Choral Song (Twelve Melodious Pieces, Op. 26, No. 5)

Edward Townshend Driffield was born in Prescot, near Liverpool, on December 10, 1851, and died at Ormskirk on Nov. 15th, 1925.

He was organist of Christ Church, Claughton, Birkenhead, and a solicitor in Tranmere.

"Twelve Melodious Pieces" were published by E. Donajowski, London, and are inscribed to him. They are solid, well-written, conservative pieces. While they are not "ground breakers" in anyway, they do have variety and color, and show the organ in a way that simply put, sounds good!

The quality varies throughout, but all of them, at least as far as I've gone, are solid, and some are very effective. I'll plan to do the whole set of twelve, uploading them in groups of three.

"Choral Song" is the fifth work in the collection. In the key of E-flat major, it is marked to be played "Gravamente e religioso". It is a steady, march-like work based upon a melody which is very "chorale-like," hence the title. It uses diapasons coupled to the Swell 8' reeds (horn and oboe) and moves along in a steady procession, calm and solemn. There is a certain appeal to this, but some may find this to be dull or boring. Certainly, there isn't much excitement or variety present.

I think the larger acoustic, the better this will sound. It would be hard to bring this off in a dry room.

The score, courtesy of Dr. John Henderson, is attached below.

Also attached is a photo of Christ Church, Claughton, Birkenhead, where Driffield was organist. I have no photos of him, but I did find one of his grave, which is in St. Luke's Churchyard, Formby, Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside.

Since I already did the sixth of these, "Cantilène, Op. 26, No. 6," I won't repeat it, but you can find it here:

https://www.contrebombarde.com/concerthall/music/38738