choral evensong
Tune Tuesday: I Will Always Give Thanks 1665

18th Century
Collection: National Library of France
Source: Gallica Digital Library
Photo Credit: Wikipedia & Wikimedia
Three hundred, fifty-five years ago, John Blow, an English Baroque organist, composed the “club anthem” I Will Always Give Thanks, collaborating with Pelham Humfrey and William Turner. There is not a lot written about this song but, there are two suggestions of it either being an honoring of the victory over the Dutch in 1665 or a simple commemoration of the three men working together.
In late 1668, Blow was appointed to Westminster Abbey as its organist and three of his students were William Croft, Jeremiah Clarke and Henry Purcell. In 1685, he became the private musician to King James II. He was the choir-master at St. Paul’s Cathedral in 1687 and became Composer to the Chapel Royal in 1699.
As a side note, 1665 was a bad year. Sounds familiar. ~Vic
Additional Reading & Sources:
Choral Evensong/John Blow Death Anniversary (BBC October 1, 2008)
John Blow Biography (encyclopedia.com)
Tales for Our Time (Mark Steyn Online)
John Blow Anthems (The Gramophone Newsletter Site)
John Blow Commemoration (Westminster Abbey Site)
A Journal of the Plague Year (Wikipedia)
Battle of Lowestoft (Wikipedia)
Great Plague of London (Wikipedia)
This entry was posted in History, Music and tagged 1665, 1668, 1685, 1687, 1699, a journal of the plague year, baroque, battle of lowestoft, BBC, chapel royal, choral evensong, club anthem, composer, encyclopedia, engraving, gallica digital library, gramophone newsletter, great plague of london, henry purcell, i will always give thanks, james II, jeremiah clarke, john blow, june 13, king james II, king james VII, mark steyn, Music, national library of france, october 1, organist, pelham humfrey, private musician, robert white, st. pauls cathedral, students, tales for our time, victory, westminster abbey, wikimedia, wikipedia, william croft, william turner, youtube.