Sir Frederick Bridge

Sir John Frederick Bridge (5 December 1844 – 18 March 1924) was an English organist, composer, teacher and writer.

From a musical family, Bridge became a church organist before he was 20, and he achieved his ambition to become a cathedral organist by the age of 24, at Manchester Cathedral. After six years there, he was invited to become organist at Westminster Abbey, where he remained for the rest of his career. He instituted several changes to modernise and improve the music-making at the Abbey and organised the music for several state occasions, including two coronations.

As a teacher and lecturer, Bridge held posts at the Royal College of Music, Gresham College and the University of London. His students included the composers Arthur Benjamin and Noel Gay, the organists Edward Bairstow and Herbert Brewer, the conductor Landon Ronald and the early music pioneer Arnold Dolmetsch. His public lectures at Gresham College attracted large audiences, and they covered a wide range of subjects and musical periods.

For 25 years, Bridge was conductor of the Royal Choral Society, with whom he performed many new works, including some of his own compositions and works by the British composers Elgar, Vaughan Williams and Parry.

Birth and Death Data: Born December 5, 1844 (Oldbury), Died March 18, 1924 (London)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1923

Roles Represented in DAHR: conductor

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Columbia 73411 10-in. approximately 1923 Old London cryes of Will Shakespeare's time, part 1 Sir Frederick Bridge ; String quartet (unidentified; Columbia Records) ; Vocal quintet (unidentified; Columbia Records) conductor  
Columbia 73412 10-in. approximately 1923 Old London cryes of Will Shakespeare's time, part 2 Sir Frederick Bridge ; String quartet (unidentified; Columbia Records) ; Vocal quintet (unidentified; Columbia Records) conductor  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Bridge, Frederick, Sir," accessed April 29, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/353854.

Bridge, Frederick, Sir. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 29, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/353854.

"Bridge, Frederick, Sir." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 29 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/353854

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