Basil Harwood (11 April 1859 – 3 April 1949) was an organist and composer in the English church music tradition, best known today for his liturgical works, particularly his anthem ''O How Glorious is the Kingdom'' (1898) and his ''Service in A flat'' (1892), which still remain popular in English churches. He wrote numerous hymn tunes, several of which became well-known including ''Luckington'' ("Let All the World in Every Corner Sing") and ''Thornbury ''("O Jesus I Have Promised" and " Thy hand, O God, has guided").

Early life

Basil Harwood was born on 11 April 1859 at Woodhouse,

Olveston Olveston is a small village and larger parish in South Gloucestershire, England. The parish comprises the villages of Olveston and Tockington, and the hamlets of Old Down, Ingst and Awkley. The civil parish population at the 2011 census wa ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, the youngest child of Edward Harwood (1818–1907), a banker. His mother Mary, née Sturge (1840–1867), was of

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

extraction, and Harwood was brought up in that faith until a switch to

Anglicanism Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

in 1869 following his father's second marriage.

Education

As a boy, Harwood attended Walton Lodge preparatory school in

Clevedon Clevedon (, ) is a seaside town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, England. It recorded a parish population of 21,281 in the United Kingdom Census 2011, estimated at 21,442 in 2019. It lies ...

, followed in 1864 by

Charterhouse Charterhouse may refer to: * Charterhouse (monastery), of the Carthusian religious order Charterhouse may also refer to: Places * The Charterhouse, Coventry, a former monastery * Charterhouse School, an English public school in Surrey London ...

. In 1876 he won a scholarship to

Trinity College, Oxford Trinity College (full name: The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope (Knight)) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in E ...

, where he was placed in the second class in

classical moderations Honour Moderations (or ''Mods'') are a set of examinations at the University of Oxford at the end of the first part of some degree courses (e.g., Greats or '' Literae Humaniores''). Honour Moderations candidates have a class awarded (hence the ...

(1879) and the third in modern history (1881). He took his music degree (

BMus A Bachelor of Music (BMus; sometimes conferred as Bachelor of Musical Arts) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. The degree may be awarded for performance, music ed ...

) in 1880, studying with C. W. Corfe, then the university's Choragus. After Oxford, Harwood spent a year in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

studying composition with

Jadassohn Jadassohn is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Josef Jadassohn (1863–1936), German dermatologist * Salomon Jadassohn (1831–1902), German pianist, composer, and teacher {{Short pages monitor