Anthony Douglass Caesar (3 April 1924 – 14 July 2018) was an English priest,

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

. Caesar was a boy chorister in the

Winchester Cathedral Choir Winchester Cathedral Choir is an English Anglican choir based at Winchester Cathedral in Winchester in Hampshire. Until 1999 it was a men and boys choir, but there is now a girls choir which for some services sings separately from the boys. The ...

under Harold Rhodes, who directed choir rehearsals in the short street known as "Dome Alley", the title later on of one of Caesar's hymn tunes set to the hymn 'God is love: let heav'n adore him'. He studied music at

Magdalene College Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

where he was a music scholar and trained for the Anglican priesthood at

St Stephen's House St Stephen's House is an external theological college with observer status at the University of Oxford, affiliated with the Church of England. From 2003 to 2023 it was a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford. The college typicall ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. From 3 August 1979 to 1 August 1991 he was Subdean of the

Chapels Royal A chapel royal is an establishment in the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, British and Monarchy of Canada#Federal residences and royal household, Canadian royal households serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the royal family ...

(having previously been

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

Precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...

and Vice-Dean of

Winchester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...

). During this period he was also the music editor of the ''

New English Hymnal New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

'' in which appears his tune 'Newtown St Luke' (a part of

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

) written for the Christmastide hymn 'Child of the stable's secret birth' (New English Hymnal 43). In the 1991

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the King's Official Birthday, reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into Order (honour), national or Dynastic order of knighthood, dy ...

he was promoted to

Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the ...

(CVO), having previously been appointed a Lieutenant of that order in the 1987 New Year Honours. Following his retirement from the Chapel Royal, he was appointed an Extra Chaplain to the Royal Household. He is best known for his short

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

setting, ''Missa Brevis Capella Regalis'', and his setting of

Digby Mackworth Dolben Digby Augustus Stewart Mackworth Dolben (8 February 1848 – 28 June 1867) was an English poet who died young from drowning. He owes his poetic reputation to his cousin, Robert Bridges, poet laureate from 1913 to 1930, who edited a partial editi ...

's poem ''Requests'', as well as his "O For a Closer walk with God". He died in July 2018 at the age of 94.Anthony Caesar
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References

1924 births 2018 deaths Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge Alumni of St Stephen's House, Oxford English classical organists English composers 20th-century English Anglican priests Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Fellows of the Royal College of Organists English male classical organists {{UK-composer-stub