Top honour for abbey music maestro

3:32pm Wednesday 30th November 2005

THE vital contribution of Peter Hurford to music at St Albans Abbey has been recognised with a £32,500 endowment in his name.

Thanks to £25,000 given by cathedral figures, friends and family, Samuel Lake has been named the first Hurford Chorister, and presented with a specially engraved medal.

And Dr Hurford, master of music at the cathedral from 1958 to 1978, will have music played on his birthday of November 22 in perpetuity, thanks to a further £7,500.

The current master of music Andrew Lucas said: "It is a tremendous accolade to the impact Peter made on music here that people have given so generously to honour his name in his lifetime.

"Peter made the abbey's music into something really special, and today we continue to enjoy the legacy of what he created.

"Generations of choristers, musicians and members of the congregation owe an immeasurable debt to the man who laid the groundwork by making music really come alive in St Albans in a unique way."

The cash will go into the St Albans Cathedral Music Trust, which seeks to raise a total of £2.7 million to secure the abbey's musical tradition, and to fund new initiatives.

The trust calculates that interest on £25,000 will cover the annual cost of training, robes, and music for one chorister, and the cost of the annual music will be covered by the £7,500 sum.

The choristership was instituted at a service of evensong on Sunday November 20, Dr Hurford's 75th birthday.

Cathedral administrator Nicholas Bates said: "Dr Hurford raised the standard of choral worship at St Albans to become on a par with the best and longest-established cathedral choirs in the country, and he achieved this without great endowment and without a choir school.

"He also presided over the rebuilding of the cathedral organ and founded the St Albans International Organ Festival."

After relinquishing the reins at the cathedral, Dr Hurford had a distinguished career as an organist and teacher, recording all Bach's compositions for the instrument.

He has been given many honorary doctorates and fellowships, and the Order of the British Emoire (OBE).