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He was a
clergyman, teacher, hagiographer, novelist and hymn-writer born in
Okehampton, Devon, England. He began his studies in Warwick,
England, but he traveled throughout Europe
with his family for much of the time, and is known to have stayed in the
Basque region of Spain, France and Germany for a time. When he returned to England his continued
his studies at Clare College, Cambridge, graduating with an M.A. in 1860. He became a curate, antiquarian,
hagiographer (studier of saints) and teacher. An avid collector of folk songs from his local area of
Devon and Cornwall, he published collections such as A Garland of
Country Songs and Songs of the West. Working in collaboration with Cecil Sharp, who was also a
collector, in 1907 they published English Folk Songs for School,
which would be used in the classroom for the next 60 years. Very much and advocate of music in
education, left his original manuscripts to be made available for future
students to study them and are now housed in various Devon libraries and
records offices. In total he
published over 500 works and is particularly remembered as a hymn writer and
translator with his best-known works being Onward Christian Soldiers, Now
the Day Is Over and Gabriels
Message. The manor that
was his family's home was rebuilt by him and has now been preserved as a
hotel, and here the manuscripts of his hymns are kept. He wrote many novels such as Mehlalah,
and non-fiction works that include The Lives of Saints, collections
of ghost stories, folkloric studies of werewolves and one of his most
popular works was Curious Myths of
the Middle Ages. As a
teacher he was known for his eccentric sense of humour and once taught a
class with his pet bat on his shoulder, but even with this kind of reputation
he held the post of President of the Royal Institution of Cornwall from
1897 to 1907.
He and
is wife, who had come from a less fortunate background and allowed him to "educate"
her after their meeting, were married for 48 years and had 15 children and their
story was the inspiration for Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw and
the later musical My Fair Lady. Their grandson William Stuart Baring-Gould was a noted
Sherlock Holmes scholar who wrote a fictional biography of the detective. He died in Warwick, England, on 2nd
January 1924 aged 89.
St. Louis Chamber Chorus recordings
The Angel Gabriel (Traditional
Basque/Sabine-Baring-Gould)
SLCC 04 (CD: St Louis Chamber Orchestra: A
Spanish Christmas)
Arranger: Edgar Pettman
Conductor - Philip Barnes
Sources:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabine_Baring-Gould
- http://www.btinternet.com/~greenjack/biography.htm
- http://www.cyberhymnal.org/bio/b/a/r/baring-gould_s.htm
- http://www.sbgas.org/
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