrote in many of the forms current in England at the time, including various types of sacred and secular polyphony, keyboard and consort music.-Provenance:Knowledge of Byrd's biography expanded in the late 20th century, thanks largely...
's music, as well as a broad array of Tudor Church Music. His work covered not only the music, but important biographical and critical writing such as The English Madrigal Composers, published in 1921 and William Byrd, published in 1936. Fellowes was honorary librarian of St. Michael's College, Tenbury
St. Michael's College, Tenbury
The College of St. Michael and All Angels, in Tenbury Wells Worcestershire was a boys school founded by Frederick Ouseley in 1856 to provide a model for the performance of Anglican church music. Choral services were performed daily in term time, and the college possessed a library that contained...
from 1918 until 1948, and during this time he arranged and catalogued the musical library of Sir Frederick Ouseley
Frederick Ouseley
Sir Frederick Arthur Gore Ouseley, 2nd Baronet was an English composer, organist, and musicologist.He was born in London, the son of Sir Gore Ouseley, and manifested an extraordinary precocity in music, composing an opera at the age of eight years. In 1844, having succeeded to the baronetcy, he...
. He was succeeded in this post by Watkins Shaw
Watkins Shaw
Harold Watkins Shaw, OBE, known as Watkins Shaw , was a British musicologist and educator best known for his critical edition of Handel's Messiah compiled between 1957 and 1965, which version has largely supplanted that of Ebenezer Prout in British performance - The Times obituarist went so far as...
.
Fellowes' works were recognised by his alma mater and he was appointed an honorary fellow
Honorary title (academic)
Honorary titles in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties...
of Oriel in 1937, he also received honorary doctorates
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
in music from Dublin University in 1917, Oxford University
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
in 1939, and Cambridge University
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...
in 1950. Fellowes was interested in cricket, and in 1930, he published History of Winchester Cricket. He was appointed a Member of the Royal Victorian Order
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
in 1931 and in 1944 he became a Companion of Honour
Order of the Companions of Honour
The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded by King George V in June 1917, as a reward for outstanding achievements in the arts, literature, music, science, politics, industry or religion....
. He was president of the Musical Association from 1942 until 1947, where he aided them secure a Royal affiliation, and president of the Church Music Society from 1946 until 1951, following on from Archbishop Lang
Cosmo Lang
William Cosmo Gordon Lang, 1st Baron Lang of Lambeth GCVO PC was an Anglican prelate who served as Archbishop of York and Archbishop of Canterbury . His rapid elevation to Archbishop of York, within 18 years of his ordination, is unprecedented in modern Church of England history...
. Fellowes died at 12 Clarence Road, Clewer Within, Windsor, on 21 December 1951.
Fellowes' editions of English Tudor church music represent a very significant contribution to 20th Century musical scholarship, bringing to new prominence composers such as Byrd and Orlando Gibbons
Orlando Gibbons
Orlando Gibbons was an English composer, virginalist and organist of the late Tudor and early Jacobean periods...
, whose work was thus made accessible to composers and scholars, notably 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...
, whose revision of The English Hymnal was influenced by study of these themes in Fellowes' editions. He lectured extensively on the subject, travelling numerous times to the United States for this purpose. His was the foremost work in the Anglican Tudor revival of the early 20th Century.
Other interests included cricket, writing A History of Winchester Cricket, and music performance, titling his memoirs the Memoirs of an Amateur Musician.
Publications
- Appendix with Supplementary Notes
- English Cathedral Music, revised J. A. Westrup - Publisher: London, Methuen, 1969. ISBN 0-416-14850-6
- English Cathedral Music from Edward the SixthEdward VI of EnglandEdward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
to Edward the Seventh - English MadrigalMadrigal (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....
Composers - English MadrigalMadrigal (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....
School - English MadrigalMadrigal (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....
Verse, 1588-1632 - English School of Lutenist Song Writers - Publisher: Boston : Music Library Association, c1984. ISBN 0-914954-30-X
- Orlando GibbonsOrlando GibbonsOrlando Gibbons was an English composer, virginalist and organist of the late Tudor and early Jacobean periods...
and His Family: The Last of the TudorTudor dynastyThe Tudor dynasty or House of Tudor was a European royal house of Welsh origin that ruled the Kingdom of England and its realms, including the Lordship of Ireland, later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1485 until 1603. Its first monarch was Henry Tudor, a descendant through his mother of a legitimised...
School of Musicians - TudorTudor dynastyThe Tudor dynasty or House of Tudor was a European royal house of Welsh origin that ruled the Kingdom of England and its realms, including the Lordship of Ireland, later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1485 until 1603. Its first monarch was Henry Tudor, a descendant through his mother of a legitimised...
Church Music - William ByrdWilliam ByrdWilliam Byrd was an English composer of the Renaissance. He wrote in many of the forms current in England at the time, including various types of sacred and secular polyphony, keyboard and consort music.-Provenance:Knowledge of Byrd's biography expanded in the late 20th century, thanks largely...
- English Church Music, Vol. 1 - William ByrdWilliam ByrdWilliam Byrd was an English composer of the Renaissance. He wrote in many of the forms current in England at the time, including various types of sacred and secular polyphony, keyboard and consort music.-Provenance:Knowledge of Byrd's biography expanded in the late 20th century, thanks largely...
: A Short Account of His Life and Work - The Knights of the Garter, 1348-1939: With a Complete List of the Stall Plates in St. Georges Chapel. Historical monographs relating to St. George's Chapel, Windsor CastleHistorical monographs relating to St. George's Chapel, Windsor CastleThe Historical monographs relating to St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle is a series of scholarly publications supported by the Dean and Canons of Windsor. Much of the scholarship is based on the material held in the archives at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.The monograph series have been...
Volume 1. (SPCK - 1939) - Organists and Masters of the Choristers of St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. Historical monographs relating to St. George's Chapel, Windsor CastleHistorical monographs relating to St. George's Chapel, Windsor CastleThe Historical monographs relating to St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle is a series of scholarly publications supported by the Dean and Canons of Windsor. Much of the scholarship is based on the material held in the archives at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.The monograph series have been...
Volume 3. (1939) - The Military Knights of Windsor, 1352-1944. Historical monographs relating to St. George's Chapel, Windsor CastleHistorical monographs relating to St. George's Chapel, Windsor CastleThe Historical monographs relating to St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle is a series of scholarly publications supported by the Dean and Canons of Windsor. Much of the scholarship is based on the material held in the archives at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.The monograph series have been...
Volume 4. (1944) - The Vicars Or Minor Canons of His Majesty's Free Chapel of St. George in Windsor. Historical monographs relating to St. George's Chapel, Windsor CastleHistorical monographs relating to St. George's Chapel, Windsor CastleThe Historical monographs relating to St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle is a series of scholarly publications supported by the Dean and Canons of Windsor. Much of the scholarship is based on the material held in the archives at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.The monograph series have been...
Volume 5. (1945) - The Baptism, Marriage and Burial Registers of St George’s Chapel, Windsor Historical monographs relating to St. George's Chapel, Windsor CastleHistorical monographs relating to St. George's Chapel, Windsor CastleThe Historical monographs relating to St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle is a series of scholarly publications supported by the Dean and Canons of Windsor. Much of the scholarship is based on the material held in the archives at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.The monograph series have been...
Volume 10., (1957).
Correspondence
Oriel College, Oxford, maintains a collection of his papers that includes a letter to his mother relating his eyewitness account of Queen VictoriaVictoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
's funeral, his work on Tudor
Tudor dynasty
The Tudor dynasty or House of Tudor was a European royal house of Welsh origin that ruled the Kingdom of England and its realms, including the Lordship of Ireland, later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1485 until 1603. Its first monarch was Henry Tudor, a descendant through his mother of a legitimised...
Church Music, letters from Adrian Boult
Adrian Boult
Sir Adrian Cedric Boult CH was an English conductor. Brought up in a prosperous mercantile family he followed musical studies in England and at Leipzig, Germany, with early conducting work in London for the Royal Opera House and Sergei Diaghilev's ballet company. His first prominent post was...
, Edward Elgar
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...
, Gustav Holst
Gustav Holst
Gustav Theodore Holst was an English composer. He is most famous for his orchestral suite The Planets....
, 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:...
, Hubert 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...
, John Stainer
John Stainer
Sir John Stainer was an English composer and organist whose music, though not generally much performed today , was very popular during his lifetime...
, 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 :...
, Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Anthony Stokowski was a British-born, naturalised American orchestral conductor, well known for his free-hand performing style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from many of the great orchestras he conducted.In America, Stokowski...
, 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...
, Henry Walford Davies
Henry Walford Davies
Sir Henry Walford Davies KCVO OBE was a British composer, who held the title Master of the King's Musick from 1934 until 1941.-Early life and education:...
, and Henry Wood
Henry Wood (conductor)
Sir Henry Joseph Wood, CH was an English conductor best known for his association with London's annual series of promenade concerts, known as the Proms. He conducted them for nearly half a century, introducing hundreds of new works to British audiences...
.
St. George's Chapel, Windsor, maintains a collection of his letters to him from Sir Henry Walford Davies
Henry Walford Davies
Sir Henry Walford Davies KCVO OBE was a British composer, who held the title Master of the King's Musick from 1934 until 1941.-Early life and education:...
1924-1930 (11 items), H. C. Colles 1931 (2 items) and C. Hylton Stewart 1929 (3 items).
The Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
: Music Library on Broad Street
Broad Street, Oxford
Broad Street is a wide street in central Oxford, England, located just north of the old city wall.The street is known for its bookshops, including the original Blackwell's bookshop at number 50, located here due to the University...
, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
maintains correspondence including letters to Frederick Ouseley
Frederick Ouseley
Sir Frederick Arthur Gore Ouseley, 2nd Baronet was an English composer, organist, and musicologist.He was born in London, the son of Sir Gore Ouseley, and manifested an extraordinary precocity in music, composing an opera at the age of eight years. In 1844, having succeeded to the baronetcy, he...
, formerly "The Tenbury Collection" at St. Michael's College, Tenbury
St. Michael's College, Tenbury
The College of St. Michael and All Angels, in Tenbury Wells Worcestershire was a boys school founded by Frederick Ouseley in 1856 to provide a model for the performance of Anglican church music. Choral services were performed daily in term time, and the college possessed a library that contained...
.