In nearly four decades as Master of the Music at York Minster Francis Jackson became a leading figure in the world of church music and one of the foremost organ recitalists of his generation. Born in the early years of radio broadcasting his ‘long while’ reaches into a tenth decade having given his last organ recital in 2012 just after his 95th birthday. He recalls his chorister days in the Minster under the redoutable Doctor Bairstow charts the early development of his musical skills and tastes during the 1920s and ’30s and as a young soldier on active service during the second World War and recounts the extraordinary sequence of eventsthat led to his appointment as successor to Bairstow. Jackson’s rich legacy of compositions continues to play a valued part in places of worship round the world. In this book his thoughts on the process of composition and the musical sensitivity needed in performance are revealed as the product of a lifetime’s experience; he has performed on probably more than 1000 organs on three continents. He relates the events that made Widor’s Toccata a popular choice at weddings and sent a hymn tune on its way round the world. Finally he provides an illuminating insight into the stresses politics and personalities behind daily life in one of Europe’s greatest cathedrals.
