James Welch

John Stanley (1713-1786)
- Trumpet Voluntary
In 1734 John Stanley was appointed organist to the Society of the Inner Temple, a position which he held until his death in 1786. It was at the ancient Temple Church that his brilliant playing on the organ and harpsichord attracted the attention of many fine musicians including George Frideric Handel, who regularly visited the church to hear him.

Richard Purvis (1913-1994)
- Gwalchmai
Richard Purvis was organist and master of the choristers at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral from 1947 to 1971. As a young man Purvis lived and studied in England. This is his setting of the Easter carol “Christ the Lord is ris’n today,” based on the Welsh hymn tune Gwalchmai.

Franklin Ashdown (1942-2023)
- Pastorale on ‘Afton Water’
Franklin Ashdown was a physician in New Mexico but was also was a prolific composer of organ music. He traveled widely in the British Isles and had a great appreciation for English music.

John Rutter (b.1945)
- Toccata in Seven
This lively toccata by John Rutter is in the time signature of 7/8, giving it an interesting rhythmic flair.

Dale Wood (1934-2003)
- The Ash Grove
California composer Dale Wood wrote this setting of the English folk tune “The Ash Grove” for the 75th anniversary of the Reuter organ in the First Christian Church, Lawrence, Kansas. In the original version (which I will play), Dale Wood inserted a short reference to the song “Happy Birthday to You.”

Emma Lou Diemer (1927-2024)
- Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
Emma Lou Diemer was a colleague of mine at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and may be the most published woman composer for the organ. She wrote this setting of the American hymn tune Nettleton at my request.

Andrew Unsworth (b.1970)
- Early One Morning
Andrew Unsworth, one of the organists at the Tabernacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, composed this setting for inclusion on the weekly broadcast of Music and the Spoken Word.

George Thalben-Ball (1896-1987)
- Elegy
Born in Sydney, Australia, George Thalben-Ball graduated from the Royal College of Music. Following his graduation he was asked to deputise as organist of Temple Church by its then organist, Sir Henry Walford Davies. In 1923, he succeeded Davies as organist and director of the Temple Church choir, a post he held for nearly 60 years.

Noel Rawsthorne (1929-2019)
- Hornpipe Humoresque
Noel Rawsthorne, organist of Liverpool Cathedral, wrote this humorous medley of tunes, incorporating well known music by Bach, Vivaldi, Arne, and Widor.

James Welch received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in organ performance from Stanford University, where he studied under Herbert Nanney and served as Assistant University Organist. Further studies have been with John Walker; Alexander Schreiner; Josef Doppelbauer of the Mozarteum Akademie, Salzburg, Austria; and Jean Langlais, Basilique Ste. Clotilde, Paris, France. He taught on the music faculties of the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Santa Clara University. He has concertized internationally, with performances in such prestigious venues as Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, the Leipzig Gewandhaus, National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., and the Tabernacle at Temple Square in Salt Lake City. He has also performed and taught in Beijing, Taipei, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and Jerusalem. A specialist in Latin American organ music, he received a Fulbright award to perform and conduct research on historic 19th-century Cavaillé-Coll organs in Brazil; since then he has performed in Mexico and edited three volumes of organ music by contemporary Mexican composers. He holds the Associate Certificate of the American Guild of Organists, and he has performed at conventions of the Guild and at the International Congress of Organists. He is the author of biographies of two prominent California organists: Dale Wood: The Man and the Music, and Richard Purvis, Organist of Grace. Other articles have appeared in The American Organist and The Diapason, and he has released numerous CDs, recorded on a variety of organs in the United States and Europe. Many of his recorded performances have been aired on American Public Media's "Pipedreams" program. His travels, studies, and performances on historical and modern instruments throughout the world have given him a sure command of many styles of music. Critics in this country and abroad have praised him for his technical facility, solid musicianship, and creative programming. He currently lives in Provo, Utah, where he continues his teaching and performing. He and his wife Deanne are the parents of two sons, Nicholas and Jameson. www.welchorganist.com

The Temple Church organ
The organ in the Temple church was built in 1924 for the Castle of Glen Tanar, Aberdeenshire, and installed in 1954 in the rebuilt church (following war damage), the gift of Lord Glentanar. The organ case was designed by W. E. Godfrey and installed in 1966 and is modelled on drawings of the Temple’s Father Smith organ of 1688, showing the crests of Inner and Middle Temple. The organ was rebuilt in 2013 by Harrison and Harrison of Durham and has 66 stops over four manuals.

Future recitals – Wednesdays at 1.15 pm
12 November Conor McGlone
19 November Thomas Allery
26 November Hannah Parry
3 Dec at 1pm: Matilda Lloyd (trumpet) & Richard Gowers (organ) – charges apply – see www.templemusic.org for further information.