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“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Sir David Willcocks (1919-2015)

Andrew Leung · September 17, 2015

CTL Sir David Willcocks HE WORLD OF MUSIC have suffered a great loss today. Sir David Willcocks passed away at the age of 95. According to King’s College, he died peacefully at home on September 17. Sir Willcocks was a well-known British choral conductor, organist and composer.

Sir David Willcocks was born in Newquay in 1919, he became a chorister at Westminster Abbey at the age of eight, where he was conducted by Sir Edward Elgar. He directed the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, from 1957 to 1974, where recordings and broadcasts were frequently made. Before that, he served at the Salisbury Cathedral and the Worcester Cathedral. He was also director of the Royal College of Music in London. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1971 and was created a Knight Bachelor in 1977 in the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Honors. He held honorary degrees from over ten universities in England, USA and Canada.

Sir Willcocks is particularly well-known for his association with the Choir of King’s College. His connection with the college began in 1939 when he became an organ scholar. He was elected to a fellowship in 1947 and subsequently held the post of Director of Music. There, he wrote several descants and carol arrangements for the annual service of the Nine Lessons and Carols. These descants and arrangements were published in the series of Carols for Choirs which he edited along with Reginald Jacques and John Rutter. Under his direction, the Choir of King’s College made numerous recordings and gave concerts worldwide. They also made appearances on television and radio.

His book, 100 Carols for Choirs is one that every parish must have in their music library! It is a selection of one hundred most popular carols and hymns for Advent and the Christmas season. There are some glorious descants and beautiful arrangements of the organ accompaniments in the book.

He wrote the famous arrangement of O Come, All Ye Faithful that being used all over the world every Christmas, including St. Peter Basilica in the Vatican. Here is a video of Choir of King’s College singing the carol at the Lessons and Carols 2009:

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Andrew Leung

Andrew Leung currently serves the music director of Vox Antiqua, conductor of the Cecilian Singers, and music director at Our Lady of China Church.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    “Glory To God” • (For Choir + Congregation)
    I wish to thank everyone for the nice comments I received vis-à-vis my Glory To God setting for Choir & Congregation. A gentleman with a musical doctorate from Indiana University wrote: “Love this setting so much. And I will pray, as you asked, for your return to composition more fully. You are very very good.” A female choir director wrote: “I love your harmonizations, your musicality, and the wonderful interplay you have with dissonance and consonance in your music. So fun to listen to, and great for intellect, heart, and soul!” A young woman from California wrote: “Thank you for releasing your new Glory To God in honor of Saint Noel Chabanel. I'm enjoying reading through the various parts and listening to your recordings.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    William Byrd • “Mass for Five Voices”
    Our volunteer choir is learning the “Sanctus” from William Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices. You can hear a short excerpt (recorded last Sunday) but please ignore the sound of babies crying: Mp3 recording. We still have work to do—but we’re on the right track. Once we have some of the tuning issues fixed, I desire to use it as an example proving volunteers can sing complicated polyphony. — One of our volunteer choirs also sang that SANCTUS on 24 September 2023, and you can listen to how that came out.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Baptism” • A Unique Hymn
    Father Christopher Phillips is the founding Pastor of Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church. One of his hymns is unique and (in my humble opinion) quite beautiful. His hymn is basically a prayer to the Holy Trinity but also speaks of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist. It would be an ideal Communion hymn on Trinity Sunday or the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. You can hear live recording from last Sunday by clicking here.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Iconographic tradition has theologically interpreted the manger and the swaddling cloths in terms of the theology of the Fathers. The child stiffly wrapped in bandages is seen as prefiguring the hour of his death: from the outset, he is the sacrificial victim, as we shall see more closely when we examine the reference to the first-born. The manger, then, was seen as a kind of altar.”

— Pope Benedict XVI (2012)

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