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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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    Tempo?? • 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘞𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦
    Once, after Mass, my pastor said he really loved the hymn we did. I said: “Father, that's Holy God, We Praise Thy Name—you never heard it before?” He replied: “But the way you did it was terrific. For once, it didn't sound like a funeral dirge!” Last Sunday, our volunteer choir sang that hymn. I think the tempo was just about right … but what do you think?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Don’t You Agree About These?
    If you want to make Jeff Ostrowski really happy, send him an email with effusive praise about the individual voice recordings for hymn #296. [Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass] They came out dazzlingly sensational, don't you agree?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Choral Vowels? Yes? No?
    Here's a live recording of one of the choral “warm-up” exercises my choir enjoys. It was taken during our rehearsal on 27 January 2023. It’s good to make sure each chord is perfectly in tune and balanced before moving to the next one. That only happens when each singer has the correct vowel. If you like, you can freely download that vocal exercise.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

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