William Henry Monk
16 March 1823—1 March 1889
William Henry Monk, Hymns Ancient & Modern Historical Edition (London, 1909).
WILLIAM HENRY MONK was born in London, March 16, 1823. He studied under Thomas Adams, J.A. Hamilton, and G.A. Griesbach. After filling the office of organist at Eaton Chapel, Pimlico; St. George’s Chapel, Albemarle Street; and Portman Chapel, St. Marylebone, he was appointed in 1847 director of the choir in King’s College, London, and in 1849 organist. In 1874, upon the resignation of Hullah, he became Professor of Vocal Music in the College. He was early associated with Hullah in his great work of popular musical education. In 1851, he became Professor of Music at the School for the Indigent Blind. In 1852, he was appointed organist of St. Matthias, Stoke Newington, where a voluntary choir, under his direction, for many years sustained a daily choral service. He delivered lectures on music at the London Institution (1850 to 1879); the Philosophical Institution, Edinburgh; and the Royal Institution, Manchester. He was appointed a professor in the National Training School for Music, 1876, and in Bedford College, London, 1878. He was musical editor of The Parish Choir after the fortieth number, and one of the musical editors of Hymns Ancient and Modern. He edited many other works of a similar character, including some for the Church of Scotland, and made various contributions to many of the modern Hymnals. He died in London, March 1, 1889.
by William H. Husk
Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians, vol. 3 (1904)
Featured Tunes:
Collections and Publications:
Parish Choir (Tractarian Society, 1846–51)
Hymns Ancient & Modern
Trial/Draft (1859): PDF
1st Edition (1861): Archive.org
Annotated by Louis Biggs (1867): Archive.org
with Appendix (1868): SBTS
Revised & Enlarged (1875): Google Books
with Supplement (“Complete Ed.”) (1889): Archive.org
Historical Companion (1889): PDF | 2nd ed. (1903): Archive.org
Congregational Hymn & Tune Book, ed. R.R. Chope
1st ed. (ca. 1858)
Enlarged ed. (1862): PDF
The Holy Year (1865): PDF
Introits, from Advent to Easter (ca. 1865): WorldCat
Introits for Use throughout the Year (ca. 1865): WorldCat
Introits and Anthems (ca. 1868): WorldCat
The Book of Psalms in Metre and The Scottish Hymnal (1872, multiple eds.): WorldCat
Book of Anthems for Use in Public Worship (1875, multiple eds.): WorldCat
The Church of Scotland Psalm and Hymn Tune Book (1876): WorldCat
Hymns for Mission Services (1877): WorldCat
The Psalter and Canticles (1878): WorldCat
Songs of Zion (1878): WorldCat
The Children's Hymnal (1881): HathiTrust
The Canticles Pointed for Chanting (ca. 1885): WorldCat
The Congregational Psalmist Hymnal (1886): PDF
The Book of Common Prayer, Edited with Plain Song and Appropriate Music (1891): WorldCat
Related Resources:
J. Spencer Curwen, “Mr. W.H. Monk and church music,” Studies in Worship Music, First Series (London: J. Curwen & Sons, 1880), pp. 195–198: Archive.org
William H. Husk, “William Henry Monk,” Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. J.A. Fuller-Maitland, vol. 3 (1904), pp. 243–244: Archive.org
Bernarr Rainbow, The Choral Revival in the Anglican church, 1839–1872 (London: Barrie & Jenkins, 1970).
Nicholas Temperley, The Music of the English Parish Church, vol. 1 (Cambridge: University Press, 1979).
Bernard S. Massey, “William Henry Monk, 1823–1889,” Bulletin of the Hymn Society, no. 179 (April 1989), pp. 98–99.
Ian Bradley, Abide with Me: The World of Victorian Hymns (London: SCM Press, 1997).
Paul Westermeyer, “William Henry Monk,” Let the People Sing: Hymn Tunes in Perspective (Chicago: GIA, 2005), pp. 233–234.
Anne Harrison, “Beyond ‘Eventide’: A bicentenary celebration of W.H. Monk (1823–1889),” HSGBI Bulletin, vol. 23, no. 11 (Summer 2023), pp. 428–442.
Judith Blezzard, “William Henry Monk,” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography:
https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/18958
Bernarr Rainbow, “Willliam Henry Monk,” Grove Music Online:
https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.18963
William Henry Monk, Hymnary.org:
https://hymnary.org/person/Monk_William
Peter Horton, “William Henry Monk,” Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology:
http://www.hymnology.co.uk/w/william-henry-monk