Richard Seal

[ardcarp]

I have just heard from a friend of a friend that Richard Seal has passed away. (This needs to be confirmed.)
He was a wonderful musician, and I remember him not only as a brilliant conductor of The Southern Cathedrals Festival, but also of course as the director of the first girls' top line at Salisbury. I was blown away by their first broadcast Choral Evensong where their sound was bright and their musicality impressive.

[jonfan]

Blown away indeed! I taped it and later burnt it on CD for a more permanent copy. Worthy of an archive outing?
I was offered an interview by Richard to teach in the choir school and sing in the choir, but I accepted a job in Yorkshire instead. A career defining moment that one does not realise at the time.
A true pioneer that helped to shape the cathedral choirs that exist today.
RIP

[Keraulophone]

He was a wonderful musician, and I remember him not only as a brilliant conductor of The Southern Cathedrals Festival, but also of course as the director of the first girls' top line at Salisbury.

.
Very sorry to hear this. The choir at Salisbury thrived under his leadership, and he is probably best remembered for founding the girls’ choir there in 1991. (Other cathedral choirs had already included girl choristers before then, for example Leicester Cathedral since 1978 and St David’s Cathedral choir claiming to be the first with a separate front row of girl choristers.)

Whether or not the Salisbury girls were first, their success under Richard Seal was influential in the founding of similar choirs in many of our 42 cathedrals. Now that Ofsted and the ISI oblige choir schools to offer equal opportunities to boys and girls, the remaining cathedrals and most Oxbridge college choir schools have had to conform to the directive.

The Southern Cathedrals Festival at Chichester, Salisbury and Winchester may be on a much smaller scale than the very long-established Three Choirs Festival, but the very high standard of music-making by the three southern choirs has flourished under the directorships of Seal, Birch, Thurlow, Lumsden, Halls et alia.

Unlike the slow decline seen and heard at some other foundations as the DoM nears retirement, Dr Seal was able to maintain high standards of music-making throughout his 29 years in post. The Salisbury boy trebles trained by Richard Seal during his penultimate year in post can be heard on this Archiv disc of John Sheppard's Missa Cantate recorded in Salisbury Cathedral in 1996 (though released four years later).



R.I.P. Dr Seal

[DracoM]

[teamsaint]

Very sad news .

I thought I would share a few memories( hope nobody minds) of being a chorister under Richard in the early 70’s,
In fact, I was recruited as a probationer in his very first Salisbury voice trial,( I think) on a very cold January day in 1969.
My main thoughts are two fold really. First, that Dr Seal was always held in high regard by the boys, for his obvious command of the business in hand, and his very good natured way with us. We understood, I think, that he was really good at his job.Second is that, unspoken at the time, there was a very real sense that we were on a journey together, ambitious to be as good as we could be, and to create something special . One of the highlights was being selected against good opposition to record the first JEG Monteverdi Vespers. The selection process involved altering our singing to a sharper, less rounded, more Italianate style. Richard was really keen to get this right. We got the job, and spent a few days in London recording with some major stars in Hampstead. It really felt like the big time. It was, I suppose, and I recall Richard running the whole expedition, taking us to restaurants etc . He must have been very proud at the achievement.

He was a really engaging and down to earth character too. He had a good sense of humour sparked by his love of the Goons. He would often quote Peter Sellers , and we were often called back to business from a lull in rehearsal by a brisk call of “ Right, fags out”, a quote I think from a Sellers film, possibly “ A Shot in the Dark”, which I guess was one of his favourites. We used to enjoy a ride in his old Morris Minor to recitals in the diocese , until he amazed us all by upgrading to ( something like ) a Vauxhall Viva, in the back window of which he stuck a cut out label from a box of ( cadburys ) Mini Rolls, to show his pride in the new motor !!
He had an elegant and distinctive conducting style, which was nicely caught in a painting which I suspect sold well, captured on this video about the Southern Cathedrals Festival at 1.21 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OAwVUrtWpg
There was a huge service which filled the cathedral on his retirement, with a genuine gratitude for a job very well done.
As for the music, it is hard really to make a judgement, although there was certainly an understated ambition in what he wanted to do, for example introducing a Mozart mass setting for Christmas day. I suspect that Cyril Taylor(,also very well thought of )who was Precentor, was a supportive partner in his ambitions.

[ardcarp]

Thanks teamsaint for that brilliant personal memory of Richard at Salisbury! Your reference to 'a sharper, less rounded, more Italianate style' seemed to apply to the girl choristers when I first heard them. I think he was determined they should not sound in any way 'wet'. (Probably not very well expressed by me.) RIP Richard

Telegraph obit here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituari...rls-cathedral/

I'm sure there will be better ones in due course.

[teamsaint]

I saw an interview with him not so long ago, ( maybe after the Gareth Malone stuff, or the Military Wives success) and he made a single, very wise comment.
“ People are happy when they sing”. Football fans are a good example in fact.

And to add a further comment, a chorister’s life was pretty rigorous to say the least back in the 70’s, but those chosen also has/ have an incomparable opportunity. I am grateful to him for allowing me that opportunity, tough though the overall school and singing regime was.

[jonfan]

Thanks teamsaint for that brilliant personal memory of Richard at Salisbury! Your reference to 'a sharper, less rounded, more Italianate style' seemed to apply to the girl choristers when I first heard them. I think he was determined they should not sound in any way 'wet'. (Probably not very well expressed by me.) RIP Richard

Telegraph obit here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituari...rls-cathedral/

I'm sure there will be better ones in due course.

Wonderful memories from teamsaint! The Telegraph obit has some very moving responses worth reading. Truly a marvellous choir trainer and a wonderful human being.

[chitreb]

I had the privilege of being a Chorister in Chichester in the early 60s when Richard came as Assistant Organist under John Birch. He was much liked and respected by us youngsters. So sorry to hear of his passing.