William Lloyd Webber


William Southcombe Lloyd Webber was an English organist and composer, who achieved some fame as a part of the modern classical music movement whilst commercially facing mixed opportunities. Besides his long and prestigious career, composing works ranging from choral pieces to instrumental items and more, he is known for being the father of his fellow composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and the cellist Julian Lloyd Webber. He also served as a teacher, instructing pupils in music theory at the Royal College of Music for many years until his death in 1982.

Childhood

Webber was born in London. The son of William Charles Henry Webber, a self-employed plumber, he was fortunate that his father was a keen organ 'buff' who spent what little money he had travelling to hear various organs in and around the capital. Often he would take his son with him and, before long, young William started to play the organ himself and developed a keen interest that bordered on the obsessional.
By the age of 14, William Lloyd Webber had already become a well-known organ recitalist, giving frequent performances at many churches and cathedrals throughout Great Britain. He won an organ scholarship to the Mercers' School, later winning a further scholarship to study at the Royal College of Music, where he studied with Ralph Vaughan Williams and gained his FRCO diploma at nineteen. Because there was already another student at the college with the name William Webber, William continued to use his second middle name 'Lloyd' from then on as part of his last name.

Prolific years

Lloyd Webber's earliest known composition is the "remarkably assured" Fantasy Trio in B minor for violin, cello and piano of 1936. In 1938, he was appointed organist and head of the choir school at All Saints, Margaret Street, in the Marylebone district of London. He later became musical director at Westminster Central Hall, London, the headquarters of the Methodist church in the United Kingdom. His first compositions developed in the 1930s. In 1942 he married the pianist and violinist Jean Hermione Johnstone. The marriage, which lasted until his death, produced two sons:the composer Andrew and the cellist Julian.
From 1945 until the 1960s Lloyd Webber composed vocal and instrumental music, choral and organ works, chamber music and orchestral works. Compositions from this period include the oratorio St. Francis of Assisi, the orchestral tone-poem Aurora, and the six Country Impressions, each movement for a solo woodwind instrument and piano. The Saviour, a large scale cantata, was composed in 1961 as a accessible Passiontide work in the tradition of John Stainer’s Crucifixion (Stainer)|Crucifixion].
There are also sonatinas for viola and flute, numerous songs, organ pieces and choral works. But Webber's roots were firmly embedded in the romanticism of such composers as Sergei Rachmaninov, Jean Sibelius and César Franck, and he became increasingly convinced that his own music was 'out of step' with the prevailing climate of the time. Rather than compromise his style, he turned to the academic side of British musical life. He taught at the Royal College of Music, directed the choir of Westminster Central Hall, and in 1964 was appointed Director of the London College of Music, a post which he held until his death in 1982.

Selected works

Orchestra

Lento in E major for string orchestra Waltz in E minor for orchestra Aurora, Tone Poem for orchestra Three Spring Miniatures for small orchestra ; orchestration of original piano workSerenade for Strings for string orchestraInvocation for harp, timpani and string orchestra

Brass band

Little Suite for brass

Chamber music

Three Pieces for cello and pianoFantasy Trio in B minor for violin, cello and piano
  • Sonatina for flute and piano Benedictus for violin and organ Nocturne for cello and piano or harp ; from the oratorio St. Francis of Assisi
  • Sonatina for viola and piano Air and Variations for clarinet and piano
  • Suite in B for trumpet and piano Country Impressions A Lyric Suite for cello and piano Summer Pastures for horn and pianoThe Gardens at Eastwell, A Late Summer Impression for violin and piano or harp

Choral

Missa Sanctae Mariae Magdalenae for choir and organ Missa Princeps Pacis, mass for chorus and organ ', A Meditation upon the Death of Christ for chorus and organ The Divine Compassion, Sacred Cantata for tenor, baritone, chorus and organSt. Francis of Assisi, Oratorio for soprano, tenor, baritone, chorus, string orchestra and harp Born a King, a Christmas cantata for soloists, chorus and organSongs of Spring, Cantata for female chorus and pianoO Lord, Spread Thy Wings O'er Me, Anthem for soprano, chorus and accompanimentSpirit of God, Anthem for chorus and organDominus Firmamentum Meum, Anthem for chorus and organLo! My Shepherd Is Divine, Anthem for soprano, alto, chorus and organLo, God Is Here, Anthem for chorus and organSeven AnthemsTantum Ergo, Anthem for bass solo, chorus and organJesus, Dear Jesus, Carol for boy treble, children's choir and organThe Stable Where the Oxen StoodMost Glorious Lord of Lyfe, anthem Suitable for Easter for chorus; words by Edmund SpenserMeeting Place, a Meditation upon the Birth of Christ for baritone, chorus and piano or organ Jamie Brown, a Happy Story in Song for two-part chorus and piano
  • Magnificat and Nunc Dimmitis in E minor
Partsongs'April for female chorus and pianoCorinna's Lute for female chorus and pianoSun-Gold for female chorus and piano; words by May SarsonMoon Silver for female chorus and pianoLament for female chorus and pianoI heard a Rush of Wings for female chorus and pianoThe Moon for unaccompanied chorusA Magic Morn for female chorus and pianoThe Heather Hills'' for female chorus and piano

Vocal

The Call of the Morning ; words by George DarleyLove, Like a Drop of Dew ; words by W. H. DaviesI Looked Out into the Morning ; words by James Thomson (B.V.)Over the Bridge ; words by James Thomson How Do I Love Thee?The Forest of Wild Thyme The Pretty Washer-Maiden; words by William Ernest HenleyTo the Wicklow Hills ; words by R.G. LeighA Rent for Love ; words by Irvonwy MorganSo Lovely the Rose; words by Joseph MurrellsEutopia; words by Francis Turner PalgraveThe Cottage of DreamsLullabySpring Is the Time for LoveThree Arias for tenor and organ

Piano

Three Spring Miniatures ; also orchestratedItalian Idyll, 3 Piano Duets Six PiecesThree PiecesScenes from ChildhoodA Short Tone-StudyRiver Song for piano 4-handsDanse Macabre for 2 pianos

Organ

Chorale, Cantilena and FinaleThree Recital Pieces Aria, 13 PiecesReflections, 7 PiecesEight Varied PiecesSongs without Words, 6 PiecesFive Portraits for home organsElegySix Interludes on Christmas Carols
  • Rhapsody on "Helmsley"Four Epilogues Suite in B-flat Major for Organ
  • ''Six Interludes on Passion Hymns''

Discography

  • Invocation,
  • Music of William Lloyd Webber,
  • Organ Works of William Lloyd Webber,
  • Piano music, chamber music and songs,
  • Sacred Choral Music of William Lloyd Webber, The Saviour,