Edmund Hooper

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Life

Born: ca.1553

Died: 14 July 1621

Biography Edmund Hooper was born in North Halberton, in Devon, and likely spent his childhood in the region. There is a possibility that he was a treble at Exeter Cathedral, although as yet there is no firm evidence of this. He moved to London as an adult, and records show that he was a member of the choir of Westminster Abbey in 1582, and possibly earlier. By 1588, he had become the Master of the Choristers at the Abbey. It seems he was well regarded in the institution, as his post was eventually offered to him for life. It is quite possible he was the first regular organist there. In 1615, he also became joint Organist of the Chapel Royal with Orlando Gibbons, which was a particularly prestigious appointment. He remained in both posts until his death in 1621.

Hooper’s surviving output consists almost entirely of sacred music. He wrote a significant amount of church music, much of which was widely disseminated. His sacred compositions include at least 5 services, 7 full anthems, and 5 full anthems, along with a number of works which do not survive complete. In addition to this, a small number of keyboard works survive. Perhaps his most famous work during his lifetime was the full anthem ‘Behold, it is Christ’, which exists in no fewer than 28 contemporary manuscript collections.

View the Wikipedia article on Edmund Hooper.

List of choral works

 
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Publications

External links