Catalogue
HAVPCD356 – The Organ Works of Jonathan Bielby
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| Disk Title | The Organ Works of Jonathan Bielby |
| Performed by the composer on the organs of Wakefield Cathedral | |
| Soloists | John Bielby – Organ |
| Location | Wakefield Cathedral |
| Date Recorded | 17-18 June 2009 |
| Audio Tracks | 27 |
Jonathan’s influence on my musical development has been enormous. On hearing him play Messiaen’s Dieu parmi nous at the age of 14, I realized then that I wished to be an organist. It was a Damascan moment. He was a meticulous, thorough and demanding teacher, who insisted on accuracy forged from careful practice and a secure technique. As a teacher of harmony and counterpoint he was fastidious – a spin-off perhaps of his own studies under the legendary Dr. Bernard Rose. Jonathan’s understanding and appreciation of fugal style, for instance, was particularly infectious.
He opened my eyes and ears to organ music which I had not encountered before – Couperin, Frescobaldi, Buxtehude, and the Bach recordings of Lionel Rogg, all of which fuelled my love of the instrument and its repertoire. In short, he has been the finest and most significant all-round mentor and teacher in my musical experience. I owe him a huge debt of gratitude for so much guidance and inspiration. It is entirely appropriate, therefore, that Jonathan’s retirement following 40 years of distinguished and unstinting service at Wakefield Cathedral should be marked by the production of two discs of his own compositions, written for specific events in the life of the Cathedral or as tributes to friends and those dear to him. These recordings will serve as a fitting memento of a career devoted to a single institution and its music, and I join with many friends and admirers who hold Jonathan in great esteem, in wishing him many years of happiness in retirement, with many compositions still to come!
| Trk. | Duration | Track Title | Composer |
| 1 | 03:22 | Carillon de Wakefield (1995) | (Banks Music) |
| 2 | 01:31 | Three Hymn Preludes (1987) – Marlborough Gate | (Canterbury Press) |
| 3 | 01:08 | Three Hymn Preludes (1987) – Dun Aluinn | |
| 4 | 03:06 | Three Hymn Preludes (1987) – A Virgin unspotted | |
| 5 | 03:01 | Little Suite (2002) – Promenade | |
| 6 | 04:35 | Little Suite (2002) – Lament | |
| 7 | 01:50 | Little Suite (2002) – Chorale | |
| 8 | 02:34 | Little Suite (2002) – Popular Song | |
| 9 | 03:56 | Little Suite (2002) – Serenade | |
| 10 | 03:02 | Little Suite (2002) – Trumpet Rondo | |
| 11 | 04:01 | Deo Gratias (2005) | |
| 12 | 01:30 | Cornish Holiday (2009) (Played on the Cathedral chamber organ) Monday: One in a bar |
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| 13 | 01:53 | Cornish Holiday (2009) – Tuesday: Two in a bar | |
| 14 | 02:11 | Cornish Holiday (2009) – Wednesday: Three in a bar | |
| 15 | 01:53 | Cornish Holiday (2009) – Thursday: Four in a bar | |
| 16 | 01:17 | Cornish Holiday (2009) – Friday: Five in a bar | |
| 17 | 02:13 | Cornish Holiday (2009) – Saturday: Six in a bar | |
| 18 | 05:14 | Francis’ Fandango (2007/9) | |
| 19 | 02:37 | Nine Variations on a Well-known Tune (1994) – Variation 1 | |
| 20 | 01:27 | Nine Variations on a Well-known Tune (1994) – Variation 2 | |
| 21 | 01:32 | Nine Variations on a Well-known Tune (1994) – Variation 3 | |
| 22 | 00:46 | Nine Variations on a Well-known Tune (1994) – Variation 4 | |
| 23 | 01:12 | Nine Variations on a Well-known Tune (1994) – Variation 5 | |
| 24 | 01:40 | Nine Variations on a Well-known Tune (1994) – Variation 6 | |
| 25 | 01:24 | Nine Variations on a Well-known Tune (1994) – Variation 7 | |
| 26 | 02:03 | Nine Variations on a Well-known Tune (1994) – Variation 8 | |
| 27 | 02:47 | Nine Variations on a Well-known Tune (1994) – Variation 9 |
Jonathan Bielby was born in Oxford, and appointed Organ Scholar of St John’s College, Cambridge. He became Assistant Organist of Manchester Cathedral before his appointment as Organist of Wakefield Cathedral in 1970. Without substantial funding or endowment, Jonathan has built up the fine reputation of the Cathedral Choir, which regularly broadcasts on national radio and television. He is a sensitive composer who has written extensively for his choir and the organ. He has nurtured the careers of many choristers and organists; among his former choristers are David Hill, Roger Wright and John Scott.
Jonathan has also worked in Huddersfield at the Town Hall as Kirklees Borough Organist; and for 25 years in Leeds at the College of Music as a full-time lecturer. He master-minded the highly successful rebuilds of the Father Willis organ at Huddersfield and the five manual Compton at Wakefield. He has performed in many cathedrals, town halls and universities, both in Britain and abroad. He has recorded CDs for Priory at Huddersfield Town Hall (Romantic Organ Music of Yesteryear), Rochdale Town Hall (Complete Organ Music of John Ireland) and Huddersfield University.
