A few church musicians of today may recognise the names of J H Maunder, Caleb Simper and Ferris Tozer, but very few will know very much about them, their lives or their music. Better-known perhaps are the names of Hugh Blair, Sir Herbert Brewer and Basil Harwood but, apart from a few compositions still in the repertoire, little of their other work is known or performed today. The authors have researched the life and times of 46 church musicians born between 1840 and 1870. All were well-known characters in their day – ranging from the highlyproficient to the completely eccentric, and from the much-loved to the irascible. The music of some is certainly worthy of reappraisal, the music of others ranges from the curious to the banal.
The mixed-media CD which accompanies this book includes around 200 scores of organ and choral music in pdf format, all in the public domain and free to share. Comprehensive works lists are given for the composers, together with over four hours of recorded organ music in mp3 format – 40 pieces to whet your appetite for this important and neglected era in church music.
