Born in London on the 2nd of March 1813, George Macfarren entered the Royal Academy of Music in 1829. A symphony by him was played at an Academy concert in 1830; for the opening of the Queen's Theatre in Tottenham Street, under the management of his father, in 1831, he wrote an overture. His Chevy Chase overture, the orchestral work by which he is perhaps best known, was written as early as 1836, and in a single night.
He was made principal of the Royal Academy of Music in succession to Sterndale Bennett in February 1875, and in March of the same year professor of music in Cambridge University. Several oratorios begun shortly before this (St. John the Baptist, Resurrection, Joseph, and King David) are noted for their unconscious humour in the dramatic representation of Biblical narratives. He was knighted in 1883, and died suddenly in London on the 31st of October 1887.
http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Sir_George_Macfarren
The following links let you hear the Macfarren chant, played by the computer on a synthesised organ.
The buttons will play the chant in the browser, if the correct plugin is installed.
It will play twice, and clicking on the link again will cause it to repeat.
You might need to click Refresh on your browser, or press F5 before playing, as the chant files change regularly.
Go back to Psalm of the Week.
J. Malton
September 13, 2008
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