Peter John Hurford

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(22 November 1930 – 3 March 2019) was a British organist and composer.

Life

Hurford was born in

Minehead Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the boundary with the county of Devon and in proximity of the Exmoor National P ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, to Gladys Hurford (née James) and Hubert Hurford, a solicitor. He was educated at

Blundell's School Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school in the English public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon. It was founded in 1604 under the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the tim ...

Tiverton, Devon Tiverton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Devon, England, and the commercial and administrative centre of the Mid Devon district. The population in 2019 was 20,587. History Early history The town's name is conjectured to derive from "Twy-fo ...

. He later studied both music and law at

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

, graduating with dual degrees, and afterwards obtained a reputation for both musical scholarship and organ playing. Hurford subsequently studied in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

under the French organist

André Marchal André Louis Marchal (6 February 1894 – 27 August 1980) was a French organist and organ teacher. He was one of the great initiators of the twentieth-century organ revival in France and one of the cofounders of the ''Association des amis de l'orgu ...

, exploring music of the Baroque period. He made interpretations of

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

, and recorded the complete Bach organ works for

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in We ...

and

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

. His expertise also encompassed recordings of the Romantic literature for organ, performances notable for attention to stylistic detail. His playing style is noted for clean articulation, beauty of expression, and a sense of proper tempo. Hurford was appointed organist of

Holy Trinity Church, Leamington Spa Holy Trinity Church, Leamington Spa is a Grade II listed parish church in Leamington Spa, England. History Holy Trinity Church was started in 1825 as a daughter church of All Saints Church, Leamington Spa, All Saints' Church and opened in 184 ...

from 1956 to 1957. For the same period, he was Music Master at

Bablake School Bablake School is a co-educational Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school located in Coventry, England and founded in 1344 by Isabella of France, widow of Edward II of England, Edward II, making it List of the oldest scho ...

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

, and Musical Director of the Royal Leamington Spa Bach Choir. He was then appointed organist and choirmaster of

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 cease ...

in 1958, serving in this post for twenty years. He conceived the idea of an organ competition in 1963, partly to celebrate the new

Harrison & Harrison Harrison & Harrison Ltd is a British company that makes and restores pipe organs, based in Durham and established in Rochdale in 1861. It is well known for its work on instruments such as King's College, Cambridge, Westminster Abbey, and the R ...

organ designed by

Ralph Downes Ralph William Downes CBE KSG (16 August 1904 – 24 December 1993) was an English organist, organ designer, teacher and music director and was Professor of Organ in the Royal College of Music. Biography Downes was born in Derby and studied ...

and himself. This venture was successful mainly because of the young Hurford's rapidly growing stature in Britain and overseas as a result of his refreshing notions of the "authentic performance style". This has grown into the biennial

St Albans International Organ Festival The International Organ Festival (IOF) is a biennial music festival and organ competition held in St Albans, England since 1963. Originally held annually, it was changed to every two years in 1965 due to the complexity of organising the increasin ...

, a world-renowned festival of organ music with competitions whose past winners include many of the great names in modern organ music including Dame

Gillian Weir Dame Gillian Constance Weir (born 17 January 1941) is a New Zealand-British organist. Biography Weir was born in Martinborough, New Zealand, on 17 January 1941. Her parents were Clarice Mildred Foy ( Bignell) and Cecil Alexander Weir. She re ...

, David Sanger, Thomas Trotter and

Kevin Bowyer Kevin John Bowyer (; born 9 January 1961) is an English organist, known for his prolific recording and recital career and his performances of modern and extremely difficult compositions. Biography Bowyer was born on 9 January 1961 in Southend-o ...

. Hurford travelled extensively for both his performance and recording career. He was artist in residence at Cincinnati, Ohio University (1967–68), Toronto, Canada (1977), and consultant for the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

organ. He held a number of Honorary Doctorates, was appointed an

Honorary Fellow Honorary titles (professor, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as well as in m ...

in 2006, was a past President of the

Royal College of Organists The Royal College of Organists (RCO) is a charity and membership organisation based in the United Kingdom, with members worldwide. Its role is to promote and advance organ playing and choral music, and it offers music education, training and de ...

and received its Medal in 2013, and has been appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE). He wrote a book: ''Making Music on the Organ'' (1998, Oxford University Press, ) and published a great deal of choral music for the Anglican liturgy, much of it issued by leading publishers such as Novello and Oxford University Press. His ''Litany to the Holy Spirit,'' to a famous text by Robert Herrick, is sung worldwide. Hurford suffered a minor stroke in 1997, but recovered enough to resume his performing career seven months later. In 2008, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease, and subsequently retired formally from performing in 2009. Hurford died on 3 March 2019, aged 88. His marriage to Patricia Matthews lasted from 1955 until her death in 2017, and produced 3 children. His survivors include his daughter Heather, his two sons Michael and Richard, and nine grandchildren.

Arranger, Composer, Editor

Choir

* 1958. ''Litany to the Holy Spirit''. Unison.British Library Catalogue
Online resource, accessed 20 April 2024. * 1960. ''The Holy Son''. SATB * 1962. ''Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in G''. SATB, organ * 1962. ''Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in A''. SS, organ''UK Library Hub Discover''
Online resource, accessed 20 April 2022. * 1962. ''The Holy Son''. TTBB * 1962. ''Three short anthems''. SS, organ * 1968. ''Noel Nouvelet''. SATB * 1971. ''Bethlehem, of noblest cities''. SATB. * 1971. ''Magdalen, cease from sobs and sighs''. SATB * 1972. ''Two Sentences''. SATB, organ * 1972. ''Communion Service: Series 3''. Congregation, SATB, organ * 1975. ''Sunny Bank''. SATB * 1976. ''Come love we God''. SATB * 1976. ''Two carols for equal voices''. * 1977. ''O mortal man, remember well''. SATB * 1980. ''Christ hath a garden''. SATB * 1995. ''Litamy to the Holy Spirit''. SATB

Organ

* 1958. ''Five short chorale preludes''. * 1958. ''Paean''. * 1960. ''A Fancy'' * 1960. ''Five verses on a melody from the Paderborn Gesangbuch (1765)''. * 1961. ''Suite: 'Laudate Dominum. * 1961. ''Meditation''. * 1962. ''Passingala''. * 1963. ''Two Dialogues''. * 1970. ''Fanfare on Old 100th''. * 1970. ''Prince of Denmark's march'' (Jeremiah Clarke). Arranged. * 1976. ''Trio''. * 1977. ''Bristol Suite''. * 1977. ''Nicaea''. * 1977. ''Sonata in C minor'' by G. B. Pescetti. Edited.

Recording artist

Hurford made over 50 recordings, both as a solo artist and with multiple other musicians. As well as recording Bach's complete works for the organ, he recorded the organ concertos, op. 7 of Handel with the

Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra ( nl, Koninklĳk Concertgebouworkest, ) is a Dutch symphony orchestra, based at the Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw (concert hall). Considered one of the world's leading orchestras, Queen Beatrix conferred the "Ro ...

References

External links

Peter Hurford interview
18 March 1990
Peter Hurford
on the

BBC Music BBC Music is responsible for the music played across the BBC. The current director of music is Bob Shennan, who is also the controller of BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music, and the BBC Asian Network. Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio o ...

website {{DEFAULTSORT:Hurford, Peter 1930 births 2019 deaths 21st-century British male musicians 21st-century organists Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Cathedral organists English classical organists Fellows of Jesus College, Cambridge Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music British male organists Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Blundell's School People from Minehead Recipients of the Medal of the Royal College of Organists 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century English composers Musicians from Somerset 20th-century British male musicians Male classical organists