31 January 1998
A thought-provoking e-mail from one of my US visitors, Peter Olson
Please sustain this web site. I just happened upon it and have already saved it in my "favorites" folder - I'm sure to return to it many times.Your comprehensive list of cathedrals, organists and their particular dates and positions is fascinating. I am a lead chorister at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Des Moines, Iowa USA. I was keen of English liturgical music, before I discovered that Ben Allaway, Cathedral choirmaster and notable composer, led Evensong once a month. I found this to be rare in our mostly rural state in the heart of the United States.
Mr. Allaway founded the Howells Scholars in 1996. We are an accomplished group of choristers dedicated to the music of the Anglican evensong tradition. My interest was peaked upon becoming a member, and finally living my dream of singing the music that I theretofore had only heard on CD.
I currently contribute to the Cathedral through my piano tuning, choir singing and writing psalm settings for the choir and congregation.
I have been told I have an ear and potential for setting text to music. My greatest zeal is for creating Anglican chant. I listen with amazement and my faith is nurtured when I hear chants of Davies, Havergal, South, Sanders, Harwood, Turle, Walmisley, to name only a few in number. My highest hope is to join the ranks of such writers. With undergraduate music and composition training and with continued instruction under Ben Allaway, I have begun.
There still is a need to fill books and hearts of our age with beautiful works of music, isn't there? Could you or someone else tell me how I could channel my interest/passion? Please e-mail replies directly to Peter mentioning the ECM site (Ed.) I'm sure formal choir and composition training, at least, are prerequisites to realizing my dreams. I wish someday to visit, and perhaps, to study in Great Britain.
Thank you for your attention, Mr. Perry. You can now imagine my eagerness at finding such a resource on my living room television screen. You've created an invaluable site. Thank you.
Now a random selection from 1997 mail:
- Congratulations on producing such an excellent web site!!
- Following your link on the Guildford Cathedral Choir page, I found your site. Looks good, the more music sites, the better.
- Bravo, a job well done and keep up the good work. I am an American Organist/Choirmaster who enjoys and practises Anglican music. I enjoy the "few" links that I can find on the web.
- Bravo on your British Cathedral music website!
- Congratulations! I am delighted to find this site, and I would be even more delighted if it included lists of available recordings. Thanks for creating such an interesting website.
- Three cheers! I am a retired church musician and university professor of music. Beginning as a singer (adult) in Washington Cathedral, I have been a student of this great tradition for some 50 years. I never miss an opportunity to urge friends visiting England to hear English Cathedral music in its original setting. Their gratitude and astonishment when the follow my suggestion is reward enough. No suggestions now, except -- keep it up!
- You are doing a fine job with your English Cathedral Web site. It provides a great help for all of us who admire your choirs and cathedrals--especially as the British Tourist Authority in this country has never heard of the publication "Singing in Cathedrals" and denies that it exists. It doesn't do any good to tell them otherwise.
- Please get on with this glorious idea of yours. We in America would so much love to hear about music in the English Cathedrals. Thank you so much.
- By the way, your web site is WONDERFUL! I can't wait for the updates!
- Your page is great and I very much liked the link to British Cathedral Choirs. I used your site generally to access Cathedrals, and noted using your link that Hereford uses a Distributor in my adjoining suburb. ... So your site can be used for many purposes, historical, musical, etc. Thank you for building in such good links.
- I was just browsing this morning and found your marvellous site. Congratulations - it's terrific. It will also prove financially useful to me, as I noted the Nearys' e-mail address - as we had (until now) been in phone contact with Penny about a recital next year - now I shall email them next week instead!! Thank you!
- And THANK YOU for your efforts with your site. The subject of cathedrals and their music have a rather legendary and inscrutable reputation here. There are many admirers in the US who will eagerly absorb every word you post on the subject. Thank you again for doing so.
- I just found your webpage and am indeed interested in what you are doing... I'll be looking in from time to time. Good Luck!!!
- We've enjoyed your efforts in compiling this information.
- I was delighted to come across your cathedral music page. I have been maintaining a rather similar but less extensive and more personal page and hope it will be all right if I may put a link to your page from it. My interest also is musical, though my links are mostly to pictures of cathedrals I've found or scanned in myself rather than to details of choirs or services.
- Thank for continuing to provide so many fine resources via your web site.
