[I am the resurrection and the life] (Merbecke)

Arranger: Healey Willan

Healey Willan (b. Balham, London, England, October 12, 1880; d. Toronto, Ontario, February 16, 1968), theory teacher, composer and organist, was born into an Anglo-Catholic family in England and served several churches in the London area, becoming known especially for his adaptations of Gregorian chant to be able to be sung in English translation. In 1913 he moved to Canada where he led the theory department and was organist at the Toronto Conservatory of Music. He also was organist at St. Paul’s, Canada’s largest Anglican church, and after 1921 at the smaller Church of St. Mary Magdalene. By invitation, he composed an anthem for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, a singular honor for one not residing in England. Emily Brink Go to person page >

Composer: John Merbecke

John Marbeck, Merbeck or Merbecke (c. 1510 – c. 1585) was an English theological writer and musician who produced a standard setting of the Anglican liturgy. He is also known today for his setting of the Mass, Missa Per arma justitiae. Probably a native of Beverley in Yorkshire, Merbecke appears to have been a boy chorister at St. George's Chapel, Windsor, and was employed as an organist there from about 1541. Two years later he was convicted with four others of heresy and sentenced to be burnt at the stake, but received a pardon owing to the intervention of Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester. An English Concordance of the Bible which Merbecke had been preparing at the suggestion of Richard Turner, was however confiscated and destr… Go to person page >