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St Albans Cathedral Choir
St Albans Cathedral Choir is an English Cathedral Choir based in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. It is made up of around 20 boy choristers aged 7–14 and 12 adult lay clerks. In 2003 it appeared in the coronation scene of the film Johnny English. In addition to the original boys-only choir, there is also St Albans Cathedral Girls' Choir (originally the Abbey Girls' Choir) founded in 1996. Schedule Unlike many cathedrals, St Albans does not have its own boarding choir school (although the Choir has strong links with many local day schools, including St Albans School and St Columba's College), meaning that services and rehearsals have to be fitted around a normal school week. Choristers are therefore expected to sing at the Cathedral both before and after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays, on which days Choral Evensong is sung, and before school on Mondays, in addition to an evening rehearsal with the Lay Clerks on Fridays and the commitment of up to four services over the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
St Albans Cathedral
St Albans Cathedral, officially the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban but often referred to locally as "the Abbey", is a Church of England cathedral in St Albans, England. Much of its architecture dates from Normans, Norman times. It ceased to be an abbey following its Dissolution of the monasteries, dissolution in the 16th century and became a cathedral in 1877. Although legally a cathedral church, it differs in certain particulars from most other cathedrals in England, being also used as a parish church, of which the Dean (Christianity), dean is Rector (ecclesiastical), rector with the same powers, responsibilities and duties as that of any other Ecclesiastical parish, parish. At 85 metres long, it has the longest nave of any cathedral in England. Probably founded in the 8th century, the present building is Norman or Romanesque architecture of the 11th century, with Gothic and 19th-century additions. Britain's first Christian martyr According to Bede, whose account of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Zombies
The Zombies are an English rock band formed in the early 1960s in St Albans and led by keyboardist and vocalist Rod Argent and vocalist Colin Blunstone. The group had a British and American hit in 1964 with "She's Not There". In the US, two further singles—"Tell Her No" in 1965 and "Time of the Season" in 1968—were also successful. Their 1968 album ''Odessey and Oracle'' was ranked number 100 on ''Rolling Stone''s 2012 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and number 243 on Rolling Stone's 2020 list. The Zombies were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019. History 1961–1964 Three members of the band, Rod Argent, Paul Atkinson and Hugh Grundy, first came together to jam in 1961 in St Albans, Hertfordshire. Argent wanted to form a band and initially asked his elder cousin Jim Rodford to join as a bassist. Rodford was in a successful local band, the Bluetones, at the time and so declined, but he offered to help Argent (Rodford would later join in 2004 w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rod Argent
Rodney Terence Argent (born 14 June 1945) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Argent came to prominence in the mid 1960s as the keyboardist, founder and leader of the English rock band the Zombies, and went on to form the band Argent after the first break-up of the Zombies. Argent is one of the main composers of the Zombies' music and made major lyrical contributions to the band's songs. As the band's keyboardist he used a variety of instruments, including Hohner Pianet, Mellotron, harpsichord, and organ. In addition to his work with the Zombies and Argent, Argent has made music for television series, been a session musician, produced albums by other artists, and has had a solo career which has included three studio albums: ''Moving Home'', ''Red House'', and ''Classically Speaking''. Argent was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Zombies in Brooklyn in March 2019. Early ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andrew Parnell
Andrew Parnell (born 17 February 1954, in Buxton, Derbyshire, England) is an organist and harpsichordist. As a boy Parnell was a choral scholar at Southwell Minster, where he began organ studies under Kenneth Beard. He won the Organ Scholarship at Christ's College, Cambridge aged 19 and studied under Nicolas Kynaston. He was awarded the Fellowship Diploma of the Royal College of Organists aged 19 and won the Limpus and Shinn prizes in that year's FRCO diploma examinations. After a spell as Director of Music at St James's Church, Cambridge, he moved to St Albans in 1976 as Assistant Master of the Music to the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban, appointed by Peter Hurford. He was also appointed Master of Music and choirmaster at St Albans School. He founded St Albans Cathedral Girls' Choir (originally the Abbey Girls' Choir) in 1996, which is now a regular part of the worshipping community. From 1983 to 2001 he conducted St Albans Symphony Orchestra. In 2001, after 25 years i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simon Lindley
Simon Lindley (born 10 October 1948) is an English organist, choirmaster, conductor and composer. He was Leeds City Organist from 1976 to 2017 (named City Organist Emeritus in Summer 2017) and is Organist Emeritus of Leeds Minster, having been organist and Master of the Music Leeds Minster from 1975 until his retirement in 2016. Early life Lindley was born in London. His father was an Anglican priest, and his mother was a writer, the daughter of Belgian poet and art historian Emile Cammaerts. After early education at Magdalen College School, Oxford, and graduation from the Royal College of Music in London, Lindley began an organ career in 1969, playing at various London churches and recording organ music.Lindley, Simon"A Biography" SimonLindley.org, accessed 30 April 2017 Career Lindley served as an organ tutor at the Royal School of Church Music and later as Assistant Master of Music at St Albans Cathedral to Peter Hurford and Director of Music at St Albans School.John Rut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Rutter
John Milford Rutter (born 24 September 1945) is an English composer, conductor, editor, arranger, and record producer, mainly of choral music. Biography Born on 24 September 1945 in London, the son of an industrial chemist and his wife, Rutter grew up living over the Globe pub on London's Marylebone Road. He was educated at Highgate School where fellow pupils included John Tavener, Howard Shelley, Brian Chapple and Nicholas Snowman, and as a chorister there took part in the first (1963) recording of Britten's ''War Requiem'' under the composer's baton. He then read music at Clare College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the choir. While still an undergraduate, he had his first compositions published, including the Shepherd's Pipe Carol. He served as director of music at Clare College from 1975 to 1979 and led the choir to international prominence. In 1981, Rutter founded his own choir, the Cambridge Singers, which he conducts and with which he has made many recordings ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barry Rose
Barry Michael Rose OBE FRAM FRSCM HonFRCO (born 24 May 1934) is a choir trainer and organist. He is best known for founding the choir and the pattern of daily sung worship at the new Guildford Cathedral in 1961, as well as directing the music at the 1981 wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales at St Paul's Cathedral in London. Biography Early life Born in the borough of Chingford, Essex, England, Rose grew up playing hymns on the piano at his local Sunday school, and later accompanying the choir on the harmonium at the mission church of St Anne's in Chingford Hatch. Upon leaving the Sir George Monoux Grammar School, Walthamstow, at the age of 16, Rose worked in the insurance departments of W. H. Smith & Son and Joseph Rank Ltd. Career In 1956, he joined Martindale Sidwell's choir at Hampstead Parish Church as a bass, and eighteen months later became organist and choirmaster at St Andrew's Church, Kingsbury. While at Kingsbury, Sir Thomas Armstron ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen Darlington
Stephen Mark Darlington (born 21 September 1952) is a British choral director and conductor, and president of the Royal College of Organists from 1999–2001. Darlington attended King's School, Worcester. Then during the early 1970s, he was organ scholar at Christ Church, Oxford, studying under Simon Preston. After this he was appointed assistant organist at Canterbury Cathedral, where he stayed for four years before being appointed as Master of the Music for St Albans Cathedral Choir, where he was also music director of the International Organ Festival. In 1985, Darlington returned to Christ Church as organist and tutor in music, holding the post for 33 years. He was succeeded by Stephen Grahl in September 2018. Darlington's recorded works amount to over 50 albums, of which several have won awards and other recognition such as Gramophone recommendations. Darlington has travelled worldwide both with the choir and as an organist and conductor, directing, among others, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meredith Davies (conductor)
(Albert) Meredith Davies CBE (30 July 1922 – 9 March 2005) was a British conductor, renowned for his advocacy of English music by composers such as Benjamin Britten, Frederick Delius and Ralph Vaughan Williams. His co-conducting, with the composer, of the premiere of Britten's ''War Requiem'', at the re-consecration of Coventry Cathedral on 30 May 1962, is generally regarded as one of the highlights of British 20th-century choral music. Biography Meredith Davies was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, the second son of a clergyman. At the age of seven he became a junior exhibitioner at the Royal College of Music in London, as a cellist. He went to the Stationers' Company's School, North London. He soon showed an interest in the organ, and was taken as a pupil by George Thalben-Ball. At age 17 he served as organist at Hurstpierpoint College for a year, before being elected in 1940 as organ scholar of Keble College, Oxford. Studies for his Philosophy, Politics and Economics degree ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Fayrfax
Robert Fayrfax (23 April 1464 – 24 October 1521) was an English Renaissance composer, considered the most prominent and influential of the reigns of Kings Henry VII and Henry VIII of England. Biography He was born in Deeping Gate, Lincolnshire.D. M. Randel, ''The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music'' (Cambridge MA, Harvard University Press, 1996), p. 262. He had the patronage of the leading cultural figure of Henry VII's court, the king's mother Lady Margaret Beaufort (1443-1509). He became a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal by 6 December 1497.J. Caldwell, ''The Oxford History of English Music'' vol. 1 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), p. 210. He was granted a chaplaincy of the Free Chapel at Snodhill Castle near Dorstone, a post which was given away a year later to Robert Cowper, another Gentleman. Fayrfax was at court at Richmond Palace on 28 May 1502 when Elizabeth of York, the wife of Henry VII, gave him 20 shillings for "setting an Anthem of oure lady an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
