Eternal Father, Lord of life

Howard C A Gaunt was an almost exact contemporary of Fred Pratt Green and an earlier pioneer of genuinely 20th-c hymns (as distinct from imitation Victoriana). His marriage hymn does not seem to have featured in a main hymnal prior to its appearance in HTC in 1982, though it was written some years before. Like the previous item, it includes the vital element of ‘grace’ (2.6) and the unusual but healthy sense, in this context, of ‘wonder’ (1.7). Another healthy note comes at 3.1; though for a different reason. John Young’s hymn written for his own wedding to Isabel Bryant (1964) and published in Youth Praise 2 (1969), Jesus, grant that we may follow, has the lines ‘In the dangerous times of plenty/ keep us faithful true and loyal’; any verbal overlap is quite inadvertent.

Another grand-scale Arthur Sullivan tune (cf 918 in the same metre) is BISHOPGARTH. Though commonly associated with the text of 918, it must be one of the few hymn tunes composed by royal command—if such a thing is possible. Queen Victoria had requested, or required, William Walsham How to write a text for her Diamond Jubilee in 1897. The Bishop of Wakefield obliged, in the final year of his life, with O King of kings, whose reign of old; Sir Arthur, as by then he was, also obeyed in writing this. It is, says The Baptist Hymn Book Companion (1962/7) ‘a fine tune, which well exemplifies Sullivan’s gift for melody, though it bears one of his characteristic weaknesses, namely his persistent use of repeated notes in the melody.’ The original words were succeeded by ‘O God, the ruler of our race … anoint our King [Edward VII] with sovereign grace’; and in stz 4, ‘God save our King and Queen, we pray’. But the ‘G&S’ Savoy operas are never far away. For those who find it all a bit much, Bizet’s ROMA (118) is waiting in the wings— by another writer for the stage. ‘Bishopgarth’ was the name arrived at after much debate for the new house completed for Bishop How in 1893, ‘garth’ being ‘the Norse and Anglican [sic] form of the word which is usually spelt “yard

b Edgbaston, Birmingham 1902, d Winchester, Hants 1983. Tonbridge Sch; King’s Coll Cambridge (BA 1925, MA). He played hockey and tennis for Cambridge and cricket for Warwicks; became asst master at Rugby Sch 1929–37 and headmaster of Malvern Coll (public sch) 1937–53. He then trained for the CofE ministry at Cuddesdon Theological Coll and was ordained in 1954. His subsequent ministry was devoted to Winchester, including a school chaplaincy concurrent with an English teaching post at Winchester Coll, followed by work at the cathedral from 1963 as sacristan, chaplain and (from 1966 to 73) precentor. He wrote Two Exiles: a School in Wartime (1946) and several hymns which appeared in various books from 1964 onwards; one was a prizewinning ‘A Hymn for Britain’ for Southern TV in 1968 and 5 are in the 2000 Common Praise. They were collected posthumously with a brief memoir. HCAG was not related to Alan Gaunt (above). No.931.