Reading Town Hall

Lunchtime Organ Recital Monday 14 June, 2021, 1.00pm

WILLIAM McVICKER & DAVID PETHER

Programme

David Pether

Gibraltar March Denis Bédard (b.1950)

Adagio in C for Glass Harmonica KV 356 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791)

Scherzo in D Major Op.16 No.21 Aloys Claussmann (1850 – 1926)

Offertorium James MacMillan (b.1959)

Toccatina Hubert Bath (1883 – 1945)

William McVicker

Suite Gothique Léon Boëllmann (i) Introduction (1862-1897) (ii) Menuet Gothique (iii) Prière à Notre-Dame (iv) Toccata

Patrons are respectfully reminded that neither recording nor photography is permitted during performances.

William McVicker is Organ Curator at Reading Town Hall and London’s Royal Festival Hall. He is Chairman of the Association of Independent Organ Advisers, Professor of Organology at the Royal Academy of Music, Organs Adviser to the Diocese of Southwark and to the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England (CFCE). He has performed at numerous prestigious venues, including the Royal Festival Hall, The Royal Albert Hall, Westminster Abbey and King’s College Cambridge. Concert highlights have included solo appearances with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and with Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria he has performed Saint-Saëns’s Third Symphony, Poulenc’s Organ Concerto and Janácek’s Glagolitic Mass. Recent recital and consultancy work has taken him to Russia, New Zealand, Australia, Norway, Nigeria and Malaysia. An Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Musical Instrument Technology, William was recently elected an Honorary Associate of the Royal Academy of Music.

David Pether studied organ performance with Paul Trepte and David Briggs. He has held a number of church appointments, including at St Paul’s Church, Wokingham, and is the regular organist for ceremonies at the and the University College of Estate Management. As a member of the Organists’ Association, David works with Reading Borough Council to promote the use of the historic Father Willis organ in Reading Town Hall, where he performed as soloist in Poulenc’s Organ Concerto in 2011. He has also given several recitals on the instrument, including a programme of duets presented jointly with the organ’s Curator, Dr William McVicker. In 2013, David took part in the concerts marking the restoration of the former Adelaide Town Hall organ, now in the Barossa Valley, South Australia, and was invited to return there in 2015 to present a solo recital.

The ‘Father’ Willis Organ in Reading Town Hall

The organ was built by Henry Willis in 1864 for the old Town Hall, which dates from 1785. Additional buildings, designed by , were erected in front of the small Hall in 1876. The present large Hall was added in 1882, to a design by , in harmony with the Waterhouse building; the Art Gallery and Reading Room completed this impressive group of municipal buildings in 1894.

The organ was enlarged by Willis for the new Hall in 1882, with magnificent casework designed by Lainson, and new front pipes of tin. The Solo Organ and several other stops were added at that time, the old Solo Organ becoming the new Choir Organ. It has subsequently been cleaned several times; electric blowing was introduced early in the 20th Century, the pitch was altered in 1947, and a balanced swell pedal introduced in 1964; but no other changes have been made.

In 1999 this remarkable instrument was restored to its 1882 form, with reinstatement of the original sharp pitch (c=540, a=454Hz). The restoration by Harrison & Harrison Ltd of Durham was made possible thanks to a generous grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The organ forms part of the collection, and is of international significance as one of the finest examples surviving from the Victorian era in substantially unaltered condition.

Forthcoming Organ Events at Reading Town Hall

Lunchtime Organ Recitals. Mondays at 1.00pm. July 5 David Quinn (Bradfield College) Programme and further dates to be announced.

Heritage Day 2021, Saturday 11 September Free event to celebrate our ‘Father’ Willis and mark the centenary of the Berkshire Organists’ Association. Plans include a talk and recital. More details will be published soon, but please reserve the date in your diary now.

Please check whatsonreading.com or www.berkshireorganists.org.uk for updates.