LRCD1016 - Carol of the
Birds
LRCD1020 - Advent
Procession based on the Great 'O'
Antiphons
Few musicians have
been more important to modern Episcopal church music than Peter Hallock.
During his forty years at St. Mark’s Cathedral, Seattle, he produced a
remarkable legacy: a daunting number of published and unpublished
compositions, including numerous motets as well as large-scale anthems
with instrumental accompaniment. A three-year cycle of psalm settings for
choir with congregational antiphons is the most popular Psalter in common
use in both the Episcopal and Lutheran denominations in the United States.
At the Cathedral itself, Hallock’s
legacy includes the landmark Flentrop tracker organ, the Compline service,
the annual Messiah performances on period instruments, and a national
reputation for the great musical tradition he brought about. The
popularity of Compline at St. Mark’s spawned a revival in interest in
this service, now included in the prayer books of Lutheran and Episcopal
denominations worldwide.
His musical accomplishments have been
recognized by numerous degrees and honors: Doctor of Sacred Music, honoris
causa, from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific (the Episcopal
seminary of the western United States); Associate of the Royal School of
Church Music; Associate of the Royal College of Music; Master of Music in
Organ Performance and Composition (University of Washington); Canon
Precentor (emeritus), St. Mark's Cathedral; and Canon of Honor, Diocese of
Olympia.
Dr. Hallock was the first lay person
in the Episcopal Church to be given the title of Canon Precentor,
indicating his importance not only as a composer and musician, but also as
a contributor to the liturgy of St. Mark's and the Dioceses of Olympia.
Now retired from St. Mark's Cathedral,
Dr. Hallock serves as organist at St. Clement's Parish, Seattle, and
continues as director of the prestigious Compline Choir.