Toccata V "Adoro te devote", Op. 208

John Henderson, probably Swindon's only full-time musicologist, acts as Honorary Librarian and Archivist to the Royal School of Church Music, a post he has held since 1995, and he serves as organist and choirmaster of Wroughton Parish Church.

He was trained at Magdalen College School, Oxford and is a medical graduate of St. John's College in Cambridge. He was formerly the senior partner of the NHS General Practice in Fairford, Gloucestershire. He retired from medicine in 1992 and lives in Old Town, Swindon. He describes himself as a 'train-spotter cum hoarder' of organ music and his personal library of 60,000 pieces of organ music supplies source material to many performers and recording companies world-wide.

(Many of the fine and rare works that have I have uploaded recently were given to me by JH. THANK YOU, John!)

John was awarded the ARSCM (Associate of the Royal School of Church Music) in 1996 and named as an FRSCM (Fellow of the RSCM) in 2016.

He is the author/co-author of several books, his most famous is "The Dictionary of Organ Composers".

This exciting toccata was composed in 2012 and won first prize in a competition in Bristol in 2017. It is an exciting work that uses the familiar Gregorian chant, "Adoro te devote" as its subject matter. Before this theme appears in C major, you will hear another agitated theme in C minor. After some colorful passagework, the two themes are cleverly and successfully combined, and the end is grandiose indeed.

John, who is a member here (RSCMJohn), has generously given me permission to share the score, so, it is attached below.

Also attached is a photo of John and two of Wroughton Parish Church, where John has serves as organist and choirmaster.