Henry Smart

26 October 1813—6 July 1879

HENRY SMART, son of Mr. Henry Smart, an eminent musician, and nephew of Sir George Smart, was born in London, October 26, 1813. After receiving a commission in the Indian army, which he did not accept, he was articled to a solicitor, but finally adopted music as his profession, and studied chiefly under Mr. W.H. Kearns. From 1831 till 1836 organist of the Parish Church, Blackburn, in Lancashire; of St. Philip’s, Regent Street, London, 1838 to 1839; St Luke’s, Old Street, 1844 to 1864; from 1865 till he died, July 6, 1879, organist of St. Pancras Church, London.

Smart composed many anthems, services, part-songs, trios, duets, and several cantatas, one of which—“Jacob”—was specially composed for the Glasgow Musical Festival and performed there November 10, 1873. It is, however, as a writer of music for the organ that he will best be remembered, his compositions for that instrument being of the highest order. As an organ player his reputation was great, especially in extemporising; he devoted much study to the mechanism of the instrument and was chiefly consulted as to the designing of the organ in the City Hall, Glasgow (which he opened October 11, 1853); the organs in the Town Hall, Leeds; St. Andrew’s Halls, Glasgow; and many others. For the last fourteen years of his life, Smart was quite blind.

by JAMES LOVE
Scottish Church Music (1891)

Featured Tunes:

LANCASHIRE
LUX PRIMA
REGENT SQUARE
REX GLORIAE
ROXBURGHE
TRISAGION

Publications of Tunes:

Psalms and Hymns for Divine Worship (1866): Archive.org
Hymns Ancient & Modern, with Appendix (1868): SBTS
The Hymnary, ed. Joseph Barnby (1872): Archive.org
Hymns Ancient & Modern, 2nd ed. (1875): Google Books
Presbyterian Hymnal (1877): Archive.org
Presbyterian Psalter (1878): WorldCat

For a partial list of Smart’s hymn tunes and their sources, see James Love (1891).

Related Resources:

“Henry Smart,” The Musical Times, vol. 20, no. 438 (1 Aug. 1879), pp. 423–424: PDF

John Broadhouse, Henry Smart’s Compositions for the Organ (London: W. Reeves, 1880): Archive.org

John Spencer Curwen, “Mr. Henry Smart on Psalmody,” Studies in Worship Music, First Series (London: J. Curwen & Sons, 1880), pp. 167–71: Archive.org

W.D. Seymour, Henry Smart (Leeds: 1880)

William Spark, Henry Smart (London: William Reeves, 1881): Archive.org

William Henry Husk, “Henry Smart,” A Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Sir George Grove, vol. 3 (London: Macmillan & Co., 1883), p. 538: Archive.org

James Love, Scottish Church Music (Edinburgh: William Blackwood & Sons, 1891), pp. 259–260: Archive.org

William Spark, “Henry Smart,” Musical Memories, 3rd ed. rev. (London: William Reeves, 1909), pp. 236–52: Archive.org

William Alex Barrett, “Henry Smart,” English Church Composers, New Ed. (London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co., c. 1910), pp. 172–173: Archive.org

William H. Husk & Nicholas Temperley, “Smart Family,” Grove Music Online (16 Oct. 2013):
https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.013.6002276205

Henry Thomas Smart, Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology:
http://www.hymnology.co.uk/h/henry-thomas-smart

Henry Smart, Hymnary.org:
https://hymnary.org/person/Smart_Henry