Willan, (James) Healey

Willan, (James) Healey, eminent English-born Canadian composer, organist, choral conductor, and teacher; b. Balham, Oct. 12, 1880; d. Toronto, Feb. 16, 1968. He received training in piano, organ, harmony, and counterpoint at the St. Saviour’s Choir School in Eastbourne (1888-95), where he found a mentor in its headmaster and organist-choirmaster Walter Hay Sangster. He then studied organ with William Stevenson Hoyte and piano with Evlyn Howard-Jones in London. Willan began his career as organist of the St. Cecilia Soc. (1895-1900), and then was conductor of the Wanstead Choral Soc. (1904-05) and of the Thalian Operatic Soc. (1906). He also served as organist-choirmaster at St. Saviour’s Church, St. Alban’s, Herts (1898-1900), Christ Church, Wanstead (1900-03), and St. John the Baptist, Holland Rd., Kensington (1903-13). In 1913 he settled in Toronto as head of theory at the Cons. of Music and as organist at St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Bloor Street. In 1914 he also became a lecturer and examiner at the Univ. of Toronto, where he served as music director of its Hart House Theatre (1919-25). From 1920 to 1936 he was vice-principal of the Toronto Cons, of Music. In 1921 he became organist-choirmaster at the Anglican Church of St. Mary Magdalene, a position he retained until his death. From 1932 to 1964 he was the organist of the Univ. of Toronto, where he also taught counterpoint and composition from 1937 to 1950. In 1933 he founded the Tudor Singers, conducting them until 1939. In 1953 he founded the Toronto Diocesan Choir School, which he served as music director. In 1956 the Archbishop of Canterbury conferred upon him the Lambeth Doctorate, the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a musician by the Anglican church. He received the Canada Council Medal in 1961. In 1967 he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada. On July 4, 1980, the Canadian Post Office issued a commemorative stamp bearing his likeness, making Willan the first composer to receive that distinction. As a composer, Willan excelled in music for liturgical use. He was a determined proponent of the Oxford Movement in the Anglican Church, and thus championed the cause of Anglo-Catholicism. Particularly notable in this regard were his 14 settings of the Missa brevis (1928-63), the set of 11 Liturgical Motets (1928-37), the plainsong-with-fauxbourdons settings of the Canticles, and the Responsaries for the Offices of Tenebrae (1956). In 1953 Willan’s commissioned homage anthem, O Lord, Our Governour, was performed at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in London. Willan was thus the first non-resident of Great Britain to receive such an honor. His organ music is also of great distinction. His Introduction, Passacaglia, and Fugue (1916) is his masterpiece in that genre. Of his other works, the opera Deirdre, the 2 syms., and the Piano Concerto are worthy achievements.

Works

dramatic: DRAMATIC: The Beggar’s Opera, ballad opera (1927); The Order of Good Cheer, ballad opera (1928); Transit Through Fire: An Odyssey of 1942, radio opera (1941-42; CBC, March 8, 1942); Hymn for Those in the Air, incidental music (1942); Darare, radio opera (1943-45; CBC, April 20, 1946; rev. version for the stage, Toronto, April 2, 1965); Brebeuf, pageant (CBC, Sept. 26,1943); 4 other ballad operas; 14 sets of incidental music, etc. ORCH.: 2 syms.: No. 1 (Toronto, Oct. 8, 1936) and No. 2 (1941; rev. 1948; Toronto, May 18, 1950); Piano Concerto (Montreal, Aug. 24,1944; rev. 1949); Royce Hall Suite for Concert Band (1949); Overture to an Unwritten Comedy (1951); 3 Fanfares (1959); Poem for Strings (1959); 5 marches and other pieces. CHAMBER: Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano (1907); 2 violin sonatas (1916, 1921). KEYBOARD: Piano: Variations and Epilogue on an Original Theme (1913-15). O r g a n : 2 preludes and fugues (1908, 1909); Introduction, Passacaglia and Tugue (1916); Rondino, Elegy and Chaconne (1956); Fugai Trilogy (1958); 5 Pieces (1958); Passacaglia and Fugue (1959); 97 chorale preludes; many other pieces, including arrangements. VOCAL: An Apostrophe to the Heavenly Hosts for Chorus (1921); The Mystery of Bethlehem, cantata for Soprano, Bass, Chorus, and Organ (1923); 6 Motets for Chorus (1924); The 3 Kings for Chorus (1928); Rise Up, My Love, My Fair One for Chorus (1929); Behold the Tabernacle of God for Chorus (1933); Gloria Deo per immensa saecula for Chorus (1950); O Lord, Our Governour for Chorus and Orch. (1952); Coronation Suite for Chorus and Orch. (1952); The Story of Bethlehem for Chorus and Organ (1955); other choral works include 14 settings of the Missa brevis (1928-63), 11 Liturgical Motets (1928-37), other motets, 39 fauxbourdons and 15 full settings of the Canticles, more than 40 anthems, over 30 hymn-anthems, 31 hymn tunes, more than 40 fauxbourdons to hymn tunes, many plainsong adaptions, carols, secular vocal pieces, etc.

Bibliography

F. Clarke, H. W.: Life and Music (Toronto, 1983).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire