Click the title below to hear the piece.
Cathedral Voluntary 1 -- A.E. Floyd
A.E. Floyd was organist at St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne, from 1914 until 1947. He later became an important and much-loved figure in music broadcasting through his hosting of
The Music Lovers' Hour on ABC radio.
Floyd published a few organ pieces, mostly reflecting his preoccupation with S.S. Wesley and the English cathedral tradition. Over the years I've accumulated almost everything in original editions, which were put out through the Salvation Army Printery. A new edition of his organ music was produced by Kevin Mayhew in 1997, although it seems to be out of print now.
Almost every Australian organist of middling ability has something by Floyd in the backpack. It's well-crafted
gebrauchsmusik that is pleasing to the ear and not too hard on the player, and you can get away with it almost anywhere. This performance was recorded on a single manual instrument with no swell box and no useful registration aids.
