Sir David Valentine Willcocks, (30 December 1919 – 17 September 2015) was a British choral conductor, organist, composer and music administrator. He was particularly well known for his association with the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, which he directed from 1957 to 1974, making frequent broadcasts and recordings. Several of the descants and carol arrangements he wrote for the annual service of

Nine Lessons and Carols Nine Lessons and Carols, also known as the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols and Service of Nine Lessons and Carols, is a service of Christian worship traditionally celebrated on or near Christmas Eve. The story of the fall of humanity, the ...

were published in the series of books '' Carols for Choirs'' which he edited along with Reginald Jacques and

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, Rutte ...

. He was also director of the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including performanc ...

in London. During the

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 opposi ...

(1939–1945) he served as an

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

, and was decorated with the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

for his actions on

Hill 112 A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not as ...

during the

Battle of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

in July 1944. His elder son, Jonathan Willcocks, is also a composer.

Biography

Born in Newquay in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, Willcocks began his musical training as a chorister at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

from 1929 to 1934, following a recommendation by the then Master of the King's Music, Sir

Henry Walford Davies Sir Henry Walford Davies (6 September 1869 – 11 March 1941) was an English composer, organist, and educator who held the title Master of the King's Music from 1934 until 1941. He served with the Royal Air Force during the First World War, du ...

, to Ernest Bullock. From 1934 to 1938, he was a music scholar at

Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , hea ...

, Bristol, where his teacher was Douglas Fox, his most important musical influence. He was appointed as

organ scholar An organ scholar is a young musician employed as a part-time assistant organist at a cathedral, church or institution where regular choral services are held. The idea of an organ scholarship is to provide the holder with playing, directing and adm ...

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

in 1939. There, he met David Briggs, a choral scholar (bass). Willcocks and Briggs would later be colleagues at King's, from 1959 to 1974, as Organist and Master of the Choristers and as Headmaster of

King's College School King's College School, also known as Wimbledon, KCS, King's and KCS Wimbledon, is a public school in Wimbledon, southwest London, England. The school was founded in 1829 by King George IV, as the junior department of King's College London an ...

, the school attended by the choirboys of King's College.

Military service

With the outbreak of the

, he interrupted his studies in music to serve in the

. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI) on 15 February 1941, and was awarded the

as a temporary captain for his actions during the

on the night of 10/11 July 1944, when he was serving with the 5th Battalion, DCLI as battalion

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can be des ...

officer. The battalion, part of the 214th Infantry Brigade of the

43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division The 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division was an infantry division of Britain's Territorial Army (TA). The division was first formed in 1908, as the Wessex Division. During the First World War, it was broken-up and never served as a complete forma ...

, was ordered to hold

in Normandy, France, as part of

Operation Epsom Operation Epsom, also known as the First Battle of the Odon, was a British offensive in the Second World War between 26 and 30 June 1944, during the Battle of Normandy. The offensive was intended to outflank and seize the German-occupied city ...

. He carried out his duties outstandingly overnight, helping inflict severe casualties on the German forces by calling in artillery support to break up counter-attacks. The battalion suffered over 250 casualties during the night, including the commanding officer and one of the

company commander A company commander is the commanding officer of a company, a military unit which typically consists of 100 to 250 soldiers, often organized into three or four smaller units called platoons. The exact organization of a company varies by countr ...

s. This left Willcocks in command of the battalion headquarters, which by then was the furthest forward part of the battalion. He rallied the men, enabling the battalion to stand firm and reorganise. The award was

gazetted A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers ...

on 21 December 1944.

Musical career

Willcocks returned to Cambridge in 1945 to complete his studies, and in 1947 was elected a Fellow of King's College and appointed Conductor of the

Cambridge Philharmonic Society The Cambridge Philharmonic Society is one of the leading non-professional music societies in the UK, with orchestra and chorus regularly performing classical music concerts in Cambridge and the surrounding area. Although based in Cambridge, the Soc ...

. In the same year, he became the organist at Salisbury Cathedral and the conductor of the Salisbury Musical Society. He moved to Worcester Cathedral in 1950 and remained until 1957, during which time he was organist of the cathedral, principal conductor of the Three Choirs Festival in 1951, 1954, and 1957, and conductor of the City of Birmingham Choir. From 1956 to 1974 he was also conductor of the Bradford Festival Choral Society, whilst continuing as guest conductor for their carol concerts into the early 1990s. Composers with whom he collaborated included

Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

Howells Howells may refer to: People *Howells (surname) Places in the United States * Howells, Colorado, a place in Colorado *Howells, Nebraska *Howells, New York *Howells Junction, New York, a place in New York Business establishments * Howells (depa ...

and Tippett. From 1957 to 1974 he held the post for which he is probably best known, Director of Music at

. He made numerous recordings with the college choir. (Among the most notable recordings was one of Thomas Tallis's ''

Spem in alium ''Spem in alium'' (Latin for "Hope in any other") is a 40-part Renaissance motet by Thomas Tallis, composed in c. 1570 for eight choirs of five voices each. It is considered by some critics to be the greatest piece of English early music. H. B. ...

'', made in 1965.) The choir toured extensively, giving concerts worldwide, as well as garnering further acclaim internationally through television and radio appearances. Under the baton of Willcocks, Cambridge University Musical Society performed

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

's '' War Requiem'' in 1963 in (Perugia) Milan, La Scala, and in Venice. The choir subsequently performed the work in Japan, Hong Kong, Portugal, and the Netherlands. In 1960, he also became the musical director of the Bach Choir in London. He held these positions at Cambridge until the 1970s when he accepted the post of Director of the

. In the 1971 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed a

Commander 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 ...

(CBE), and was created a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

in 1977 in the Queen's Silver Jubilee Honours. He held honorary degrees in England from the Universities of Bradford,

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, Exeter, Leicester, and Sussex, and from the

in London; in the US from

Luther College (Iowa) Luther College is a private Lutheran liberal arts college in Decorah, Iowa. Established as a Lutheran seminary in 1861 by Norwegian immigrants, the school today is an institution of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The upper campu ...

, St. Olaf College (Minnesota), Rowan University and

Westminster Choir College , mottoeng = Let us be judged by our deeds , established = 1926 , type = Private , president = Gregory G. Dell'Omo , dean = Marshall Onofrio , city = Dayton, OH (1926–1929), Ithaca, NY (1929–1932), Princeton, NJ (1932–2020), Lawrenc ...

(New Jersey); and in Canada from the Universities of Trinity College, Toronto, and Victoria B.C. All in all, his honorary degrees numbered over fifty. He was also President of the

City of Bath Bach Choir Bath Bach Choir, formerly The City of Bath Bach Choir (CBBC), is based in Bath, Somerset, England, and is a registered charity. Founded in 1946 by Cuthbert Bates, who also became a founding father of the Bath Bach Festival in 1950, the choir's ...

and Exeter Festival Chorus. For the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer, Willcocks served as guest director of music and conducted the Bach Choir, who sang during the signing of the registers. The event was watched by an estimated global TV audience of 750 million. After stepping down from the Royal College, Willcocks resumed conducting and editing scores as his primary activities. A 1990 profile in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' noted that he had made nine visits to the United States in the previous year, including conducting Evensong at St. Thomas Church in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and conducting the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. In live performance, he regularly conducted Mozart's ''Requiem'' at the ''Mostly Mozart'' festival in New York. On 15 May 2010, a celebration of his contribution to music took place at the Royal Albert Hall in London, where pieces selected by Willcocks were performed by singers who are part of

the Really Big Chorus The Really Big Chorus (TRBC) is Britain's largest choral society, made up of singers from hundreds of different choirs all over the UK as well as thousands of individuals. It was founded by Don Monro, an Electrical Engineering lecturer (and clarinet ...

. Special guests included choristers from King's College Choir, Cambridge, who performed three pieces. He died at home in Cambridge on the morning of 17 September 2015.

Recordings and broadcasts

Willcocks made recordings with the (London) Bach Choir, the

English Chamber Orchestra The English Chamber Orchestra (ECO) is a British chamber orchestra based in London. The full orchestra regularly plays concerts at Cadogan Hall, and their ensemble performs at Wigmore Hall. The orchestra regularly tours in the UK and internationall ...

, the

Academy of St Martin in the Fields The Academy of St Martin in the Fields (ASMF) is an English chamber orchestra, based in London. John Churchill, then Master of Music at the London church of St Martin-in-the-Fields, and Neville Marriner founded the orchestra as "The Academy o ...

, the Jacques Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, and the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's Hall Orc ...

as well as with the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, with whom he regularly conducted the

service on Christmas Eve, broadcast by the BBC every year since 1931. With The Bach Choir, in particular he recorded works by Johann Sebastian Bach, especially his motets and, sung in English, his St John Passion and a stately rendition of the St Matthew Passion, a piece he regularly conducted for broadcast Easter performances. He also served as general editor of the Church Music series of the

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. During his years at King's, an early and frequently reissued recording of the Allegri ''Miserere'' was made in March 1963 by the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

, conducted by David Willcocks, and featuring a 12-year old Roy Goodman, later a distinguished conductor, as the treble soloist. In 1965, he made his famous recording, with the Choir of King's College, of Tallis's

. He is particularly known for his widely used choral arrangements of

Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a carol (a song or hymn) on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French ori ...

s, many of which were originally written or arranged for the Service of

at King's and/or the Bach Choir's Christmas concerts. They are published in the five '' Carols for Choirs'' anthologies (1961–1987), edited by Willcocks with Reginald Jacques (first volume) or

. The descant arrangements in particular are among the most famous and well-loved musical components. He was Music Director Emeritus of King's College Choir, and an Honorary Fellow of King's College, Cambridge. Outside the world of classical music, Willcocks conducted his London Bach Choir for the studio recording of " You Can't Always Get What You Want" by the Rolling Stones in 1968. A notable broadcast took place on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

on 21 September 2010 in a series called ''

Soul Music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became ...

'', when Willcocks profiled Fauré's ''Requiem''. The programme included his memories of the fighting at

. The profile also featured Christina, widow of

Olaf Schmid Staff Sergeant Olaf Sean George Schmid, GC (11 June 1979 – 31 October 2009) was a British Army bomb disposal expert (Ammunition Technician) who was killed in action in the Afghanistan conflict. Schmid was posthumously awarded the George C ...

. Willcocks questioned the morality of war.''Soul Music'' (Series 10), "Faure Requiem"

, 21 September 2010. Retrieved on 22 September 2010.

Honours

Commonwealth honours

; Commonwealth honours ;Military decorations

Scholastic

; Fellowships ;Honorary degrees

References

External links

*
Interview with Sir David Willcocks
22 January 1989 * Martin Cullingford
Conductor and organist Sir David Willcocks has died
Gramophone 17 September 2015
first part of an interview by Alan Macfarlane 11 December 2008 (video)

second part of an interview by Alan Macfarlane 15 December 2008 (video)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willcocks, David 1919 births 2015 deaths Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Fellows of King's College, Cambridge Recipients of the Military Cross English choral conductors British male conductors (music) English classical organists British male organists People from Newquay People educated at Clifton College Academics of the Royal College of Music Grammy Award winners Knights Bachelor Conductors (music) awarded knighthoods Musicians awarded knighthoods Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry officers British Army personnel of World War II Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music Honorary Members of the Royal Philharmonic Society Cathedral organists Bach musicians Choristers at Westminster Abbey Recipients of the Medal of the Royal College of Organists 20th-century British conductors (music) 20th-century classical composers Military personnel from Cornwall 21st-century British conductors (music) 21st-century classical composers Organ Scholars of King's College, Cambridge Male classical organists