Arthur William Wills
OBE (19 September 1926 – 30 October 2020) was an English musician, composer and professor, born in
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...
. He was director of music at
Ely Cathedral
Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is an Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England.
The cathedral has its origins in AD 672 when St Etheldreda built an abbey church. The present ...
from 1958 to 1990 and also held a professorship at the
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke ...
in London from 1964 until 1992. He toured extensively as a recitalist in Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. He also broadcast, appeared on television and made many recordings, both as a soloist and with Ely Cathedral Choir.
Works
Wills composed prolifically for the
organ
Organ may refer to:
Biology
* Organ (biology), a part of an organism
Musical instruments
* Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone
** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument
** Hammond ...
and choir. His ensemble works include a concerto with strings and timpani, a concerto for guitar and organ and a symphonic suite, entitled "The Fenlands", for brass band and organ.
His choral concerto, "The Gods of Music", for organ, chorus and brass with percussion ensemble was commissioned for the biannual keyboard festival of the
University of Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia, in 1992.
Wills's secular music includes seven
song cycle
A song cycle (german: Liederkreis or Liederzyklus) is a group, or cycle, of individually complete songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online''
The songs are either for solo voice or an ensemble, or rare ...
s, and an
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...
, ''
Winston and Julia
Winston may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Winston Glacier
Australia
* Winston, Queensland, a suburb of the City of Mount Isa
United Kingdom
* Winston, County Durham, England, a village
* Winston, Suffolk, England, a village and civil pari ...
'', based on the
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalit ...
novel ''
Nineteen Eighty-Four''.
His book ''Organ'' appeared in the Menuhin Music Guide Series in 1984, with a second edition in 1993 and a third reprint in 1997.
The Ely Choir has recorded a CD (HAVPCD 197) of his choral and organ music from 1955 to 1990 on
Herald AV Publications
Herald AV Publications is a British record label.
Founded in 1984, Herald AV Publications was set up as a specialist Catholic recording company. It serves both to promote established professional artists and to provide an outlet for new artists ...
. In May 1999
Hyperion Records reissued two recordings from the early 1980s on one CD (CDH55003): "The Fenlands" (featuring the City of Cambridge Band), in addition to music by
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...
and
William Walton, together with his transcription of
Modest Mussorgsky's ''
Pictures at an Exhibition'' for solo organ.
His recording ''Full Stops'' was first issued in 1978. It includes his variations on "
Amazing Grace". It was issued on CD (84305) in 1995 by Meridian.
In celebration of Wills's 75th birthday in 2001,
Jeremy Filsell
Jeremiah Daniel Filsell (born 10 April 1964) is an English pianist, organist and composer who currently serves as director of music at Saint Thomas Church, New York City.
Biography
Having played piano and organ from a young age, Filsell wa ...
recorded a CD of his organ music on the organ of
Tonbridge School
(God Giveth the Increase)
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding
, religion =
, president =
, head_label ...
chapel. Wills is the voice of the narrator in his variations on a theme of
Henry Purcell, "Wondrous Machine" (Guild GMCD 7225).
Novello published Wills's transcription for organ of three movements from
Gustav Holst's ''
The Planets'' suite: Mars, Venus and Jupiter. These were recordings of
Joseph Nolan Joseph Nolan may refer to:
* Joseph Nolan (politician), Irish nationalist politician
* Joseph Nolan (organist), English-born Australian organist and conductor.
* Joseph A. Nolan, United States Army soldier and Medal of Honor recipient
* Joseph R. ...
at the organ of
Ripon Cathedral on
Herald AV Publications
Herald AV Publications is a British record label.
Founded in 1984, Herald AV Publications was set up as a specialist Catholic recording company. It serves both to promote established professional artists and to provide an outlet for new artists ...
(HAVPCD 274).
Robert Crowley studied with Wills at the Royal Academy of Music and recorded ''Icons'' (LAMM168D), a CD of Wills's organ music on the rebuilt organ of Ely Cathedral. The CD's record label, Lammas, is headed by
Lance Andrews, who was a chorister at Ely Cathedral in the early 1950s when Wills was Assistant Organist.
Wills's memoirs, ''Full with Wills'' (), were published by Pen Press in 2006.
Wills died, aged 94, on 30 October 2020.
Ely Cathedral, ''Dr. Arthur Wills OBE announcement''
Retrieved 2 November 2020.
Awards
Wills was awarded an OBE in 1990.
References
External links
Herald AV Publications - HAVPCD197: ''The Praises of the Trinity''
Herald AV Publications - HAVPCD274: ''SuperNova''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wills, Arthur
1926 births
2020 deaths
20th-century classical composers
Composers for pipe organ
English classical composers
English classical organists
British male organists
Organ improvisers
Cathedral organists
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music
Academics of the Royal Academy of Music
English male classical composers
20th-century English composers
Organists of Ely Cathedral
21st-century organists
20th-century British male musicians
21st-century British male musicians
Male classical organists