William Croft (1678-1727)

William Croft (1678-1727) was an English composer and organist.

Croft was born at the Manor House, Nether Ettington, Warwickshire. He was educated at the Chapel Royal, under the instruction of John Blow, and remained there until 1698. In 1700 he became organist of St. Anne’s Church, Soho. In 1707, he took over the post vacated by the death of Jeremiah Clarke as “Master of the Children” at the Chapel Royal, and the following year succeeded Blow as organist of Westminster Abbey. He composed works for the funeral of Queen Anne in 1714 and for the coronation of King George I the following year.

In 1724, Croft published Musica Sacra, a collection of church music, the first such collection to be printed in the form of a score. The Burial Service included in the collection has been used at state funerals in Great Britain and the United Kingdom ever since. Shortly afterwards his health deteriorated, and he died while visiting Bath.

One of his most enduring pieces is the hymn tune “St Anne” written to the poem O God, Our Help in Ages Past by Isaac Watts. Other composers subsequently incorporated the tune in their own works. For example, George Frideric Handel used the tune in an anthem entitled, O Praise the Lord. Johann Sebastian Bach’s Fugue in E-flat major BWV 552 is often called the “St. Anne”, due to the similarity of its subject to the first line of the hymn tune.

6th June 2022 Year C Proper 17, Ordinary 22, Trinity 11 / DCM / Edward Hayes Plumptre (1821-1891) / Feast of St Luke The Evangelist / Hymn / Service of Healing / St Matthew / William Croft (1678-1727) / Year A Epiphany 3 / Year A Lent 4 / Year A Lent 5 - Passion Sunday / Year B Epiphany 4 / Year B Epiphany 5 / Year B Epiphany 6 / Year B Proper 11, Ordinary 16, Trinity 7 / Year B Proper 18, Ordinary 23, Trinity 14 / Year B Proper 25, Ordinary 30, Trinity 21, Last After Trinity / Year B Proper 8, Ordinary 13, Trinity 4 / Year C Proper 23, Ordinary 28, Trinity 17

Thine Arm O Lord In Days Of Old (St Matthew, Organ, 3 Verses)

Thine Arm O Lord In Days Of Old : Recording Also known as Your hand, O Lord, in days of old.

14th June 2019 Hymn / 10 10 11 11 / Baroque / Colin Gordon-Farleigh (b. 1943) / General / Songs of Praise and Worship / William Croft (1678-1727) / Year A Feast of Christ The King / Year A Palm Sunday - Liturgy of The Palms and Liturgy of The Passion / Year A Proper 8, Ordinary 13, Trinity 4, 5th Sunday after Penecost / Year B Feast of Christ The King / Year C Feast Of Christ The King

All Praise Be To Thee My Saviour And King (Hanover, Organ, 3 Verses)

All Praise Be To Thee My Saviour And King : Lyrics (All Praise Be To Thee My Savior And King)

5th July 2018 Hymn / Baroque / CM / General / Isaac Watts (1674-1748) / Lower Key / O God Our Help In Ages Past / Psalm 90 / Remembrance Day and Remembrance Sunday / St Anne / TBR / William Croft (1678-1727) / Year A Holy Name Of Jesus Or Naming And Circumcision Of Jesus / Year A Lent 2 / Year A Proper 16, Ordinary 21, Trinity 11, Pentecost 13 / Year A Proper 17, Ordinary 22, Trinity 12, Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost / Year A Proper 19, Ordinary 24, Trinity 14 / Year A Proper 25, Ordinary 30, Trinity 20 / Year A Proper 27, Ordinary 32, 3rd Sunday Before Advent / Year A Proper 28, Ordinary 33, Second Sunday Before Advent / Year A Second Sunday Before Advent / Year A Trinity Sunday / Year B Proper 23, Ordinary 28, Trinity 19 / Year B Proper 9, Ordinary 14, Trinity 5 / Year C Epiphany 4 - Presentation of Christ in the Temple / Year C Feast Of Christ The King / Year C Proper 23, Ordinary 28, Trinity 17

O God Our Help In Ages Past (Saint Anne, Organ and Descant, 6 Verses) Free Download

This recording of O God Our Help In Ages Past has been made to accompany singers in Church Services. O

5th July 2018 Hymn / 10 10 11 11 / Ascension Day / Baroque / General / Hanover / Michaelmas Day / Psalm 104 / Psalm 65 / Robert Grant (1779 - 1838) / Transfiguration of the Lord (Years A,B,C) / Video / William Croft (1678-1727) / Year A Christmas 1 / Year A Easter 6 / Year A Lent 1 / Year A Pentecost, Whit Sunday / Year A Proper 23, Ordinary 28, Trinity 18 / Year A Proper 29, Ordinary 34, Trinity 24 / Year A Thanksgiving Day USA / Year B Proper 14, Ordinary 19, Trinity 10 / Year C 2nd Sunday Before Lent / Year C Proper 25, Ordinary 30, Trinity 19 / Year C Proper 8, Ordinary 13, Trinity 2

O Worship The King (Hanover, Organ, 6 Verses) Free Download

O Worship The King : Recording Tune: Hanover, composed by William Croft (1678 – 1727). Public Domain. Performance ℗ 2018

24th February 2017 Binchester / Charles Coffin (1676-1749) / CM / Hymn / Lent / Palm Sunday Litany Of The Passion / Passiontide / TBR / William Croft (1678-1727) / Year A Easter 4 / Year A Proper 11, Ordinary 16 Trinity 6 / Year A Proper 12 Ordinary 17 Trinity 7 / Year A Proper 15, Ordinary 20, Trinity 11, 12th Sunday After Pentecost / Year A Proper 25, Ordinary 30, Trinity 20 / Year A Proper 9, Ordinary 14, Trinity 5, 6th Sunday after Penecost / Year B Palm Sunday - Liturgy of The Palms and Liturgy of The Passion / Year C Proper 19, Ordinary 24, Trinity 23

Happy Are They, They That Love God (Binchester, Organ, 5 Verses)

Happy Are They, They That Love God : Recording Tune: Binchester, composed by William Croft (1678-1727). Public Domain Performance ℗ 2023