RSCM Annual Composition Competition in Memory of Dr Harold Smart
RSCM Hymn Tune Composition Award 2011, sponsored by Hymns Ancient & Modern
The RSCM’s annual Dr Harold Smart Composition Competition has been won by Mr David Manners. His setting of a text by Bishop Timothy Dudley-Smith is called Llangarron, and was chosen from a record field of entries.
In previous years, entrants to the competition have usually been asked to compose an anthem, but this year the genre was hymnody, to mark the 150th anniversary of the publication of the first edition of the hymnbook Hymns Ancient and Modern. Renowned hymn-writer, Bishop Timothy Dudley-Smith wrote a new text especially for the competition – ‘How shall we sing salvation’s song’ – which obviously resonated widely amongst composers, bringing in a record number of 236 entries.
The competition was adjudicated by a panel chaired by Tim Ruffer, Head of Publishing at the RSCM, and was sponsored by Hymns Ancient and Modern (HA&M). The other judges were hymn tune composer John Barnard, Anne Harrison (editor of the RSCM’s Sunday by Sunday liturgy planner), Matthew Owens (Organist and Master of the Choristers at Wells Cathedral) and Stephen Rogers (Production Director at HA&M).
David Manners is a singer, singing teacher and Lay Clerk in the choir of St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. He has composed some liturgical pieces which are used by the choir at St George’s Chapel. Mr Manners said: “It is a real thrill that the adjudicators chose Llangarron. The tune is named after the place where my Grandmother grew up, and with her passing this year the name seemed appropriate. With such powerful words as inspiration the tune was a joy to write.”
Mr Manners receives a prize of £500, and his hymn was included in a service at St Paul’s Cathedral, London at 5.00pm on Monday 24th October 2011 to celebrate the anniversary of Hymns Ancient and Modern.
Tim Ruffer, Chair of the panel, commented: “With over 200 entries, the judges had quite a task sifting through them. Those that were worthy of a second look were the ones that successfully negotiated the natural stresses of Bishop Timothy's wonderful words, and also took into consideration the restrictions that congregations place on the range and complexity of a hymn tune. Llangarron quickly established itself as a hymn tune with a great melody that reflected the words beautifully. It is the judges’ hope that congregations will find this hymn a joy to sing and uplifting to the soul.”
In a recent interview, Bishop Timothy talked about his new hymn text for this competition, and what he considers makes the perfect marriage between words and music.
Details of the 2012 Dr Harold Smart Competition will be available here in June 2012, and in the June edition of Church Music Quarterly.
2010 competition - The King James Bible Composition Awards
In 2010, instead of the Dr Harold Smart Competition, the RSCM worked with The King James Bible Trust and the Royal College of Music in 'The King James Bible Composition Awards', as part of the Trust's celebration of the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible.
The Finals were held at Temple Church in London on Tuesday 17th May 2011, and the winning works will be featured on Aled Jones’ programme The Choir on BBC Radio 3 on Sunday 19th June.
We are delighted to announce the winners:
The winner of Category A (a composition for non-professional choirs) is CHRISTOPHER TOTNEY; Chris is Assistant Director of Music at Dauntsey’s School and Organist and Choirmaster at St John’s Church, Devizes. His composition The Mystery of Christ sets texts from the books of Isaiah, Revelation and Colossians, and will be published by the RSCM.
Chris said on winning the prize: “The King James Bible is an iconic publication and I love the fact that something so ancient can still speak to people and be so relevant in our lives today. Just to get to the finals and have my piece performed was something special, but to win was something I would never have dreamed of! I would like to thank every single person who has made this competition possible, but also pray that every single piece that was entered does not get lost. It is through opportunities like this that we, as musicians, can make our mark on the choral repertoire – by focussing in on words as powerful as those in the King James Version – and, in so doing, give future generations of composers a foundation for their own compositional styles.”
Bob Chilcott, the final adjudicator said that he was looking for a concise shape in the winning composition that sounded attractive and which he could see being sung by all sorts of different choirs. He said that the evening “shows that church music is alive and well and moving forward”.
The winner of Category B (for an experienced choir) is an American prizewinning composer ZACHARY WADSWORTH. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music and Yale University, he is currently pursuing a DMA in music composition at Cornell University. A native of Richmond Virginia, he currently lives in Calgary, Alberta. His anthem Out of the South Cometh the Whirlwind sets a number of verses from the Book of Job. It will be sung during the service to celebrate the King James Bible at Westminster Abbey on 16 November 2011 and will be published by Novello.
Of winning the prize, Zach said: “I am deeply honoured to have been awarded first prize in this wonderful competition. Good language and literature are worth celebrating, and this was a delightful evening.”
James MacMillan, the final adjudicator said that he was amazed at the choice of texts the composers had used – they were profound and inspired and were appropriate in the liturgy; composing for a church setting was very different to composing for a concert platform and all the composers had recognised this. The winning anthem stood out because of its clear word setting, and he had been struck by hearing again how the words communicated. He said: “it was quite clear that all the composers tonight have a real sense of what liturgy means, which is important, and has to be a vehicle for the prayers of ordinary people.”
The identities of the composers were not known to the Judges until after the adjudication.
The competition was the idea of the King James Bible Trust and has been made possible by the generous support of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster Abbey. The Royal College of Music and the Royal School of Church Music have collaborated with the organisers to ensure a competition of the highest possible standard.
The Chairman of the organising committee, the Dean of Chichester, the Very Reverend Nicholas Frayling, said: “We are so grateful to all those who have made this competition possible, especially the colleges and the Abbey, but most of all to the gifted young composers who have taken part and submitted some very imaginative work. We are sure that many of these pieces, whether they have won prizes or not, will enter the mainstream of worship in the churches, and contribute to wider knowledge of the riches of the King James Bible.”