The Organ Works of Jonathan Bielby

Info & track listings

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!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.