Christopher Bowers-Broadbent
Encyclopedia
Biography
He was a chorister in the Choir of King's College, CambridgeChoir of King's College, Cambridge
The Choir of King's College, Cambridge is one of today's most accomplished and renowned representatives of the great British choral tradition. It was created by King Henry VI, who founded King's College, Cambridge in 1441, to provide daily singing in his Chapel, which remains the main task of the...
, and went on to study organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
and composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
, where he was taught by Arnold Richardson and Richard Rodney Bennett
Richard Rodney Bennett
Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, CBE is an English composer renowned for his film scores and his jazz performance as much as for his challenging concert works...
. His made his debut at the Camden Festival
Camden Festival
Camdem Festival was an annual spring festival held in London, England, of which opera was the central feature.Founded in 1954 and continuing until 1987, it was originally called the St Pancras Festival until 1965. It specialised in the revival of long-forgotten operas, some of which subsequently...
in 1966; his first major recital
Recital
A recital is a musical performance. It can highlight a single performer, sometimes accompanied by piano, or a performance of the works of a single composer.The invention of the solo piano recital has been attributed to Franz Liszt....
s were at the St Albans International Organ Festival
St Albans International Organ Festival
The International Organ Festival is a biennial music festival and organ competition held in St Albans, England since 1963. Originally held annually, it was changed to every two years in 1965 due to the complexity of organising the increasingly ambitious programme...
in 1969 and the Royal Festival Hall
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...
in 1971. His first appearance as a soloist was at the Proms
The Proms
The Proms, more formally known as The BBC Proms, or The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in London...
in 1972. He was a Fellow and Professor of Organ at the Royal Academy of Music from 1973 to 1992, where his students included Kevin Bowyer
Kevin Bowyer
Kevin John Bowyer is an English organist, known for his prolific recording and recital career and his interest in playing unusual, modern and extremely difficult compositions.-Biography:...
.
He has recorded CDs as an organist, and with the Hilliard Ensemble
Hilliard Ensemble
The Hilliard Ensemble is a British male vocal quartet originally devoted to the performance of early music. Founded in 1974, the group is named after the Elizabethan miniaturist painter Nicholas Hilliard....
. He has also appeared with Paul Hillier
Paul Hillier
Paul Douglas Hillier is a conductor, music director and baritone. He specializes in early music and contemporary art music, especially that by composers Steve Reich and Arvo Pärt. He studied at Magdalen College, Oxford and the Guildhall School of Music, beginning his professional career while a...
's Theatre of Voices
Theatre of Voices
Theatre of Voices is a vocal ensemble founded by baritone Paul Hillier in 1992; it focuses on early music and new music.The ensemble was formed by Paul Hillier while he was teaching at the University of California, Davis, as an avenue to performing more contemporary music while his other group, the...
. Arvo Pärt
Arvo Pärt
Arvo Pärt is an Estonian classical composer and one of the most prominent living composers of sacred music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs his self-made compositional technique, tintinnabuli. His music also finds its inspiration and influence from...
's Puzzle was written for him in celebration of his birthday. He has composed a great deal of vocal music, as well as instrumental and orchestral works.
He holds two posts in London: organist and choirmaster of Gray's Inn
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
, one of the four Inns of Court
Inns of Court
The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. All such barristers must belong to one such association. They have supervisory and disciplinary functions over their members. The Inns also provide libraries, dining facilities and professional...
, and organist at the West London Synagogue
West London Synagogue
The West London Synagogue of British Jews was established on 15 April 1840. It is one of the oldest synagogues in the United Kingdom and the oldest Reform synagogue in the UK.-History:...
. This allows him the use of their Harrison & Harrison
Harrison & Harrison
Harrison & Harrison Ltd are a British company that make and restore pipe organs, based in Durham and established in 1861. They are well known for their work on instruments such as King's College Cambridge, Westminster Abbey and the Royal Festival Hall....
and Mander
Mander Organs
Mander Organs is an English pipe organ maker and refurbisher based in London. Although well known for many years in the world of organ building, they achieved wider notability in 2004 with their refurbishment of the Royal Albert Hall's Father Willis organ....
organs.
Christopher Bowers-Broadbent is the father of musician Harry Broadbent
Harry Broadbent (musician)
Harry Broadbent is a keyboardist from London. He is best known for playing for the English rock band, Kula Shaker after they reformed in 2006. Harry's father is Contemporary organist Christopher Bowers-Broadbent....
.
Choral
- 1968 Four Lovescapes' Canticles' (E.E. Cummings)
- 1972 Worthy is the LambThe Lamb"The Lamb" is a poem by William Blake, published in Songs of Innocence in 1789. Like many of Blake's works, the poem is about Christianity.-Background:...
CantataCantataA cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir.... - 1974 The Hollow ManThe Hollow ManHollow Man or The Hollow Man may refer to:*The Hollow Man , a locked room mystery novel by John Dickson Carr*The Hollow Man , a science fiction novel by the US writer Dan Simmons...
(T.S. Eliot) - 1975 Rhymes without Reason four songs (Mervyn PeakeMervyn PeakeMervyn Laurence Peake was an English writer, artist, poet and illustrator. He is best known for what are usually referred to as the Gormenghast books. They are sometimes compared to the work of his older contemporary J. R. R...
) - 1976 The Story of Cars a short cantata
- 1978 Deo Gratias a motetMotetIn classical music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions.-Etymology:The name comes either from the Latin movere, or a Latinized version of Old French mot, "word" or "verbal utterance." The Medieval Latin for "motet" is motectum, and the Italian...
- 1981 The Quarry a short cantata (W.H. Auden)
- 1989 Jubilate-Cantate
- 1999 Holy Communion service for Gray's Inn
Evening Canticles
- 1968 Festal setting
- 1968 Lenten setting
- 1976 in Two Parts
- 1988 Ex-St Pancras
Morning Canticles
- 1972 Te DeumTe DeumThe Te Deum is an early Christian hymn of praise. The title is taken from its opening Latin words, Te Deum laudamus, rendered literally as "Thee, O God, we praise"....
(ICET text) - 1975 Te Deum
- 1971 Short communion service
- 1973 Communion Service (Series III text)
- 1981 A New BenediciteBenediciteThe Benedicite is a canticle that is used in the Roman Catholic Liturgy of the Hours, and is also used in Anglican and Lutheran worship. The text is either verses 35–65 or verses 35–66 of The Song of the Three Children...
(Leonard Clark)
Anthems
- 1965 2 Short Motets
- 1966 Brief life
- 1968 No time ago
- 1968 Offer your very selves
- 1968 Into this world of sorrow
- 1969 Virgin Born
- 1969 Music to Hear
- 1969 Pleasure it is
- 1969 The way to Life
- 1970 Pater nosterPater NosterPater Noster is probably the best-known prayer in Christianity.Pater Noster or Paternoster may also refer to:* Paternoster, a passenger elevator which consists of a chain of open compartments that move slowly in a loop up and down inside a building* Paternoster, Western Cape, South Africa* Pierres...
- 1970 Except the Lord
- 1970 Let thy merciful ears
- 1971 I thank you God
- 1976 The grace of God
- 1977 There is water in the river
- 1995 Yiheyu leratson
- 1994 The ElixirElixirAn elixir is a clear, sweet-flavored liquid used for medicinal purposes, to be taken orally and intended to cure one's ills. When used as a pharmaceutical preparation, an elixir contains at least one active ingredient designed to be taken orally....
- 1994 Hail bright CeciliaSaint CeciliaSaint Cecilia is the patroness of musicians and Church music because as she was dying she sang to God. It is also written that as the musicians played at her wedding she "sang in her heart to the Lord". St. Cecilia was an only child. Her feast day is celebrated in the Roman Catholic, Anglican,...
- 1996 Since I
- 1997 Hashivenu
- 1997 Office Hymns
- 1997 All praise
- 1997 Az Yashir Mosheh (The Song of Moses)
Christmas music
- 1963/1970 Sleep Holy Babe
- 1965 Matin ResponsoryResponsory-Definition:The most general of a responsory is any psalm, canticle, or other sacred musical work sung responsorially, that is, with a cantor or small group singing verses while the whole choir or congregation respond with a refrain. However, this article focuses on those chants of the western...
- 1971 A spotless rose
- 1973 There is no rose
- 1977 If Christ were born in CamdenCamden Town-Economy:In recent years, entertainment-related businesses and a Holiday Inn have moved into the area. A number of retail and food chain outlets have replaced independent shops driven out by high rents and redevelopment. Restaurants have thrived, with the variety of culinary traditions found in...
(A.F. Bayly) - 1978 If Christ were born in London
- 1984 A Christmas LitanyLitanyA litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Jewish worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions...
(Fred Kaan) - 1985 A Christmas Song (Laurence Housman)
- 1991 Angelus ad Virginem
- 1999 As with gladness
- 2002 AlleluiaAlleluiaThe word "Alleluia" or "Hallelujah" , which at its most literal means "Praise Yah", is used in different ways in Christian liturgies....
: A new work is come on hand
Instrumental
- 1966 Dialogue and Controversy for brass and organPipe organThe pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
- 1967 Serenatas for oboeOboeThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
- 1967 Dogmas for brass quartet and timpaniTimpaniTimpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
- 1968 Duo for flute and violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
- 1970 3 Duets for flute
- 1970 FantasiaFantasia (music)The fantasia is a musical composition with its roots in the art of improvisation. Because of this, it seldom approximates the textbook rules of any strict musical form ....
for luteLuteLute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes.... - 1975 Little Concerto for oboe and string orchestraString orchestraA string orchestra is an orchestra composed solely or primarily of instruments from the string family. These instruments are the violin, the viola, the cello, the double bass , the piano, the harp, and sometimes percussion...
- 1979 Piece for E-flat clarinetE-flat clarinetThe E-flat clarinet is a member of the clarinet family. It is usually classed as a soprano clarinet, although some authors describe it as a "sopranino" or even "piccolo" clarinet. Smaller in size and higher in pitch than the more common B clarinet, it is a transposing instrument in E, sounding a...
- 2000 A Ship bound for TarshishTarshishTarshish תַּרְשִׁישׁ occurs in the Hebrew Bible with several uncertain meanings:*One of the sons of Javan .* In the Bible Solomon set up a trade with Tarshish and received ivory, apes, and peacocks from Tarshish which are all native to the jungles in India. India's state bird for example is the...
for chamber orchestra - 2001 The Song at the Sea for organ, strings and timpani
Organ
- 1964 Variations
- 1966 Four Diversions
- 1968 Six Pieces
- 1968 Serenata
- 1994 PreluDDe
- 1996 Media vita - a sequence of short pieces
- 1996 Duets and canonCanon (music)In music, a canon is a contrapuntal composition that employs a melody with one or more imitations of the melody played after a given duration . The initial melody is called the leader , while the imitative melody, which is played in a different voice, is called the follower...
s - a sequence of short pieces (recorded by Kevin BowyerKevin BowyerKevin John Bowyer is an English organist, known for his prolific recording and recital career and his interest in playing unusual, modern and extremely difficult compositions.-Biography:...
) - 1997 Ya Shema
- 2000 Organ Notebook 1
- 2002 7 Words - a piece in 7 movements
Chamber operas
- 1972 The Pied Piper (a children's operaOperaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
) - librettoLibrettoA libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
by Jeremy Hornsby - 1979 The Seacock Bane (for teenagers) - libretto by Tony Vincent Isaacs
- 1982 The Last Man (a comic operaComic operaComic opera denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending.Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a new operatic genre, opera buffa, emerged as an alternative to opera seria...
) - libretto by Tony Vincent Isaacs
Songs and incidental music
- 1969 The Becauseway a play by Wesley BurrowesWesley BurrowesWesley Burrowes is an Irish playwright and screenwriter. Originally from Northern Ireland, he is now a resident of the Republic of Ireland...
- 1971 And All The People Rejoiced a play by Wesley Burrowes
- 1982 The Three Brothers a story for shadow puppets by Jessica Souhami