Three Voluntaries or Extemporisations #1 Bflat major

Three Voluntaries or Extemporisations in Bflat major, C major and G major.
These three pieces are transcribed from actual extemporisations played by Dr Floyd in St Paul’s Cathedral, Melbourne and recorded at the time by the Australian Broadcasting Commission. The score was published by Hinrichsen in 1957. They are on two staves with pedal indications.
Number three was probably the most popular in it's day.


Alfred Ernest Floyd was born in Aston, Birmingham in 1877 and after education and work in the UK came to Australia in 1915 to take up the position of organist and Choir Director at St Paul’s Cathedral, Melbourne. He is an inheritor of the English Cathedral Tradition as he was for a number of years assistant at Winchester to Dr G. B. Arnold a pupil of S. S. Wesley. He was at St Pauls for 32 years resigning in 1947. He wrote a number of anthems, hymns and voluntaries. In 1948 he was the first musician to be awarded an OBE for services to music. As well as being a music critic for the Argus, he presented Music Lovers Hour on ABC radio for 24 years. He died in Melbourne in 1974.
http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/floyd-alfred-ernest-6199