Barnby was born at
York, as a son of Thomas Barnby, who was an
organist. Joseph was a
chorister at
York Minster from the age of seven. His voice broke at the age of fifteen and he studied for two to three years at the
Royal Academy of Music under
Cipriani Potter and
Charles Lucas. He was narrowly beaten by Arthur Sullivan in competition for the Mendelssohn Scholarship. In 1862 he was appointed organist of
St Andrew's, Wells Street, London, where he raised the services to a high degree of excellence. It was at St Andrew's that in 1864, Barnby and the choir performed two
anthems by
Alice Mary Smith; this is believed to be the first time that
liturgical music composed by a woman was performed in the
Church of England. He was conductor of "Barnby's Choir" from 1864, at first giving concerts at St James's Hall and afterwards at Exeter Hall. In 1871 he was appointed, in succession to
Charles Gounod, conductor of the
Royal Albert Hall Choral Society, a post he held till his death. Meanwhile, he had left St Andrew's for a similar position at St Anne's, Soho. In 1875, he was precentor and director of music at
Eton College, and in 1892 became principal of the
Guildhall School of Music, receiving the honour of
knighthood in July of that year. His works include an
oratorio Rebekah,
The Lord is King (
Psalm 97), many
services and
anthems, and 246
hymn tunes (published in 1897 in one volume), as well as some
partsongs and songs (among them,
Now The Day Is Over, and the popular lullaby using
Alfred, Lord Tennyson's words
Sweet and Low) and some pieces for the
pipe organ. ==References==