Healey Willan
Encyclopedia
Healey Willan, was an Anglo-Canadian
Anglo-Canadian
Anglo-Canadian can mean:* A collaboration between the United Kingdom and Canada, similar to the term Anglo-American* A shorthand form for English Canadian...

 organist
Organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...

 and composer. He composed more than 800 works including operas, symphonies, chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...

, a concerto, and pieces for band, orchestra, organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...

, and piano. He is best known for his religious music
Christian music
Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely across the world....

.

Biography

Willan was born in England, and he began musical training at age eight, with studies at St. Saviour's Choir School in Eastbourne. He continued at St. Saviour's until 1895, when he began working as organist and choirmaster at several London-area groups. He was admitted to the Royal College of Organists
Royal College of Organists
The Royal College of Organists or RCO, is a charity and membership organisation based in the United Kingdom, but with members around the world...

 in 1897 (Associate) and in 1899 was made Fellow. In 1903 he became the organist and choirmaster of St. John the Baptist Church on Holland Road in London. He became a member of the London Gregorian Association (a society to preserve and revive "plain-chant") in 1910. He continued at St. John the Baptist Church until 1913, when he emigrated to Canada.

In 1920 Willan moved to Toronto to assume the title of Head of the Theory Department of the Toronto Conservatory of Music (now the Royal Conservatory of Music
Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto)
The Royal Conservatory of Music, also known as The Royal Conservatory, is one of the largest and most respected music education institutions in the world...

), of which he was advanced to Vice-Principal. He remained as Vice-Principal until 1936. Among his notable pupils were pianist Howard Brown
Howard Brown (pianist)
Howard Fuller Brown is a Canadian pianist, harpsichordist, and music educator. He was active as a concert pianist and recitalist in Atlantic Canada during the mid-twentieth century, appearing as a soloist with many important Canadian symphony orchestras...

, tenor Gordon Wry
Gordon Wry
Gordon Wry was a Canadian tenor and conductor. His voice is preserved on a handful of recordings made with pianist Glenn Gould.Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, Wry studied singing with renowned contralto Nellie Smith and music theory with Healey Willan at the Toronto Conservatory of Music...

, and composers Patricia Blomfield Holt
Patricia Blomfield Holt
Patricia Blomfield Holt was a Canadian composer, pianist, and music educator. An associate of the Canadian Music Centre and a member of the Association of Canadian Women Composers, her compositions have been performed by notable musical ensembles throughout North America and Europe...

, Walter MacNutt
Walter MacNutt
Walter Louis MacNutt was a Canadian organist, choir director, and composer. His compositional output includes numerous choral works, songs, pieces for solo organ, and works for orchestra; many of which have been published by companies like Broadcast Music Incorporated, Frederick Harris Music, the...

, and Kenneth Peacock
Kenneth Peacock
Kenneth Howard Peacock was a Canadian ethnomusicologist, composer, and pianist. He was a leading authority in Canadian enthnomusicology, and his research and publications in that field had a profound impact on the folk music revival in Canada of the mid to late 20th century...

. In addition to his duties at the Toronto Conservatory, Willan became organist and choirmaster at the church of St. Paul's, Bloor Street
St. Paul's, Bloor Street
The Church of St Paul's, Bloor Street, is a large parish of the Anglican Church of Canada in the Diocese of Toronto.Located in downtown Toronto near the denomination's national headquarters, the parish, along with Little Trinity Anglican Church, is one of historical flagship low church parishes of...

. In 1914 he was named Lecturer and Examiner at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

. In 1921 he was named as Precentor
Precentor
A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is "præcentor", from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" ....

 of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene (Toronto)
Church of St. Mary Magdalene (Toronto)
The Church of St. Mary Magdalene is an Anglo-Catholic parish of the Anglican Church of Canada located in Toronto. It is famous for its association with composer Healey Willan and was part of the composite Robertson Davies used to form "St. Aidan's" in his novel The Cunning Man...

, which became a mecca for church musicians (he retained that title until his death). In 1934 he founded the Tudor Singers, which he conducted until 1939 (when it disbanded). In 1937 he was appointed Professor of Music at the University of Toronto, which post he retained until his 1950 retirement; he also served as organist for the University.

In 1956 Willan received the Lambeth Doctorate, Mus. D Cantaur
Lambeth degree
A Lambeth degree is an academic degree conferred by the Archbishop of Canterbury under the authority of the Ecclesiastical Licences Act 1533 as successor of the papal legate in England...

 from the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...

.

Willan was made a Companion of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...

 at its inception in 1967. He is frequently called "the Dean of Canadian composers."

Compositions

While serving as the organist and choirmaster at St. Paul's Bloor Street, Willan became interested in the music program at another Anglican
Anglican Church of Canada
The Anglican Church of Canada is the Province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French name is l'Église Anglicane du Canada. The ACC is the third largest church in Canada after the Roman Catholic Church and the United Church of Canada, consisting of 800,000 registered members...

 church, the Church of St. Mary Magdalene
Church of St. Mary Magdalene (Toronto)
The Church of St. Mary Magdalene is an Anglo-Catholic parish of the Anglican Church of Canada located in Toronto. It is famous for its association with composer Healey Willan and was part of the composite Robertson Davies used to form "St. Aidan's" in his novel The Cunning Man...

. St. Paul's was an evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...

, low church
Low church
Low church is a term of distinction in the Church of England or other Anglican churches initially designed to be pejorative. During the series of doctrinal and ecclesiastic challenges to the established church in the 16th and 17th centuries, commentators and others began to refer to those groups...

; St. Mary Magdalene's, while much smaller, was notably high church
High church
The term "High Church" refers to beliefs and practices of ecclesiology, liturgy and theology, generally with an emphasis on formality, and resistance to "modernization." Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term has traditionally been principally associated with the...

 or Anglo-Catholic
Anglo-Catholicism
The terms Anglo-Catholic and Anglo-Catholicism describe people, beliefs and practices within Anglicanism that affirm the Catholic, rather than Protestant, heritage and identity of the Anglican churches....

. By 1920 Willan was assisting with choir practice. In 1921 he resigned his post at St. Paul's and turned his attention to St. Mary Magdalene's. He set about creating a great many liturgical
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...

 works for use in the church's services. He remained at St. Mary Magdalene's until shortly before his death, last directing the choir in 1967.

Willan composed some 800 musical pieces, the majority sacred works for choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...

 such as anthems, hymns and mass settings. His non-sacred opus includes some 50 choral works, 100 song arrangements for voice with piano accompaniment, many works for piano solo, for voice with instrumental accompaniment, two symphonies, a piano concerto, chamber works, incidental music for stage works, ballad operas, and at least one important opera (Deirdre).

In 1953 Willan received a commission to write an anthem for the coronation of Elizabeth II. The resulting anthem, O Lord Our Governour, continues to be frequently performed.
Willan’s considerable output includes orchestral, choral, organ and piano, and chamber works, as well as music for plays and one opera. He is best known for his organ and sacred works, which show evidence of his love for plainsong and Renaissance music. For example, many of his liturgical compositions are based on church modes that date back 500 years. Also, his vocal lines are more melismatic and his style more contrapuntal and rhythmically free than those of his contemporaries. Willan’s larger choral works, however, were very Romantic in nature. His rich harmonic palette and luxuriant, soaring melodies stand as testament to his admiration of both Brahms and Wagner. His music represents a unique and beautiful combination of styles: both an homage to the sacred music of five centuries ago and a reflection of the innovations of the Romantic/post-Romantic period in which he lived.

Personal

People who remember Willan from his time at St Mary Magdalene's like to moderate his somewhat dourly pious public image by quoting him—it was a mainstay of concert talks by Robert Hunter Bell—as to his provenance: "English by birth; Canadian by adoption; Irish by extraction; Scotch by absorption."

Sample Works


Operas

  • L'Ordre du bon temps (1928)
  • Prince Charlie and Flora (1929)
  • The Ayrshire Ploughman (?)
  • Maureen [lost]
  • Indian Christmas Play [lost]
  • Transit through Fire (1942, written for Canadian Radio)
  • Deirdre (1946, written for Canadian Radio, revised for stage in 1965)

Recordings

  • Healey Willan, In the Heavenly Kingdom Elora Festival Singers; Noel Edison
    Noel Edison
    Noel Edison, is a Canadian conductor. He is the conductor of the Elora Festival Singers, Artistic Director of the Elora Festival and the conductor of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir....

    , conducting; Matthew Larkin, organ; Joseph Schnurr, tenor. Naxos 8.557734. 2006.
  • Healey Willan, Organ Works Patrick Wedd, organ; Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church, Montreal. Naxos 8.557375. 2005.
  • Healey Willan, Faire is the Heaven The Choirs of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Toronto; Directed by Giles Bryant. SMM7504
  • Healey Willan, Tenebrae Responsaries, Missae breves The Choirs of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Toronto; Robert Hunter Bell, conducting. Virgin Classics/EMI, CDC 7243 5 45260 2 2. 1997.
  • Healey Willan, An Apostrophe to the Heavenly Hosts Vancouver Chamber Choir
    Vancouver Chamber Choir
    The Vancouver Chamber Choir is a Canadian choir performing in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was founded in 1971 and has commissioned and premiered more than 170 new choral works in almost four decades. VCC performs at home and abroad and has received many honours and distinctions from around the...

    ; Jon Washburn, conducting. Virgin Classics/EMI, VC 5 45183 2 4. 1996.
  • Healey Willan, Masses and Motets The Choirs of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Toronto; Robert Hunter Bell, conducting. Virgin Classics/EMI, VC 5 45109 2. 1994.
  • Healy Willan, Selected Organ Works" Dr. Francis Jackson, Organist. York Minster, England. Columbia Records LP-ML6198, 1960s.

See also

  • Music of Canada
    Music of Canada
    The music of Canada has influences that have shaped the country. Aboriginals, the British, and the French have all made unique contributions to the musical heritage of Canada. The music has subsequently been heavily influenced by American culture because of its proximity and migration between...

  • List of Canadian composers
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK