Maxcine Woodbridge Posegate
1924 - 1991
Biography
Maxcine Woodbridge Posegate (1924–1991) was an American composer born in Modesto, California. Music catalogues preserve a body of her sacred and choral writing, placing her among twentieth-century composers who wrote practical music for church and choir use.
In 1981 the Hymn Society of America announced a competition for new settings of established hymn texts. Posegate’s tune WOODBRIDGE was selected for Joseph Simpson Cook’s “Gentle Mary Laid Her Child.” Contemporary documentation reports that she intended the melody to provide a gentler musical character for Cook’s tender Christmas words. The setting is one of several later alternatives created in response to the more vigorous traditional melody TEMPUS ADEST FLORIDUM.
In 1981 the Hymn Society of America announced a competition for new settings of established hymn texts. Posegate’s tune WOODBRIDGE was selected for Joseph Simpson Cook’s “Gentle Mary Laid Her Child.” Contemporary documentation reports that she intended the melody to provide a gentler musical character for Cook’s tender Christmas words. The setting is one of several later alternatives created in response to the more vigorous traditional melody TEMPUS ADEST FLORIDUM.
Hymns by Maxcine Woodbridge Posegate
Gentle Mary Laid Her Child
Role: Composer