Charles Wesley
Charles Wesley (18 December 1707 – 29 March 1788) was an English Anglican cleric and a principal leader of the Methodist movement. Wesley was a prolific hymnwriter who wrote over 6,500 hymns during his lifetime. His works include "And Can It Be", "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing", "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today", "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling", the carol "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing", and "Lo! He Comes With Clouds Descending". Wesley was born in Epworth, Lincolnshire, the son of Anglican cleric and poet Samuel Wesley and his wife Susanna. He was a younger brother of Methodist founder John Wesley and Anglican cleric Samuel Wesley the Younger. He was the father of musician Samuel Wesley and the grandfather of musician Samuel Sebastian Wesley. He was educated at Oxford University, where his brothers had also studied, and he formed the "Holy Club" among his fellow students in 1729. John Wesley later joined this group, as did George Whitefield. Charles followed his father and brother into ministry in 1735, and he travelled with John to Georgia in America, returning a year later. Following their evangelical conversions in 1738, the Wesley brothers travelled throughout Britain, converting followers to the Methodist revival through preaching and hymn singing. In 1749, he married Sarah Gwynne, the daughter of a Welsh gentleman who had been converted to Methodism by Howell Harris. From 1756 his ministry became more static and he ministered in Bristol, and later London. Despite their closeness, Charles and John did not always agree on questions relating to their beliefs. In particular, Charles was strongly opposed to the idea of a breach with the Church of England in which they had been ordained. |
Birth and Death Data: Born Epworth (town and civil parish in Lincolnshire, England), Died March 29, 1788 (London (capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1897 - 1954
Roles Represented in DAHR: author, lyricist
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 64 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berliner | 1755 | 7-in. | 7/29/1897 | Jesus, lover of my soul | Artists vary | Male vocal solo | author | |
| Berliner | 0679 | 7-in. | 10/27/1899 | Jesus, lover of my soul | S. H. Dudley ; Harry Macdonough | Male vocal duet | author | |
| Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]722 | 7-in. | 11/25/1902 | Jesus, lover of my soul | Choir [i.e., Choir of the Lombard Street Mission] ; Choir [i.e., Lyric Trio] | Mixed vocal trio | author | |
| Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]722 | 10-in. | 11/25/1902 | Jesus, lover of my soul | Choir [i.e., Choir of the Lombard Street Mission] ; Choir [i.e., Lyric Trio] | Mixed vocal trio | author | |
| Victor | [Pre-matrix B-]3200 | 10-in. | 3/11/1901 | Jesus lover of my soul | Lyric Trio | Mixed vocal trio | author | |
| Victor | A-1516 | 7-in. | 6/24/1904 | Jesus, lover of my soul | Trinity Choir | Chorus, with organ | author | |
| Victor | B-1516 | 10-in. | 6/24/1904 | Jesus, lover of my soul | Trinity Choir | Chorus, with organ | author | |
| Victor | B-3241 | 10-in. | 4/2/1906 | Jesus, lover of my soul | Trinity Choir | Chorus, with orchestra | author | |
| Victor | B-3356 | 10-in. | 5/2/1906 | Come Thou almighty King | Trinity Choir | Chorus, with orchestra | lyricist | |
| Victor | B-6602 | 10-in. | 11/13/1908 | Jesus, lover of my soul | Trinity Choir | Mixed vocal quartet, with orchestra | author | |
| Victor | C-9048 | 12-in. | 6/3/1910 | Love divine, all love excelling | Harry Macdonough ; Lucy Isabelle Marsh | Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra | author | |
| Victor | B-14847 | 10-in. | 5/20/1914 | Jesus, lover of my soul | Alma Gluck ; Louise Homer | Vocal duet (soprano and contralto), with orchestra | author | |
| Victor | B-26430 | 10-in. | 4/25/1922 | Hark! the herald angels sing | Louise Homer ; Louise Homer Stires | Vocal duet (soprano and contralto), with orchestra | author | |
| Victor | B-26435 | 10-in. | 4/26/1922 | Christ the Lord is risen today | Louise Homer | Contralto vocal solo, with orchestra | author | |
| Victor | B-28977 | 10-in. | 11/22/1923 | Jesus, lover of my soul | Trinity Mixed Quartet | Mixed vocal quartet, unaccompanied | author | |
| Victor | B-30532 | 10-in. | 7/25/1924 | Jesus, lover of my soul | Trinity Quartet | Mixed vocal quartet, with string quartet | author | |
| Victor | BVE-33128 | 10-in. | 8/3/1925 | Jesus, lover of my soul | Reinald Werrenrath | Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra | author | |
| Victor | BVE-36786 | 10-in. | 11/30/1926 | Jesus, lover of my soul | Dayton Westminster Choir | Vocal chorus, unaccompanied | lyricist | |
| Victor | BVE-47205 | 10-in. | 10/19/1928 | Hallelujah! | Hamp Reynolds ; Sacred Harp Singers | Male vocal trio, with piano | lyricist | |
| Victor | BS-75067 | 10-in. | 2/9/1933 | Songs for children (Hymns) | Elsie Baker ; Myrtle C. Eaver ; Olive Kline ; Lambert Murphy ; Elliott Shaw | Mixed vocal quartet, with piano | lyricist | |
| Victor | BS-026907 | 10-in. | 9/8/1938 | Hark! The herald angels sing | Lew White | Mixed vocal chorus, with violin, organ, and harp | author | |
| Victor | BS-046711 | 10-in. | 1/24/1940 | Christ the Lord is risen today | Emile Coté ; Victor Chapel Choir | Mixed vocal chorus, with organ | author | |
| Victor | BS-056925 | 10-in. | 10/17/1940 | Jesus, lover of my soul | Edward MacHugh ; William Meeder | Male vocal solo, with organ | author | |
| Victor | D5RC-1577 | 12-in. | 12/6/1945 | Christmas hymns, part 4 | RCA Victor Chorale ; Robert Shaw | Mixed vocal chorus, unaccompanied | lyricist | |
| Victor | D7VB-1595 | 10-in. | 8/27/1947 | Hark! The herald angels sing | Dick Leibert | Organ solo | author |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Wesley, Charles," accessed January 4, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/101872.
Wesley, Charles. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 4, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/101872.
"Wesley, Charles." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 4 January 2026.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Charles Wesley
Discogs: Charles Wesley
RISM: Charles Wesley
IMDb: Charles Wesley
Britannica: Charles Wesley
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Wesley, Charles, 1707-1788 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n50003882
Wikidata: Charles Wesley - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q349070
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/117440
MusicBrainz: Charles Wesley - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/92e82314-47ed-4628-980e-0a817ceeac07
Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/948 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/948
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
Feedback
Send the Editors a message about this record.
