January 2004
Talking to Peter Barley	Show Menu

Organist and Director of Music, St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin

Peter Barley grew up in Oxford, in a musical family. Going to church from an early age introduced him to the organ. He would sit in the choir with his father, behind the organ stool, from which position he had a bird’s eye view of the console and the organist.

Church music became more serious when, at the age of eight he became a chorister at New College Oxford. He commenced learning the organ at about the age of eleven, having lessons with Geoffrey Webber, who was then organ scholar at New College. He reckons that he was about sixteen when he decided that he was going to be an organist. Both the sound of the organ, and also the music played on it attracted him — he mentioned Bach and Handel as appealing very early.

He was organ scholar at King’s College Cambridge for the three years of his music degree, during which time he played for the famous choir every day. The following two years were spent at the Royal Academy of Music, and during this time he built up his career in London. He studied the organ with Christopher Tolley, Nicholas Danby, Nicolas Kynaston and Peter Hurford.

It is now just two years since Peter Barley was appointed to St Patrick’s Cathedral. Asked what is was that got him the position, he reckons that it was probably the range of experience he had acquired in both London and Cambridge. “What was the attraction of Dublin?” Peter didn’t really know Dublin before coming here, but after 11 years in London he felt he needed a change, to some other musical city. His good friend, Colm Carey, organist of the Tower of London had told him lots about Dublin and St Patrick’s — and so he applied for the post.

Peter has two choir rehearsals daily, starting with a 45 minute session with the boys at 8.30 a.m., in preparation for Matins at 9.40. St Patrick’s is the only cathedral in these islands to have daily sung Matins. While Peter sometimes plays the organ himself for this service, his task is usually that of conducting the choir. At 5.15 p.m. there is a full rehearsal before Evensong, which is at 5.45. He also conducts the Dublin Chamber Choir and they rehearse on one evening each week. As well, he is a well-known recitalist and has played in Ireland, the UK and abroad.

A Dublin diocesan organist asked me to put the following two questions to Peter. “What should the humble parish church organist be trying to achieve locally and in co-operation with other organists, to advance and improve the musical element of worship?” Peter’s response was prompt: “Go for quality, both in the choice of music and in rehearsing it — give the choir something to get their teeth into — but not something beyond their capabilities. As well, get young people and their parents interested. There are massive benefits to having a background of church music.”

And the second question: “What style of music do you think is appreciated by the average congregation rather than by recital audiences?” Again, he didn’t have to think: “There’s a definite audience for music from the Baroque and Classical periods — Handel, Bach, Haydn and Mozart — although much of it sounds less-effective to musicians when it is played on the organ. The best of the Victorian and Edwardian eras is also very acceptable; Stanford comes to mind immediately.” He also said that organists should not be afraid of doing the occasional more-modern settings, and he mentioned Kenneth Leighton’s works.

“What might you have done if you had not become a professional organist?” “Perhaps a teacher of music, or of English — and I did think about theology at one stage.”

“And what are your nonmusical interests, or your activities for relaxation?” “I am fond of reading and of walking and swimming. And I can always listen to music for relaxation!”

Orchestral Efficiency

A company chairman was given a ticket for a performance of Schubert's Unfinished Symphony. Since he was unable to go, he passed the invitation to the company's Quality Assurance Manager. The next morning, the chairman asked him how he enjoyed it and, instead of a few plausible observations, he was handed a memorandum which read as follows;

For a considerable period, the oboe players had nothing to do. Their number should be reduced, and their work spread over the whole orchestra, thus avoiding peaks of inactivity.

All twelve violins were playing identical notes. This seems unnecessary duplication, and the staff of this section should be drastically cut. If a large volume of sound is really required, this could be obtained through the use of an amplifier.

Much effort was involved in playing the demi-semiquavers. This seems an excessive refinement, and it is recommended that all notes should be rounded up to the nearest semiquaver. If this were done, it would be possible to use trainees instead of craftsmen. No useful purpose is served by repeating with horns the passage that has already been handled by the strings. If all such redundant passages were eliminated, the concert could be reduced from two hours to twenty minutes.

In light of the above, one can only conclude that had Schubert given attention to these matters, he probably would have had the time to finish his symphony.

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