Harry Benjamin Jepson

This article is about the American organist. For the rugby administrator, see Harry Jepson.
Harry Benjamin Jepson
BornAugust 16, 1870
New Haven, Connecticut
DiedAugust 23, 1952(1952-08-23) (aged 82)
Noank, Connecticut
Education
Occupation(s)Organist and composer
SpouseIsabella James

Harry Benjamin Jepson (August 16, 1870 – August 23, 1952) was an American organist and composer and (starting in 1906) the first University Organist of Yale University.[1]

Jepson was born August 16, 1870, in New Haven, Connecticut.[2] He attended Hillhouse High School. Jepson studied at Yale under Horatio Parker and Gustave Stoeckel, earning a B.A. in 1893 and a B.M. in 1894. While at Yale he was the organist for New Haven's Christ Church (in 1889) and Old Center Church (from 1890 to 1894 where he was succeeded by Charles Ives).[3][4] He then studied in Paris under Charles Marie Widor and Louis Vierne.

He was appointed instructor at Yale in 1895, eventually rising to a full professorship in 1907.[2][5] He also directed the Battell Chapel choir.[6] He retired in 1939; Charles Kullman was among the performers at the musical service in held for his retirement.[7]

Among his students were Edward Shippen Barnes (who dedicated his 2nd Organ Symphony to Jepson), Seth Bingham (who dedicated his Counter-Theme from 6 Pieces Op. 9 to Jepson, and who Jepson hired briefly at Yale[8]), Edwin Arthur Kraft, Virginia Carrington-Thomas, and Frederick Kinsley.[5][9]

Jepson died August 23, 1952, in Noank, Connecticut.[2] He was succeeded by Luther Noss as University Organist.[10]

Yale's Harry B. Jepson Memorial Scholarship is named after him, and he oversaw the design and construction of the renowned Newberry Memorial Organ in Yale's Woolsey Hall, as well as its 1915-1917 and 1929 renovations.[10]

Selected compositions

  • Ballade for organ (c. 1907), dedicated to Florence Annette Wells, New Haven area organist and 1900 Yale graduate.[11][12]
  • Veni, Sancte Spiritus, anthem for chorus and organ.[7]
  • Masquerade, for organ, dedicated to Lynnwood Farnam[13]
  • Pastel, for organ, dedicated to Miles Farrow, organist of Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City.[14]
  • Toccata, dedicated to Hugo Goodwin[14]
  • Pantomime, dedicated to Pauline Voorhees[14]
  • L'Heure exquise, dedicated to Ruth Muzzy, likely a former student[14]
  • Sonata in G-Minor, for organ, dedicated to Arthur Hyde, organist of St. Bartholomew's Church in New York City.[15]
  • Battell Chapel, hymn, text by William Gaskell.[16]

References

  1. ^ "A New Endowment to Secure the Future of The Newberry Memorial Organ / Woolsey Hall Archived 2012-12-05 at the Wayback Machine" Accessed June 21, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c "Selected Compositions of Harry Benjamin Jepson; Misc. Ms. 216". Yale University Library.
  3. ^ Perlis, Vivian (1975). Charles Ives remembered: an oral history (2. print ed.). New Haven: Yale Univ. Press. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-300-01758-8.
  4. ^ Benjamin, W. H. (1908). Biographies of Celebrated Organists of America. Albany, New York: Benjamin Publishing Company. p. 77.
  5. ^ a b "Edwin Arthur Kraft of Trinity Cathedral, Cleveland" (PDF). The Diapason. 34 (3): 1. February 1, 1943. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 31, 2022. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
  6. ^ "Collection: Selected Compositions of Harry Benjamin Jepson ; | Archives at Yale". archives.yale.edu. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  7. ^ a b "Musical Service at Yale in Honor of Dr. H. B. Jepson" (PDF). The Diapason. 30 (7): 1. June 1, 1939.
  8. ^ "Raven Pipe Organ CDs, DVDs, and Choral CDs - Organ Works of Seth Bingham, Vol. 3 "Cathedral Strains"Christopher Marks, Organist - [OAR-992]". ravencd.com. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  9. ^ "Category:Jepson, Harry Benjamin - IMSLP". imslp.org. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  10. ^ a b Murray, Thomas (June 2013). "The Newberry Memorial Organ, Yale". Organists' Review. 99 (2): 6–11 – via Academic Search Complete.
  11. ^ "[Ballade] Ballade for organ / [New York] : G. Schirmer, c1907. | Archives at Yale". archives.yale.edu. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  12. ^ e-yearbook.com (tm). "Yale University - Banner / Pot Pourri Yearbook (New Haven, CT), Class of 1900, Pages 126 - 143 *". e-yearbook.com. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  13. ^ "New Compositions for the Organ". Musical Courier. 87 (21): 52. November 22, 1923.
  14. ^ a b c d Jepson, Harry Benjamin (1917). Four Organ Pieces by Harry Benjamin Jepson: I. Pastel, II. Toccata, III Pantomime, IV. L'Heure Exquise. New York: G. Schirmer.
  15. ^ Jepson, Harry Benjamin (1913). Sonata in G minor. New York: H. W. Gray Co.
  16. ^ Jepson, Harry B.; Brown, Charles R., eds. (1924). University Hymns. New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 326–327.

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