Alan J. Wilson (born 1947), is a British composer of church music.

Professional career

He was born in 1947, in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

, UK, and won a scholarship to the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

at the age of 17. He attended composition classes with

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

and studied on a scholarship at the

Conservatorium van Amsterdam The Conservatorium van Amsterdam (CvA) is a Dutch conservatoire of music located in Amsterdam. This school is the music division of the Amsterdam University of the Arts, the city's vocational university of arts. The Conservatorium van Amsterdam ...

early keyboard music with

Gustav Leonhardt Gustav Maria Leonhardt (30 May 1928 – 16 January 2012) was a Dutch keyboardist, conductor, musicologist, teacher and editor. He was a leading figure in the historically informed performance movement to perform music on period instruments. Leo ...

.Directors of Music associated with Christ the King
/ref> From 1974 to 1986 he was

Director of Music A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the di ...

at the Church of Christ the King, Bloomsbury, for whose choir he originally wrote many of his choral works. In 1976, he became Director of Music at

Queen Mary College Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and previously Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public university, public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University of ...

London; and in 1986, he became organist at the church of St. Mary-le-Bow. At St. Mary-le-Bow, he has been engaged in researching music by

William Babell William Babell (or Babel) (c. 1690 - 23 September 1723) was an English musician, composer and prolific arranger of vocal music for harpsichord. Life He received his musical training from his father, Charles Babel, a bassoonist in the Drury Lane ...

and John Stanley, while his work at Queen Mary College has engaged him in new compositions, including: * a commissioned

rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

('The Palace of Delights') in 1984 * an inter-faith

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of ...

('The Harmony of the Spheres') in 2001 He has also conducted research to restore and edit originally produced songs from the college archives, including the 'Westfield Songbook' (1880 to c.1930). He has set many of the writings of Constance Louisa Maynard (the first Principal of

Westfield College Westfield College was a small college situated in Hampstead, London, from 1882 to 1989. It was the first college to aim to educate women for University of London degrees from its opening. The college originally admitted only women as students and ...

) to music, including 'The Downs' (a cantata) and several poems and

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

s. He is one of few composers who has taken seriously the use of synthesizers in the classical medium. Examples include the 'Norwich Mass' and 'Norwich Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis', written for the ''Norwich Festival of Contemporary Church Music''. They were published by Weinberger along with a commissioned work for

Christ Church Cathedral, Indianapolis Christ Church Cathedral is the cathedral for the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis. Christ Church parish was formally organized in 1837. The present-day church building was erected in 1857 on Monument Circle at the center of downtown Indianapolis ...

. ''Inspired by Bells'' was recorded by Doremi in 1995. Wilson has also been involved in broadcasting, mainly the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

''Daily Service'', where he has directed and also composed and arranged many compositions. Wilson's ''Mass of Light'' was performed in 2010 at

St George's Cathedral, Cape Town St George's Cathedral (also referred to as The Cathedral Church of St George the Martyr) is the anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in Cape Town, South Africa, and the seat of the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, Archbishop of Cape Town. St. Geor ...

. He has received frequent invitations from the heads of

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

s in Germany to run workshops, (for example, at the Wolfsburg Catholic Conference Centre in the diocese of

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...

), mainly using his own, often new works. His Magnificat, from 'Christus Rex', has become a major performed work in Germany. This, and many of the works listed in the references (below), appear in 'Freiburger Chorbuch'.

Performing artist

As well as being a recital organist, he has worked in mainstream ensembles as a

harpsichordist A harpsichordist is a person who plays the harpsichord. Harpsichordists may play as soloists, as accompanists, as chamber musicians, or as members of an orchestra, or some combination of these roles. Solo harpsichordists may play unaccompanied son ...

. He was in the

Consort of Musicke The Consort of Musicke is a British early-music group, founded in 1969 by lutenist Anthony Rooley, the ensemble's Artistic Director. Members of the group have included such well-known artists as sopranos Emma Kirkby and Evelyn Tubb, alto Mary Ni ...

for many years, performing with

Emma Kirkby Dame Carolyn Emma Kirkby, (; born 26 February 1949) is an English soprano and early music specialist. She has sung on over 100 recordings. Education and early career Kirkby was educated at Hanford School, Sherborne School for Girls in Dors ...

and

Anthony Rooley Anthony Rooley (born 10 June 1944 in Leeds) is a British lutenist. Career In 1969, Rooley founded and directed the early music ensemble The Consort of Musicke, which continues to be one of the chief vehicles for his inspiration, among many oth ...

Awards

He received an honorary Associate award from the

Royal School of Church Music The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) is a Christian music education organisation dedicated to the promotion of music in Christian worship, in particular the repertoire and traditions of Anglican church music, largely through publications, tr ...

Durham Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, commonly known as Durham Cathedral and home of the Shrine of St Cuthbert, is a cathedral in the city of Durham, County Durham, England. It is the seat of t ...

in May 2010, for his work for the RSCM, and his work as a church composer.

Other works

* ''Christ is now risen again'' * ''Mass of Light'' * ''Mass of All Saints'' * ''Mass of Regeneration'' * ''Mass of the Holy Trinity'' * ''Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis'' * Seasonal Carols Old and New (4 volumes)Alan Wilson (ed.). Seasonal Carols Old and New (Volumes 1: Advent, 2: Nativity, 3: Epiphany, 4: Easter and Other Festivals). SATB. 38pp. Josef Weinberger Ltd., London, UK (Vol.1: 38pp, M570053919, HL.48016485; Vol.2: 29pp, M570053926, HL.48016486; Vol.3: 38pp, M570053933, HL.48016487; Vol.4: 40pp, M570053988, HL.48016488). See, also, the list of 'References to other works', below.

References

The following references are all to the published sheet music.

References to other works

The following lists some of Wilson's other works, with bibliographic references (again, to the published sheet music) * Alan Wilson. Our Faith is a Light. SATB and Organ. 8pp. Josef Weinberger Ltd., London, UK (M570053698, HL.48016538) * Alan Wilson (1999). Haec dies / Christus in Ewigkeit. High Voice, SATB Choir, Organ (Pianoforte, Keyboard). 8pp.

Carus-Verlag Carus-Verlag is a German music publisher founded in 1972 and based in Stuttgart. Carus was founded by choral conductor Günter Graulich and his wife Waltraud with an emphasis on choral repertoire. The catalogue currently includes more than 26,00 ...

(CA.739900) * Alan Wilson (2004). Missa Adventis et Quadragesima (Missa Adventis et Quadragesima). Speaker, Congregation, SATB Choir, Organ. 16pp.

(CA.2706200) * Alan Wilson. Fantasia on Ubi Caritas (Organ Solo). Organ. Weinberger. 19pp. Josef Weinberger Ltd., London, UK (M570053810, HL.48016569) * Alan Wilson (1992). Missa Transfigurationis. Solo Soprano, Organ (Children's Choir or Women's Choir or Schola). 12pp.

(CA.2706100) * Alan Wilson. Cantate Domino. Choir/Organ. 11pp. Josef Weinberger Ltd., London, UK. * Alan Wilson. Light of Christ. SATB Choir. 2pp. Josef Weinberger Ltd., London, UK. * Alan Wilson. Let There be Light. SATB Choir. 2pp. Josef Weinberger Ltd., London, UK. * Alan Wilson. The Holly Carol. Choir/Piano. 6pp. Josef Weinberger Ltd., London, UK. * Alan Wilson. The Distant Light. Choir/Piano. 6pp. Josef Weinberger Ltd., London, UK. * Alan Wilson. From East to West. Choir/Piano or Organ. 5pp. Josef Weinberger Ltd., London, UK. * Alan Wilson. We Were Born for a Journey. Choir/Piano. 3pp. Josef Weinberger Ltd., London, UK. * Alan Wilson. Come Holy Ghost. Choir/Piano. 3pp. Josef Weinberger Ltd., London * Alan Wilson. The Wynstan Voluntary. Organ Solo. 2pp. Josef Weinberger Ltd., London * Alan Wilson. Cathedral Responses. SATB. 12pp. Joseph Weinberger (HL.48016537) * Alan Wilson. Our Faith is a Light. Soprano Solo, SATB and Organ. 8pp. Joseph Weinberger (HL.48016538)

External links

Alan J. Wilson
bach-cantatas.com
Staff summary page at Queen Mary College
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Alan 1947 births Classical composers of church music English classical composers Living people 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers People from Nottingham Alumni of the Royal College of Music English male classical composers 20th-century English composers 20th-century British male musicians 21st-century British male musicians