author
William Hayman Cummings
1831–1915
A Victorian musician with a lasting place in English choral history, he sang at the first performance of Mendelssohn’s Elijah and later became widely linked with the familiar tune used for “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing.” He moved easily between performing, teaching, conducting, and writing about music.
2 Audiobooks
Dr. Arne and Rule, Britannia
by William Hayman Cummings
The Great Musicians: Purcell
by William Hayman Cummings
About the author
Born in Sidbury, Devon, on 22 August 1831, William Hayman Cummings was educated in London and trained as a chorister at St Paul’s Cathedral and the Temple Church. He built an unusually varied musical career as a tenor, organist, conductor, teacher, and writer, gaining a reputation not just for performance but for serious musical scholarship.
As a boy, he took part in the 1847 premiere of Mendelssohn’s Elijah, singing the treble solo “Hear ye, Israel,” a detail often remembered in accounts of his life. He later served as organist at Waltham Abbey and sang as a tenor in major London churches, while also teaching voice and working closely with choral music throughout his career.
Cummings also wrote on musical history and edited older music, helping keep figures such as Purcell in view for later readers and performers. He died in Dulwich on 5 June 1915, remembered as one of those energetic 19th-century musicians whose influence spread across concert life, church music, and musical learning.