Listen "Sir David Willcocks"
Episode Synopsis
Sue Lawley's castaway this week is 'England's choir master', Sir David Willcocks. For some 38 years he trained the Bach Choir - the most popular amateur choir in Britain. His retirement in 1998 he describes as ""like the end of an affair"". As the Director of Music at Kings College Cambridge, he tranformed small boys with dirty knees into an angelic choir. His gift is a mix of natural talent and experience. At the age of eight he joined the choir school at Westminster Abbey, where he was conducted by Elgar. Later, he worked closely with Vaughan Williams whose humility and humour he remembers, produced some masterful performances.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Oh Sacred Head by Johann Sebastian Bach
Book: Book on astronomy
Luxury: King's College Chapel
Book: Book on astronomy
Luxury: King's College Chapel
More episodes of the podcast Desert Island Discs: Archive 1996-2000
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Michael Crawford
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Michael Nyman
19/12/1999
Oz Clarke
12/12/1999
Sir Richard Sykes
05/12/1999
Warren Mitchell
28/11/1999
Clarissa Dickson Wright
21/11/1999
William Gibson
19/11/1999
Willard White
07/11/1999
Ralph Fiennes
31/10/1999
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