John Stainer

STAINER, (Sir) John. b. Southwark, London, 13 June 1840; d. Verona, Italy, 31 March 1901. A chorister at St Paul’s Cathedral (1848-56), he was organist at St Michael’s College, Tenbury (1857-9), informator choristarum at Magdalen College, Oxford (1860-72), organist of St Paul’s Cathedral (1872-88) and Professor of Music at Oxford (1889-99). He was knighted in 1888. Stainer was also H. M. Inspector of Music in Schools and Training Colleges between 1882 and his death. Stainer is nowadays best remembered for his anthems ‘I saw the Lord’ and ‘How beautiful upon the mountains’ (a verse from his larger anthem ‘Awake, awake, put on thy strength’) along with his setting (for W.J. Sparrow-Simpson*’s...