Parry, Sir Hubert (1848-1918), a British composer, is best remembered for his choral music. His most frequently performed works are the song “Jerusalem” (1916), a setting of a poem by the English poet William Blake, and his choral work Ode at a Solemn Music, “Blest Pair of Sirens” (1887), a setting of a poem by the English poet John Milton. Parry’s orchestral compositions include five symphonies and two popular suites for strings, Lady Radnor’s Suite (1894) and the English Suite (1914-1918). His other vocal music includes oratorios, cantatas, and motets. Parry wrote more than 100 songs for voice and piano, 74 gathered into 12 sets of English Lyrics. These songs were all set to English poems. Parry was also a noted music scholar. His writings include The Art of Music (1893), which was enlarged and reissued as The Evolution of the Art of Music (1896), and a collection of his Oxford lectures published as Style in Musical Art (1911).
Charles Hubert Hastings Parry was born on Feb. 27, 1848, in Bournemouth, Dorset, England. In 1883, he joined the faculty of the Royal College of Music in London and served as director there from 1894 until his death. He was also professor of music at Oxford University from 1900 to 1908. Parry was knighted in 1898. He died on Oct. 7, 1918.
