Invocation

William Lloyd Webber
THE ORGAN (September 1998)

WILLIAM LLOYD WEBBER: Invocation
Soloists / Westminster Singers I City of London Sinfonia I Richard Hickox
CHANDOS CHAN9595 62.38

For church music enthusiasts growing up in the 30s and 40s William Lloyd
Webber was an ideal role model. Doctored by examination at the age of 24 by
London University his prowess as organist, choir trainer and teacher quickly
aroused national recognition, which was greatly enhanced when his
compositions appeared. For some strange reason all that promise was only
partially fulfilled, despite the quality and individuality of his compositions,
and no room was found for him in the New Grove’s twenty volumes. Seldom
have I been given a CD to review which provided such unexpected delight.
The Serenade for Strings is a work of rare beauty, whilst the invocation
sounds a fiercer note. There is more than a post-Mahler hint in the Lento in E
for strings, and the symphonic poem Aurora presents complex musical
thinking in splendidly lucid textures. As for the Missa Brevis Princeps Pacis, I
would like to send every Cathedral organist a copy. It is a scandal that, so far
as I’ve been able to discover, none of WSLW’s music currently adorns any
Cathedral music list. Performances and recording are excellent.

DW