| Biography | Known in his day as an organist, church musician, and music editor, William Henry Monk (16 March 1823 18 March 1889) composed popular hymn tunes, including one of the most famous, "Eventide", used for the hymn "Abide with Me". He also wrote music for church services and anthems.
William Henry Monk was born in London on 16 March 1823. His youth is not well-documented, but it seems that he developed quickly on the keyboard, but perhaps less so in composition.
By age 18, Monk was organist at St Peter's Church, Eaton Square (Central London). He left after two years, and moved onto two more organist posts in London (St. George's Church, Albemarle Street, and St. Paul's Church, Portman Square), each also for two years and each serving as a stepping stone toward fostering his musical ambitions.
In 1847, Monk secured the post of choirmaster at King's College, London. There he would develop an interest in incorporating plainchant into Anglican service, an idea suggested by William Dyce, a King's College professor with whom Monk had much contact. In 1849, Monk also became organist at King's College.
In 1852, he became organist and choirmaster at St Matthias Church (Stoke Newington), where he began instituting many changes: plainchant was used in singing psalms and the music performed was more appropriate to the church calendar. By now, Monk was also arranging hymns, as well as writing his own hymn melodies. In 1857, his talents as composer, arranger, and editor were recognized when he was appointed the musical editor for Hymns Ancient and Modern, a volume first published in 1861, containing hundreds of hymns that would become, after supplements were added (second edition1875; later additions or supplements1889, 1904, and 1916) one of the best-selling hymn books ever produced. It was for this publication that Monk supplied his famous "Eventide" tune, as well as several others, including "Gethsemane", "Ascension", and "St. Denys".
In 1874, Monk was appointed professor of vocal studies at King's College; subsequently he accepted similar posts at two other prestigious London music schools: the first at the National Training School for Music in 1876, and the second at Bedford College in 1878. Monk remained active in composition in his later years, writing not only hymn tunes but also anthems and other works. In 1882 Durham University awarded him an honorary Mus. Doc. |