Ivor Atkins
Sir Ivor Atkins (1869–1953) was an English organist, choirmaster and composer who served Worcester Cathedral for more than fifty years and long directed the Three Choirs Festival.
He wrote songs, anthems and service settings, and prepared editions and arrangements that entered the standard choral repertory, among them an English version of Allegri’s Miserere with the celebrated treble top C, and the Epiphany favourite The Three Kings.
His organ transcription of the brass-band Severn Suite, issued as Sonata No. 2 with a cadenza of his own, is heard on Elgar Organ Sonatas (MD 3059). The Three Kings appears on We Wish You a Merry Christmas (MD 3079).
Compositions by Ivor Atkins appear on
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
The Choir of Ormond College, directed by Douglas Lawrence, presents a varied selection of twenty-eight Christmas carols. Familiar favourites sit beside Bach and Pachelbel organ pieces and twentieth-century settings.
Elgar Organ Sonatas
Recorded in 1984 for the fiftieth anniversary of Edward Elgar's death, this album presents both of his organ sonatas. June Nixon, long-time organist of St Paul's Cathedral Melbourne, plays the cathedral's Lewis organ with mastery and clear affection for the music.