Arthur Harry Cross was a chorister, organist, choirmaster and composer of sacred and secular music, who was appointed organist and choirmaster at

St Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham St Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham is a Church of England parish church, in Norfolk, England. It is close to Sandringham House and members of the British royal family regularly attend services when in residence at Sandringham, notably at Chris ...

in 1878 at the age of 20. He continued in that position for 28 years until his death of heart disease in 1906.

Early life

Arthur Cross, whose father was a cook, was a choirboy at

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Jesus College was established in 1496 on the site of the twelfth-century Benedictine nunnery of St Radegund's Priory, Cambridge, St ...

, where he also studied the piano and organ. Cross travelled around the country as a solo singer. By 17 years old he held a church appointment, and deputised at several college chapels. He became an Associate of the

Royal College of Organists The Royal College of Organists (RCO) is a charity and membership organisation based in the United Kingdom, with members worldwide. Its role is to promote and advance organ playing and choral music, and it offers music education, training and de ...

(A.C.R.O) in 1878.

Musical career

Cross was appointed organist and choirmaster at

, by the Prince of Wales in 1878 and subsequently moved to

Dersingham Dersingham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Dersingham is located north-east of King's Lynn and north-west of Norwich. History Dersingham's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for th ...

, Norfolk. Cross was also the honorary conductor of the King's Lynn Musical Society, the Hunstanton Amateur Operatic Society and the Hunstanton Choral Society. He also worked with the Heacham Choral Societies and the King's Lynn Music Society. He was conductor at the Hunstanton Amateur Dramatic Society's performance of ''

Patience or forbearance, is the ability to endure difficult or undesired long-term circumstances. Patience involves perseverance or tolerance in the face of delay, provocation, or stress without responding negatively, such as reacting with disrespect ...

'' by

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) and to the works they jointly created. The two men collaborated on fourteen com ...

and acted in their performance of the

Henry Arthur Jones Henry Arthur Jones (20 September 1851 – 7 January 1929) was an English dramatist, who was first noted for his melodrama '' The Silver King'' (1882), and went on to write prolifically, often appearing to mirror Ibsen from the opposite (conserva ...

comedy ''The Manoeuvres of Jane''. He was musical director of the King's Lynn and Hunstanton Amateur Operatic Society's production of ''

Iolanthe ''Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri'' () is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, first performed in 1882. It is one of the Savoy operas and is the seventh of fourteen operatic collaborations by Gilbert ...

'' in 1904. He conducted and sang the tenor parts in a performance of ''

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

'' for the Kings Lynn Musical Society, in 1903, and sang the tenor part in ''May Queen A Pastoral'' at the Guildhall, Cambridge in 1904. He sang, played the piano, acted and/or composed the music at many local events, some of which were in aid of charity. In 1888 an

Anglican Chant Anglican chant, also known as English chant, is a way to singing, sing Meter (poetry), unmetrical texts, including psalms and canticles from the Bible, by matching the natural Prosody (linguistics), speech-rhythm of the words to the notes of a s ...

book called "The Sandringham Chant Book" was published. This was produced by Cross and the Rector of Sandringham, Rev. F. A. J. Harvey, and was designed to be used by village choirs where the

Tonic sol-fa Tonic sol-fa (or tonic sol-fah) is a pedagogical technique for teaching sight-singing, invented by Sarah Anna Glover (1786–1867) of Norwich, England and popularised by John Curwen, who adapted it from a number of earlier musical systems. It u ...

system was taught. A number of composers contributed to the chants, including Cross.

Family

In 1910, the first daughter of Arthur and Alice, Dorothy Maud, married the conductor and composer

Howard Talbot Howard Munkittrick, better known as Howard Talbot (9 March 1865 – 12 September 1928), was an American-born, English-raised composer and conductor of Irish descent. He was best known for writing the music to several hit Edwardian musical comedi ...

Death and burial

On his death, at the age of 48, Cross's wife received a message of condolence from

Queen Alexandra Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was List of British royal consorts, queen-consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 Januar ...

: ''"Too grieved to hear of your overwhelming loss and sorrow which will be shared by all who know your dear husband. May God support and comfort you and your poor children." -- Alexandra.'' Cross was buried in the churchyard of Sandringham Church, where friends and a number of people known in the musical circles of Norfolk and Cambridgeshire came to pay their respects.

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

and Queen Alexandra were represented at the funeral by Mr. & Mrs. Frank Beck, the King's agent at Sandringham, and in addition to telegraphing messages of sympathy to the family the King and Queen ordered some floral tokens to be placed on the coffin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cross, Arthur Howard People from Sandringham, Norfolk English organists English male musicians 1858 births 1906 deaths Burials in Norfolk