| Description: | Horace Frank Watling (1882-1959), a blind organist, was a pupil, and subsequently professor at the Royal Normal College for the Blind in Upper Norwood.
He was an organ student of H. L. Balfour, and won in a competition for a "devotional voluntary", and was a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists.
"Minuet Antique" was published by Ryalls & Jones Ltd. in 1921. This publisher included the works of blind composers in their catalog, and this works was also available in a braille edition.
If you've already listened to "Marche Héroïque", you may find it hard to believe that they are by the same composer, and published in the same year!
"Minuet Antique" is in A-B-A form, and deliberately composed to "imitate" and older style of music. The framing sections have an attractive dance-like feel to them, and the central trio is really quite nice, and probably the "best" part of the piece.
Rather than being overly clever with registrations, and avoiding the temptation to use anything "neo-Baroque" in sounds, I've deliberately tried to give this a "period sound", and I think that I have.
The score, courtesy of Dr. John Henderson, is attached below, but I have no photos of Horace Watling to share.
These scores are VERY rare, and you are unlikely to see them again, so, if you have any interest in English organ literature, I urge you to download and save them!
Also, if you have not listened to "Marche Héroïque", please do! :-) |
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