David Briggs - an autobiography

I first met David Briggs many years ago at a weekend course on improvisation at Salisbury Cathedral. The opening session involved us having to improvise (on a piano) on the National Anthem in a style different from the student before us, and without a break to gather our thoughts. David called us out in a random order just to increase the challenge!

David has now recounted his career in an exceptionally readable book entitled ‘Pipes and Passions – a life committed to the King of Instruments’. His many positions have included King’s College, Cambridge, and the cathedrals at Hereford, Truro, Gloucester, Toronto and New York. Along the way he has led the way in transcribing the improvisations of Pierre Cochereau and more recently transcribing symphonies and other orchestral works for the organ. We should also remember that he was appointed Principal Viola in the National Youth Orchestra in 1981.

David is also a very inspiring composer of both organ and choral music, as well as a concerto for the organ. Of the many recordings I have by David my two favourites are a recital CD of the organ of Blackburn Cathedral sounding credibly and incredibly French, and a recording of his Mess pour Notre-Dame on the organ of Gloucester Cathedral with the choir of Trinity College, Cambridge. There are some video version of the Mess on YouTube but none match the combination of the Gloucester organ and the singing of Trinity College Choir.

David’s ability as an organist clearly came about through an immense amount of practice and commitment, and both are important themes of this book. He recounts in helpful detail his preparation for the ARCO and FRCO examinations, and for an organ scholarship to King’s College. There is a short chapter on the secrets of success at these examinations that the Royal College of Organists would do well to reproduce on its web site! In addition, every organist should read the chapter on the art of liturgical accompaniment.

Of course, not everything went to plan, and there are some wonderful anecdotes of his experiences as an organ scholar at King’s College and later at the Three Choir’s Festival. Whilst at Solihull School in the early 1970s he became rather skilled at working out how to skive the twice-weekly rugby afternoons by hiding inside the pipework of the chapel organ. But beyond the anecdotes you get an important insight into the way in which his skills were recognized and enhanced by inspirational teachers, notably Colin Edmunson, Richard Popplewell, Jean Langlais and Roy Massey.

In 2003 David moved to New York, then Massachusetts, on to St. James’ Anglican Cathedral, Toronto, and then back to his current position in New York as an Artist-in-Residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Harlem.

Like so many of us David used a three-month Covid lock-down period in Massachusetts to learn music he admits he should have done 30 years previously. The lock-down also gave him the incentive to develop his skills in making videos.

It is interesting to compare David’s career with that of Olivier Latry in the book I reviewed in August. The common ground is the art and technique of improvisation and the debt both organists owe to Cochereau. Both almost lost the use of their organs to fire in April 2019 but in nice synchronicity both are about to get back to their organ benches - Notre-Dame in January next year and New York in February. The differences stem from the role played by the organ and the organist in the Catholic and Anglican traditions of worship, and education via being an organ scholar at Oxbridge versus the Conservatoire route in France.

The 124pp book is full of illustrations (including early school reports!) and is very well presented. David writes as though he is talking to you. I started at p1 and just read non-stop to the end. There are links to some of the finest of David’s videos on YouTube. The book can be downloaded from his web site at a cost of $25 (around £20) for the 47MB download, or $30 for both the digital and paperback versions. The book edition will not be available until later this month. The book would make an ideal Christmas gift for a young organist as a source of encouragement and practical advice, and of course for you yourself.

As a postscript watch David, Olivier Latry and Wayne Marshall playing (together!) the Widor Toccata at the Royal Albert Hall.