Peter Hurford facts for kids

Peter John Hurford OBE (22 November 1930 – 3 March 2019) was a British organist and composer. He was known for his amazing skill in playing the organ and for writing beautiful music. He received an OBE, which is a special award from the King or Queen of Britain for great achievements.

Early Life and Education

Peter Hurford was born in Minehead, Somerset, England. His mother was Gladys Hurford and his father, Hubert Hurford, was a lawyer.

He went to Blundell's School in Tiverton, Devon. Later, he studied both music and law at Jesus College, Cambridge. He earned degrees in both subjects, showing he was very talented in different areas. After college, he became well-known for his musical knowledge and his organ playing. He also studied in Paris with a famous French organist named André Marchal. There, he learned a lot about music from the Baroque period, which was a style of music from the 1600s and 1700s.

Musical Career

Peter Hurford was especially good at playing the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, a very famous composer. He recorded all of Bach's organ music for Decca and BBC Radio 3. He also recorded Romantic organ music, playing it with great attention to how it should sound. People admired his clear playing, beautiful expression, and perfect timing.

Organist Roles

Hurford worked as an organist at Holy Trinity Church, Leamington Spa from 1956 to 1957. During this time, he was also the Music Master at Bablake School in Coventry and led the Royal Leamington Spa Bach Choir.

In 1958, he became the organist and choirmaster at St Albans Cathedral, where he stayed for 20 years.

St Albans Organ Festival

In 1963, Peter Hurford had an exciting idea: to start an organ competition. He wanted to celebrate the new organ at the cathedral, which he helped design. This competition became very popular because of Hurford's growing fame and his fresh ideas about playing music in an "authentic performance style." This means playing music as closely as possible to how it would have sounded when it was first written.

His idea grew into the St Albans International Organ Festival, which happens every two years. It's now a world-famous festival with competitions that have been won by many great organists, including Dame Gillian Weir and Thomas Trotter.

Global Recognition

Peter Hurford traveled a lot for his performances and recordings. He was a special guest artist at Cincinnati, Ohio University, and in Toronto, Canada. He also helped choose the organ for the famous Sydney Opera House in Australia.

He received many special awards and honors. He was made an Honorary Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge in 2006. He also led the Royal College of Organists and received their special Medal in 2013. He was given the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) award for his contributions to music.

Hurford also wrote a book called Making Music on the Organ (1998). He published a lot of choral music for church services, including his well-known piece Litany to the Holy Spirit, which is sung all over the world.

Later Life

In 1997, Peter Hurford had a minor stroke, but he recovered and was able to perform again seven months later. In 2008, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease, a condition that affects memory. He officially retired from performing in 2009.

Peter Hurford passed away on March 3, 2019, at the age of 88. He was married to Patricia Matthews from 1955 until her death in 2017. They had three children and nine grandchildren.

Arranger, Composer, Editor

Peter Hurford was not only a performer but also a talented composer, arranger, and editor of music. He wrote many pieces for choirs and for the organ.

Music for Choir

Some of his works for choir include:

• Litany to the Holy Spirit (1958)
• The Holy Son (1960)
• Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in G (1962)
• Noel Nouvelet (1968)
• Communion Service: Series 3 (1972)

Music for Organ

He also composed and arranged many pieces for the organ, such as:

• Five short chorale preludes (1958)
• Paean (1958)
• A Fancy (1960)
• Suite: 'Laudate Dominum' (1961)
• Fanfare on Old 100th (1970)
• Bristol Suite (1977)

Recording Artist

Peter Hurford made over 50 recordings during his career, both by himself and with other musicians. Besides recording all of Bach's organ works, he also recorded the organ concertos (Op. 7) by Handel with the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra.