Born in Lydney, Gloucestershire, Oct 17, 1892
Died in London, Feb 23, 1983
- Herbert Howells was a distinguished English composer best known for his choral and organ music, though he also wrote songs, piano works, and chamber/ orchestral music. His Three Carol Anthems (which includes “A Spotless Rose”) helped bring the young composer to prominence.
- Howells studied at the Royal College of Music and was a pupil of Charles Villiers Stanford (Stanford even described Howells as his “son in music”). Hubert Parry, director of the institution at the time, also made a significant impact on the young composer. Parry’s “philosophy and humanity inspired a deep and lasting affection.”1
- Howells was deeply affected by the death of his nine-year-old son, Michael, in 1935 due to polio. Everything Howells wrote after that significant life event was in some way written in memory of Michael.
- Howells’s ability to express deep emotion and pathos is part of what has made his music so powerful and enduring.
- As a composer, Howells felt a strong connection to music from the Tudor era (as did Vaughan Williams), which is evident in much of his music.2
- Fun fact – Howells had a love of cathedral architecture and often wrote church music for specific buildings.3
“Howells is a composer whose music stirs profound emotional reactions from performers and audiences alike.”4
Short biography from the Herbert Howells Trust
Sources
- Paul Andrews, “Howells, Herbert,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed January 11, 2024, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000013436.
- Paul Spicer, “Composer of the Month: Herbert Howells,” BBC Music Magazine Vol. 27, No. 3 (2018), 62-66.
- Paul Andrews, “Howells, Herbert,” Grove Music Online.
- Paul Spicer, “Composer of the Month: Herbert Howells,” BBC Music Magazine.