Gordon Phillips was brought up in Nottingham and it was here, as a schoolboy, that he decided to become an organist after attending a recital given by the great Louis Vierne, organist of Notre Dame, Paris.
Today, Gordon Phillips is chiefly remembered for his pioneering work as an editor, especially the “Tallis to Wesley” series of early English organ music. However, throughout a career devoted to playing and teaching the organ, he composed a vast quantity of original organ music including a fine Sonata in 1939 and an organ tutor.
The Trumpet Tune in F is one of his lighter works and is probably the most often played. It is in Ternary Form with an engaging dotted rhythm in the first and final sections. It was composed in 1986 in exchange for 200 cigars.