Ronald Edward Perrin (13 April 1931 – 5 September 1997)Music at Ripon Cathedral: The People, the Building, the Instruments, the Music: 657 to 2008. Malcolm S. Beer, Howard M. Crawshaw, Ripon Cathedral. Dean & Chapter of Ripon Cathedral, 2008 was a British

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational ...

Career

Born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, Perrin's initial education was at Edmonton County Grammar School. He won an

organ scholar An organ scholar is a young musician employed as a part-time assistant organist at a cathedral, church or institution where regular choral services are held. The idea of an organ scholarship is to provide the holder with playing, directing and ad ...

ship to Christ Church, Oxford, from where he graduated with an honours degree in music. Following

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

, he secured his first appointment as Assistant Organist at

Leeds Parish Church Leeds Minster, or the Minster and Parish Church of Saint Peter-at-Leeds (formerly Leeds Parish Church) is the minster church of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It stands on the site of the oldest church in the city and is of architectural and l ...

. He then moved to

York Minster The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Archb ...

, becoming assistant to Dr Francis Jackson. In April 1966, Dr

Philip Marshall Philip Marshall (born Joseph Philip Marshall; 1921–2005)Obituary
'' ...

, Organist and Master of the Choristers at

Ripon Cathedral The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Wilfrid, commonly known as Ripon Cathedral, and until 1836 known as Ripon Minster, is a cathedral in Ripon, North Yorkshire, England. Founded as a monastery by monks of the Irish tradition in the 660s, it ...

, moved to

Lincoln Cathedral Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln Minster, or the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln and sometimes St Mary's Cathedral, in Lincoln, England, is a Grade I listed cathedral and is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Lincoln. Constructio ...

, and Perrin was appointed as his successor. For a number of years in the 1960s, he also taught music at

Holy Trinity School Holy Trinity is the name of various schools: Canada *Holy Trinity School (Richmond Hill), Ontario United States * Holy Trinity School, Washington, D.C. See also * Holy Trinity Catholic High School (disambiguation) * Holy Trinity School, Praya ...

in Ripon. Perrin held the post at Ripon Cathedral for almost thirty years until his retirement in 1995. He was a prolific composer and is also credited with a significant widening of the repertoire at Ripon. He died from cancer in September 1997, and is buried at Ripon. Perrin shared several Organ recitals with Carlo Curley, the America virtuoso, playing to staggeringly large audiences, and they had common a desire to popularise the organ recital. He was a Licentiate of 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 ...

and a Fellow of

Trinity College, London Trinity College London (TCL) is an examination board based in London, United Kingdom, which offers graded and diploma qualifications (up to postgraduate level) across a range of disciplines in the performing arts and English language learning and ...

Compositions

His compositions include Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in A (Trebles), Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in A flat, and a

Te Deum The "Te Deum" (, ; from its incipit, , ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to AD 387 authorship, but with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin Chu ...

in C. He also wrote three major settings of the Anglican Communion Service: St Wilfrid's Mass, Riponensis and the Missa Sancti Petri. His anthem ''Angel voices ever singing'' is the best known of his many works in this genre. Perrin also supplied a number of anglican chants for inclusion in the

Chant Book.

Appointments

*Assistant Organist

???? - 1957 *Assistant Organist

1957 - 1966 *Organist and Master of the Choristers,

1966 - 1994

References

1931 births 1997 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford English classical organists British male organists Cathedral organists People educated at Enfield Grammar School Musicians from London 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century English musicians 20th-century organists 20th-century British male musicians 20th-century British musicians Male classical organists {{organist-stub