Three Hymn-Tune Meditations

Dr. George Oldroyd (1887–1956) was organist of St. Alban's Church, Holborn from 1919 to 1920, and then of St Michael's Church, Croydon from 1920 until his death in 1956. He was also teacher of music studies at Whitgift School from 1933 - 1947, a part-time post which gave him time to compose and to give private tuition.

He composed numerous settings of the mass, but is best remembered for his "Mass of the Quiet Hour" composed in 1928, whose swooping melodies and lush harmonies recall the "Palm Court" style of that era. It was dedicated to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Cosmo Gordon Lang, and is still part of the repertoire of many English cathedrals and parish churches. With the turbulence of the time - war in Ireland, a general strike and the beginnings of world depression - one can understand Oldroyd's quest for a "quiet hour", especially as we come to terms with the unsettling events of our own time. The music harks back to the Victorian era, as if deliberately to spurn the innovations and often bewildering experiments of the New Music that were sweeping across Germany and France. It is clear and straightforward, embracing romanticism as decidedly as the New Music rejected it.

The "Three Hymn-Tune Meditations" were published by Augener Ltd. in 1924. They are based on well-known melodies, and are written in what I would call an "emotional, spiritual, and ultra-Anglo Catholic style." They are almost "Wagnerian," despite their brevity. The first, "Come, Thou Holy Spirit, come" is dedicated "To his friend Charles Long, Mus. B, Oxon." The second, "Abide with me" is dedicated "To his friend Dr. E.F.Horner, and the third, "Sun of my soul" is dedicated "To his friend Dr. Charles W. Pearce".

To fully "appreciate" these, you have to have experienced an Anglo-Catholic service. It's something you may love or hate, but the impression will be deep and lasting.

The score is attached.