John David Edwards (19 December 1805 – 24 November 1885) was a Welsh cleric and hymn-tune composer.

Life

Edwards was born in Penderlwyngoch, Gwnnws, in

Cardiganshire Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a county in the west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. Ab ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. After education at Ystrad Meurig school, he attended

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

matriculating Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used no ...

in 1825 and obtaining his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1830. He was ordained

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

in 1832 and priest in 1833, serving as curate at

Llansanffraid Glyndyfrdwy Llansanffraid Glyndyfrdwy is a former civil parish in the Edeirnion area of Denbighshire in Wales.Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, Flintshire to the east, Wrexham to the southeast, Powys to the south, and Gwynedd and Conwy to the west. Rhyl is the largest town, and Ruthi ...

and also in

Aberdyfi Aberdyfi (), also known as Aberdovey ( ), is a village and community in Gwynedd, Wales, located on the northern side of the estuary of the River Dyfi. The population of the community was 878 at the 2011 census. The electoral ward had a larger ...

Merionethshire Merionethshire, or Merioneth ( or '), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the North West Wales, north-west of Wales. Name 'Merioneth' is a ...

. In 1843, he was presented to the parish of

Rhosymedre Rhosymedre () is a village within the community of Cefn, in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. The Anglican church, which was consecrated in 1837, is dedicated to St John the Evangelist, and is part of the Diocese of St Asaph. Former vicars inclu ...

, Denbighshire by Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, and he remained in this post until his death. He took music lessons from Dafydd Siencyn Morgan and was regarded as a good musician. He composed various hymns tunes, publishing a collection in 1836 under the title "Original Sacred Music", which was the first book of hymn-tunes for Anglican churches in Wales. A further collection was published in 1843. He wrote the

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 ...

'', later used by

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams ( ; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

as the basis for one of his organ preludes on Welsh hymn tunes. He died at his nephew's house in

Llanddoged Llanddoged is a small village which lies in the hills a little over a mile to the north of Llanrwst, in Conwy County Borough, Wales. The village itself has a small population, with a surrounding rural farming community. Most of the population ...

on 24 November 1885, and was buried at Tal-y-llyn.

References

1805 births 1885 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford People from Denbighshire 19th-century Welsh Anglican priests Church in Wales hymnwriters People from Ceredigion {{Wales-bio-stub