John Barnard (born 20 April 1948) is a Fellow of the
Royal College of Organists (FRCO), an Associate of the
Royal School of Church Music (ARSCM) and an active developer of church music as a
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
, arranger, choir director,
kaiju
is a Japanese media genre that focuses on stories involving giant monsters. The word ''kaiju'' can also refer to the giant monsters themselves, which are usually depicted attacking major cities and battling either the military or other monster ...
and
organist in North West
London, England.
Barnard was on the Council of the
Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland
A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn ...
and has been active in helping to assemble such publications as ''Hymns for Today's Church'', ''Carols for Today'' and ''Psalms for Today''. He has been Director of Music at a series of high-profile churches, which include Emmanuel Church (Northwood), St Alban's Church (North Harrow),
John Keble Church (Mill Hill) and St John the Evangelist Church (Stanmore). He returned to John Keble Church in September 2010, following the appointment of
Canon Chris Chivers as Vicar.
Life and work
Barnard was educated at
The John Lyon School and later went up to
Cambridge University to study Modern and Medieval Languages at
Selwyn College followed by a
PGCE at
Exeter University.
He taught Modern Languages and Music at Cheltenham Grammar School in the early 1970s. Barnard taught at the
Godolphin and Latymer School
The Godolphin and Latymer School is an independent day school for girls in Hammersmith, West London.
The school motto is an ancient Cornish phrase, ''Francha Leale Toge'', which translates as "free and loyal art thou". The school crest inclu ...
in Hammersmith.
He has written music and arrangements for hymns and a number of arrangements for ''
spirituals''. Arguably his most famous work is his
hymn tune
A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part (or more) harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm (chords change frequently), with or without refrain ...
''Guiting Power'', which usually provides the music for
Michael Saward's hym
''Christ triumphant, ever reigning'' published for example as Hymn No. 336 in Hope's new ''Worship and Rejoice'' hymnal (2001) and Hymn No. 173 in ''Hymns for Today's Church, Second Edition'' (1987).
Barnard has been involved in directing the music for
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...
's ''
Sunday Half Hour
''The Sunday Hour'' was a long-standing show broadcast on the BBC Light Programme and then BBC Radio 2 in the United Kingdom, broadcast for 78 years between 14 July 1940 and 28 January 2018.
For most of its life it occupied a Sunday evening ...
''. In 2006, he was a judge for a BBC hymn-writing competition, for which he composed the tune
''Kirknewton''an
''Gowanbank''for two of the winning entries.
The vast majority of John Barnard's hymn tunes are named after villages or towns in the United Kingdom; for example,
Guiting Power is a village in the
Cotswolds
The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale.
The area is defined by the bedrock of Jur ...
, Gloucestershire.
His compositions are represented in the United States and Canada by the Hope Publishing Company and in the United Kingdom by
Jubilate Hymns and
Oxford University Press.
Conviction
In April 2015, Barnard pleaded guilty to possession and printing of pornographic images of 14- to 16-year-old boys. He received a suspended jail sentence and has since been suspended as Head of Choir at John Keble Church, Edgware, London.
List of original hymn tunes
Asthall (7 8 7 8), Barnard Gate (11 10 11 10
Dactylic), Bekesbourne (10 10 7 7), Bishops Cannings (6 6 6 6 8 8),
Bless the Lord (Irregular), Buttermere (
LM), Calypso Praise (8 8 8 8 10 8), Checkendon (8 6 8 6 8 6 8 6 7 7 8 7),
Chedworth (10 10 10 10), Chedworth (10 11 11 11), Christingle Praise (7 7 7 5 7 7 5), Coln Saint Dennis (9 9 10 9),
Coulston (4 6 8 8 4 4), Edington (10 10 4 4 10 10), Ewelme (8 8 8 4), Eythorne (7 6 8 6 8 6), Fossebridge (
LM),
Freshford (12 12 12 12), God is in Bethlehem (8 7 8 7 and Refrain
Trochaic), God is the King (Irregular), Gowanbank (8 7 8 7 D),
Great Cheverell (10 10 7 8 10), Great Stanmore (10 10 10 10), Guiting Power (8 5 8 5 7 9), Harrow Weald (5 5 5 5 5 5 5 4),
Heanish (8 7 8 7 D
Trochaic), Kirknewton (11 10 11 10 D), Little Barrington (4 4 4 4 4 4 4), Little Stanmore (8 8 8 6),
Long Crendon (11 11 11 5), Ludlow (11 11 9 10), Manton Hollow (8 8 8 4),
O Sing to the Lord (Irregular),
Patrixbourne (8 7 8 7 7 7), Riseley (8 6 8 6 6), Roxeth (7 7 7 4 D), Stanton (
CM), Stanton Harcourt (6 6 6 6 3 4 5),
Steeple Ashton (
SM), Swyncombe (6 6 8 4), Temple Guiting (6 6 10 5), Tenhead (5 6 6 4), Upton Cheyney (7 4 7 4 D),
Upton Scudamore (10 10 10 10), Wealdstone (8 7 8 7 D
Trochaic), West Ashton (10 10 10 10
Iambic), Widford (13 13 7 7 13),
Wings of Joy (6 4 4 6 4), Withington (8 6 8 8 8 6), Yanworth (10 10 10 10
Iambic), You are my Refuge (10 7 6 6 10)
Cantilever Unfathomable (9 14 17 12), Whenceforth Mine Spring Doth Spring (12 12 12 12), Obvious Obfuscation (Highly Irregular) (6 9 6 9) Oh Lord, It Was Inevitable (0 0 0 0)
References
External links
*
* (BBC Songs of Praise)
* (Visitation Choir)
* (St. Alban's Church Choir, North Harrow)
Hymn Tune: Kirknewton(BBC - Religion)
Hymn Tune: Gowanbank(BBC - Religion)
John Barnard Sermon "Understanding Hymns"(Caius College Cambridge)
The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology(The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnard, John
English composers
English organists
British male organists
English choral conductors
British male conductors (music)
1948 births
Living people
Fellows of the Royal College of Organists
People educated at The John Lyon School
Musicians from London
21st-century British conductors (music)
21st-century organists
21st-century British male musicians