Henry Coward

Sir Henry Coward (26 November 1849 – 10 June 1944) was a British conductor and composer.

Born in Liverpool to parents in the entertainment industry, Coward took an apprenticeship to a cutler in Sheffield. Educating himself, he became a teacher and soon a headteacher.

Coward's interest in music developed from a tonic sol-fa class, and in 1876 he founded the Sheffield Tonic Sol-fa Association. This was renamed the Sheffield Musical Union, and Coward was its director until 1933. His choral legacy is still visible in Sheffield, following Sheffield Music Union's 1937 merger with the Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus, a choir which still performs to this day.

In 1889, Coward obtained a B.Mus. degree at the University of Oxford, and in 1894, became a Doctor of Music. He returned to Sheffield, where he became the chorus master of the Sheffield Music Festival. He conducted societies in Leeds, Huddersfield, Newcastle and Glasgow, and toured worldwide with the Sheffield Choir. He also taught music at Sheffield Training College and lectured at the University of Sheffield.

In 1897, having established a reputation for conducting large numbers of singers in Sheffield parks, he was invited to oversee a gathering of 60,000 school-children in Norfolk Park in Sheffield, to entertain Queen Victoria.

Dan Godfrey wrote that "it is doubtful whether England has ever produced a better or more gifted choir trainer than Coward... He has evolved, formulated and put into practice a method of choral technique which has had the result of bringing about a revival of singing in chorus which has spread through the whole Empire."

After World War I, Henry Coward faced criticism for being unable to conduct an orchestra, but was knighted in 1926 and, from 1929 to 1944, served as President of the Tonic Sol-fa College in London.

A Blue plaque at 6 Kenwood Road, Nether Edge In Sheffield where he lived between 1931 and 1944.

Coward was a white supremacist who campaigned against jazz, describing it as "atavistic, lowering, degrading and a racial question ... composed of ... unquestionably grotesque forms."

Coward was an active Freemason being initiated in Furnival Lodge No.2558 Sheffield in 1896 and becoming a founding member of University Lodge No.3911 Sheffield in 1919.

Sir Henry Coward died in 1944, aged 94.

Birth and Death Data: Born November 26, 1849 (Liverpool), Died June 10, 1944

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1912 - 1926

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 6236 12-in. approximately 1912 Halleluja chorus Henry Coward ; Sheffield & Leeds United Choir Chorus, with piano conductor  
Columbia 6238 12-in. approximately 1912 Glory to God in the highest Henry Coward ; Sheffield & Leeds United Choir Chorus, with piano conductor  
Columbia 6239 12-in. approximately 1912 Fire, fire, my heart Henry Coward ; Sheffield & Leeds United Choir Chorus, with piano conductor  
Columbia 6240 12-in. approximately 1912 I'm going to my lonely bed Henry Coward ; Sheffield & Leeds United Choir Chorus, with piano conductor  
Columbia 6242 12-in. approximately 1912 And the glory of the Lord Henry Coward ; Sheffield & Leeds United Choir Chorus, with piano conductor  
Columbia 6243 12-in. approximately 1912 For unto us a child is born Henry Coward ; Sheffield & Leeds United Choir Chorus, with piano conductor  
Columbia 6244 12-in. approximately 1912 Surely he hath borne our grief Henry Coward ; Sheffield & Leeds United Choir Chorus, with piano conductor  
Columbia 6245 12-in. approximately 1912 You stole my love Henry Coward ; Sheffield & Leeds United Choir Chorus, with piano conductor  
Columbia 6246 12-in. approximately 1912 Moonlight, part 1 Henry Coward ; Sheffield & Leeds United Choir Chorus, with piano conductor  
Columbia 6247 12-in. approximately 1912 Moonlight, part 2 Henry Coward ; Sheffield & Leeds United Choir Chorus, with piano conductor  
Columbia 6248 12-in. approximately 1912 Scenes from the Bavarian highlands : Dance Henry Coward ; Sheffield & Leeds United Choir Chorus, with piano conductor  
Columbia 6249 12-in. approximately 1912 Scenes from the Bavarian highlands : Lullaby Henry Coward ; Sheffield & Leeds United Choir Chorus, with piano conductor  
Columbia 6250 12-in. approximately 1912 His yoke is easy Henry Coward ; Sheffield & Leeds United Choir Chorus, with piano conductor  
Columbia 6251 12-in. approximately 1912 Bells of St. Michael's tower Henry Coward ; Sheffield & Leeds United Choir Chorus, with piano conductor  
Columbia 6310 12-in. approximately 1913 On Himalay Henry Coward ; Sheffield Choir Chorus conductor  
Columbia 6312 12-in. approximately 1913 Nightingale madrigal Henry Coward ; Sheffield Choir Female vocal chorus conductor  
Columbia 6313 12-in. approximately 1913 The long day closes Henry Coward ; Sheffield & Leeds United Choir Chorus, with piano conductor  
Columbia 6314 12-in. approximately 1913 A Franklynne's dog Henry Coward ; Sheffield & Leeds United Choir Male vocal chorus conductor  
Columbia (U.K.) WAX1148 12-in. between October and December 1925 Hallelujah chorus Henry Coward ; Sheffield Choir Vocal chorus, with orchestra conductor  
Columbia (U.K.) WAX1530 12-in. between April and June 1926 His yoke is easy and his burthen light Henry Coward ; Sheffield Choir Vocal chorus, with organ and orchestra conductor  
Columbia (U.K.) WAX1531 12-in. between April and June 1926 Lift up your heads Henry Coward ; Sheffield Choir Vocal chorus, with organ and orchestra conductor  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Coward, Henry," accessed November 22, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/357020.

Coward, Henry. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 22, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/357020.

"Coward, Henry." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 22 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/357020

Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license

Feedback

Send the Editors a message about this record.