Rowland Huw Prichard

Rowland Huw Prichard was a Welsh musician born at Y Graienyn near Bala on January 14, 1812, according to the Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Many hymnals give 1811, but the National Library of Wales reference work identifies 1812 and records his death at Holywell on January 25, 1887. Prichard spent much of his life supporting congregational singing while also earning his living outside professional music.

He served as a precentor and published music for Welsh worship. His 1844 collection Cyfaill y Cantorion contained about forty hymn tunes, most of them his own, including HYFRYDOL. The Dictionary of Welsh Biography says he wrote that tune when he was twenty, while later hymn-tune references often date the composition to about 1830; the exact year is therefore reported inconsistently. In 1880 Prichard moved to Holywell to work for the Welsh Flannel Manufacturing Company.

HYFRYDOL became his most enduring composition and is now used internationally with many texts. Its pairing with Charles Wesley’s “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” is documented by 1918 in the Presbyterian Church in Canada’s Book of Praise, long after both words and tune had originated independently.