If the name isn't ringing any bells, we welcome you to what must be your very first choral concert in Canada. He is our Norman Bethune; our David Suzuki; our Wayne Gretzky.

 

Born in Balham, and raised in the Anglican church tradition,  Willan built a reputation in London as an organist, composer, and authority on plainsong chant, sung in English, not Latin - a deep Protestant vs. Anglo-Catholic schism within the Anglican church - something that would influence choral compositions throughout his career.

 

Awash in the influence of continental composers such as Wagner, Brahms, and Tchaikovsky, and more profoundly, countrymen Charles Villiers Standford and Hubert Parry, Willan moved to Canada in 1913, at the invitation of the Royal Conservatory in Toronto. Willan's subsequent library of commissions, awards, and compositions is staggering.

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Anyone who’s sung a Healey Willan piece understands his mastery for imparting the meaning of a text. His choices of colour and texture are unmistakable; every line sings like a melody, and every note has a place in the overall effect.

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Quelle est cette odeur agréable ?

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Slipped in next to Donald Patriquin's playful arrangements of some Noels Anciens is Willan's own interpretation of "What is This Lovely Fragrance" (here performed in its native French). He treats the floating melody (a cousin of 'Fill ev’ry glass' from The Beggar’s Opera, btw) with respect; women are followed by men is the first verses, and then Willan's delicious, flowing polyphony takes over. Lovely, lovely, lovely.