Hugh Blair (25 May 1864,

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

– 22 July 1932,

Worthing Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and H ...

) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

musician, composer and

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational ...

Early life

Born in

, Hugh Blair was the son of Rev. Robert Hugh Blair, who founded

Worcester College for the Blind New College Worcester (or NCW; formerly RNIB New College) is an independent boarding and day school for students, aged 11–19, who are blind or partially sighted. It caters for around 80 students. It is located in the city of Worcester, England ...

in 1866. A chorister at

Worcester Cathedral Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, in Worcestershire, England, situated on a bank overlooking the River Severn. It is the seat of the Bishop of Worcester. Its official name is the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Bles ...

(under William Done) and a pupil at

King's School, Worcester The King's School, Worcester is an English independent day school refounded by Henry VIII in 1541. It occupies a site adjacent to Worcester Cathedral on the banks of the River Severn in the centre of the city of Worcester. It offers mixed-sex m ...

, Blair was organ scholar (1883) and College Organist (1884–86) at

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...

(matriculated 1884, graduated

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four ye ...

1886,

Mus.B. Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or music school, conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consi ...

1887,

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. ...

1896, Mus.D. 1906).

Career

Blair returned to Worcester Cathedral as Assistant Organist (1887–89), Organist-in-Charge (1889–95) and Organist (1895–97). William Done (by this stage in his seventies) handed his duties to Blair in 1889, but remained titular Organist until his death in 1895, whereupon Blair succeeded him.

Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

dedicated his cantata '' The Black Knight'' to Blair, who was conductor of the

Worcester Festival Choral Society Worcester Festival Choral Society (WFCS) is an independent, SATB (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) choir of around 150 amateur singers that presents classical choral concerts at Worcester Cathedral, Worcester. The conductor is Samuel Hudson (Worcest ...

, which gave the first performance on 18 April 1893, at a time when Elgar was little known outside Worcestershire. Blair also gave the first performance of Elgar's Organ Sonata in G on 8 July 1895, having asked Elgar to write an organ voluntary for the visit of some American organists to Worcester. The work's opening theme is reminiscent of a theme from ''The Black Knight''. Blair directed the

Three Choirs Festival 200px, Worcester cathedral 200px, Gloucester cathedral The Three Choirs Festival is a music festival held annually at the end of July, rotating among the cathedrals of the Three Counties (Hereford, Gloucester and Worcester) and originally fea ...

s of 1893 and 1896. In 1896, Blair conducted the Festival's first performance of the

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

Requiem A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

, and the premières of his own cantata ''Blessed are they who watch'' and Elgar's oratorio ''The Light of Life (Lux Christi)''. Blair resigned as organist at Worcester Cathedral in June 1897. He was appointed organist at

Holy Trinity Church, Marylebone Holy Trinity Church, in Marylebone, Westminster, London, is a Grade I listed former Anglican church, built in 1828 and designed by John Soane. In 1818 Parliament passed an act setting aside one million pounds to celebrate the defeat of Napoleo ...

in 1898, and served as Director of Music of the Borough of Battersea (1900–04), overseeing the installation of the organ at Battersea Town Hall in 1901. Blair also worked for the publishing firm

Novello & Co Wise Music Group is a global music publisher, with headquarters in Berners Street, London. In February 2020, Wise Music Group changed its name from The Music Sales Group. In 2014 Wise Music Group (as The Music Sales Group) acquired French cl ...

, co-editing ''The Church Hymnal for the Christian Year'', published in 1917.

Selected works

Worcester Cathedral Library contains copies of his compositions. His

Magnificat The Magnificat (Latin for " y soulmagnifies he Lord) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary, the Canticle of Mary and, in the Byzantine tradition, the Ode of the Theotokos (). It is traditionally incorporated into the liturgical service ...

and

Nunc Dimittis The Nunc dimittis (), also known as the Song of Simeon or the Canticle of Simeon, is a canticle taken from the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke, verses 29 through 32. Its Latin name comes from its incipit, the opening words, of the Vulgate t ...

in B minor for double choir is still performed and recorded. Kevin Allen lists seven sets of Canticles, a Short Sonata in G major for organ (1903) and a Piano Trio in D minor amongst his compositions.Allen, Kevin. ''Hugh Blair: Worcester’s Forgotten Organist'', (2019, self-published)
/ref> * Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in B minor (1887) — * Advent Cantata "Blessed are they who watch" (1894) * Meditation in F (1905) — * Milton Suite for Organ (1917) —

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blair, Hugh English composers English classical organists British male organists Cathedral organists Musicians from Worcester, England People educated at King's School, Worcester Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge 1864 births 1932 deaths Male classical organists