FROM THE MAGAZINE  ‘ORGANISTS REVIEW’,  March 2009

We are very grateful to the publishers of ‘The Organist Review’ magazine.  www.organistsreview.com , with whose kind permission the undernoted review, written by Richard Popple and which appeared in the March 2009 edition, is reproduced : -

This book is a labour of love in many respects.  First, all costs of production and publication have been met by grants and sponsorship, so all the proceeds of the sales will go to the Music Foundation.  Second, the authors, one a retired consultant surgeon, the other a retired loss adjuster, have given two years of their lives to research and write his book. Third, their love for their subject shines through every page.

It is a substantial book (336 pages), printed on gloss paper with 75 illustration, many in colour.  It begins with a history of the music in the cathedral from the earliest records, with chapters on the Reformation, the Commonwealth, eighteenth century indifference and the translation of the Minster into a Cathedral. It continues with chapters on the new Choir School, the Girls’ Choir, the Organists & Masters of the Choristers, the organs, the music sung by the choir and the written for or commissioned by Ripon Cathedral. It ends with comprehensive lists of broadcasts from the Cathedral and a discography.

Some of the lists, such as the names of the choristers in the photographs and names of staff at the Choir School will, of course, be of interest only to those with local connections, but most of the book has a wide general interest. The facts in the text are illuminated by anecdotes from early records and a lively commentary, ‘warts and all’.

A fascinating story, lovingly told; well worth reading.