Cloister-Garth

This is one of those "trivial little gems" that are SO much a part of the English cathedral organ tradition!

Also, it shows my "impatience" waiting for the Hereford completion, hopefully to be released VERY soon! :-)

Sir A. Herbert Brewer (1865-1928) was the great Victorian organist of Gloucester cathedral (1897-1928). A local musical monarch, he was a firm disciplinarian with choristers, lay clerks, and assistant organists. It was said to have been a "bad day" if he played a wrong note! ;-)

His early musical training was as a chorister at Gloucester and then as a pupil of C. H. Lloyd. Before his appointment at Gloucester, he held positions in Coventry and Tonbridge.

Apart from his music, he lead an active public life, being appointed City High Sheriff in 1922, and was knighted in 1926.

Cloister-Garth is a light-hearted stroll through the cathedral close (where the lay clerks, clergy, and organist would have lived. A little "private community," so to speak.) It features a phrases alternating between 3/4 and 2/4, and is marked "Alla Sarabanda." Dedicated to Dr. Walter Alcock, MVO of Salisbury, it features a diaglogue between the Solo Cor Anglais (Clarinet in Brewer's score) and the Orchestral Oboe. The Harmonic flute makes an appearance before the end.

This may be a "trivial" piece, but it shows Brewer's meticulous taste and balance.