Sunday music spot: John Goss, "O Saviour of the world"
Continuing my series of music by British born composers who were working between the death of Henry Purcell in 1695 and "the rise of Elgar," which I am defining as starting with the date of his first public composition, 1889.
Sir John Goss was born in Fareham in 1800 (so 105 years after the death of Henry Purcell) and died in 1880 (Nine years before Elgar's first published work.
He was organist at St Paul's Cathedral from 1838 to 1872, knighted in 1872 by Queen Victoria, and taught as Professor of harmony at the Royal Academy of Music (1827–1874) where his pupils included notable composers like Arthur Sullivan and John Stainer (both of whom were also knighted by Queen Victoria).
Hymn tunes composed by John Goss still sung today include those to which "Praise, my soul, the King of heaven" and "See, amid the winter's snow" are most often sung, but my favourite John Goss piece of music is the anthem "O Saviour of the world" -
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