Anthony Douglass Caesar (3 April 1924 – 14 July 2018) was an English priest,

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. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational h ...

and composer. Caesar was a boy chorister in the

Winchester Cathedral Choir Winchester Cathedral Choir is an internationally recognized professional choir based at Winchester Cathedral at Winchester in Hampshire. The choir currently consists of 18 boy choristers and 12 lay clerks and sings eight services weekly in the Cat ...

under Harold Rhodes, who directed choir rehearsals in the short street known as "Dome Alley", the title later on of one of Caesar's hymn tunes. He studied music at

Magdalene College Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mar ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

where he was a music scholar and trained for the Anglican priesthood at St Stephen's House,

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. From 3 August 1979 to 1 August 1991 he was Subdean of the Chapels Royal (having previously been

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

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" (or alternatively, "first ...

and Vice-Dean of

Winchester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...

). During this period he was also the music editor of the ''

New English Hymnal ''The New English Hymnal'' is a hymn book and liturgical source aimed towards the Church of England. First published in 1986, it is a successor to, and published in the same style as, the 1906 ''English Hymnal''. It is published today by SCM C ...

''. In the 1991 Queen's Birthday Honours he was promoted to

Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

(CVO), having previously been appointed a Lieutenant of that order in the 1987 New Year Honours. Following his retirement from the Chapel Royal, he was appointed an Extra Chaplain to the Royal Household. He is best known for his short

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

setting, ''Missa Brevis Capella Regalis'', and his setting of Digby Mackworth Dolben's poem ''Requests'', as well as his "O For a Closer walk with God". He died in July 2018 at the age of 94.Anthony Caesar
/ref>

References

1924 births 2018 deaths Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge Alumni of St Stephen's House, Oxford English classical organists British male organists English composers 20th-century English Anglican priests Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Fellows of the Royal College of Organists Male classical organists {{UK-composer-stub