British composer Herbert Howells had a knack for writing highly evocative choral compositions. However, his existence in the realm of concert music has been largely forgotten. There are a few works some are familiar with: A Spotless Rose, Requiem, Like as the Hart, and, what many consider to be his greatest work, Hymnus Paradisi. So if this man was held in such high esteem among elite British composers (Ralph Vaughan Williams, for example), then why are his works mostly ignored? Let's shine some light on Herbert Howells and his music.
Born as one of six children on October 17th, 1892, Howells began music lessons at a young age in 1905 with Herbert Brewer, organist of the Gloucester Cathedral. Becoming friends with Ivor Gurney, his pupil at the Cathedral, Howells decided to follow his dear friend's lead and study in London at the Royal College of Music. Howells thrived but mostly composed orchestral music. It wasn't until he composed his Psalm Preludes and op. 17 Rhapsodies for organ that Howells developed what would later be known as his signature sound.
In 1915, Howells was diagnosed with Graves' disease and was only expected to live for six more months. Nonetheless, Howells continued to compose and eventually passed his death date to go on to complete his pastoral Piano Quartet in A minor, dedicated to "the hill at Chosen and Ivor Gurney who knows it." The quartet further established Howells' credibility as a highly competent composer and the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust which published the Piano Quartet no doubt had tremendous faith in Howells' skill. Among one of the formidable and lucrative tasks the Carnegie Trust offered Howells was to edit the Latin Tudor repertoire into a multi-volume edition titled Tudor Church Music by Oxford University Press. The task enabled him to absorb the English Renaissance aesthetic and incorporate the idioms inherent in the style into his own music. It was around this time that his most acclaimed works for choir were compiled as the Three Carol-Anthems (Here is the Little Door, A Spotless Rose, and Sing Lullaby). A Spotless Rose and Sing Lullaby are regarded as his most popular compositions in our time. However, another composition would undoubtedly take top prize in terms of compositional perfection for those more acquainted with Howells' music.
Howells went on to marry singer Dorothy Eveline Goozee in 1920. He met Dorothy nine years before they married and they produced two children, a daughter named Ursula and a son Michael. Despite living securely, a tragedy for Howells occurred in 1935: at the age of only nine, Howells' son Michael contracted polio and died three days later. Heeding to the consultation of his daughter Ursula, Howells channeled his grief through composition. Using a significant amount of musical material from his unpublished 1932 Requiem, Howells composed a majority of what would become his paramount large-scale choral work Hymnus Paradisi. The work remained deeply personal and unknown to the public until Howells fully orchestrated and successfully completed Hymnus Paradisi for its premier on September 7th, 1950, which served as a memorial of his son fifteen years and one day after his death. Hymnus Paradisi was an instant success with critics and the public and continues to be considered such to this day.
Herbert Howells died on February 7th, 1983 at the age of 90. He composed throughout the entirety of his life and after his death his daughter Ursula started the "Herbert Howells Society," which illuminated how influential Howells' music had been and is to this day. However, despite the multitude of commemorations after his death, Howells remains largely unknown to many who have not had the luxury of hearing his music. Hopefully the beauty Howells offered to the world will gain in awareness.
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