Repertoire revivals – William Lloyd Webber

My good friend organist Terence Atkins gave a recital yesterday which included no fewer than four pieces by William Lloyd Webber.  Terence has long expressed his enthusiasm for Lloyd Webber’s music – as he says ‘William Lloyd Webber was a household name amongst organists in the late 40s and 50s, and there’s a vast amount of his music waiting to be discovered.’

Much of his organ music is not particularly long – Webber is at his best in miniatures.  This makes for good service voluntaries – I have my eye on an Epilogue which Terence included yesterday – quite a rumbustious piece with fanfares and some rather luscious harmonies at the end.  Webber’s music is unashamedly tonal and romantic, out of step with the fashionable serialism of his time.   This, combined with his reluctance to promote himself and his music, means that the name Lloyd Webber only brings to mind the work of his sons nowadays – cellist Julian and composer Andrew.

However it’s Webber’s centenary in a couple of weeks’ time, and his music is starting to get the airing it deserves.   Julian Lloyd Webber is leading a concert of his father’s works at St Martin in the Fields, London, on 11th March 2014, and organists are joining in the revival – concerts remembering William Lloyd Webber are coming up very soon (starting March 10) at Westminster Central Hall (where Lloyd Webber was Director of Music) with recitals by Jane Watts and Gerard Brooks, and a performance of Lloyd Webber’s Cantata The Saviour.  More details here.

If you’d like further reading, Len Mullenger’s Musicweb-international site has an good biography, list of works and discography here – where you can also find an excellent article by John France.   If you’d like to read more about William’s relationship with his sons and their music there’s an interesting article by Jessica Duchen in the Independent here.

Finally, Jane Watts provides an insight into the organ music of Lloyd Webber in an article in the current issue (March 2014) of Organists’ Review, with the bonus of listening excerpts on the Organists’ Review website – click here and use the password webber.