Richard Greening

Life

Born: 1927

Died: 1979

Biography

Information taken from imprimis.uk's editions of Greening's works which - in turn - was adapted from Enid Bird’s 20th Century English Cathedral Organists, published privately in 1990, with additional information provided by Michael Guest, Tenor Lay Vicar Choral at Lichfield Cathedral from 1977 to 2017.

Born in 1927 at Sunninghall, near Abingdon in Oxfordshire, Richard ‘Dick’ Greening was a chorister at New College, Oxford under Sydney Watson and H K Andrews, before entering Magdalen College School. After his National Service, he returned to New College as Organ Scholar and took the degree of BMus. He held the position of Organist of St Giles’ Church, Oxford, from 1950 to July 1955, where he also married Polly on 6 August, 1955. He was appointed as Assistant Organist at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, in September 1955.

Greening moved to Lichfield after Easter in April 1959 to become Organist and Master of the Choristers. His tenure at Lichfield was a notable period of change and renewal: always a great respecter of tradition, he nevertheless set about the considerable task of guiding the musical foundation carefully into the second half of the twentieth century. He updated and streamlined the choir’s repertoire, repointing the daily Psalter and rewriting the chant books for both full choir and men’s voices. His own compositions were few, but manuscript copies at Lichfield include two sets of Preces and Responses (one for full choir and one for ATB), a setting of the Jubilate for the Lay Vicars Choral, a setting of the Te Deum for the Choristers, and an introit written for the installation of Dean Holderness in 1970; all of his works are available from imprimis.uk. He initiated the production of commercial recordings of the choir and the organ, and five were produced under his direction. He also contributed to the wider musical life of the city by founding and directing the Lichfield Cathedral Special Choir, a choral society which flourishes to this day as the Lichfield Cathedral Chorus.

His expert interest in the history and practice of organ building found a suitable outlet when, from 1972, he oversaw the first overhaul of the Holdich/Hill organ since its installation in 1908, at a cost of £35,000. The work involved the complete dismantling of more than 4,000 pipes, which were laid out on the floor of the Cathedral while work took place over two years. Greening’s detailed knowledge of the instrument and his devotion to the project left Lichfield with one of the finest organs in the country.

Greening left the Cathedral at the end of 1977 to become a full-time Lecturer at Birmingham School of Music, and was also appointed Chorus Master of the CBSO Chorus. However, he died prematurely at work in 1979, aged 51. His funeral service took place at Lichfield Cathedral, and he was buried at Sunninghall.

View the Wikipedia article on Richard Greening.

List of choral works

• Jubilate for Lower Voices
• Preces and Reponses (Lower Voices)
• Preces and Responses
• Stand thou fast in righteousness
• Te Deum for Upper Voices

 
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Publications

External websites:

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