Jeremy Whimster, Wesley's Choirmaster & Organist
This article was first published in the Summer 2006 issue of Music in the Air, the biannual journal exploring spirituality and song in Aotearoa New Zealand. Enquiries to: ‘Music in the Air’, 15 Oriana Place, Palmerston North, or Email:
 Thirty Years and going strong! Jeremy Whimster, Organist and Choirmaster, Wesley Methodist Church, Tauranga Shortly after arriving in Tauranga in 1974, Jeremy was approached by Rev. Ivan Clucas at work one afternoon, with an invitation to play the organ at Wesley Methodist Church whenever he wished. Bob Gibson had been the organist there for several years but, within weeks of Jeremy’s arrival, he was transferred out of town, and Jeremy became the regular organist and also accompanist for the choir. In 1975, he was invited to lead the choir as well. So, with a weekly evening practice, Sunday morning worship, and an occasional evening service, spare time was getting filled! Participation as a chorister for a short time in the Cantabile Singers, involvement in organising the Bay of Plenty Music School and local Music Federation concerts, and conducting a small madrigal group, absorbed most of his remaining spare time. For Jeremy, music has been an absorbing interest alongside work as a medical laboratory scientist, with responsibility in specialist biochemistry.
Family, church and school years
Jeremy grew up in a family with a strong musical tradition. His mother, Marjorie, had been a keen singer, taking many prizes in competitions adjudicated by such well-known musicians as H. Walford Davies, Edgar Bainton and C. Armstrong Gibbs. Their compositions are characteristic of early twentieth century English church music and are among Jeremy’s favourites. His father recounts an occasion when as a young boy in Taranaki, Jeremy listened enrapt to a recording of Isabel Baillie coming over the radio.
Joining the Junior Choir at St John’s Methodist Church, after the family had moved from Kaponga to Hamilton East, gave Jeremy a wonderful introduction to more formal music making. He became used to following notation as the choir always sang from music. His parents’ decision to purchase a piano before they carpeted the front room was a practical encouragement of his talent, and he started to have piano lessons. At Peachgrove Intermediate School, there came the opportunity to play the side-drum with a pipe band, and this helped to establish his firm sense of rhythm. At Hamilton Boys’ High School, he recalls the impressive experience of being at school assembly, among several hundred boys singing hymns in four-part harmony. Each year of students was taught a different part by the progressive music teacher, Barry Fell, and this standard fare of traditional hymns enriched Jeremy’s school years. He also played drums in the school band for military drill.
At church, he became increasingly interested in the pipe organ and was encouraged to play in a congregation who were very supportive of youth involvement. The church’s musical styles in the 1960s were diverse and some St John’s young people, led by Des Jack, formed a folk group ‘The Wayfarers’. Jeremy graduated from a tea-chest to a home-made double bass, and he learnt the skills of reading guitar chords and improvising sung harmony. This group worked hard at presentation and invested rehearsal time in the beginnings and endings of pieces so that performances came up to high standards. It also enabled him to experience working with an audience.
Overseas travel
Horizons broadened geographically and musically when Jeremy went to Britain in 1972. When he arrived, he thought he knew about pipe organs, but after he started to attend All Souls, Langham Place, he joined the choir and observed the more experienced organists playing the fine 64-rank instrument there. He took some organ lessons and learnt some improved technique, but it was difficult to find time and an instrument on which to practise. He found he could sight-sing and was introduced to a more extensive repertoire of church music, such as Brahms’ How lovely is thy dwelling place, a variety of anthems and new settings of the Psalms. Choir rehearsals under Noël Tredinnick, now Professor at Guildhall, London, moved fast and were great fun: improvised jazzy accompaniments to choral lines emphasised difficult rhythms, and unexpected chords highlighted and resolved inaccuracies of intonation. Two years of participation in choral singing under enthusiastic and talented musicians, and exposure to some of the music on offer in London at the time, formed a sound base from which Jeremy gained skills to share on his return to New Zealand in 1974, and on which to build further.
Choosing an organ
There were several pipe organs in regular use at various Tauranga churches in 1974. Among them was the 2-manual, 3-rank extension Walker organ at Wesley Methodist, 13th Avenue. It had been used for a time in Wellington Cathedral during a re-build of the main organ, and a group of enthusiasts had brought it up to Tauranga to replace the older Hammond instrument. Sadly, as was to happen subsequently to the Gate Pa and Holy Trinity Anglican churches, the organ at Wesley was destroyed in a fire in 1981.
The question of an organ replacement exercised many minds for many months. There were pipe organ and electronic organ enthusiasts in the congregation, but there was a limited budget and not a great deal of space. In the end, an Allen computer organ seemed a satisfactory option. A 2-manual instrument was within the budget. It had all the playing aids of a larger but more expensive pipe organ; on the other hand, it was also electronic. In retrospect, it seems to have been the right decision, for personally Jeremy derives more satisfaction playing the Allen organ than some of the smaller pipe instruments around. The church at Wesley is frequently used as a concert venue, and the professional organists engaged to play often prefer the Allen to a smaller pipe organ because of the demands of the repertoire. The console layout is comfortable, and the stops offer a wide range of sound and colour. It can play very softly when necessary, though the full organ has not the same richness and tone as a pipe instrument.
There is virtually no maintenance required on the Allen organ and it remains in tune, whatever the weather and humidity, so fiscally it has been a good option for the church. All pipe organs need on-going maintenance by a reputable firm, and a regular organist to monitor their upkeep. If an instrument is allowed to deteriorate, the cost of restoration can give a horrible fright! However, it is also the case that without a reasonable instrument, it can be difficult to find someone to play, as there is little satisfaction for an organist to play an inadequate organ.
Music for worship is not the exclusive domain of the pipe organ, however. Jeremy is keen to use the talents of other instruments, incorporating piano, woodwind, brass and percussion and whatever is available at any time. As far as accompaniment for the choir is concerned, Jeremy prefers to use the piano, as it is a more percussive instrument and able to carry rhythm better, and at Wesley is located closer to the choristers. For choral items requiring an organ, he prefers to conduct and have an accompanist. He derives greatest enjoyment from playing hymns for congregational singing, and is particularly keen on written improvisations for last verses, and the occasional use of key changes to lift the mood of a hymn.
The Choir – recruiting and holding the membership
The Wesley choir sings every week, and Jeremy is a firm believer in this regular commitment for the group, feeling that a church is likely to lose a choir that only sings at Christmas and Easter and other special occasions. Whatever the composition of the choir, it is possible to make some contribution every week. An initial mistake when leading the choir, he admits, was to sing too much esoteric church music. Now he tackles much more straightforward pieces, providing colour by alternating men’s with women’s voices, and consolidating tone and word precision. If the congregation is unable to hear the words, there is no point in singing! Jeremy finds the task of choosing repertoire more demanding than conducting rehearsals. However, it is a great joy to introduce a new piece to the choir, and watch their enjoyment grow as they get to know a piece that may not have had immediate appeal. Having said this, John Rutter has written several very accessible pieces that the choir really enjoy singing. All things bright and beautiful, Look at the world and I will sing with the spirit are just three examples that have become firm favourites. Many of the songs in Alleluia Aoteoroa and Faith Forever Singing make good anthems, for example In this familiar place, which gives time to learn more demanding repertoire. Bairstow’s Save us O Lord, Sumsion’s Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in A and Ireland’s Greater Love are examples of pieces that demand time, application and hard work but the end result is well worth the effort.
Two pieces of a different genre are Natalie Sleeth’s Joy in the morning and Steven Curtis Chapman’s I can feel the touch which are relatively easy to learn. The latter is a more ‘up-beat number’ and has captured the imagination of the congregation, who now appreciate more esoteric pieces as they realize the choir is able to embrace a wide variety of styles. The music must contribute to worship so it is essential the congregation identify with the anthems sung. Once repertoire has been matched with the ability of a choir, then one can do anything! The practical aspect of rehearsing such a group has been addressed by moving the practice from an evening midweek to one hour before the morning service. At this stage, the choir director knows the composition of the choir for that day and has found out which hymns will be sung; when it comes to the service, the anthem is still fresh in the choristers’ minds from the immediate practice. When introducing new hymns and songs, it is a major advantage to have a choir able to lead worship. Attracting and recruiting members for the choir is not too much of a problem in Tauranga, as it is an area to which many people retire. Ultimately, it is essential to have a musical director who wants to do the job, for without him or her, a church choir doesn’t work. Jeremy doesn’t audition or ask anyone to leave the group since it is not a performance choir. Those who sing do so because they enjoy participating in this way and contributing to the worship of the congregation, and the members of the Wesley choir are a loyal and committed group of people.
Choice of hymns - for choir and congregation
When it comes to weekly worship, ideally pieces should be planned well ahead. However, being too rigid can stifle inspiration, for there are occasions when one needs to change one’s choice to fit the direction a service is taking, especially perhaps, at a funeral. Having a range of well-known pieces literally at one’s finger-tips is vital preparation. Given that there is a huge range of traditional hymns available for use, what would some favourites be? Praise my Soul the King of Heaven, Love Divine (to ‘Hyfrodol’), O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness (to Rheinhardt’s tune ‘Was lebet, was schwebet’), along with lesser known hymns, Charles Wesley’s Forth in Thy Name O Lord I go sung to Orlando Gibbon’s Song 34 (Angels’ Song), and Katie Wilkinson’s May the mind of Christ my Saviour, to Arthur Gould’s ‘St Leonard’. Some old hymns have been side-lined because of their language, but some excellent modernisations have been written for Jubilate Hymns in such publications as Hymns for Today’s Church. This is a favourite book as it also contains many fine arrangements. With One Voice has less appeal as many hymns are written too low for higher voices, probably because we live in an age where fewer congregations sing in four-part harmony. Apart from their use as anthems, the hymns are generally chosen by the person taking the service. Of course there is often consultation over their suitability. Some hymns are more challenging than others, and require adaptation before they can be played on the organ. The quality of contemporary hymns and songs varies as much as the traditional. The older hymns that have survived have a quality that has stood the test of time – among those we have discarded is plenty of ‘junk’! Many contemporary hymns have pleasing syncopated and off-beat rhythms, but it can be difficult to get a congregation to move with them as they tend to ‘square it off’. Nevertheless, persistence in introducing new material is usually rewarded.
Singing our own song
Christian worship in Aotearoa New Zealand has been greatly enriched by our own hymn writers and composers, published through the New Zealand Hymnbook Trust. At Wesley, many of the songs in Alleluia Aotearoa, Faith Forever Singing and Carol our Christmas are sung regularly. There are many favourites among the New Zealand hymns: These hills where the hawk flies lonely is flowing and well structured, and God speed you on your way offers a lively melody with which to leave a service of worship. There are many fine arrangements among the recordings that accompany the New Zealand Hymnbook Trust’s publications, especially those made with the Wellington Youth Choir. Star Child stands out with its hard-hitting words, expressive melody and imaginative arrangement with solo cello. Douglas Mews’ brilliance at composition, illustrated in For the Music of Creation and Will you offer me compassion?, finds a welcome place among the contemporary hymns. Colin Gibson’s talent at crafting music and words are exemplified in the haunting masterpiece Great Ring of Light, and a simple, but no less effective, tune to accompany Shirley Murray’s words in From the waiting comes the sign, just one of many very successful combinations from their hands. The appeal of many of the contemporary hymns comes in part from simple melodies and rich harmony. Colour can be added from SATB arrangements of the harmonies provided.
Music-making in the wider community
As well as his involvement with the Wesley church choir, Jeremy has been Musical Director of the Tauranga Civic Choir for the last fourteen years. He enjoys working with both groups. The Civic Choir is an auditioned group with a different repertoire: performance pieces with popular appeal and concert works with professional soloists. The challenge is sometimes to find music that is secular rather than sacred; choral composers have sometimes written their best works with a spiritual or religious theme. It has also given the opportunity to perform some of the cathedral repertoire that is beyond the church choir and, in some instances, inappropriate for the worship services. Both concertgoers and choristers enjoy the inclusion of lighter music, however. The careful choice of a programme and thorough rehearsal with the Civic Choir for the Classic Sing was rewarded with a silver medal in 2003, and earned the choir a reputation to live up to! Over thirty years of music-making there are several other events that stand out as highlights.
Preparing for Sunday TV One’s Praise Be on two occasions has been an exciting challenge. To work with a large group of people who have not previously sung together and bring them up to speed in a minimum amount of time brought a great deal of satisfaction. A recent highlight was the opportunity to conduct a ‘Sing-in’ Messiah with a well-rehearsed orchestral group, and appreciate the fine musicianship and creativity of these competent players. For several years, the Waikato Branch of the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) organised choral competitions and the Wesley choir enjoyed participating in many of these. The choir worked hard because of the competitive component, and when this was withdrawn, the edge went off the challenge. There is a place for friendly competition outside the worship context and it brought about good bonding for the choir members. The RSCM also runs Summer Schools, and attendances at these have been highlights for Jeremy. They have provided the opportunity to hear a high standard of choral direction and organ playing from such accomplished professionals as Alan Wicks, Roy Massey and John Scott. The RSCM Quarterly Magazine is a very worthwhile publication, featuring a range of articles that include helpful tuition tips on how to prepare voluntaries.
Coda
From time to time one reads about conflict between clergy and organists/choral directors. Jeremy happily comments that personally he has no complaints about the clergy he has worked with! He has found them always ready to include a choral contribution in services and work round special items. They also consult with him on matters musical if they need to do so. Jeremy acknowledges that he is not a professional musician with extensive formal training, but an amateur who enjoys what he is doing. To work with a group of choristers and have them respond and produce music together - that is the essence of the whole enterprise. Editor Note: Music in the Air welcomes stories on other church musicians whose faithful service to church and community deserves to be covered in its pages - articles which will encourage and inspire a future generation of music leaders. Please contact us if you have a potential story to share – John Thornley, Music in the Air, 15 Oriana Place, Palmerston North, or |
