Ian Sadler to St. James Cathedral in Toronto, Ontario

by Kay McAfee

Kay McAfee is professor of organ and music history at Henderson State University, Arkadelphia, Arkansas, and she serves there as organist for First United Methodist Church.

Twenty-four people traveled to the south and middle of England for the British Organ Music seminar, directed by Christina Harmon, the week of June 24, 2001. The great cathedrals of Winchester, Gloucester, and Liverpool formed part of the itinerary with guide John Norman, formerly of the Hill, Norman, and Beard firm, and now a consultant in Great Britain. Mr. Norman provided brochures and valuable commentary on each instrument prior to arriving at each destination. John Norman studied acoustics under Dr. R.W.B. Stephens at Imperial College, London, and organ under H.A. Roberts. At Hill, Norman, and Beard he learned voicing from Robert Lamb and tonal finishing from Mark Fairhead, working on seven cathedral organs before leaving the firm in 1974. An accredited professional organ consultant and a founding member of the Association of Independent Organ Advisers, Norman is a member of the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England, of the Organs Committee of the Council for the Care of Churches, and the London Diocesan Advisory Committee for the Care of Churches. He is the author of The Organs of Britain, founder and editor of The Organbuilder, and has been a regular columnist for the Organists' Review for over twenty years.

Winchester

Traveling through the beautiful British countryside by bus, the first stop was Winchester, the ancient Roman city whose cathedral boasts the longest nave in Europe. Restored by King Alfred after the Dark Ages, two of the city's original gates are found around the perimeter of the 11th-century cathedral. The church sits in a sea of grass, and its massive thick-walled Roman-esque transepts and Gothic nave and apse protect the tombs of the early English kings. Jane Austen's tomb lies in the north aisle. Music historians are aware of the role played in the creative additions to ninth-century plainsong by the church in the preservation of the Winchester Troper, a manuscript which today is kept at Cambridge. The beautiful Winchester Bible, an illuminated manuscript, is preserved here. The twelve men of the choir, conducted by assistant organist Sarah Baldock, re-hearsed service music of Morales, Taverner, and Robert Stone pieces for the approaching Evensong service. Then, assistant organist Philip Scriven discussed the Henry Willis organ which was built for the Crystal Palace exhibition in 1851. Purchased at the urging of then-organist Samuel Sebastian Wesley, rebuilds and additions were made routinely by Willis, Heil & Co., and Harrison.

Most recently (1987), a division for the nave was added to create better support for congregational singing, a widespread practice in large English churches whose organ chambers were placed predominately on either side of the choir. Scriven demonstrated the Great Trumpet and Grand Cornet, reeds of the Pedal to 32', ringing 8' (two) and 4' Tubas on the Solo, Nave Trumpet, Great 16', 8', and 4' Trumpets, and the Swell reeds. The strings of the Swell (16', 8', 4') are particularly beautiful. Two Open Diapasons grace each of the four manual divisions, with a third on the Great. Scriven showed how any four of them sound lovely in playing the solo line of Bach's Orgelbüchlein setting of "Ich ruf zu dir." The Claribel Flute of the Great is like a harmonic flute. Participants observed the distinctly effective British practice of using a series of graduated pistons to produce crescendo and diminuendo. Participants played Elgar, Bridge, Wesley, Hollins, Handel, and Bach.

Bath Abbey

At Bath Abbey, organist and master of choristers Peter King explained the 1997 Klais organ, a rebuild of an 1868 William Hill/1895 Norman and Beard/

1914 Hill organ which sits in the north transept of the church. Few churches in England retain the organ atop the choir screen as is the situation at Westminster Abbey, Exeter, Gloucester, and King's College Chapel, and in many others, the screen has disappeared altogether. Since the late nineteenth century, the prevailing ideal has been to create an unobstructed view to the altar from the west door entrance, and many choir screens have been removed.

King told of the history of the 19th-century English Renaissance in church music and the symphonic organ required for the music of Stanford, Parry, and Elgar. Klais retained about half the pipes from the old organ and preserved the Hill, Norman, and Beard Positive division. Some of the 1895/

1914 tonal changes were reversed to revive the Hill sound ideal. The 1914 Thomas Jackson case was preserved. King played Bruhns, Mozart, Saint-Saëns, Ireland, and the Bach/Reger Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue.

Bristol

In Bristol at Saint Mary Redcliffe, a church constructed over a period of 200 years by merchants of the city, the entrance is through the north door of the porch, which dates from the 14th century. Only a fragment of the original medieval stained glass remains, the rest having been destroyed in the Reformation.

In 1726, the firm of Harris and Byfield built an organ which featured one of the country's first pedalboards with an octave permanently coupled to the Great. The present instrument by Harrison (1911) is considered one of the finest examples of that firm's work and of the Edwardian ideal. It fills three chambers on either side of the choir. Rebuilt in 1990 with few additions other than the upperwork and the console, the organ comprises 71 stops on four manuals. The tonal palette features a Double Open Wood 32' and Open Wood 16' of the Pedal, Corno di Bassetto of the Choir, and Cor Anglais, Orchestral Oboe, and Vox Humana (normally of the Solo division) and a complement of 16', two 8', and 4' reeds on the Swell. The Great Harmonics mixture includes a flat 21st which was peculiar to Arthur Harrison's design. Organist Anthony Pinell played a Ropartz Prelude, a Howells Psalm Prelude, and Fugue on the name Alain by Duruflé. He then assisted participants who played Honegger, Taverner, Howells, and Elgar on this lovely instrument.

Gloucester

Gloucester Cathedral, containing the tomb of King Edward II, was the site of a small Anglo-Saxon monastery until the 11th century, when it became a Benedictine monastery. The present building, ordered by William the Conqueror, dates from 1089. In 1541, the church became the cathedral for Gloucester. The massive Norman pillars of the nave bear red marks from a 13th-century fire. The choir vault is 14th-century perpendicular Gothic style. King Henry II was crowned there as a boy of 9 in 1216, the only monarch ever to be crowned outside of London.

Evensong canticles, Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis, were by Herbert Murrill, with responses by Walsh. The anthem was Herbert Howells' "Like As The Hart." David Briggs, organist of Gloucester Cathedral, improvised the opening voluntary and later chatted about the organ. It is one of a few remaining atop the choir screen and has a long history of adaptations. It has been over the screen since 1715. The 1640 Robert Dallum chair case on the east side of the screen is all that remains of that organ. Thomas Harris built an instrument in 1665 which contained the earliest mixture stop in Britain--200 pipes of that organ remain today. In 1831, J.C. Bishop added pedal pipes, among them a Flute 16' which is possibly the widest scale Pedal Open in Britain. Father Willis contributed to the organ in 1847 and 1888 as did Harrison and Harrison in 1920. Hill, Norman, and Beard restored the organ and electrified the console in 1971 to create one of the most rapid key-responses of any organ anywhere. With the 2000 restoration by the firm of Nicholson, the organ today can be described as neo-Baroque. Briggs mentioned that most English cathedral organs are rebuilt every 20 years or so "in the fashion" of the day. Henry Willis added a pedalboard. The last rebuild made it a Romantic instrument. Harrison & Harrison changed the voicing but kept all of the pipes. The organ has a grand, rolling sound. Briggs demonstrated the seven stops which remain of the Harris organ of 1665: Great Diapasons (one facing east, one west), two 4' Principals, 12th and 15th, and Choir 4' Principal. Briggs described the foundations as "throwing down to the 16'," perhaps because there are many high cut-ups and not much nicking of the pipes. There are nine seconds of reverberation in the nave when it is empty. Briggs played the Symphonie Passion of Dupré, Fantasie and Fugue in G Minor of Bach, and a long, multi-movement improvisation of symphonic scope based upon a hymn tune. One of his generation's most gifted at improvisation, Briggs then delighted his hearers by improvising in the style of other dazzling exponents of this art: Hakim, Latry, Cochereau, Lefebvre.

Hereford

Traveling through the rich Wye valley with its beautiful truck farms and fruit orchards, we arrived at Hereford, the last cathedral town before the Welsh border. The Romanesque cathedral church contains a late-19th-century Henry Willis built at a time when the firm was copying the tonal design of Cavaillé-Coll.

Of 4 manuals and 67 stops, the 1933 Willis rebuild features a console with couplers on tablets which are below the music rack (a copy of the American design). The pedal contains a 32' Double Open Bass, the Great a Double Open Diapason 16' and three 8' Diapasons, and the Swell a Contra Gamba 16'; the powerful reeds are on high wind pressure, and the wide-scale flues have "stringy" tops. With painted pipes which are often described as looking like "rolls of linoleum," the organ is not much altered from the Willis original. John Norman's firm electrified the console in 1978, the rebuild of which was funded by a local cider maker. Peter Dyke, assistant organist and acting principal organist, spoke of former organists John Bull and S.S. Wesley. He then played Purcell, Wesley's "Air and Gavotte," and the theme and two variations of the Brahms/Rogg Variations on a Theme of Haydn.

Every year, the prestigious Three Choirs Festival is held here with performers located at the west entrance and facing the audience which is seated facing the west entrance. Dyke called our attention to an organ which sits on a wheeled platform in the south aisle. For ease of the organist's sightline, the organ is wheeled to the next bay when the festival conductor's position moves eastward as the choral and accompanying ensemble personnel change.

Birmingham

The group then arrived at Birmingham's Symphony Hall which is part of an arts complex built in the late 1980s. The German firm of Klais was installing a large instrument in this beautiful facility. The interior is surely a sister-hall to the Meyerson in Dallas, so alike are the two. At the time the building was constructed, Simon Rattle was artistic director and conductor of Birmingham's famously fine orchestra, and a poster outside the hall featured a large photo of Rattle with two organ pipes, the feet of which extend sideways from his mouth. Wide-eyed, he appealed for donations for the organ. The Klais firm won the contract in 1989. The group enjoyed taking lunch with Philipp Klais, grandson of the firm's founder and a gracious, personable man of great enthusiasm. He considers his firm's "invasion" of England for restoration and new-instrument contracts a great honor. As participants settled into the audience seats of the concert hall, Klais recalled that many "firsts" were achieved by the British: the Swell Box, the modern bellows system, over-blowing flutes, and double-mouthed pipes. As his crew worked behind him, Klais explained that the organ for the Birmingham Hall would be of four manuals and 82 stops with inauguration scheduled for October, 2001. Thomas Trotter and the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra presented three concerts on Friday and Saturday, October 19 and 20. Only the façade was built for the opening of the facility some 11 years ago. Two consoles, one of tracker and the other of electric action, are provided, allowing one of them to be placed within the orchestra. Klais mentioned that he had visited the Meyerson Center in Dallas to study the acoustical properties there. His firm has recently installed a symphony hall instrument in Singapore and will construct another in Madison, Wisconsin.

Lichfield

Next, at Lichfield Cathedral, which sits in a lovely close surrounded by old and new buildings, Andrew Lumsden, organist and master of choristers, talked of the education and appointment of organists for large English churches. Rarely is the number 2 or number 3 organist elevated through the ranks, an exception being John Scott at St. Paul's London. Lumsden was educated at Saint John's College and was number 2 at Westminster Abbey for a time. The duties of Master of Choristers used to include the teaching of Latin and Greek. The choir schools, and the advent of girls' choirs, are enormously expensive.

The original instrument before the present Hill organ of 1884 was on the choir screen and was purchased by Josiah Spode of the pottery-making family. The Hill instrument was placed on the north transept and the pipes of that organ survive into the current one, a 4-manual instrument placed on either side of the choir. A Baroque choir organ was added in 1973-74 and a recently completed 4-million pound refurbishment by Harrison added the nave organ. The Great reeds are on a separate chest under high wind pressure, and there is a wonderful Edwardian Tuba and massive pedal reeds. Lumsden played the Bach "Liebster Jesu" with choir Cornet and Great Open Diapason, Widor Symphonie V "Adagio" with foundations and strings, and Guilmant's March on a Theme of Handel.

Liverpool

The great industrial city of Liverpool was the last stop before returning to London. Ian Tracey, organist for both Saint George's Hall and the Cathedral, treated us to a well-articulated history of both structures and their instruments. Saint George's Hall is a magnificent civic monument to nineteenth-century British pride and opulence. Built in the 1840s for music festivals, the interior was copied after the Baths of Caracalla in Rome and even displays Roman military insignia on its guilded interior doors. A magnificent marble floor is now covered by wood but is revealed on special occasions, increasing the considerable reverberation by two seconds.

S.S. Wesley directed the building of the Henry Willis organ in 1855. Willis was barely 30 at the time and this organ established his reputation. The instrument featured 100 stops, the first radiating concave pedalboard, stop jambs angled towards the player, and thumb pistons. Rebuilds occurred in 1897 and 1931. The organ was dismantled after a bomb damaged the building in 1940. Many pipes were stolen, and in 1957 Henry Willis IV reconstructed the organ. Since 1989 it has been cared for by the David Wells company, with a campaign now on to further restore the organ. Today it has 120 stops, including two percussions. It still retains a classical English Great Mixture and wide scaled Diapasons.

About 200 people will attend organ recitals at any given time. At Christmas, some 1700 people congregate to enjoy dinner parties and carol singing. At other times, Tracey continues the tradition of playing the 1812 Overture while the audience provides the bell and cannon effects. In the 19th century, W.T. Best, notable for his orchestral transcriptions, would play concerts for school children and for adults, who were charged but a farthing to hear the organ. Once, a woman dressed in black appeared in Best's peripheral vision while he played a Spohr overture. He shooed her away. It was Queen Victoria. George Thalben-Ball was organist here for a time. Tracey played a Purcell March to feature the Tuba Mirabilis and double-leathered Diapason, Thalben-Ball's Elegy, and the Bossi Scherzo.

Liverpool Cathedral contains the largest organ in England. Like the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., Liverpool Cathedral took most of the twentieth century to construct. Like Saint Paul's in London, the church became a national symbol of British fortitude during WWII as Churchill ordered the work to continue on the tower even as Liverpool endured saturation bombing by the Germans. Begun in 1904 and completed in the 1980s, the enormity of the structure is magnified because the nave is very wide, there is an unobstructed view from entrance to altar (1/8 mile), there are two sets of transepts, and the arches under the tower soar to 175 feet. 4000 people can congregate here, as they did when the Queen consecrated the Cathedral in 1978. Giles Gilbert Scott, 18 years old at the time, won the competition for the design. He also designed the Bank Side Power Station (now the new Tate Gallery) in London and the University Library at Cambridge. Henry Willis designed the instrument to accommodate the organist, Henry Goss-Custard, and his considerable gifts for orchestral sonorities. There are 147 speaking stops, 47 of which are reeds, including those on 30 and 50 inches of wind pressure. There are 10 ranks of mixtures on each manual, mutations, and clarinet, bassoon, and flutes, all of which are much more subtle than those at Saint George's Hall. The huge organ is mounted on both sides of the choir and faces into the nave, held up by massive load-bearing piers that were designed to hold two 200-foot towers which were never built.

Little of the organ is changed today, but in 1989 a new moveable console was provided. Tracey demonstrated the five beautiful Open Diapasons of the Great, played the Tournemire Te Deum, Joel Martinson's Aria, and his own transcription of two movements of the Respighi Pines of Rome. Participants played Karg-Elert, Widor and Mulet.

London: Temple Church

Returning to London, participants were greeted by James Vivian, organist at Temple Church, where George Thalben-Ball was organist for over 60 years.  The present organ, a 1927 Harrison & Harrison, was a gift of Lord Glentanner, in whose Scottish castle ballroom it was originally placed. Moved to the church in 1954, a Double Ophicleide was added. In 1989, Harrison revised the Great Mixture and lowered the Great reeds from 15 to 7 inches of wind pressure. The original instrument, a 1684 instrument of 23 stops, was the first 3-manual organ in England. The Echo division (a forerunner of the Swell) had a short compass to Middle C. This and subsequent instruments and their restorations were destroyed in 1941.

Saint Paul's Cathedral

At Saint Paul's Cathedral, the 5 p.m. Eucharist was sung by the choir, with service music by Harold Darke and Introit by Palestrina (Tu es petra). Andrew Reed, the number 2 organist, played for the service. After the church emptied, Huw Williams, assistant organist, led us to the choir loft to demonstrate the 1872 Father Willis organ. Today it is of 108 stops in three parts: the main organ on either side of the choir, the west entrance Trumpet en Chamade and Diapason chorus, and the Quarter Dome Northeast division of 3 tubas and a Tuba Militaire. Willis had split the original Bernard Smith organ of 1697 (a double-sided instrument located on the choir screen) and moved it to its present location on either side of the choir. The case was designed by the architect of the church, Christopher Wren. Willis claimed first use of tubular pneumatic action in this organ. From 1897 to 1900, Willis expanded the Pedal, the pipes of which lie horizontally on the north side of the choir. From 1925 to 1930 the organ was moved to the Wellington monument bay as it was feared that the dome was unstable. Restored in 1960, 1972, and 1977, windchests and other parts of the organ received major overhauls. The Mander company added Diapasons to the quarter dome division. The Swell is particularly fine, an example of an early Willis classic Swell, not deep in the case, and equal to the Great. Williams played Stanford, Howells, and Bossi to demonstrate the colors and families of stops. The finale was Grand Choeur Dialogué by Gigout in which the Royal Trumpets sounded antiphonally with the main organ.

Afterwards, the group proceeded to Saint Helen Bishopgate, near Saint Paul's, where John Norman was the consultant for a new organ. The original instrument was destroyed by an IRA bomb in the 1980s.

Saint Margaret Lothbury

Saint Margaret Lothbury, a small church nestled next to the Bank of England, was our next stop. We were greeted by Richard Townend, who is resident recitalist at Saint Margaret Lothbury and music director for Holy Trinity Church at Sloane Square. Townend was a choirboy at Westminster Abbey and sang for the funeral of Ralph Vaughan Williams in 1958. He studied at the Royal College of Music with Harold Darke and Herbert Howells, and in Switzerland with Lionel Rogg and Guy Bovet. He is also director of music for the Hill House school, which Prince Charles attended.

Saint Margaret Lothbury was designed by Christopher Wren and built after the great fire of 1666. In danger of collapse, it was rebuilt in the 1970s. An organ of two manuals was placed in the west gallery in 1801 by G.P. England and a Choir division was added in 1845 by James Butler. In 1881 Bryceson moved the whole organ to the gallery and added the treble case from the church of St. Mildred Poultry. In 1938, Hill, Norman and Beard added a large Great Open Diapason and discarded the Great Mixture. The console was electrified and detached from the case. In 1983-84, J.C. Bishop and Son, under the direction of John Budgen and Richard Townend, completely reconstructed the organ, restoring the case to its original form. The remaining stops by England and James Butler have been incorporated in a new instrument built in the style of the original. Both Felix Mendelssohn and S.S. Wesley played here.

In 1830, the organ at St. Margaret Lothbury featured the first addition of the bottom 12 notes of pedals in England. It contains warm Open and quiet Stopped Diapasons. According to Townend, the instrument is a quintessential British organ, of "polite" sound and singing quality, but not built for playing polyphony. The Great 4' Flute "bubbles up." In English music whenever a flute is called for, it means a 4' Flute. There is an "elderly" Trumpet. The classic English chorus is 8' Open Diapason, 4' Principal, Twelfth, Fifteenth, and Mixture. The English Cornet is of 3 ranks: 8', 4', 22/3'. The Swell is soft--the Great louder. Adding the Trumpet to the Cornet gives a "Frenchy Grand Jeu." The Cremona with metal resonators, fatter than the French Cromorne, is for solo melodies.

Westminster Abbey

The group attended Evensong at Westminster Abbey to hear responses by Aylesbury, Magnificat and Nunc dimittis by Howells, and an anthem by Stanford. Afterwards, Stephen LePrevost, assistant organist, spoke briefly of the organ as playing time was limited. The organ is a 1937 rebuild by Harrison & Harrison of a William Hill instrument from 1848 and 1884. The first instrument was by the firm of Schrider & Jordan in 1727. The choir Stopped Flute and 4' Flute are reputedly from the Jordan instrument. The Bombarde division was added by Simon Preston and features the borrowing of reeds from the Great and Solo manuals. Participants played Howells, Tournemire, Handel, and Walton.

Westminster Cathedral

The imposing Roman Cathedral of Westminster, loosely based on the design of St. Mark's in Venice, was built in 1901. Past the nave with its three domes, the group gathered in the choir loft which is behind the high altar. Martin Baker, organist of Westminster Cathedral, explained that it costs around $400,000 per year to maintain the choir school. The sound of the famous choir is more "continental," rather than that of the British "hooty" sound. 95% of the music is in Latin, and the boys actually have trouble singing in English after learning the Italianate Latin vowel sounds. The Apse Organ of two manuals accompanies the choir. The large Willis Grand Organ in the west gallery is playable from the Apse Organ through setting pistons from the Grand Organ, but the two-second delay takes some getting used to.

Walking down the south triforium gallery towards the west gallery, we stopped at a bay close to the Great Organ. Comparable to the Liverpool instrument, it was built by Henry Willis III and rebuilt by Harrison in 1984. It features a Double Diapason 16' and three Open Diapasons on the Great. There is a Double Open Bass 32' and Open Bass and Open Diapason 16' in the Pedal. The Swell and Solo both contain beautiful orchestral reeds: Waldhorn, Cor Anglais, French horn, and Corno di Bassetto. The Cor de nuit celestes on the Choir are velvety and beautiful. In 1976, Stephen Cleobury directed the raising of the Apse Organ and part of the Great Organ to concert pitch. In 1985, David Hill, who began the Grand Organ Festival, had all of the Great Organ raised to concert pitch. Baker improvised on "Adoro te devote," and participants played Stanford, Parry, and Mulet.

London options

On July 1, with several Sunday service choices in London, one group of participants returned to Westminster Cathedral for a Festival Mass in celebration of the centennial anniversary year of the church. Kyrie, Gloria, and Agnus Dei, sung by the choir, were by Widor. The anthem was Parry's "I Was Glad," accompanied by both the Great Organ and the Apse Organ. The congregation sang the rest of the Latin Mass from printed plainsong. The 1700 seats of the nave were full. At Richard Townend's church, Holy Trinity at Sloane Square, an orchestra accompanied a Mozart Mass and a youth choir from Alaska participated.

Afternoon choices included hearing recitals at Saint Paul's (John Scott), Westminster Cathedral (Martin Baker), and Westminster Abbey. Participants practiced for and played a recital at Holy Trinity church at 7:00 p.m. Open to the parishioners and public, the program featured music by Walond, Lang, Howells, Rutter, Thalben-Ball, and Vierne. The interior of the church, an arts-and-crafts-Gothic design, features a breathtaking window above the altar which was the largest window ever built by the William Morris Company. Its beautiful stained-glass images were designed by pre-Raphaelite painter Edward Burne-Jones. J.W. Walker & Sons built an organ here in 1891 which was almost totally destroyed during WWII. It was rebuilt in 1966 by Walker, and Simon Preston inaugurated the instrument in 1967.

The British Organ Music Seminar provides participants access to great instruments and their artist-curators. For those unfamiliar with the vast repertoire of British organ music, especially that of the 19th and early 20th century, playing these works on the instruments for which they were conceived is a revelation. The reverberation of the environment, the velvety Diapasons, the exquisite Swell divisions with their strings and orchestral reeds, and the fire of the British tubas resonates long after the experience is past. The hospitality of our hosts was among the finest. At many venues, the church's staff provided a meal, either in the undercroft, or a parlor, or in a great hall. Such is what creates memories surrounding the experience of beautiful music and instruments.           

The Diapason’s second annual “20 under 30” selections came from a field that included over 130 nominations, a response that exceeded the previous year’s. The nominees were evaluated based upon information provided in the nominations; we selected only from those who had been nominated. We looked for evidence of such things as career advancement, technical skills, and creativity and innovation; we considered a nominee’s awards and competition prizes, publications and compositions, and significant positions in the mix. Our selections were not limited merely to organists but reflect the breadth of our editorial scope, which includes the organ, harpsichord, carillon, and church music. Here we present the winners’ backgrounds and accomplishments, and then have them tell us something interesting about themselves and about their achievements, goals, and aspirations.

Since we had to decline multiple nominees for each one we chose, selecting only 20 from a field of very worthy nominees was quite a challenge. We encourage you to participate in the “20 under 30” awards next year—a person must be nominated in order to be selected.

William Kuhlman is Professor of Music at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, where he has taught since 1969. He is currently director of the Luther College Study Abroad program located in Nottingham, England. He is a member of Concert Artists Cooperative.

The twenty-third International Organ Festival was held at Saint Albans Cathedral and Abbey from July 7–16, 2005. The festival, which began in 1963, was the brainchild of Peter Hurford, Master of Music at St. Albans from 1958–78, who with his wife Patricia was inspired by the installation of the 1962 Harrison & Harrison organ, co-designed by Peter Hurford and Ralph Downes, in the cathedral. This exhilarating week of organ, choral, multi-media, symphonic and chamber events set the City of St. Albans abustle with activity and provided a welcome environment for visitors from the U.K. and abroad.

Friday

Friday’s opening event featured David Briggs, a recent addition to the New York City organ community and former winner of the improvisation competition at St. Albans in 1993. The evening was devoted to a showing of Cecil B. DeMille’s silent film “The King of Kings.” For almost two straight hours, Mr. Briggs provided soaring and majestic improvised accompaniments. This presentation to an audience of over one thousand proved to be the perfect marriage of music to the on-screen drama. Briggs’s improvisations not only reflected but enhanced the action on screen in a dramatic and powerful way reminiscent of Dupré at times, Messiaen, Cochereau and Langlais (one of his mentors) at others.

Saturday

Undaunted by his exhausting evening twelve hours prior, Briggs demonstrated the small three- to 12-stop pipe organs on exhibition in the north transept of the cathedral. Once again, he was brilliant, serving up a smorgasbord of improvisations appropriate to the size and voicing of each of the nine instruments, some in Renaissance style, others in modern variation forms, and still others in spirited and delightful sorties à la Louis Vierne. One of the most ingenious of all the demonstrations was improvised on two adjacent Vincent Woodstock twins of three stops each, placed at right angles to each other and played simultaneously by Briggs with one hand on each organ. The last demo was on the largest of the nine organs heard, this one by Harrison & Harrison: a spirited excursion into “Three Blind Mice” en stile Jehan Alain by a master improviser riding the crest of his triumph the previous evening and obviously enjoying every minute of it.

The final session of the morning was an illustrated talk by the cathedral organist at Southwell entitled “Painted Pipes Make Merrier Music” tracing the history of English organ case decoration.

Ludger Lohmann, one of the competition jurists, played an afternoon recital on the II/26 Peter Collins “Silbermann Organ” at St. Saviour’s Church in town. The beautiful Romanesque lines and elegant bricked columns made for a particularly apt setting for his fine performance in a tidy acoustic—transparent and articulate renditions of Bach’s Pièce d’Orgue, Fantasie BWV 562, and Trio Sonata No. 5; the de Grigny Veni Creator and Mozart K. 608 were given polished and elegant readings as well.

Evening Prayer was beautifully sung by the Men and Abbey Girls Choir directed by Simon Johnson with organist James Davy. The highlight was a stunning rendition of the James MacMillan setting of Christus Vincit. Special prayers for the victims and families of the disaster in London the previous Thursday were said.
Even with a chorus of 236 singers and hundreds of previously heard performances, a fresh Messiah staging can be a revelation. Heard in the bright, present acoustic of St. Albans Cathedral under the direction of Andrew Lucas, such was the case. Hearing Messiah 998 years after this grand Norman structure was begun was a musical highlight of Festival 2005. By the second chorus, occasional problems with togetherness had been rectified by Maestro Lucas, and despite the rather large forces, choruses were rendered in a light buoyant style in which consonants rang out clearly and precisely. This was a visceral and gutsy performance—no holds barred, make no mistake about it, as the rendering of the Hallelujah Chorus well proved. The singing from both soloists and chorus was at once elegant and controlled but enthusiastically glorious.

Sunday

The Service of Commemoration on Sunday morning July 10 was a profoundly impressive service honoring the sixtieth anniversary of the end of World War II, which was celebrated the previous week throughout the United Kingdom. Included were emotional recollections from two men and one German woman recalling the sacrifice and horror of war and their life experiences of sixty years ago. Beautiful renditions by the Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys included the John Ireland anthem “Greater Love Hath No Man” and moving performances of the Walton Te Deum, “God Save the Queen” (sung with gusto by all), and the postlude played by organist Simon Johnson, Bach’s BVW 548, the “Wedge.”

Former organist and choirmaster at St. Paul’s, London, and more recently appointed to a similar post at St. Thomas Church, New York City, John Scott was the second jury member in concert Sunday afternoon in St. Albans Cathedral. Langlais’ La Cinquième Trompette (1973) was written during the composer’s convalescence from a near-fatal illness. This seldom-played and extraordinary piece was well-performed by John Scott on the colorful and powerful 75-rank Harrison & Harrison. Two chorale preludes from Clavierübung III, “These Are Thy Holy Ten Commands” and “Jesus Christ Our Savior,” came off nicely in clear and transparent registrations, the first lovingly rendered, the second dancing along in a great flight. Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 543, was played with appropriate doses of freedom and flexibility. The Mendelssohn “Andante with Variations in D” was published posthumously not long after Mendelssohn’s death in 1847. Percy Grainger’s “Handel in the Strand” certainly livened up the afternoon and warmed Mr. Scott to the crowd. Based in part on Handel’s tune “The Harmonious Blacksmith,” it was reminiscent of a piece the great Reginald Foort may have knocked off on one of his Sunday afternoon concerts in a town hall 60 or 70 years ago. Composer Ad Wammes’ Miroir is a delightful minimalist piece creating a hypnotic effect akin to dancing rays of light reflected in glass with little wisps of melody sneaking in the left hand part over the 140 bars of ostinato. The rhythmically dynamic and exhilarating Fanfare by one of Scott’s mentors, Kenneth Leighton, concluded the afternoon’s program. Oddly enough, this is a little-known and under-played piece in the U.K., since it was published in America and has never been easily available in the British Isles. It was played with the affection one might expect from Scott, a former choirboy in Leighton’s Wakefield Men and Boys in the late 1960s.

The Sunday Evensong was exquisitely sung by the Men and Boys of St. Albans featuring Shepherd’s service setting, hymns by C. Hubert H. Parry and C. H. Monk, and a particularly wonderful reading of Phillip Moore’s anthem “All Wisdom comes before the Lord.” One can only be impressed and filled with admiration at the precocious spirit of this superbly trained ensemble under Andrew Lucas’ expert leadership. Considering that this was the second service of the day for the boys, and the third in 24 hours for the men, one can appreciate the energy, talent and discipline of this and other choirs like it. The amazing feature of the St. Albans ensemble is that they are not part of a choir “boarding school” but rather are brought back and forth by committed and diligent parents for the nearly two hours of rehearsal each day, in addition to an extended Friday evening rehearsal of over two hours. The Dean of the Cathedral, the Very Reverend Dr. Jeffrey John, preached a fine sermon on “Music,” pointing out that if religious music lacks the power to ignite something inside of you beyond a nice warm glow, it can only be considered “religious wallpaper.” As usual, the organist Simon Johnson got a workout playing nearly nonstop the entire 35 minutes plus the Vierne First Organ Symphony opening movement for the pièce de sortie. His playing came to be highly regarded throughout the festival.

An ancillary event offered to festival participants and townsfolk was a performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury, presented by the Regeneration Theatre Company at the old 19th-century court house in the middle of town, historic scene of many a banishment to Australia in the nineteenth century for petty (and not so petty) crimes. It proved to be a perfect setting for this lively and energetic production by this young and vibrant company and lent a new wrinkle to the phrase “high camp.”

Monday

On Monday, and the other weekdays, interpretation and improvisation semi-finals were held with nineteen competitors playing for the five-member international jury.

The “Three Choirs” concert on Monday evening brought in yet another full house, packing the cathedral to overflowing. Featured were the Men and Boys choirs of Winchester, Durham and St. Albans cathedrals. The “Battle of the Choirs” began with a beguiling rendition of Tallis’ rarely sung Loquebantur varlis linguis sung from the presbytery, followed by a processional sung in multi-phonic alternatim style on Iste Confessor Domini interspersed with organ settings by Tallis and Redford once again played by the masterful Simon Johnson. Winchester followed with a playful and spirited performance of Byrd’s Haec dies and a vibrant setting of Laudi alla beata vergine by James MacMillan.

It would seem unfair to compare the three choirs, each with their own personality, some with a more “forward” and soprano-dominant sound, and others with all components in sync. Suffice it to say that Andrew Lucas’ St. Albans Men and Boys bathed us once again in sumptuous choral sound in their renditions of the Brahms Geistliches Lied and Michael Tippett’s setting of the American spiritual Steal Away. The unconventional and highly difficult setting of Tippett’s Spanish fiesta-inspired Magnificat was sung by all three choirs as the first half came to a festive conclusion. The piece was commissioned in 1961 for the 450th anniversary of the founding of St. John’s College, Cambridge.

Following the interval, the boys from the three choirs once again showed their stuff in a wonderfully rhythmic performance of the Britten Missa Brevis. The forty-plus men of the choirs then dug aggressively into a gutsy and forbidding setting of Gombert’s Magnificat Tertii et Octavi Toni. Jonathan Harvey’s piece entitled Toccata for Organ and Tape from the 1980s was a typical genre piece from that era, demonstrating the undying fascination composers had for combining the pings and poofs possible by combining these two sound sources.
Andrew Lumsden (Winchester) brought the three choirs together a second time in William Harris’s a cappella setting of Bring Us, O Lord God with poetry by John Donne. The celestial ending of the work and the great polish and richness overall exuded feelings of warmth and fondness for text brought by Victorian and post-Victorian composers like Harris (1883–1973).

James Lancelot (Durham Cathedral) brought the evening to a thrilling and fitting ending of a magnificent display of choral music at its most glorious with Howells’s Te Deum (Collegium Regale) written in 1944 for Boris Ord and the King’s College Choir of Men and Boys.

Tuesday

The evening concert on July 12 by Peter Hurford and The Swingle Singers proved to be pleasant enough for some audience members, but was overall an unexciting evening of old Swingle war-horses and “signature” pieces. The vocal dexterity and impeccable technique that is a Swingle trademark was marred by problems with both intonation and accuracy. Following “spot-on” choral singing by the previously heard choirs, the Swingles seemed under-rehearsed and unsure of themselves much of the time.

Peter Hurford managed to bail the evening out of complete disaster with some nice performances of Orgelbüchlein favorites in two different groupings, followed in each case with Swinglized renderings. He dashed off the “St. Anne” prelude as well as the “little” G-minor fugue and the Alain Litanies with his usual professionalism. This great artist and treasure of the international organ world celebrated his 75th birthday on St. Cecilia’s Day 2005.

Wednesday

Wednesday evening brought the Royal College of Music Junior Department Symphony Orchestra from London to town. The level and training of this fine ensemble of student musicians showed that they had the “right stuff” from the first note forward. The opulence of their sound bloomed (almost too much) in the rich and present acoustic of the St. Albans nave. But what was lacking in orchestral polish was compensated by the insatiable energy, enthusiasm and obvious love for playing as exemplified initially in a reading of the wonderful occasional music from Peter Grimes by Britten.

Despite some expected difficulty in keeping orchestra and organ together due to the great spatial separation between organ and ensemble, the first movement of the Guilmant Organ Symphony #1, played by Jane Watts and the Symphony under Richard Dickin’s able baton, rang dramatic and triumphal. The Harrison & Harrison once again proved a worthy partner to the RCM Symphony in a pleasant and agreeable reading of the second movement. The third movement brought to a thrilling conclusion this marvelous collaboration.

Following the interval, Elgar’s Enigma Variations were given a fabulous performance by these aspiring young artists. Like our young musicians at Interlochen and honors orchestras scattered about America, these students will form the nucleus for the next generation of professional orchestral musicians worldwide. When one hears groups like this perform so brilliantly, one can only wonder at the political or educational thinking that leads to elimination of instrumental music and arts program from American public schools.

Thursday

Thursday was the “Royal Academy of Music” day for those who opted to go down to London. We were greeted upon arrival by David Titterington, head of organ studies at the R.A.M., who began our day in the elegant 400-seat Duke’s Hall with a cordial welcome and outline of the day’s planned activities. Only the Weimar conservatory and the Liszt Academy in Budapest are older than the Royal Academy, founded in 1822. Beautiful portraiture and sculpture of important figureheads at the R.A.M. such as Sir David Lumsden, Sir Henry Wood and the Wesleys adorn the side walls. Elton John was cited as a graduate and a major supporter of the academy’s programs.

We heard some excellent playing of Franck and Langlais by academy organ students Jessica Cottis and Joe Fort on the wonderful 1993 Van den Heuvel. The organ was built in the Cavaillé-Coll style with a case modeled on the Trocadero case in Paris.

The David Josefowitz Recital Hall provided a perfect venue for the performance of early Italian organ music by the Piden Organ Fellow at the Royal Academy, Riccardo Bonci. The organ, a 1763 Italianate instrument, was a major find by the Academy. The instrument, originally thought to be from Naples, was lovingly restored in Florence by Riccardo Lorenzini who was undaunted by its wretched condition upon discovery in a Rome apartment. The case was restored by artists in the National Gallery in Florence. The 1' rank was discovered to be from the year 1590. A nightingale and bagpipe stops were added although not original to the organ. The tuning is meantone.

We heard Frescobaldi’s Toccata Quarta (Bk. II) played on the Voce umana stop with alluring charm; a Cavazzoni hymn on the Principale stop, which proved to be a gloriously warm and singing sound; a Gabrieli intonazione played on the ripieno or tutti sound and several other pieces showing off the bagpipe drone stop (the Zampogna) and the nightingale stop (the Usignolo). We were filled with admiration for not only the serene beauty of the organ sounds displayed making these lovely pieces come alive, but the virtuosity of this young and talented player who seemed totally at home in even the quickest passages using Diruta-style early fingerings (3-4, 3-4 ascending and 3-2, 3-2 descending).

The York Gate Keyboard Gallery provided the scene for Anne Page’s demonstration of the two-manual Alphonse Mustel “Orgue-Celesta” from 1907. Ms. Page launched into a masterful mini-lecture/demonstration of the beauties and unique characteristics of this little-known instrument, which sprang from the spirit of 19th and early 20th century invention employing the so-called “free reed” concept. It rose to the height of its popularity after the industrial revolution gave rise to the middle class. Its ability to make dynamic changes by subtle variations in the foot pumping, and a sustaining power beyond that of a piano, made it an attractive alternative for composers like Lefébure-Wély, Franck, Bizet, Vierne and others. Composition for the instrument quickly became a long-standing French tradition. Ms. Page has become a true savant of the instrument. Her passion for its possibilities became ever more apparent with her tour de force renditions of difficult compositions by Lefébure-Wély and others. She was quick to point out that this instrument was never meant to be a “substitute for the pipe organ” but a different kettle of fish altogether with possibilities beyond that of an organ. One of the highlights of the day was hearing the Prelude, Fugue and Variation of Franck in its original scoring for piano and harmonium. The effect was extremely interesting and rich in dynamic contrast. Other pieces by Karg-Elert and Vierne (24 Pièces en style libre) showed us how composers pushed the instrument’s possibilities to the limits.

The afternoon offering was a masterclass at St. Marylebone Parish Church, across the street from the Royal Academy and site of a fine Rieger organ from 1987. Jurist Jos van der Kooy led the class of students from the academy ready to offer up pieces by Karg-Elert, Bach, Messiaen and Reger.

Marvelous playing by the student musicians was elevated by helpful and insightful comments by van der Kooy, who holds positions at both the Grote Kerk of St. Bavo in Haarlem and the Vesterkerk in Amsterdam. Some profoundly insightful comments were mixed in among some wonderful “Kooy-isms” such as “open the swell box with your ears, not your feet,” “Don’t let pistons dictate your silences,” and “I think birds sing very sophisticated in France” (re: Messiaen).

The evening concert entitled “The Splendour of the Baroque” featured Emma Kirkby, soprano, Jos van der Kooy, organ, and the London Baroque in a diverse program of rarely heard music from the eighteenth century. Along with works by Handel, Bach and John Christopher Smith, were two of the most delightful Soler Concertos for two organs, perfectly executed by Jos van der Kooy and Jane Watts. With the Five Arias, employing rapturous texts from Milton’s Paradise Lost and set sensitively with homage to Handel by John Christopher Smith (1712–95), all was right in the heavens.

Improvisation

The improvisation prelims were conducted throughout the week. The given theme, Nun Danket All und bringet Her, came with the instruction to execute a fifteen-minute partita on it. The improvisation final on Friday morning required each player to split the 20 allowed minutes as they wished between the submitted theme (Veni Creator Spiritus) and the newly composed theme by Jos van der Kooy. The themes were handed to competitors 40 minutes before their allotted performance time.

The first improviser was the young Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Dupont, who brought a huge, blossoming, rhythmic and foreboding drama to his themes, not unlike the Cochereau of old. He integrated his motivic ideas into colorful textures and held the audience’s interest right through to his incredible ending.
Gerben Mourik from the Netherlands approached the themes in a much more subdued and restrained fashion, building in a relatively tonal and conservative style. His was a beautiful harmonic language with very clear exposition of both themes and an excellent registrational concept.

The third contestant and an obvious audience favorite was Thorsten Maus from Germany. His was the most conservative style of the three. While Maus’s harmonic language was not as interesting as the first two, his compact but thorough treatment employing various formal techniques was perhaps the best packaged.

The final recital by a jurist was played by Erwan Le Prado from France, a former student of André Isoir. He presently teaches at the Conservatoire de Caen in France. Le Prado’s Bach and Buxtehude works were played with great musical personality, nuance and sense of immediacy—by far the best Bach playing of the week. He brought to the G-minor Fantasy, BWV 542, the power it deserved in an enthusiastic and energized rendition. The little D-minor Trio, BWV 583, seemed an apt choice to play between fantasy and fugue since many of its motives bear a resemblance to the subject and countersubjects of 542. The fugue was played in a spirited and somewhat daring manner which, despite its in-your-face approach, worked admirably in the rather dry acoustic of St. Saviour’s Church.

The Alain Aria is one of those “less is more” Alain pieces that give voice to his uniquely colorful, vivid and quirky imagination. The Second Fantasy of Alain, with its haunting Arabic themes suggestive of the chant of the Muezzin from a minaret calling the faithful to prayer, whips up into a wild and whirling dance, ending as it began in a mood of secret and mysterious melancholy. For a Frenchman, a suite from the French Baroque seems almost obligatory. Le Prado displayed well the sonorities of the school with the Guilain Suite du Premier Ton on the 22-stop 1989 Peter Collins organ built in the style of Andreas Silbermann.

Le Prado’s final offering was Six Variations sur un psaume huguenot written by his mentor André Isoir. This rarely heard piece by the 70-year-old French performing giant takes as its theme Psalm 92 from the Genevan Psalter. It is Isoir’s one and only published organ work. The amazingly intricate textures are fully exploited by the tonal palette of the classical pipe organ in wonderfully imaginative and unexpected ways. One could hear the cross influences of contemporaries such as Gaston Litaize and Oliver Messiaen. The vibrant “Final” brought the afternoon’s recital to a dynamic and impressive conclusion.

Friday

Friday brought us to the interpretation finals. The common piece to be played that morning was the 9/8 Prelude in C by Bach. All three renditions were competent although several suffered from too heavy a pedal registration—easy to do on an organ not especially designed to play Baroque music and in a room with thick walls especially hospitable to the bass range. Others were somewhat more legato than current taste would condone, blurring the lines. Yet another played in a rather stiff, inflexible manner. But this was all for the judges to ruminate about.

The second and third pieces, from 1850–1970 and after 1970, were the choice of the performer. We heard Reger, Duruflé and Franck plus a wide range of short pieces from Dan Locklair and Thierry Escaich to Lionel Rogg and Jon Laukvik. What criticism could be applied to these gifted performers would have to do with subtle and ephemeral items such as lack of “fire,” clarity, and use of the acoustic in rests and tempi, and overall control of the pieces.

Needless to say, these were all superb performance that would stand up well in any recital venue. What a thrill it was to see a cathedral nearly packed with people, rapt with attention and interest in what these young performers had to say.

After considerably more deliberation by the panel, a decision was announced. First prize for interpretation and its attendant $9600 purse went to Andrew DeWar of the U.K. Dewar was the second prize winner in the 2003 competition and is currently pursuing studies at the Musikhochschule in Stuttgart with Ludger Lohmann. Dewar also won the “Prize of the Audience” ($900).

The second prize ($5300) went to another Brit, Henry Fairs, a graduate of the Musikhochschule in Cologne and former student of Susan Landale. The first prize for the improvisation competition ($7000) was given to Gerben Mourik of the Netherlands, currently studying at Tilburg Conservatoire. The Douglas May Award ($1300) for one who is not a recipient of any other prize for the best performance of any competition piece in the quarter-final and semi-final rounds went to Simon Bell of Great Britain.

Final accolades were bestowed on each by town and festival officials and patrons at a festive ceremony in the great nave of the cathedral on Saturday morning, followed by a recital by the finalists in both improvisation and interpretation. Once again, the cathedral was packed with audience members.
Henry Fairs began the concert with the Elgar First Sonata opening movement, which the judges had requested that he perform since he had played it so brilliantly during an earlier level of the competition. It proved to be the perfect choice to begin this auspicious event—a lovely rendering of this lush work on a wonderfully English-inflected instrument in an ideal setting.

Jean-Baptiste Dupont, the French improvisation-colorist extraordinaire, showed us once again his consummate mastery of sound and texture. In this forum, sans a given theme upon which to extemporize, he was able to let his juices flow freely and this he did right well, producing gigantic explosions of sound to flow in alternation with the loveliest shimmers imaginable.

Jonathan Moyers (USA), a doctoral student of Donald Sutherland at the Peabody Conservatory, played once again the Thierry Escaich Evocation II. The evocation most apparent in this piece written over a sometime tedious pedal point is the tune Freu dich sehr, o meine Seele. Mr. Moyers gave the piece as fine a reading (and perhaps better) as could be expected.

Thorsten Maus from Germany, a finalist in improvisation, started us off with a very typical British-sounding march melody to the great delight of all. We thought we were at the “Proms.” He spun out a number of CHH Parry/Percy Whitlock-like variations in a rondo form, some homophonic, others more imitative with small hints of Elgar’s familiar Pomp and Circumstance tune thrown in for good measure. It was just plain fun and a nice foil for the others who were “oh so moderne”! You’d have thought Mr. Maus was British-born and bred. Maybe a week in St. Albans rubbed off!

Daniel Cook of the U.K., a finalist in the interpretation competition, almost came up to the same high standard in his performance of the Duruflé Veni Creator established the night before. Once again, he seemed in total control of all aspects of the piece and gave it a fine reading.

Gerben Mourik, the Dutch winner of the improvisation competition, played next and in a lovely gesture to his English hosts chose to improvise on the hymntune Michael (“All my hope on God is founded”). Once again, he gave an altogether splendid performance with great inventive strokes in his theme and variations and employing many different techniques and formal procedures.
Andrew DeWar squeezed the mighty Harrison & Harrison dry in another tour de force reading of Reger’s Phantasie für Orgel über den Choral ‘Halleluja! Gott zu loben’, op. 52, no. 3, using every imaginable tonal resource available to him on this somewhat modestly sized cathedral instrument.

Congratulations and thanks to the staff, jury, patrons, townspeople and of course the competitors who came from all over the globe and combined to make the week such a marvelous musical experience for all.

The Diapason’s inaugural “20 under 30” selections came from a field that included over 100 nominations, a response that surprised and delighted us. The nominees were evaluated based upon information provided in the nominations; we selected only from those who had been nominated. We looked for evidence of such things as career advancement, technical skills, and creativity and innovation; we considered a nominee’s awards and competition prizes, publications and compositions, and significant positions in the mix. Our selections were not limited merely to organists but reflect the breadth of our editorial scope, which includes the organ, harpsichord, carillon, and church music. Here we present the winners’ backgrounds and accomplishments, and then have them tell us something interesting about themselves, and about their achievements, goals, and aspirations.

Since we had to decline multiple nominees for each one we chose, selecting only 20 from a field of very worthy nominees was quite a challenge. We do urge you to participate in the “20 under 30” awards next year—a person must be nominated in order to be selected. 

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.