New Zealand Choir & Orchestra Perform December 15 in St Mary’s Cathedral, San Francisco

Joel H. Kuznik, NYC, has been writing published articles for 50 years. A native of Jack Benny’s hometown, Waukegan, his childhood idol nevertheless was Rubenstein, whom he eventually heard in Paris in 1975. But by 14, he became fascinated with the organ and Biggs, whom he heard twice in the mid 1950s. He studied organ with Austin Lovelace, David Craighead, Mme. Duruflé, Jean Langlais, and Anton Heiller, and conducting with Richard Westenburg and Michael Cherry, who was assistant to Georg Szell. Highlights of 70 years have included hearing Glenn Gould, Giulini in Brahms’ Fourth at Chicago, Carlos Kleiber’s “Der Rosenkavalier” at the Met, Herreweghe’s unmatchable “Mass in B Minor” at the Leipzig Bachfest, “Tosca” at La Scala, a one-on-one with Bernstein after the Mahler 2nd, and, finally, a birthday toast from Horowitz.

One advantage of retirement is having the luxury of hearing colleagues and ensembles here and abroad. Of course you don’t have to be retired, but the freedom to plan your own time helps. I have taken a number of European musical tours: Italian opera, Paris organs, Bach and Luther, and the Leipzig Bach Festival.
I have also taken two Holy Week-Easter pilgrimages. In the late 1990s I observed Holy Week in London and celebrated Easter in both the Western and Eastern Orthodox rites, first in Naples and then a week later in the Oia, Santorini, Greece. This year I decided to take my pilgrimage in London. These are the options I discovered on the Internet, and from which I made a spreadsheet for daily reference. Choices had to be made, and not everything made the list, such as “Götterdämmerung” at the Royal Opera House, which would have consumed one of my six days.

Maundy Thursday

13:10: Eucharist with music, St. Anne & St. Agnes, Bach chorales
17:00: Sung Eucharist, Westminster Abbey, Byrd Mass & Duruflé
18:00: Mass, Westminster Cathedral, Monteverdi & Duruflé
19:30: Mozart Requiem, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, New London Singers

Good Friday

11:15: Matins & Litany, Temple Church, Lotti & Tallis
14:30: Bach’s St. John Passion, St. John’s Smith Square, Academy of Ancient Music
15:00: Lord’s Passion, Westminster Cathedral, Bruckner, Victoria

Holy Saturday

15:00: Evensong, Westminster Abbey, Victoria
19:00: Easter Vigil, St. Paul’s, Langlais Messe Solennelle
20:30: Easter Vigil, Westminster Cathedral, Vierne Messe solennelle

Easter Sunday

10:15: Matins, St. Paul’s, Britten Festival Te Deum
10:30: Eucharist, Westminster Abbey, Langlais Messe Solennelle
16:00: Early & baroque music, Wigmore Hall, Florilegium, Bach & Telemann
16:45: Organ recital, Westminster Cathedral
18:00: Easter music & Eucharist, St. Anne & St. Agnes, Handel & Telemann

Monday

19:30: Handel’s Messiah, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Belmont Ensemble

Maundy Thursday

A few blocks behind St. Paul’s Cathedral is St. Anne’s Lutheran Church, an international congregation founded in 1951, worshiping at the church of St. Anne and St. Agnes designed by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of London (1666) and consecrated in 1680. Built in the form of a Greek cross, this small church was bombed in WWII, but was restored and reconsecrated in 1966 as a Lutheran parish. In addition to its architectural history, famous residents of the parish have included John Milton, John Bunyan, and John Wesley.
St. Anne’s is known for its music, “particularly in the Lutheran tradition of J. S. Bach, Schütz, and Buxtehude.” There are over 100 performances a year, including lunchtime concerts on Monday and Fridays. The core musical group is the Sweelinck Ensemble, a professional quartet under the direction of Cantor Martin Knizia. The St. Anne’s Choir had recently sung Bach’s St. John Passion, and last December their Bach Advent Vespers was featured in a live broadcast on BBC Radio 3; .

Eucharist with Music

Chorale: O Mensch bereit das Herze dein, Melchior Franck
Chorale: Im Garten leidet Christus Not, Joachim a Burgk
Chorale: Durch dein Gefängnis, Gottes Sohn, J. S. Bach
Chorale: Jesu Kreuz, Leiden und Pein, Adam Gumpelzhaimer
Ehre sei dir Christe (Matthäus Passion), Heinrich Schütz
The chorales were interspersed throughout this service and were sung handsomely by the Sweelinck Ensemble accompanied by the cantor on a continuo organ. The concluding Schütz St. Matthew Passion was particularly stirring. Definitely worth a detour from the large churches to hear baroque music with this degree of authentic intimacy.

Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey, as glorious inside as it is dramatic outside, had a late afternoon Eucharist that moved the soul. So much can be said about the extraordinary history and presence of this church dating back to a Benedictine monastery in 960. It was later enlarged under King Edward the Confessor and consecrated in 1065 in honor of St. Peter, known as the “west minster” (Old English for monastery) in distinction from the east minster, St. Paul’s Cathedral. This magnificent gothic building is the result of work begun in the 13th century under Henry III and was not completed until 16th century.
Information, including details on the Harrison & Harrison organ (1937, four manuals, 78 stops), can be found at .

Sung Eucharist with the Washing of Feet

Mass for Four Voices, William Byrd
Organ prelude: Schmücke dich, o meine Seele, Bach
Improvisation leading to processional hymn: “Praise to the Holiest in the height” (Gerontius)
Gradual during Gospel procession: “Drop, drop, slow tears” (Song 46, Orlando Gibbons)
During the washing of the feet: Ubi caritas et amor, Maurice Duruflé
St. John 13:12–13, 15, plainsong mode II
Offertory hymn: “O thou, who at thy Eucharist didst pray” (Song 1, Orlando Gibbons)
After the Communion: Dominus Jesus in qua nocte tradebatur, Palestrina
While sacrament is carried to altar at St. Margaret’s: Pange lingua, plainsong mode II
During the stripping of the altar: Psalm 22:1–21, plainsong mode II

Westminster Abbey has an aura resonant with an awe of the divine. The service was without sermon, but so rich in ceremony and ritual that the preaching was in the actions, music, and language of the liturgy—in themselves a powerful message. Here everything seemed so right, from the dignified helpfulness of the ushers to the purposeful solemnity of the clergy—all enhanced by music done so well that it doesn’t call attention to itself because it is transparently integral to the worship and sung in a spirit reflective of the day’s liturgy. One did not just watch, but was drawn into the moment and left with an inner tranquility that spoke the essence of Maundy Thursday.

Good Friday

The weather was London: wet, dank, chilly and bleak—so fitting for the day. The Temple Church was recommended, not because of its recent attention due to the “The Da Vinci Code,” but primarily for its most traditional liturgy and excellence in music. The “Round Church” dates from 1185 and was the London headquarters of the Knights Templar. Their churches were “built to a circular design to remind them of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, a round, domed building raised over the site of the sepulchre where Jesus was buried.” The elongated choir was added by Henry III and consecrated on Ascension Day, 1240. The website provides an intriguing history of this unique church with directions and a much-needed map; .

Choral Matins, Book of Common Prayer (1662)
Introit: Crux fidelis, inter omnes, King John IV of Portugal
The Responses, plainsong
Venite, Exultemus, Anglican chant, Edward John Hopkins
Psalm 22, plainsong
The Lamentations of Jeremiah 1:1–2, Thomas Tallis
Benedictus, plainsong
Anthem: Crucifixus etiam pro nobis, Antonio Lotti
Litany, Thomas Tallis

Stephen Layton, director of music, directs a refined choir of men and boys, who were most telling in the Lotti Crucifixus, accompanied on a portative by the organist, James Vivian. The remainder of the service was played on the imposing and very British Romantic organ built by Harrison & Harrison (1924 and 2001, four manuals, 62 stops). The history of The Temple’s organs, including one by Father Smith, can be found on the website.

Back on Fleet Street I hopped on a bus to Westminster, hoping to hear Bach’s St. John Passion at St. John’s, Smith Square, just blocks from Westminster Abbey. A deconsecrated church dating from 1728, it now serves as a popular concert venue. In the crypt is a handy, economical restaurant “The Footstool,” where lunch was being served; .

St. John Passion, Johann Sebastian Bach, sung by Polyphony with the Academy of Ancient Music, Stephen Layton, conductor
Andrew Kennedy, Evangelist, tenor; James Rutherford, Christus; Thomas Guthrie, Pilatus; Emma Kirkby, soprano; James Bowman, countertenor; and Roderick Williams, bass.

This was a superb, masterful performance by a mature choir of 26 and professional soloists. The chorales were sung with care and the arias with sensitivity. The conductor’s tempos were quite sprightly and his approach dramatic, sometimes so much so that the next recitative intruded on the end of a chorale. This was, nevertheless, a fitting and most inspiring way to observe Good Friday.

Holy Saturday—Easter Eve

The Easter Vigil with its roots going back to earliest Christianity is the epitome of the Christian message and worship. It combines a rehearsal of salvation history with the rites of passage for the candidates (Latin, “those dressed in white”) through Baptism and Confirmation, and culminating in a celebration of the “Breaking of Bread” as Jesus did with his disciples after the Resurrection. The Vigil is an extended service with power-laden symbolism—the passage from utter darkness to brilliant light, the anointing with oil in the sign of the cross, the drowning of the self in baptismal waters, “putting on Christ,” and the sharing of the bread and wine in union with the community of faithful.
In London there could be no more fitting place to celebrate the Vigil than the regal diocesan St. Paul’s Cathedral, founded some 1500 years ago in 604 by Mellitus, a follower of St. Augustine who was sent to convert the Anglo-Saxons. It has been rebuilt a number of times with the most recent version begun in 1633 with a neo-classical portico or façade. The current design by Christopher Wren received royal approval in 1675, but was not finished until 1710. Later came the woodwork by Grinling Gibbons for the huge Quire and Great Organ, and in the 19th–20th century the glittering mosaics in the dome, envisioned by Wren. Most will remember St. Paul’s as the site of Prince Charles’s wedding to Diana. It has just undergone a complete renovation at a cost of £40 million in anticipation of its 300th anniversary in 2008; .
The organ was built by Henry Willis (1872) with an extensive renovation and enlargement completed by Mander (1977, five manuals, 108 stops). Not many organs deliver the overpowering experience that this organ can, especially when stops in the dome are added with a sound that not only surrounds, but also envelops worshippers.
The liturgy took place, not in the grand Quire, but “in the round” under the dome with a free-standing altar at one axis and the choir (with a small organ) to the left on risers, surrounded by the congregation.
Upon entry one received an impressive 28-page service booklet. One could only wonder “O Lord, how long?” But the service moved right along in two hours, including baptisms and confirmations. The service began in darkness; only with the procession to the dome by the participants did light begin to dawn as candles were shared. The Vigil had only one lesson instead of the usual nine readings. Then—the dramatic Easter Greeting by the bishop, “Alleluia! Christ is risen,” followed by bells and a thunderous fanfare from the organ—with a sudden blaze of almost blinding light as all the cathedral and the dome with its glittering mosaics lit up.

The Vigil Liturgy of Easter Eve

Setting: Messe solennelle, Jean Langlais
Exsultet sung responsively with the congregation
Song of Moses, Exodus 15, Huw Williams
Gloria in Excelsis, Langlais
Hymn: “The strife is o’er, the battle done ” (Gelobt sei Gott)
Hymn: “Awake, awake: fling off the night!” (Deus Tuorum Militum)
Motet: Sicut cervus, Palestrina
Hymn: “Here, risen Christ, we gather at your word” (Woodlands)
Sanctus, Langlais
Agnus Dei, Langlais
Surrexit Christus hodie, alleluia!, Samuel Scheidt (arr. Rutter)
Hymn: “Shine, Jesus, Shine”
Hymn: “Christ is risen, Alleluia!” (Battle Hymn of the Republic)
Toccata, Symphonie No. 5, Widor

The impact of this service was profound and intensely extraordinary, not as formal as Westminster Abbey, but with no less sincerity. The Langlais setting with the punctuating fortissimo chords from organ was overwhelming. The hymn singing, fueled by the organ’s energy, was similarly dynamic and enthusiastic, and the final hymn sung to the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” went at such an exuberant clip that one had to conduct beats to keep up. How could one divorce one’s mind from the text, “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord”?
After this high-spirited hymn, the people, with their pace set by an energized Widor Toccata, exited up the center aisle toward the west end, facing the huge open cathedral doors with a gleaming light streaming in from the floodlit street, and walked past the bishop and the font into the light—they were ready for the Resurrection.

Easter Sunday

Sunday was another day, and, thankfully, the sun shone. I arrived at 9:15 am for Westminster Abbey’s 10:30 service to an already long queue. Had I arrived fifteen minutes earlier, I might have sat in the desirable rectangle framed by the choir screen and the chancel. But sitting just a few rows into the transept the sound was less immediate and gripping, and the hymn singing less compelling.

Sung Eucharist

Pre-service: Toccata in F Major, Bach

Setting: Messe solennelle [with brass quartet], Langlais Hymn: “Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia,” Lyra Davidica
Gloria in excelsis, Langlais
Gospel Procession: Victimae paschali, plainsong, arr. Andrew Reid
Hymn: “At the Lamb’s high feast” (Salzburg)
Sanctus, Langlais
During the Communion: Agnus Dei, Langlais; Christus resurgens ex mortuis, Peter Philips
Hymn: “Thine be the glory” (Maccabaeus)
Postlude: Finale, Symphonie II, Vierne
This was a straightforward Eucharistic service with fine music well performed. The Abbey Choir was conducted by James O’Donnell, Organist and Master of the Choristers, and accompanied by the London Brass quartet. The organist was Robert Quinney, Sub-Organist. The choir sang with their usual distinction, and in comparing this version of the Langlais, even with brass, to the Vigil the night before, clearly St. Paul’s was the more persuasive and affecting.

In the afternoon I headed to Westminster Cathedral, which according to the Internet performed some impressive music during Holy Week and on Easter that included Monteverdi, Duruflé, Byrd, Bruckner, Victoria, and Vierne’s Messe solennelle. But I regret to say that this Vespers, largely a chanted service and because of that, was an unexpected disappointment, especially since I had read such admiring CD reviews.
The cathedral, its striking architectural style from “Byzantine style of the eastern Roman Empire,” was designed by the Victorian architect John Francis Bentley on a site originally owned by the Abbey, but sold to the Catholics in 1884. The foundation was laid in 1895, and the structure of the building was completed eight years later. The interior with its impressive mosaics and marbles is said to be incomplete, but the cathedral is certainly a visual tableau .

Solemn Vespers and Benediction sung in Latin

Office Hymn: Ad cenam Agni provide
Psalms 109 and 113A (114)
Canticle: Salus et gloria et virtus Deo nostro (Revelation 19:1–7)
Magnificat primi toni, Bevan
Motet: Ecce vincit, Leo Philips
O sacrum convivium, Gregorian chant
Organ voluntary: Fête, Langlais

Unfortunately the printed order of service provided the Latin-English text, but without information on composers or musicians—facts only available on the Internet. The service seemed austere both in its solemnity from the entrance of the choir with many clergy and in its liturgical style.
There is obvious musical talent with a large professional choir of men and boys, but the musicians work with disadvantages. The choir is on an elevated shelf behind the baldaquin and high altar, which distances the sound and at times makes the singing seemed forced, especially by the men. The most disappointing, regrettable aspect was chanting “the old-fashioned way” with “schmaltzy” organ accompaniments on voix celeste or flutes. Solesmes is, by all counts, the gold standard, and after that all else pales. One would have thought the reform of chant in the Catholic Church and after Vatican II would have had greater impact and changed practice.
Martin Baker is the master of music and the assistant organist is Thomas Wilson. The Grand Organ is hidden by a nondescript screen in a chamber above the narthex and was only revealed in the Langlais Fête at the end—like an anomaly, but played with fire and aplomb. The organ was built by Henry Willis III (1922–1932, four manuals, 78 stops) and was restored by Harrison & Harrison in 1984.

Did I have one more service in me? I bravely headed to Trafalgar Square and St. Martin-in-the-Fields for Evensong. This church has a full schedule of services plus over 350 concerts a year. It may date back as far as 1222, and it can lay claim to the fact that both Handel and Mozart played the organ here in 1727. Today one immediately thinks of the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields founded in the 1950s with Sir Neville Marriner.
The church’s activities are amazing, but it is not resting on its laurels. It is the midst of a £34 million campaign (already £24 million in hand) to expand its facilities inside and out to include an outdoor courtyard, a rehearsal space, a Chinese community center, and space for social services. It will also mean a much-needed restoration to the interior of the church to bring it closer to its historic 18th-century conception. In the crypt there is a shop and a café that serves nutritious meals all day.

Choral Evensong

Introit: This Joyful Eastertide, arr. Wood
Responses, Martin Neary
Canticles: Collegium Regale, Herbert Howells
Anthem: Rise heart, thy Lord has risen, Vaughan Williams
Postlude: Victimae Paschali, Tournemire

What a joy! Familiar music well done by a superb, effective choir with first-rate organ playing. A great, satisfying way to complete my Easter celebration. Alleluia! The talented and youthful director of music, Nicholas Danks, is full of enthusiasm. The assistant organist, David Hirst, played the Tournemire with particular verve and drama on the fine organ by J. W. Walker and Sons (1990, three manuals, 47 stops) with its battery of fiery French reeds. I didn’t think I was up for another Messiah this season, but these musicians felt the choir presenting the next night at St. Martin’s was one of London’s finest.

Monday

Messiah, George Friedrich Handel
English Chamber Choir, Belmont Ensemble of London, Peter G. Dyson, conductor
Philippa Hyde, soprano; David Clegg, countertenor; Andrew Staples, tenor; and Jacques Imbrailo, baritone.
Things are moving along in London, and sprightly tempos are in. I found that to be the case with the Bach St. John Passion and here in the quick-paced Messiah, which came in at under two hours performance time—something of a record, I think.
The crackerjack orchestra and youthful soloists were on board, but the talented choir, perhaps under-rehearsed and lacking experience with this lively conductor, struggled to keep up, especially in Part I. “For unto us a child is born” proved that at these tempos “His yoke is easy” was not easy at all! The soloists all did fine work, but the tenor and baritone in particular distinguished themselves with eloquent declamations. In many respects this was a laudable performance brought to a rousing conclusion with “Worthy is the Lamb.”
Continuing in the spirit of Handel, I decided the next day to visit the Handel House Museum at 25 Brook Street where Handel lived in a multi-story house from 1723 to 1759. Here he composed famous works such Messiah, Zadok the Priest, and Music for the Royal Fireworks. It is a modest museum compared to the Händel-Haus Halle in Germany , but certainly worth a visit.
One is treated to an introductory film plus interesting prints of Handel’s contemporaries, two reconstructed period harpsichords (one with a zealous player dashing up and down double-keyboards), the Handel bed recently refurbished, and a current exhibit on “Handel and the Castrati,” with photo-bios of the leading castrati. Handel lived quite well indeed, paying a modest rent of £50 a year and with three servants to dote over him—every musician’s dream!
London is a six-hour flight from the East Coast and offers a plethora of musical possibilities, especially at Christmas and Easter. Others would have made different choices tailored to their interests. For me this was a full, rewarding week, something every musician needs from time to time to refresh the spirit—to capture the energy, vitality, and imagination of others. Europe may not be the bargain it once was. You can’t take it with you anyway, but these can be empowering moments you take to the bank that last forever.

The history of church choirs in Nigeria is interwoven with the arrival of Christianity in Nigeria, which dates back to the mid-nineteenth century. The early missionaries from the United States and Europe settled mainly in the southwest (Yoruba) and southeast (Igbo) regions of Nigeria. The conversions of the local indigenes encouraged the missionaries to build several churches for worship and to continue the propagation of the Gospel in Nigeria. It was in these churches that the converts were first exposed to English hymns in four-part harmony.

Worship at the Cathedral Church
The Cathedral Church of Christ, Lagos, was founded in 1867 by a group of Christian worshipers from St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Faji, Lagos, where services were conducted only in Yoruba language. These worshipers were Sierra Leonians who spoke mainly English and wanted to have services in English. Hence, it was agreed that services at the Cathedral Church would be conducted exclusively in English. Consequently, the congregation at the Cathedral Church strictly committed to having all worship in English, including the sermons, hymns, announcements, and all special musical renditions by the Cathedral Choir. Another reason for embracing worship in English was that the church was designed to cater to the musical and spiritual needs of the cosmopolitan Lagos society as well as visitors from outside the country, foreign diplomats, and the various ethnic groups in Nigeria who communicated fluently in English. In other words, the congregation at the Cathedral Church comprised the elite, the well-educated, intellectuals, upper-middle-class, the affluent and apparently the cream of the Lagos society. I remember my days at the Cathedral Church as a chorister between 1980 and 1994: almost everyone communicated in English during choir rehearsals and services. Occasionally, one might hear people communicate in Yoruba, but it was always some few sentences and they would quickly switch to English.
While the Cathedral Church of Christ has received criticism for adopting a complete English service within a Yoruba state and in one of the most populous African countries, one could argue that this decision was worthy, considering the pluralistic nature of the indigenous languages in Nigeria. Linguistically, Nigeria is widely diversified, with three major ethnic groups—Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa. In addition, there are multiple subdivisions of the major languages, known as local dialects that include hundreds of tongues. With such extensive linguistic diversification, the government had to adopt English as the official language of the country after independence from Great Britain in 1960 in order to unify the diverse ethnic groups. To elevate one of the local languages over another would have caused internal dissatisfaction and deep division.
Interestingly, the Cathedral Church of Christ was one of the few pan-ethnic and pan-African congregations in Nigeria. Membership in most other churches was made up of one major ethnic group; hence, services were conducted there in the indigenous language of the group. But at the Cathedral Church of Christ, there are Yoruba, Igbo, Edo, as well as descendants of Sierra Leone, Ghana, Togo, and other West African countries who migrated to Nigeria in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. As the mother church of the Anglican diocese in Lagos, the Cathedral Church of Christ is always busy with services and other benevolent activities throughout the week:
Sunday Worship
7:15 am—Holy Eucharist (Communion service without choir)
9:15 am—Choral Mattins (Cathedral Choir sings)
9:15 am—Contemporary Praise and Worship (Every fourth Sunday)
9:15 am—Cornerstone Fellowship (Youth/college students)
9:15 am—Children’s Church (Sunday school)
11:15 am—Holy Eucharist (Communion with or without the Cathedral Choir)

Sunday Evening Worship
5 pm—Evensong with the Cathedral Choir (first and second Sunday)
5 pm—Community Hymn Singing (third Sunday)
5 pm—Time of Refreshing (fourth Sunday)
5 pm—Psalmody (Whenever there is a fifth Sunday)

Weekday Worship
6 am—Mattins
6:45 am—Holy Eucharist

Saturday Worship
7:15 am—Mattins
11:15 am—Holy Eucharist

Cathedral Choir and Masters of the Music
The Cathedral Church of Christ Choir is the oldest choir in Nigeria, with an average membership of about fifty male voices, half of whom are boys who sing the treble part. However, that number has recently exploded to over eighty strong and dedicated voices—treble (37), alto (18), tenor (13) and bass (15). The first choir was organized by Robert Coker in 1895, comprising young men and women. Coker was acknowledged to be the first indigenous organist and choirmaster in Nigeria, and apparently the first to occupy this lofty position at the Cathedral Church of Christ, Lagos. Prior to his appointment as organist at the church, he was sponsored by the Cathedral Church to travel to England to study music in order to form a good choir suitable for Christ Church, which was later elevated to a cathedral status in 1923. Coker was regarded as a musical genius of his time. He was the first indigenous musician to attempt the performances of Western classical music in Nigeria, notably Handel’s Messiah. Coker died on February 9, 1920.
The choir was later reorganized during the tenure of N. T. Hamlyn, a British musician and pastor of the church. Hamlyn replaced the women of the choir with boys and young men, following the tradition of most British cathedrals. The choir made tremendous progress that established it as a model for other church choirs. Hamlyn provided the choir with surplices and erected choir stalls at the east end of the church. A strict disciplinarian, Hamlyn was always keen on regular and punctual attendance, and was thus able to set a high standard that has been maintained to this day. After the era of Hamlyn, there was a brief period of short appointments of organists such as that of D. J. Williams, J. G. Kuye in 1904, and later Frank Lacton, a Sierra Leonian who served until the appointment of Thomas Ekundayo Phillips in 1914.
Thomas King Ekundayo Phillips (1884–1969) was appointed Organist and Master of the Music after completing his musical training at Trinity College of Music, London (1911–14). Prior to his appointment at the Cathedral Church, he was organist at St. John’s Anglican Church, Aroloya, and St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Breadfruit, Lagos. Phillips’s tenure was a remarkable turning point in the history of church music in Lagos and Nigeria as a whole. He built a solid foundation on which the present choir stands firmly today as one of the best cathedral choirs in Africa. He retired in 1962 after serving in the music ministry at the Cathedral Church for forty-eight years (Trinity Sunday 1914 to Trinity Sunday 1962).
Thomas Ekundayo Phillips was succeeded by his son, Charles Oluwole Obayomi Phillips (1919–2007), as the Organist and Master of the Music; he faithfully served the church for exactly three decades (Trinity Sunday 1962 to Trinity Sunday 1992). Charles Obayomi Phillips was born on September 28, 1919, in Lagos. After attending C. M. S. Grammar School, Lagos, he proceeded to Durham University, England, receiving a bachelor’s degree in commerce with distinction in June 1946. Phillips started taking private lessons on piano when he was only four years old with Nigeria’s most celebrated international musician, Fela Sowande, and as a choir boy at the Cathedral Church received organ lessons under the tutelage of his father. At age fourteen, Phillips had already started assuming leadership roles in music; first, he rose to the enviable position of school pianist at C. M. S. Grammar School and was later appointed by his father as the assistant organist of the Cathedral Church in 1933.
Charles Obayomi Phillips studied organ with J. A. Westrup at Durham University, and with Christopher Idonill in 1976 at the Royal School of Church Music, London. During his tenure as Organist and Master of the Music at the Cathedral Church, Phillips maintained the tradition of the Cathedral Choir and developed new ideas that made the choir soar in standard. In spite of the tremendous economic upheavals in the political, social and religious life of Nigeria since independence in 1960, music at the Cathedral Church continues to be the center of inspiration and worship.
In addition to his strenuous tasks at the Cathedral Church, Charles Obayomi Phillips served as president of the Union of Organists and Choirmasters in Lagos, an organization that oversees the maintenance of high standards of music in all Anglican churches in the Lagos diocese. He was the Emeritus Organist at the Cathedral Church of Christ until his death in May 2007. After Phillips’s retirement in 1992, Yinka Sowande, Fela Sowande’s younger brother who had been Substantive Organist under Phillips for several years, was temporarily appointed as interim Master of the Music; he retired on December 31, 1992.
History was made on January 1, 1993, with the appointment of Tolu Obajimi as the first female Organist and Master of the Music of the Cathedral Church of Christ. She is the first woman to be appointed to the position of organist and music director in any Nigerian church. Obajimi is also the first Nigerian female organist to play recitals on the pipe organ. In addition to playing organ and piano recitals all over Lagos, she had accompanied several standard choral works such as Messiah, Elijah, St. Paul, Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day, and Thomas Ekundayo Phillips’s Samuel.
Tolu Obajimi certainly deserves special recognition and commendation for daring to step into the very shoes that even men found to be extremely challenging. Since 1993, she has expanded the music ministry of the Cathedral Church to the delight and with the support of the choir, clergy and the entire congregation. One of her most remarkable accomplishments was the creation of the Cathedral Church of Christ Choir Orchestra, which was launched at the 80th anniversary of the choir on November 22, 1998. The other two significant programs added to the Cathedral Church ministries under her leadership are Community Hymn Singing and Psalmody: Chanting the Psalms of David.
Tolu Obajimi’s successful activities at the Cathedral Church are not surprising to those who knew her before she began at the Cathedral Church. She brought into the church’s ministry several years of experience as a professionally trained musician. Obajimi studied music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, in the 1960s; on her return to Nigeria, she taught music at Queen’s College, Lagos, for several years, and she also founded and taught at her own Tolu Obajimi Conservatory of Music, Lagos. Obajimi is presently assisted by Richard Bucknor as Choirmaster, Sina Ojemuyiwa (the best and most famous Cathedral Choir tenor) as Assistant Choirmaster, Jimi Olumuyiwa (former Cathedral Choir Librarian) as Assisting Choirmaster, and Tunde Sosan as Substantive Organist.
It is important to mention that the Cathedral Church of Christ has a rich and rigid tradition of appointing someone from within the choir to the leadership position of Organist and Master of the Music. Charles Obayomi Phillips received organ lessons from his father, Thomas Ekundayo Phillips, and gave Tolu Obajimi her first lessons in organ and trained her to the proficient level necessary for appointment as the Cathedral Organist. Even though Obajimi was never a member of the Cathedral Choir, she had been a member of the church for several years and she began by playing piano for the 7:15 am Holy Eucharist during Charles Obayomi Phillips’s tenure. She was later called upon to accompany the choir at rehearsals during the week, and she participated in several concerts such as Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Handel’s Messiah in the late 1980s.
Tunde Sosan started off as a choir boy, and he was trained on the organ by Tolu Obajimi before he went to study at the Trinity College of Music, London. Other notable musicians who have served as honorary organists, substitute organists and/or recitalists at the Cathedral Church include Fela Sowande (musicologist and organist-composer), Ayo Bankole (musicologist and organist-composer), Modupe Phillips (a son of Thomas Ekundayo Phillips, he played the organ at the age of twelve), Samuel Akpabot (musicologist and composer), Kayode Oni (concert organist and choir director), Godwin Sadoh (organist-composer, choral conductor and ethnomusicologist), Kweku Acquah-Harrison (Ghanaian organist and music educator), Albert Schweitzer (German musicologist and organist), and Ian Hare of King’s College, Cambridge, England.

Choir Training
The outstanding musical standards of the Cathedral Choir today can be traced back to the hard work and foundation laid by Thomas Ekundayo Phillips. Phillips emphasized strict discipline, regular and punctual attendance at choir practices, correct interpretation of notes, voice balance, articulation, attack, comportment, reverence in worship, and utmost sense of good musicianship. His expectations were very high and certainly demanding, but the choir always rose to his standards. During choir practices, as the conductor, Phillips was very sensitive to intonation. He would detect and correct any faulty notes emanating from any section of the choir. He would also call to order any chorister who did not hold his music book correctly, such as covering the face with it or placing it on the lap while seated. The present arrangement where choristers placed their books on the raised desk did not exist then.
Thomas Ekundayo Phillips was known to be very meticulous and thorough in everything he did—whether he was dealing with twelve probationers or with his augmented choir of over one hundred voices. One of the criteria to join the Cathedral Choir or his augmented choir was the ability to sight-read music. Furthermore, the singer must have had a very good voice to be able to sing under Phillips’s direction. Consequently, his choir learned anthems, hymns, chants, and other standard choral works in a very short time. One of the ways he tested his choir to see if they had mastered a work was with the accompaniment. Often, at the last rehearsal of an anthem before Sunday worship, he would start the choir off with the organ, and then suddenly stop playing right in the middle of the piece; if the choir faltered and stopped, he would ask, “suppose the organ broke down during the performance on Sunday, are you going to stop singing?” His choir did not know an anthem, as far as he was concerned, until they could sing it convincingly and confidently without any accompaniment and without dropping in pitch. Honorable Justice Yinka Faji, who began as a choir boy under Charles Obayomi Phillips and now sings alto, recounts the benefits of the discipline instilled in him as a Cathedral chorister:

Membership in the choir disciplined me. To me discipline is synonymous with the choir. It is now a personal taboo for me to miss Sunday services—Mattins and Evensong. Choir practice at 6 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays as a choir boy and now as a choir man, no side talks during rehearsals, team work, orderliness, and mutual respect; these and more have been and still are the norms of the choir. The choir made me bold. I remember one Holy Eucharist Sunday service that I was to sing a solo. It was the Agnus Dei. When it was time to sing, I stood up and opened my mouth. As soon as I started singing, everyone in the congregation looked up and my heart started beating fast. I then said to myself, “Yinka, they are looking at you, will you fail?” I almost stopped singing; one way or the other, I completed the solo and sat down. Since then, I have become very bold to address a large crowd; in fact, I can address the entire nation. Other good virtues I picked up include comportment during worship, improved speech control and good manners generally.
Before a choir boy or man can be admitted into the choir to sing in Sunday worship, he must first go through the rigorous probationary period that normally last several months. The probationary period of choir boys is eight months, while that of adults is around three months. I remember my probationary period in 1980 while I was still in high school. I attended the choir practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but on Sundays I would sit in the congregation for worship and was never allowed to sing with the choir until I completed my three months of probation. It felt so good in those days to put on my beautiful cassock and surplice and sing tenor in the most famous Anglican Church choir in Nigeria.
Whenever the boys completed their probation, they would be formally admitted into the Cathedral Choir at a special service in which their parents would assist them to put on the white surplice over the black cassock. This was always a moment of joy and pride for the parents. Each week, the choir comes into the church at least four times with a total time of about eight hours. The Organist and Master of the Music usually devotes thirty minutes to the junior boys or those on probation from 6 to 6:30 pm before the main choir practice begins. He/she trains them in sight reading of music notation, vocal exercises, and theory of music. All this training ultimately leads to the boys taking the external examinations of the Trinity College of Music, London. Successful candidates would receive certificates if they passed the exams.
The older members of the Cathedral Choir were never left out of continuous training. Some prominent senior members of the choir were occasionally sponsored by the Cathedral Choir to the Royal School of Church Music, London, refresher course training as the funds were available. This normally took place during summer when the choir was away on vacation in June or July. On return, the choir member would give a report of all he learned, paying particular attention to the new innovations in church music as practiced in England—in the form of new anthems, hymns or hymnals, latest techniques of chanting the Psalms or singing regular church hymns and sacred concerts.

Choir Ministry
The role of the choir in the ministry of the Cathedral Church of Christ is immense. The choir leads the congregation every Sunday in hymn singing, versicles and responses (antiphonal prayers set to music), special settings of liturgical music such as Venite, Benedictus, Te Deum, Nunc Dimittis, Magnificat and the Ordinary of the Mass. The Master of the Music uses the choir to teach the congregation new music.
The Master of the Music is always attentive to how the congregation sings church hymns. In order to boost the standard of congregational singing, Tolu Obajimi introduced a Community Hymn Singing service slated for the third Sunday of each month. This was designed to encourage members of the Cathedral Church to attend Sunday evening worship. Apart from the roster for church societies and individuals, families are also encouraged to sponsor the service. In this service, the Master of the Music writes out the background information or history of the hymns to be sung in the program. There is no sermon; however, one or two Bible lessons are inserted into the program as epilogue. The service opens and closes with prayer. The format of the service is simply an alternation of readings with hymn singing. The historical background of the hymns is read by individual members of the congregation, while the choir and congregation sing the hymns. Before the last hymn is sung, the sponsors and committee members of the service are usually acknowledged.
Whenever there is a fifth Sunday in a month, the Cathedral Choir presents special evening music entitled “Psalmody: Chanting the Psalms of David.” This was also one of the creative innovations of Tolu Obajimi. Similar to the Community Hymn Singing, Psalmody is simply the alternation of readings, in this case the Psalms of David, by members of the congregation, with the chanting of the actual Psalms done by the congregation and/or the Cathedral Choir. The reader presents an historical background of the Psalm—who wrote it, the occasion, why, when and where the Psalm was likely written. This approach helps the congregation to have a better understanding of the theological underpinning of the Psalm, which inevitably would enable them to sing with understanding and energy. Through this medium, the Master of the Music and the Cathedral Choir teach the congregation the latest techniques of chanting the Psalms of David, thereby helping them to correct some performance errors during rendition.
Interestingly, some Yoruba Psalms set to music as anthems by Thomas Ekundayo Phillips are always included in the service. Presently, this is one of the few avenues in which Yoruba songs are performed in worship at the Cathedral Church of Christ. According to the Master of the Music, the use of Yoruba versions of the Psalms in this program showcases works of talented Nigerian composers in sacred music and Psalmody/hymnody in particular. Special settings of the Psalms were normally performed by the Cathedral Choir only, while the congregation listened with dignified attention. Examples of works in this category include Thomas Ekundayo Phillips’s Emi O Gbe Oju Mi S’Oke Wonni (I Will Lift Up My Eyes Unto the Hills–Psalm 121) and Nigbati Oluwa Mu Ikolo Sioni Pada (When the Lord Turned Again the Captivity of Zion–Psalm 126). Interestingly, during the tenure of Thomas Ekundayo Phillips, the evening services on the last Sunday of each month were always in Yoruba. The Cathedral Choir would dress in their red cassocks and surplices, augmented by the voices of the Choral Society with the ladies dressed in white buba and alari costumes (traditional gowns). The two choirs would perform Phillips’s Yoruba compositions in these services.
The Cathedral Church of Christ truly proves itself to be a unique culturally blended congregation in terms of hymnals used for worship. The church exemplifies the nature of an interdenominational faith-based organization with the use of hymn books from diverse churches. The hymnals used for worship include Ancient and Modern, Ancient and Modern Revised, Songs of Praise, Methodist Hymn Book, Hymnal Companion, Baptist Hymnal, Saint Paul’s Cathedral Psalter, Church Hymnal, Alternative Service Book, New English Hymnal, Redemption Hymnal, Broadman Hymnal, Sacred Songs and Solos, More Hymns for Today, and indigenous hymns written by Thomas Ekundayo Phillips as well as other members of the choir.

Concert Performances
The Cathedral Church of Christ Choir is well known throughout the southern regions of Nigeria for its seasonal concert performances. The choir sets the tone and standard of music through its exceptional renditions of standard classical works. Thus, the extremely rigorous schedule of the Master of the Music is further laden with concert activities. Apart from the weekly routine of choir practices in preparation for Sunday worship, the Master of the Music must prepare the choir for concerts, which include sacred masterworks, instrumental pieces, and organ recitals. The concert performances are in the form of an Annual Choir Festival, Advent Carol Service, Festival of Lessons and Carols, Easter Cantata, and other types of variety concerts throughout the year.
Thomas Ekundayo Phillips inaugurated the Annual Choir Festival at the Cathedral Church of Christ in November 1918, to celebrate the musical accomplishments of his lovely choir and to showcase the expertise of the group. The festival is traditionally scheduled for the Sunday nearest to St. Cecilia’s Day (November 22), and takes place in the two main morning services (Choral Mattins and Choral Eucharist) and Evensong. The choir sings hymns, versicles and responses, Psalms, and beautiful anthems. The evening festival opens with a short organ recital or a variety concert of solo and chamber music that lasts twenty-five minutes, and it usually closes with an organ voluntary (postlude). The organ recital is played by one of the Cathedral organists or by a guest organist such as Kayode Oni and Kweku-Acquah Harrison.
It is noteworthy that on the occasion of the eighty-first Choir Festival in 1999, the Cathedral Choir marked the thirtieth anniversary of the death of Thomas Ekundayo Phillips with the publication of some of his compositions in book form, Sacred Choral Works: English and Yoruba. The book contains several anthems, hymns, descants for hymns, versicles and responses, settings for canticles and Psalms, and chants for canticles and Psalms.
The Cathedral Church of Christ is British in every aspect of its worship, ranging from the use of the English language to the order of service and the music selections. In fact, all the organists have been directly or indirectly trained in the schools of music in London. Hence, there is a tremendous influence of the British worship system at the Cathedral Church. Furthermore, most of the composers of the music used for worship are British—John Ireland, William Byrd, John Stainer, Bernard Rose, David Willcocks, John Rutter, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Samuel Wesley, Thomas Attwood, and Charles Stanley. However, in fairness to the Organists and Masters of the Music, compositions from other European nationalities are occasionally used. These include the works of Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, and Schubert.
To augment the works of foreign composers, the Cathedral Organist and Master of the Music uses the music of selected indigenous Nigerian composers, notably past and present choir members and organists. The Master of the Music has always been very careful not to promote and glorify the compositions of indigenous musicians who have no direct connection with the Cathedral Church Choir. Among the famous Nigerian musicians or choir members whose works were often performed include the father of the choir himself, Thomas Ekundayo Phillips, Charles Obayomi Phillips, Fela Sowande, Yinka Sowande, Lazarus Ekwueme, Tolu Obajimi, Sina Ojemuyiwa, and Tunde Sosan. I am looking forward to the day when my own compositions would be included in the music repertoire at the Cathedral Church.
The choral and organ compositions of Fela Sowande provided a musical and cultural link with the United States because some of Sowande’s pieces are based on African-American spirituals. The texts of the spirituals share a common theme with the Nigerian songs of liberation written in the 1940s through the 1960s during the era of the nationalist movement that fought for the independence of Nigeria from the British colonialists. The Cathedral Choir could see the spiritual connection between African-American slavery and the colonial experience in Nigeria, which lasted over a century (1840s–1960). The pain, suffering, anguish, and the hope for liberation from the imperialists are some of the commonalities in the themes of the songs. Even though Nigeria obtained her independence from the British government in 1960, the influence of British culture is still very strong today. It permeates every aspect of Nigerian existence, from cultural life to politics, social life, education, and Christian worship as observed at the Cathedral Church of Christ, Lagos.
Following the choir festival is the Advent Carol Service in December. The choir performs selected and tuneful carols and hymns with themes that talk about the coming of Christ. The carols and hymns are interspersed with the reading of six Bible lessons that tell the story of the promises of the coming Messiah. The lessons are mostly taken from the book of Isaiah in the Old Testament, with two short ones from the New Testament.
The Festival of Lessons and Carols has always been the climax of the Cathedral Choir musical performances for the year. Therefore, the choir is always at its best, singing with clarity, tenacity and excellence. The festival takes place on the last Sunday in December of every year even if it were after Christmas Day. This allows other parish churches to have their own Christmas services earlier, so that choirs from all over Lagos could converge on the last Sunday of December to hear the Cathedral Choir.
The Easter season is another high point in the musical activities of the Cathedral Choir. The Cathedral Church of Christ Choir is popularly known for its annual evening concert on Easter Sunday. This can take the form of the performance of an Easter cantata or the performance of a major choral work such as Handel’s Messiah as performed on Easter Sunday, April 19, 1981, and on March 31, 2002. The Cathedral Choir traditionally performed the entire three parts of Messiah once every three years during the tenure of Charles Obayomi Phillips; but the choir performed only parts two and three in 2002. Another Easter cantata took place on Sunday, April 7, 1996, with the performance of the entire three parts of Thomas Ekundayo Phillips’s Samuel. There were some few instances when the choir staged a concert on Good Friday, such as John Stainer’s The Crucifixion under the direction of Thomas Ekundayo Phillips in 1916. According to the Cathedral historians, this was the first Good Friday cantata concert in Nigeria.
There are other times in the year that the Cathedral Choir performs concerts in and outside of the church. Notable oratorios, cantatas, and orchestral works have been performed by the choir, such as Mendelssohn’s Elijah (performed in 1989), Hymn of Praise, and St. Paul; Bach’s Christmas Oratorio (performed in 1953); Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast; Handel’s Ode to Joy, Judas Maccabaeus, and Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day (performed in 1998); Haydn’s The Creation; Stainer’s The Daughter of Jairus and The Crucifixion (performed in 1916); Walford Davies’ The Temple; and Edward Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance performed by the Cathedral Church of Christ Choir Orchestra at the 80th anniversary of the choir on November 22, 1998.
These concerts featured solos, choral and instrumental music. The concerts often attract dignitaries, professional musicians, and students from far and near to the Cathedral Church. The venues of the concerts were either the Cathedral Church, Glover Memorial Hall, or other concert halls in Lagos. The hall was always packed to capacity. Many visitors to the Cathedral Church have commended the outstanding singing of the choir and even remarked that it could favorably compare with the cathedral choirs in England in terms of quality. Gerald Knight, former Director of the Royal School of Church Music, London, once remarked that the Cathedral Church of Christ Choir, Lagos, is second to none in the whole of West Africa.
Some of these concerts were specifically organized to raise funds for either the Cathedral Church or to buy a new organ. For example, Thomas Ekundayo Phillips presented several concerts with the Cathedral Choir in various parts of Lagos to raise funds for the building of a new pipe organ. He later embarked on a concert tour with his choir to Abeokuta on August 24, 1930, and later to Ibadan, to raise funds to build a new pipe organ for the Cathedral Church. In these concerts, the Cathedral Choir performed mostly Thomas Ekundayo Phillips’s Yoruba songs to the delight of the natives of southwest Nigeria. The concerts were a huge success because the choir alone was able to raise more than half the cost of the organ. In fact, in 1927, Phillips went as far as England to appeal to British citizens for money to build the pipe organ. He was able to raise a substantial amount of money through the successful rendition of some of his Yoruba compositions by the St. George’s Church Choir on Sunday, October 23, 1927. The Yoruba songs were recorded by H. N. V. Gramophone Company in London, and the royalties from the sales of the recording were all credited to the Cathedral Church of Christ’s account in Lagos, towards the purchase of the 1932 organ.
The 1932 organ, which was later refurbished in 1966, is now in a very sorry state. In spite of regular servicing and replacement of deteriorated parts since 1966, the organ has reached a stage whereby no amount of repairs could restore it to its greatest glory. In 2005, in order to let everyone in the church realize the deplorable condition of the organ, the Master of the Music refused to send for the repairer when some faults developed. The situation got so bad that they had to stop playing the organ, using piano instead, much to the dissatisfaction of the congregation, including the provost (senior pastor of the Cathedral Church). The provost had to issue a directive that the faults be attended to immediately. The idea to build a new modern pipe organ for the church was originally conceived by the Women’s Guild Auxiliary of the Cathedral Church, and a committee was later set up to achieve that purpose. The Women’s Guild Auxiliary was able to raise some money. However, the funds could only cover the first installments for the purchase of the organ.
In view of the magnitude of the amount required and the importance of the new organ project to the history and development of the Cathedral Church, the Standing Committee decided to step in, and an organ fundraising sub-committee was inaugurated in 2006 to raise the proposed amount of 164 million Naira ($1,640,000 USD). Members of the Cathedral Church, societies, families, individuals, the choir, and corporate bodies were enjoined to participate in the organ project in order to maintain and preserve the tradition of musical excellence that the Cathedral Choir is noted for. Since 2006, the Cathedral Church of Christ Choir has embarked on several campaigns and concerts to raise money to build a new four-manual organ with 64 stops and 3,658 pipes. On Sunday, January 20, 2008, the provost of the Cathedral, Very Rev. Yinka Omololu, announced to the entire congregation with great joy, that they had realized the proposed amount. This feat was made possible through the generous donations of the Cathedral congregation and non-members from all over the country and around the world.
The Cathedral Choir has performed before renowned dignitaries. The choir performed before the British Royal Family, first in April 1921 at the foundation laying ceremony of the Cathedral Church of Christ by His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales. In January 1956, the choir performed before Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip when they worshiped at the Cathedral Church, and finally, on October 2, 1960, at the Independence Day service of Nigeria, attended by Her Royal Highness, Princess Alexandra. On Advent Sunday, 1972, the Cathedral Choir performed with the King’s College Cambridge Choir, during their visit to Nigeria. The first broadcast by the Cathedral Choir on the British Broadcasting Corporation was aired on December 12, 1951.

Recordings
The Cathedral Choir’s musical activities have never been restricted to only live performances at services and concerts. The choir has been involved in recording some of their favorite repertoire. During the tenure of Thomas Ekundayo Phillips, the choir recorded two of his songs—Emi O Gbe Oju Mi S’Oke Wonni (I Will Lift Up My Eyes to the Hills–Psalm 121) and Ise Oluwa (The Work of the Lord) for the BBC series “Church Music from the Commonwealth.” In 2006, under the leadership of Tolu Obajimi, the present choir released its first recording in the twenty-first century, Choral Music: Volumes I & II. The two CDs contain a selection of the most famous hymns, anthems, Psalms, Te Deum, and Jubilate that the Cathedral Choir have been performing over the years. Composers of the selected works as usual are mostly British with the exception of the Cathedral Choir musicians, in particular, Thomas Ekundayo Phillips.

Choir Picnics
As the saying goes, “all work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy;” and in keeping with this, the Cathedral Church of Christ Choir does not only engage in rigorous rehearsals and performances throughout the year, but also have their moments of relaxation, partying and enjoyment. These are called the “choir picnics” or “choir treats.” These are annual events organized for the choir by the older members of the choir, choir patrons and/or patronesses or other affluent members of the congregation. It is a way for all those who enjoy and appreciate the outstanding work of the choir to express their gratitude. Choir treats have always been social gatherings held in a very relaxed and congenial atmosphere, mostly in the homes of the sponsors. There would be plenty of food, salad, desserts, and drinks. And for the younger choir boys, there are always indoor and outdoor games to play. A typical picnic day was and still is an occasion to display the football (soccer) prowess between the ‘Dec side’ (right side of choir stall) and the ‘Can side’ (left side of the choir stall) boys.
Some selected members from other parish churches are always invited to celebrate with the Cathedral Choir. This is not the only occasion in which choirs from other churches, even outside of the Anglican church, are invited to the Cathedral Choir program. There is a combined choir concert that takes place once a year. For this program, two to three members from various denominational churches would be invited to join the Cathedral Choir to form what is known as the Augmented Choir. The Augmented Choir, which normally comprised both male and female in the size of one hundred voices or more, would rehearse once a week and finally close this glorious event with a big concert at either the Cathedral Church or one of the churches in Lagos.
Another avenue of collaborative work with other churches occurs when the Cathedral Choir goes on their compulsory new year holidays in January or the summer vacation in June. Some of the church choirs in Lagos come in to sing for four weeks at the Cathedral Church. These collaborative endeavors date back to the era of Thomas Ekundayo Phillips, and subsequent Organists and Masters of the Music have kept up the tradition.

Ex-Choristers
In the ninety years of its existence (1918–2008), the Cathedral Church of Christ Choir has produced some of the most brilliant, outstanding and famous Nigerian musicologists, pianists, organists and composers. Historically, the choir has become a ‘school of music’ in which budding composers have had their formative years. Many of the talented musicians belonging to the Cathedral Choir family moved to successful musical careers, some at the international level. The products of the choir have brought immense pride and esteem to the pioneer choir in Nigeria. All these musicians, including myself, give the credit to Thomas Ekundayo Phillips’s work as the founding Organist and Master of the Music. The musical training, performances, discipline, and exposure to a variety of standard choral and instrumental works had a great impact in shaping the musical taste and career of the ex-choristers. Indeed, the Cathedral Choir is a breeding ground for future generations of talented Nigerian musicians. I cannot close this essay without highlighting the profiles of some of the musical giants produced by the Cathedral Choir.
Fela Sowande (1905–1987) came under the leadership of Thomas Ekundayo Phillips in the early 1900s as a choir boy. Under the mentorship of Phillips, Sowande was exposed to European sacred music and indigenous Nigerian church music. He received private lessons in organ from Phillips while singing in the choir. Sowande claimed that Phillips’s organ playing, the choir training, and the organ lessons he received had a major impact on his becoming an organist-composer. It was Thomas Ekundayo Phillips who exposed Sowande to the organ works of European composers such as Bach, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Guilmant, and Dubois. Sowande went on to study music in England, where he became the first African to receive the prestigious Fellowship of the Royal College of Organists (FRCO) in 1943 with distinction. He was a broadcaster, musicologist, organist-composer, and music educator. Sowande taught as a professor of music at several institutions in Nigeria and the United States, including the University of Ibadan, Howard University, University of Pittsburgh, and Kent State University. He composed several choral and solo songs, orchestra works, but he is most famous for his sixteen wonderful pieces for solo organ.
Christopher Oyesiku (1925–) had his earliest musical training as a choir boy at the Cathedral Church of Christ Choir under the tutelage of Thomas Ekundayo Phillips, who gave the young Oyesiku his first lessons in the theory of music, musicianship, and voice. Phillips also prepared Oyesiku for the external examinations of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, London. During his days as a chorister at the Cathedral Church, Oyesiku rose to become one of the leading trebles and later became the best bass in the choir. In the late 1940s, he was the leading bass soloist in some of Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic operas such as Trial by Jury, H. M. S. Pinafore, and The Mikado. Oyesiku later went on to study music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, from 1955 to 1960. Oyesiku returned to Nigeria in 1960, and in 1962 was appointed to the position of Assistant Director of Programs at the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation, Lagos (now Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria). He served in this capacity until 1981. Oyesiku taught music and directed choirs at the Oyo State College of Education, Ilesha, from 1981 to 1987, and the Department of Theater Arts, University of Ibadan, from 1987 to 1994. He was well known in Nigeria, West Africa, and Great Britain as an extraordinary bass singer. He is popularly referred to as “Tarzan” at the Cathedral Church Choir for his deep and beautiful bass voice. Oyesiku performed the bass solo in several cantatas, oratorios, and variety concerts. One of the high points of his career was the opportunity given him to perform before several dignitaries in Nigeria and the Royal Family in England. He was also an outstanding choral conductor as well as music educator. He is presently retired from active music career and now lives with his wife in London, England.
Samuel Akpabot (1932–2000) was a choir boy at the Cathedral Church under Thomas Ekundayo Phillips in the early 1940s. Akpabot received a most significant introduction to European classical music as a chorister at the Cathedral Church. Akpabot sang many standard choral works such as Messiah and Elijah at the Cathedral Church before going to England to study music. He did advanced studies in music at the Royal College of Music, London, Trinity College of Music, London, the University of Chicago, and Michigan State University, where he received his Ph.D. in ethnomusicology. He was a composer, ethnomusicologist, organist, pianist, trumpeter, and music educator. Akpabot was the author of five books and several scholarly articles on Nigerian music. He taught at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, the University of Ibadan, and the University of Uyo, where he retired as a professor of music and eventually died there. He served as organist and choir director in several churches in Lagos, including St. Savior’s Anglican Church. Akpabot composed choral and vocal solo songs, and orchestral works.
Ayo Bankole (1935–1976) was a choir boy at the Cathedral Church of Christ in the early 1940s. It was Bankole’s father who encouraged him to join the renowned Cathedral Choir. Bankole became a private organ pupil of Thomas Ekundayo Phillips, and also studied organ with Phillips’s protégé, Fela Sowande. Bankole rose to the position of school’s organist at Baptist Academy (one of the famous high schools in Lagos) at the age of thirteen, in 1948. In the late 1950s, Bankole went on to study music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, University of Cambridge, London, and the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1963, Bankole became the second Nigerian to receive the Fellowship of the Royal College of Organists (FRCO) diploma. He was an organist-composer, ethnomusicologist, pianist, and music educator. Bankole was a lecturer of music at the University of Lagos, and organist/choir director in several churches as well as several high schools in Lagos. Bankole composed mostly sacred music for choir, solo voice, organ, and orchestra.
Lazarus Ekwueme (1936–) is a Nigerian musicologist, composer, choral conductor, singer, and actor. He is one of the pioneer lecturers of music in Nigeria. As a scholar, he has authored several articles and books on African music and the diaspora. Ekwueme was a chorister at the Cathedral Church under Thomas Ekundayo Phillips in the 1940s. He studied music at the Royal College of Music, London, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, and Yale University, where he obtained the Ph.D. degree in music theory. In the area of composition, he is well known for his tuneful choral works based on Igbo idioms and African-American spirituals. As a music educator, Ekwueme taught at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and the University of Lagos. Ekwueme retired as a professor of music from the University of Lagos in the early 2000s; he is presently a traditional ruler in his home town in the southeast region of Nigeria.
Godwin Sadoh (1965–) joined the Cathedral Choir as an adult to sing tenor in 1980 under Charles Obayomi Phillips, and he was a chorister until 1994. In 1982, Phillips appointed Sadoh as an Assisting Organist, gave Sadoh private lessons in piano, organ and general musicianship, and prepared Sadoh for all the piano and general musicianship external examinations of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, London. Sadoh became the Organist and Choirmaster of Eko Boys’ High School, Lagos, at the age of sixteen in 1981. He occupied this position until he graduated from high school in 1982. Sadoh later studied music at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, where he became the first African to earn the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in organ performance in 2004. He studied organ and composition at Louisiana State University. Sadoh taught at the first three institutions mentioned above and also at Golden West College, California, Thiel College, Pennsylvania, Baton Rouge College, Louisiana, and LeMoyne-Owen College, Memphis, Tennessee. He was appointed professor of music at Talladega College, Alabama State, in 2007. Sadoh is the author of several books and articles on modern Nigerian music, church music, ethnomusicology, and intercultural musicology. He is one of the leading authorities on Nigerian church music and African art music. In the area of composition, he has composed for every genre—vocal solo and choral works, piano, organ, electronic media, and orchestra. Sadoh’s compositions have been performed all over the United States, Europe and Nigeria; some of his works have been recorded on CDs. He has been a recipient of the ASCAPLUS Award in recognition of the performances and publications of his music since 2003 to the present. Sadoh has served as organist and choir director in several churches in Nigeria and the United States.
Recently, the Cathedral Choir has proudly given two more graduates to the professional world of music. Jimi Olumuyiwa, who now sings bass, joined as a choir boy in the early 1970s. Olumuyiwa was the librarian of the Cathedral Choir for many years, and he has participated in several grand concerts including singing the bass solo in Messiah. In addition to his strenuous schedule at school and the Cathedral Church, he directs the Golden Bells Chorale Group, in Lagos, a choir founded by Godwin Sadoh in the 1980s. Olumuyiwa was a former Choir Director of Eko Boys’ High School, Lagos, from 1982 to 1983. Olumuyiwa recently received the Bachelor of Arts degree in music from the University of Lagos, and he rose to the position of Assisting Choirmaster at the Cathedral Church. Tunde Sosan joined the Cathedral Choir as a choir boy under the leadership of Charles Obayomi Phillips in the late 1980s. He continued singing with the choir after Tolu Obajimi took over the baton in 1993. In addition to singing and accompanying the choir, Sosan received private lessons in organ from Obajimi. Sosan’s faithfulness to rehearsals, services and concerts by providing piano and organ accompaniment when there was no one else to do so has earned him favor with Obajimi, who has blessed him with several promotions: from Assisting Organist to Assistant Organist and presently Sub-Organist. Sosan will be completing his studies at Trinity College of Music, London.

Conclusion
As the premiere choir in Nigeria, the accomplishments of the Cathedral Church of Christ Choir are immense, and it has played a major role in shaping the direction and development of church music in Nigeria, especially in the Anglican Church. The choir continues to play a leading and model role in Lagos and in Nigeria as a whole. The magnitude of musical excellence filtered into the ears and minds of the Lagos congregations is felt not only in the Anglican church, but in other denominations as well. The annual choir festivals, Advent carol services, festival of lessons and carols, variety concerts and the choir picnics continue to attract choristers and music enthusiasts from the Methodist, Baptist, Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Reformed, African, Evangelical, and non-denominational churches from different parts of the southwest regions of Nigeria to the Cathedral Church of Christ. The choir rightly connects the American culture with Nigeria through the use of spirituals in the compositions of its ex-choristers and their musical training in American universities. As they celebrate their ninetieth anniversary in November 2008, they can certainly look forward to many more years of outstanding and meritorious accomplishments in the Nigerian church music ministry.

The author is grateful to his very good friend, Jimi Olumuyiwa, for providing most of the documents used in writing this essay.

Photos are used with kind permission of Christopher Oyesiku.

Dr. Peter Hardwick is a retired music professor who, during his career, taught at the University of Guelph, Guelph, and Agincourt Collegiate Institute, Toronto, Ontario. In addition, he served as organist of St. John’s Cathedral, Winnipeg, Manitoba, and St. George’s Church, Guelph.

In 2003, Scarecrow Press published his book British Organ Music of the Twentieth Century. Over the last two and a half years he has been writing a monograph on the life and music of Kenneth Leighton, which will probably be finished sometime this year. Dr. Hardwick has written feature articles and numerous reviews of recordings and organ music for The Diapason

Kenneth Leighton was born on October 2, 1929, at Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. His formal education was at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield (1940-47) and Queen’s College, the University of Oxford (1947-51). He continued his composition studies privately with Goffredo Petrassi in Rome (March-September, 1951). Leighton was principally a composer, but he also appeared quite frequently as a concert pianist, and he gave the first performances of a number of his own piano works. In addition, he was a highly regarded teacher of composition. Except for two years as a lecturer and fellow at Worcester College, Oxford (1968-70), he taught composition in the Faculty of Music at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, from 1956 until his death on August 24, 1988.1

Musical training

The composer was involved with church music throughout his life. In his childhood, the Leighton family were parishioners of Holy Trinity Anglican Church in downtown Wakefield, and Kenneth sang in the choir there, as did his father and brother. In 1938, he gained admittance to the Wakefield Cathedral Choir. Years later, the composer reminisced that

 . . . my career as a Cathedral chorister left some of the most vivid impressions in my mind of that time of life. I didn’t particularly ask to become a chorister . . . but my father had sung in church choirs all his life, my brother had been a choral scholar before me, and it seemed the most natural thing in the world--nobody questioned it--that I should follow in their footsteps. Unlike my brother I didn’t have much of a voice, I fear, and I would never have made a soloist--but I was able to sing reasonably in tune, and I was able to sight-read; and so I became one of those worthy and stalwart leaders at the bottom end of the stalls--hooting away with not a very strong voice--but to be relied on in moments of crisis. . . .

As far as the repertoire it was pretty wide for those days--we sang some Palestrina, we sang the old favourites--Noble in B minor, Walmisley in D minor, and the Stanford (all fine music in its own right--and thank God that we are getting over our prejudices against the Victorian and Edwardian church music)--and we also sang what was then the latest thing--Darke in F minor--a most exciting experience--Warlock carols, and even a piece by Britten which I didn’t like very much because it seemed so outrageously modern and cacophonous. And then there were many great occasions like the Stanford TE DEUM with Trumpets and Drums--and [Handel’s] Messiah for the first time. I was so completely overwhelmed--emotionally--by the Messiah that I was completely unable to control myself and had to escape from the stalls half way through. Curiously enough I have never heard the Messiah since.

On the whole what an extraordinary richness of musical experience it all was--and what a marvellous musical training!2

Wakefield Cathedral was a High Church of England establishment, and during these years, the composer had his first taste of plainsong. He clearly liked the old chants, and later they were sometimes used verbatim in his compositions. In other works, original themes cast in the plainsong mold were introduced. In the Cathedral Choir, he also sang sacred Tudor polyphonic music, which impressed him,3 and he used a modernized version of the cut and thrust of this style in his own counterpoint later.

In 1947, he was awarded a Hastings Exhibition to study Classics at Queen’s College, Oxford, and a year later he gained permission to continue with Classics, but to also focus principally on music under the direction of the Queen’s College music lecturer, Bernard Rose. Vaughan Williams, Walton, and Britten were Leighton’s idols at this time, and they were to have an effect on his music to a limited degree during the next few years. He learned much during his Oxford music studies, but perhaps the only lasting skill that he acquired was his immense contrapuntal technique.

During his six months of composition studies with Petrassi in 1951, Leighton became more aware of modern Continental musical styles, especially those of Bartók, Hindemith, Stravinsky, as well as the techniques of the Second Viennese School’s serial procedures, and, thereafter, Leighton adopted a much more highly chromatic, mid 20th-century style.

Compositional style

However, he did not adopt one style thereafter for all his compositions. For instance, the choral music, including the works for church services, is quite conservative. In the sacred scores, links with traditional musical style are maintained, yet they sound modern. He achieves this partly by retaining elements of tonal and modal music, while making little use of conventional functional harmony and key signatures. The highly dissonant chords, including cluster chords, in the sacred music have a modern ring to them, but most of these are coincidental, the result of linear counterpoint, not, primarily, vertical thinking.4 At least occasionally, in most of the church pieces Leighton likes to cadence on diatonic chords, which help underline his adherence to tonal/modal traditions. There is also a conventional versus forward-looking ambivalence in the voice leading in Leighton’s church music. This is the result of the contours of the vocal lines being essentially conventional, while at the same time there is a liking for such “dissonant” leaps as augmented fourths and major sevenths.

Almost a third of the ninety-six published works in The Kenneth Leighton Trust’s Opus Index are for use in church services. They consist of nineteen anthems, motets and carols; ten masses and communion services; eight canticles for matins and evensong; one set of preces and responses; five hymn tunes; and two hybrid works that may be sung at the Mass or as concert works.5

Like most 20th-century English church composers, he generally wrote for a four-part all-male choir consisting of trebles, altos, tenors, and basses, and quite frequently called for one or more vocal soloists. In his fondness for centuries-old poetry and prose of the highest literary quality, he showed decided insight into what words blended best with his elevated, emotionally intense musical style. In particular, he set many passages from the King James I version of The Holy Bible of 1611, and the Church of England’s The Book of Common Prayer, whose origins may be traced to 1552. The other old British religious writers whose work he set include Robert Herrick (1592-1674), George Herbert (1593-1633), Sir Thomas Browne (1605-82), Isaac Watts (1674-1748), and Christopher Smart (1722-71).

The organ parts in the church music are idiomatic and important, yet Leighton was not fond of the instrument. He revealed his feelings as early as 1952, when, after playing the new organ in Wakefield Cathedral, he wrote: “It is a very large instrument with five manuals but . . . I don’t like the organ very much. On this instrument, one can produce magnificent effects but I find it incapable of expressing those fine feelings which are the secret of a truly human music. It is an instrument without heart.”6 His reservations were reinforced later when he heard the criticisms of British Romantic/Orchestral instruments of his colleague in the Edinburgh University Faculty of Music, the celebrated organ historian, Peter F. Williams.7

Three Carols

Among the earliest works in the genre is the miniature a cappella Three Carols, Op. 25 (1948-56), for soprano soloist and SATB choir. The modality, occasional open fifth chords, and Picardy third cadences match well the archaic English language and imagery of the texts.

These points are illustrated in the second carol, titled Lully, Lulla, Thou Little Tiny Child. One of the composer’s most celebrated sacred choral works, it echoes, characteristic of his music of the late 1940s, with the style of Vaughan Williams. There is much word painting. For example, the introductory gentle rocking motion of the ostinato musical phrases, as the choir repeatedly sings the words “Lully, Lulla, thou little tiny child,” paints an intimate scene of Mary lovingly, and with gentleness, caring for the baby Jesus in the cradle. The music’s Mixolydian modal harmony enriched with seventh chords, and two cadences containing a Picardy third, enhances the ancient ambiance of the old words. In addition, the waves of close position concordant triadic upper vocal lines over a pedal in the bass capture in sound the image of the nativity scene, with the mother rocking her child to sleep in her arms. (Example 1)

In the second strophe, a loud setting of the words “Herod the king, In his raging, . . . All children young to slay,” the mood changes from the idyllic happiness of verse one to deadly chilliness. This iciness reaches a peak at the word “slay,” which is sung to a dissonant forzato chord consisting of two simultaneous augmented fourths.

With verse three, a setting of words beginning “That woe is me, Poor child for thee!,” there is an abrupt return to the mystical, cradle-song style of the first verse. The choir softly performs a varied version of the music heard at the start of the carol, with the harmony consisting of leisurely paced block chords, embellished with faster moving harmonic and non-harmonic tones. Over this rich four-part choral writing, the soprano soloist effortlessly floats a soaring obbligato line. The juxtaposition of contrasting sonorities, textures, and moods, such as exists in the three verses of Lully, Lulla, Thou Little Tiny Child, is a hallmark of Leighton’s style.

Works of the 1960s

The anthem Give Me the Wings of Faith (1962) is a setting of the All Saints’ Day hymn text of the same title by Isaac Watts. The performing forces are typical of much of the church music the composer wrote in the 1960s: soprano and baritone soloists, SATB choir, and organ. Overall, the anthem is written in a lean, prickly, non-functional harmonic language in which there tend to be many transient dissonances.

There is a mental struggle in Give Me the Wings of Faith, and the mood is complex. At the start, the tone is one of uncertainty and anxiety. Leighton seems to have found disturbing the notions of the human soul rising above into heaven and seeing the saints, who had, like us in our time, wrestled with sins, doubts, and fears. This is depicted in the soprano solo “Give me the wings of faith,” in which the organ accompaniment slithers snake-like in small chromatic intervals. However, the depressing mood, while never completely dispelled in the work, gradually gives way to a more optimistic tone as the saints find their eternal rest through Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross. The somewhat triumphant final section, which is perhaps best described as being “on” D major, rather than in that key (even though the D major key signature is used), is launched by the baritone soloist singing “They marked the footsteps that he trod” to a bold, wide-ranged melody. This theme is developed at length chorally, and the choir closes with a triumphant chordal setting of “Our glorious Leader claims our praise.” However, the full organ alone has the last word, blazing out majestically, yet with a trace of nervous uncertainty, on a B minor chord with an added C sharp.

A hallmark of Leighton’s style is idiomatic writing for voice, and this is certainly true in Give Me the Wings of Faith. The same could be said of the organ, whose role is to contribute to the singers’ word painting, and provide a continuous web of sound that links up the choral sections. A fondness is evident for flowing manual lines that have chains of parallel perfect fourths and fifths, supported by slower moving pedal parts.

His only arrangements of preexistent church music are O Leave Your Sheep (1962) and Wassail All Over the Town (1964).8 O Leave Your Sheep is a setting of the four-strophe French traditional carol text of the same title, and the tune with which it is usually associated, Quittez Pasteurs. For SATB choir and organ, the work is uncharacteristic of Leighton’s mature style in its tonal idiom, and the scaled-down technical demands. As such, it is accessible to the amateur choir and organist. The preexistent melody undergoes a limited amount of variation after the first verse, and is easily recognizable throughout. Verse one, in F major, is sung by a soprano soloist or by all the sopranos, with a light and transparent organ accompaniment that is almost entirely in the treble clef. In verse two, which is in D major, the melody is treated to four-voice imitation, with sustained organ chords in the bass register. The D minor, a cappella third verse is much more ruminative, almost improvisatory, and the preexistent melody is treated more freely. After this section of relative repose, an energetic mood is introduced by the staccato, highly rhythmic organ introduction to the last verse, and this is followed by imitative entries of the voices. The chordal vocal writing gradually increases in excitement and becomes exultant, while the organ accompaniment adds further to the joyous sound with long flowing chains of parallel thirds in the manuals over sustained bass notes in the pedals. O Leave Your Sheep ends ecstatically with a più largo block chord phrase and perfect cadence in D major alla Handel for choir and organ.

The ten-minute setting of the matins canticle Te Deum Laudamus (1964) for soprano and baritone soli, SATB chorus, and organ, is arguably one of Leighton’s first great liturgical masterpieces. It marked a major confluence in the development of the composer, where, at last, his creative inspiration was matched by his mastery of the tools of his profession.

Most of the hallmarks of his style are present in the work. Among these elements is the taste for soloists, with the traditional Church of England SATB choir and organ. Other aspects of his style, already noted in previous works, that are also found here include a freely dissonant, non-functional harmonic idiom; plainsong-like melismatic vocal embellishments; masterly imitative counterpoint and abundant word painting.

The opening is a good example of the style. Over a series of held, close-position cluster chords on the organ, each of which begins with a Scotch snap articulation, the soprano soloist declaims the words “We praise thee” over and over again, “praise” being embellished more elaborately with each repetition, much along the lines of settings of joyous words in Gregorian chant. One by one the choir sections enter and rise in excited acclamation as they surge forward to the first loud grand climax, a moment endowed with a sense of glorious revelation, at the word “everlasting” on an F major chord.

There is a lull in the rejoicing at the words “When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man: thou didst not abhor the Virgin’s womb,” which are set in a polymetric,9 syllabic style reminiscent of ancient chant.

The counterpoint is frequently linear and imitative, supported by a foundation of rhythmic figuration in the organ accompaniment. This may be seen, for example, in the setting of “When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death” (bars 83-91). Cruelly painful cut-and-thrust imitative counterpoint, in which simultaneous seconds create flashes of hard sharp dissonance, are heard over a backdrop of vaguely menacing syncopated, rhythmic detached chords in the organ manuals, and a more sustained pedal line. (Example 2)

The ancestry of such musical pathos might be traced to the choral settings of similar texts by late Renaissance and early Baroque English composers, such as Tallis, Byrd, and Weelkes. In passing, one might also mention the two-part polyphony in Example 2: sopranos and tenors singing the same line in octaves, altos and basses singing the other line in octaves. This was a type of doubling of pairs of voices at the octave that Vaughan Williams had utilized in contrapuntal passages in, for example, his Te Deum in G (1928), O How Amiable (1934), and the Benedicite (1939).10 Britten also wrote passages like this in such works as Antiphon (1956), a setting of sacred words by George Herbert for choir (with optional soloists) and organ. The Te Deum appears to be the first work in which Leighton used this texture. He was to use it many times in his subsequent church music, partly, one might suspect, because it sounds effective, but also because two parts are easier to sing than four parts, and this offers relief from singing in four real parts.

The bustle of the setting of “When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death” ends dramatically with fortissimo cluster chords on the organ that create a cacophony of sound, followed by general pause. After the silence, a volcanic blast of sound erupts as choir and organ present the words “We believe that thou shalt come to be our Judge.” Leighton obviously is struck with grave misgivings, possibly fear, at the thought of the Last Judgment, and the music of this short, highly dissonant passage, marked Lento sostenuto and fortississimo, is pervaded with a sense of bewildering awe mingled with anxiety. The emotionally distraught mood is initiated by a loud, low pedal point on the organ pedals, and twisting, snake-like chromatic counterpoint in the manuals. Then the voices enter in a five-part stretto-like point of imitation. (Example 3)

An element of prayerful hopefulness ensues at the start of the last section of the work, as the baritone soloist sings softly and with contrition in a plainsong-like chanting style “We therefore pray thee help thy servants.” The setting of “Day by day we worship thy Name: ever world without end” is bright and joyful, but this is halted abruptly by a sense of dread and fear in an acridly dissonant chord at the word “sin” in the phrase “Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this day without sin.” With reminiscences of the organ music with its Scotch snap rhythms that had been heard at the opening of the composition, the choir then presents “O Lord, have mercy upon us” with very expressive, pianissimo, ethereal phrases. Finally, after the choir’s last, prayerful entreaty, “O Lord, in thee have I trusted, let me never be confounded,” the organ ends the work with a whispered F-sharp major chord.

Less than a year after the Te Deum Laudamus, Leighton wrote an anthem on George Herbert’s hymn text Let All the World in Every Corner Sing (1965) for SATB choir and organ. Since both the Te Deum and Let All the World texts are joyous, and the pieces were composed close to each other, it is hardly surprising to note similarities between them. For example, at the start of the anthem he uses the two-voice canonic imitative style between the altos and basses singing the same line in octaves simultaneously, and the paired sopranos and tenors in octaves simultaneously, that was noted in the Te Deum. Such two-voice canonic imitation appears several times in the anthem, and there are also several passages in which, in like fashion, the four voice parts divide into pairs singing in octaves, though not in imitation.

In the first section, the organ has staccato, fragmented phrases against which the voices joust. As in the Te Deum, there is a departure from conventional, rhythmically square, metric writing. This occurs in the short polymetric setting of the words “The heavens are not too high, His praises may thither fly,” where the music slips quickly from 3/4+3/8 to 4/4, 7/8, 4/4, and 7/8, before settling in 4/4. (Example 4)

In the concluding passage of the anthem, the words and a variation of the music of the opening return in the manner of a recapitulation. However, here there is a much greater sense of excitement, of breathtaking denouement. Contributing to this sense of rousing celebration is the thickening choral texture to five parts, with the sopranos dividing into two parts, and all the voices being called upon to sing in their upper ranges. The organ also adds to the drive to climax. Far more flamboyant and bombastic than at the opening of the anthem, the instrument’s assertive role is to provide rhythmic excitement with short motivic groupings of ejaculatory cluster chords, punctuated by short general rests. In addition, the organ has numerous short joyous rushing ascending scales that are reminiscent, possibly, of one of Leighton’s musical heroes, Howells, who was fond of these embellishing figures as an expression of joy in his church music organ parts. After so much astringent dissonance, the organ brings down the curtain on the anthem with an appropriately shrill, dissonant chord: C-sharp and D major chords played simultaneously--in effect the simultaneous sounding of tonic and dominant harmony, a tonally ambiguous ending.

First Masses

In the 1960s Leighton composed his first Masses: Missae Sancti Thomae, Op. 40 (1962), Mass, Op. 44 (1964), Communion Service in D, Op. 45 (1965), and Missa Brevis, Op. 50 (1967).

The twenty-six-minute Mass, Op. 44, for double mixed chorus, is arguably a masterpiece. The first of only two Latin Masses by the composer,11 it is a cappella, except the Credo, which calls for organ, and is in the Palestrina style, as seen through a 20th-century prism. Among the innumerable remarkable passages in the Mass is the opening of the Kyrie Eleison, which starts with a solo voice singing in the minor mode, and surges irresistibly to an immense, fortississimo climax for double chorus at bar 17. The passage’s penitential, bittersweet opening that quickly changes to a great paean of confident optimism is so characteristic of Leighton’s mercurial nature. (Example 5)

An Easter Sequence, Op. 55 (1968) is a fourteen-minute piece in five movements, for boys’ or female voices and organ with optional trumpet. Considering the crème de la crème choir for which the work was written,12 one might have expected a more technically demanding, showy composition. In fact, the vocal writing is tonal; the melodic contours conventional, and there are no gallery-pleasing virtuosic fast melismatic lines. Nor is the organ part especially difficult. In the absence of a trumpeter, the solo trumpet part may be played on a trumpet stop, if one is available on the organ being used.

An Easter Sequence is not a sequence in one of the traditional music history or theory meanings of the word. It is a homogeneous series of pieces,13 setting in English of four Roman Catholic liturgical texts and Psalm 23.14 If the five movements are performed at Mass, they are to be sung as the Introit, Gradual, Offertory, Communion, and Sortie. The work may also be sung on the concert platform.

One may notice similarities between An Easter Sequence and Britten’s Missa Brevis in D (1959) for three-part boys voices and organ, written for the boys of Westminster Cathedral Choir. As in Britten’s composition, there is much three-part writing for the voices, though single- and two-part music is more common. Several passages of canon-like imitation, and a number of ostinatos in the organ accompaniment in Leighton’s work are also Brittenesque.15 In addition, like Britten, the Yorkshireman is especially adept at word painting. For example, he captures the mostly joyous Introit text, “Alleluia. Rejoice in God our helper: Sing aloud to the God of Jacob,” with buoyant, dancing vocal lines that leap lightly, and with staccato articulation. See also the setting of Jesus’ words “Peace be with you” in the Gradual. This music is ethereal, and consists of a soft, glossy, heavenly halo of sustained four-part chords--the only four-part phrase in the composition. The pastoral imagery of Psalm 23 is captured immediately in the opening gentle, reflective organ solo. The melody, in the organist’s right hand, is a chromatic, sinuous, rhythmically complex line oscillating within a narrow pitch range. The left hand accompaniment consists of a close-position cluster-chord that undergoes slight alterations over a pedal point.

In the Sortie, the organ part is much heavier and dominant than in the earlier movements, and it shines forth in a most thrilling manner. This is illustrated in the instrument’s slow improvisatory introductory solo section, with its chromatic, serpentine lines. Then the main section of the movement begins, in the style of a very fast fanfare for voices, organ, and trumpet. Against a backdrop of brightly registered, rhythmic, often stabbing organ chords, the choir, in unison throughout, declaims in brief snappy phrases “God is ascended in jubilee,” and short trumpet obbligato phrases rasp out as the choir sings “and the Lord in the sound of the trumpet” in short, motivic, rhythmic fanfares.

This material is heard again in the coda of the Sortie. First, a greatly transformed variant of the chromatic organ introduction to the movement is presented over a pedal C. Then, the choir sings the stirring vocal fanfare-like phrases “God is ascended, and the Lord in the sound of the trumpet” that were heard early in the movement, while the organ pursues its own path of syncopated, rhythmic, stabbing, highly dissonant manual chords. As so often happens with Leighton, the organ (with trumpet) has the last words: an emotionally gripping tonic C major chord combined with the dominant chord.        

This article will be continued.