George James Webb

George James Webb was born near Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, on June 24, 1803. Trained as an organist, he worked in Falmouth before emigrating to the United States in 1830. He settled in Boston, where he became organist of Old South Church and developed a major career as a music educator, conductor, editor, and composer. He collaborated extensively with Lowell Mason, taught at the Boston Academy of Music, helped train music teachers, and participated in Boston’s important choral institutions.

Webb joined the Church of the New Jerusalem, the Swedenborgian tradition, in 1835 and contributed to its musical service books. He also edited or co-edited numerous collections for church, school, and choral use. His publications helped shape nineteenth-century American music education and congregational singing.

The tune now called WEBB or MORNING LIGHT was not written for “Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus.” Webb composed it during his Atlantic voyage and published it in The Odeon in 1837 with a secular text. It was used as a hymn tune by 1842, and William B. Bradbury paired it with Duffield’s 1858 text by 1861. That later association became the dominant English-language setting. Webb died in Orange, New Jersey, on October 7, 1887.