Composer, Organist, Musicologist. The most important British musician of his generation, he was influenced by Handel and wrote in the Italian Baroque style. Several of his 100 church anthems, notably "Lord, Let Me Know Mine End" (1743), are still performed today. His other compositions include the "Ode for St. Cecilia's Day" (1730), to a text by Alexander Pope, the oratorio "The Song of Deborah and Barak" (1732), and settings from Edmund Spenser's "Amoretti" (1739). The son of a clergyman, Greene was born in London and trained as a choirboy under Jeremiah Clarke at St. Paul's Cathedral. His progress was swift and before he was 40 he had secured most of England's prestigious musical posts, including organist of St. Paul's (1718), organist of the Chapel Royal (1727), and Master of the King's Musick (1735). He was also an excellent teacher and from 1730 was professor of music at Cambridge University; his greatest student was William Boyce, who became a close friend. Greene devoted his last years to gathering the material for "Cathedral Music", a monumental collection of English church anthems over two centuries, many of which would have been lost without his efforts. The work was completed by Boyce and published in 1779. Originally buried at the Church of St. Olave's Old Jewry in London, Greene's remains were transferred to St. Paul's on May 18, 1888. He now rests beside Boyce.
Composer, Organist, Musicologist. The most important British musician of his generation, he was influenced by Handel and wrote in the Italian Baroque style. Several of his 100 church anthems, notably "Lord, Let Me Know Mine End" (1743), are still performed today. His other compositions include the "Ode for St. Cecilia's Day" (1730), to a text by Alexander Pope, the oratorio "The Song of Deborah and Barak" (1732), and settings from Edmund Spenser's "Amoretti" (1739). The son of a clergyman, Greene was born in London and trained as a choirboy under Jeremiah Clarke at St. Paul's Cathedral. His progress was swift and before he was 40 he had secured most of England's prestigious musical posts, including organist of St. Paul's (1718), organist of the Chapel Royal (1727), and Master of the King's Musick (1735). He was also an excellent teacher and from 1730 was professor of music at Cambridge University; his greatest student was William Boyce, who became a close friend. Greene devoted his last years to gathering the material for "Cathedral Music", a monumental collection of English church anthems over two centuries, many of which would have been lost without his efforts. The work was completed by Boyce and published in 1779. Originally buried at the Church of St. Olave's Old Jewry in London, Greene's remains were transferred to St. Paul's on May 18, 1888. He now rests beside Boyce.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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Records on Ancestry
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