Albion Records - Sir David Willcocks

SIR DAVID WILLCOCKS

Sir David Willcocks

Born on 30 December, 1919 in Newquay, Cornwall, David Willcocks began piano lessons when he was six and added the cello to his studies when he was just seven. In 1929, he was successful in his application to the Song School at Westminster Abbey and spent a very happy five years as a chorister at this prestigious school. In 1934 he won a musical scholarship to Clifton College, Bristol where he studied under Douglas Fox. A period at the Royal College of Music, under R.O. Morris was all excellent preparation for his election to an organ scholarship at King’s College, Cambridge. Thus began his long and illustrious association with King’s College Choir. He played the organ in the Christmas Eve Service of Nine Lessons and Carols in 1939.

David Willcocks joined the infantry in 1940 and was quickly commissioned as a second lieutenant in Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry. He received the Military Cross in November, 1944. He returned to King’s as an Organ Scholar in November, 1945. His conducting career was launched with Purcell’s Dioclesian in 1947, and he was then invited to succeed Sir Walter Alcock as organist of Salisbury Cathedral. He conducted the Salisbury Musical Society and guest-conducted the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, conducting Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius for the first time in 1949. His success in Cambridge and Salisbury led to an invitation to succeed Sir Ivor Atkins at Worcester Cathedral. The opportunity to conduct in the Worcester Three Choirs Festival in 1950 was too good to turn down, and David directed three Festivals – in 1951, 1954 and 1957.

His reputation spread, and he was appointed conductor of the Bradford Festival Choral Society (1956 – 74) before returning to King’s College as Organist in 1957, succeeding Boris Ord. He remained in this post until 1974, when he became Director of the Royal College of Music for ten years. He was also Conductor of The Bach Choir from 1960 to 1998. He succeeded Sir Adrian Boult as President of the Leith Hill Music Festival, a post he retained until 2005. He was appointed CBE in 1971 and received his knighthood in 1977.

Famous for his arrangements of Christmas carols, Sir David edited with Dr. Reginald Jacques Carols for Choirs Vol.1. As this was so successful he went on to co-edit with John Rutter many volumes, which are established throughout the world as essential playing or listening at Christmas. No Christmas would be the same without them.

David Willcocks first met Vaughan Williams in 1950 and worked closely with him at the Three Choirs Festival, particularly in preparing Hodie, a work he commissioned, in 1954. His recordings for EMI of Vaughan Williams are superb, including Hodie, Sancta Civitas, Five Tudor Portraits, Five Mystical Songs and Epithalamion. Beyond VW, his recordings of music from Bach, Tye, Taverner and Tallis to Fauré, Howells and Mathias, will remain his enduring musical legacy.

The RVW Society presented Sir David with a Lifetime Achievement Award in August, 2008, in Worcester Cathedral, and it was at this event that Stephen Connock of Albion Records approached him to conduct the world première recording of Vaughan Williams Folk Songs of the Four Seasons, to mark his 90th birthday on December 30th, 2009.