I read Geography at Bristol University, which
was already gaining a reputation for being radical, and became
widely known as the centre of the geographical revolution. It
concentrated on the systematic analysis of location and
mathematical modelling - a far cry from the traditional regional
and, essentially, descriptive geography for which the subject was
previously known.
I was a total convert, and lectured on it
when I was appointed Assistant Lecturer at Exeter University - much
to the disdain of my head of department, who was a dyed-in-the-wool
traditionalist.
It was an enormous privilege to be a vice-chancellor in
the 1980s and '90s, when higher education was being
expanded and more people could benefit from it. That meant a lot to
me, since I had been the first person from the mining village where
I was born in South Yorkshire to go to university. Seeing the pride
of students and their parents when they crossed the stage and shook
hands with me at their graduation ceremony in Liverpool Cathedral
is something I'll never forget.
I'd change the way the Church of England takes
decisions. I think it's far too bureaucratic and
cumbersome, and nowhere near sufficiently flexible to respond to
the many challenges and opportunities it's facing in this secular
generation. I was on the Archbishops' Council, and one thing I
chaired was the Review of Dioceses and Pastoral Measures, and we
made it much more fleet of foot. But generally things need slimming
down and getting on with.
Now it's the women bishops. I hope they
get on with it and don't start delaying again. I'd also like to see
far more enabling of priests, parishes, everybody, to get on with
things. We're paralytically slow. Lighten everything!
I'm not a musician, though I was a
chorister at Ripon, can play the piano badly, and my son is: he's
director of music at Tiffin School and Kingston Parish Church.
The Friends of Cathedral Music (FCM) is all about what
we call "safeguarding this priceless heritage". We
do it by making financial grants to cathedrals and similar choirs.
Last year, for example, we made 11 awards amounting to £250,000. We
visit cathedrals regularly to hear their choirs and talk with their
directors of music, and publish two magazines, Cathedral
Music and Cathedral Voice. Occasionally, we sponsor
special concerts aimed at taking cathedral music to new audiences,
for example, The Sixteen's cathedrals tour in 2011, and the City of
London Sinfonia's "Requiem" tour of ten cathedrals last year.
We now have 4000 members, and we've set
ourselves the target of growing to 6000 by the time of our diamond
jubilee in 2016. Anyone who likes cathedral music can join, whether
or not they're members of a cathedral congregation. In fact, most
people aren't. There's an annual subscription, which is not fixed,
but we ask UK members to contribute at least £20 per year.
It's not just that the music is of such a high standard
in Britain, compared with on the Continent: there's
also far more of it. On almost any day, a choir will be singing at
least one service in each of Britain's cathedrals, whereas on the
Continent, it's now only occasionally, and mostly on Sundays
only.
It was nearly lost in the early 1950s,
when choir recruitment sank dramatically, repertoires were being
reduced, standards were falling asa consequence, and congregations
were asking for more "participative" forms of worship. Things had
reached such a low ebb by 1956 that the then Precentor at Truro,
Ronald Sibthorp, wrote to The Times about it. The paper
wrote a strong editorial on the subject under the headline
"Cathedral music in crisis". As a result, a number of like-minded
people got together to do something about the situation, and formed
the Friends of Cathedral Music.
Very quickly, FCM groups were formed around the
country, and rekindling the musical tradition was
begun.
Cathedral music is certainly a priceless
heritage, but it comes only at a high price:
vigilance, and considerable financial support.
Standards have probably never been
higher. New music is being commissioned regularly;
so the tradition is growing rather than simply being preserved in
aspic; and girls' choirs have now been set up in most cathedrals.
That said, choir recruitment is not always easy, the cost of
running choirs is increasing, and there are occasional pressures to
introduce more congregational singing. It's no longer in crisis,
but it's definitely a potentially endangered species.
Why it's doing so well now is that,
throughout the land, we have got the most enthusiastic and
dedicated directors of music and organists in our cathedrals, many
of them quite young. They are unsung heroes: up in the organ loft,
or with their backs to us, conducting - scarcely ever seen and
recognised.
My favourite choral composers are Elgar,
Wesley, Vaughan Williams, Stanford, Dyson, Vierne, and Messiaen,
and I'm a late convert to Howells, especially his Glorias. My
favourite eucharist settings include Vaughan Williams in G,
Schubert in G, and Vierne's Messe Solennelle. My favourite
evensong canticles are Stanford in C and Dyson in D. Anthems?
Wesley's "Ascribe unto the Lord", and Elgar's Ave Verum
Corpus.
My funeral is going to be about six weeks
long. I've started writing it down already, and I'm
definitely having a full requiem mass, the Vierne Messe
Solennelle, and Messiaen's O sacrum convivium, which
is stunning if it's taken at a very slow pace.
I'd like cathedral music to develop
enthusiastically, with new music being consistently
introduced to the repertoire. Jonathan Dove is brilliant. Richard
Allain is in Norwich, and he's a fantastic composer. Judith Bingham
is another great composer: she somehow just gets the music right
with the words - not over-fussy, but really good. James MacMillan
is absolutely stunning. Another is Roxanna Panufnik. I love Francis
Jackson, up in York: he's great. For FCM's diamond jubilee in a
couple of years' time, we're going to have a competition for
up-and-coming young composers.
I met my wife, Angela, at the University
of Exeter, through the chapel (she was reading theology). Our son,
Simon, was born in Exeter, joined the cathedral choir, and
ultimately became head chorister. After that, I moved first to
Chichester as Head of Bishop Otter College, then to London, where I
was Deputy Rector of North East London Polytechnic.
The students were revolting every five
minutes - but there was a real understanding of
making higher education available to people in a very deprived
area. I've been so lucky in life, to be able to do things
passionately and to good effect. I went on to Liverpool as Rector
of the Polytechnic, and ended up as founding Vice-Chancellor of
John Moores University. I retired in 2000, and now live in London,
where my wife and I are enjoying life to the full, thanks to the
Freedom Pass, and endless special offers at the theatres and
concert halls.
I love the sound of food being cooked -
my wife says I never stop thinking about food - or the sound of a
steam locomotive. I confess to being a "gricer", and subscribing to
two railway magazines.
I like holidays anywhere I've not been to
already. When I retired, I changed from being an
armchair geographer to being an enthusiastic world traveller, and
have now notched up my 187th country. It's about the excitement of
seeing new things - being alive. Travel has never been so
relatively inexpensive.
People of influence: my parents made huge
sacrifices to get me a good education, and my wife never fails to
inspire me when the going gets tough. And keeps me out of mischief.
Professor Harry Kay, who was Vice-Chancellor of Exeter University,
made me want to be a university leader. Professor Gerry Fowler,
Rector of NE London Polytechnic, taught me how to deal with
politics and student sit-ins. David Jennings, the Bishop of
Warrington, and our parish priest at St Edward's, Romford, who
showed me the light and told me why it would be right for me to go
to Liverpool. He called it "the Blessed City".
The National Rail Timetable has always kept me on the
right track; Peter Haggett's Locational Analysis
in Human Geography was my geographical Bible; and David
Sheppard and Derek Worlock's Better Together is simply
inspiring.
I'd choose to be locked in a cathedral
with an outstandingly good cathedral organist who likes pulling out
all the stops, has a penchant for Messiaen and improvisation, but
doesn't want to play Bach. Otherwise, I'd settle for Tracy Barlow
of Coronation Street, who needs a strong lecture on
morality; or David Hope, the former Archbishop of York, because
he's a true Yorkshireman with a great sense of humour; or Ken Dodd,
who would keep me convulsed in laughter for more than a few
hours.
Professor Toyne was talking to Terence Handley
MacMath.
www.fcm.org.uk
