Allan Wicks obituary

Canterbury cathedral organist with a flair for new music, and an inspired choirmaster
Allan Wicks
At Manchester in the 1950s, Wicks completed the design of the new organ that was being built and installed after war damage Photograph: Manchester cathedral Public Domain

Allan Wicks, who has died aged 86, was one of the most inspired and charismatic choirmasters of his generation and a brilliant interpreter of 20th-century organ music. The organist of Canterbury cathedral from 1961 to 1988, he was the first in Britain to play and record the works of Olivier Messiaen, and then encouraged other contemporary composers. Out of his own pocket, he commissioned works from, among others, Peter Maxwell Davies, Iain Hamilton, Malcolm Williamson, Brian Chapple and Alan Ridout.

They realised that in Allan, they had an interpreter of immense musical and technical talent. The music was sometimes almost impossible to play, but Allan would overcome whatever difficulties were thrown at him. One of his performances of György Ligeti's Volumina caused a fuse to blow on the solo manual of the Royal Festival Hall organ. His varied recital programmes were not limited to contemporary music, and explored organ music from all periods.

Allan was born in Bingley, West Yorkshire. His father was an Anglo-Catholic priest and his mother came from a prominent Yorkshire family, the Murgatroyds. From an early age, Allan showed much musical talent, especially as a keyboard player. His mother, in particular, was made sharply aware of his obsession with music. When she visited him at St John's school, Leatherhead, in Surrey, he was not so much interested in seeing her as in devouring the Mozart sonatas that she had brought him as a present.

In 1941, Allan was appointed organ scholar at Christ Church cathedral, Oxford, and the following year he was sent to India with the 14th Punjab Regiment. He returned to Oxford in 1946 to complete a degree in English. The following year, he became assistant organist of York minster. Appointment processes in those days were often relaxed, and after an audition, Francis Jackson, the organist, and the dean, Eric Milner-White, consulted briefly. This was followed by the dean saying to Allan: "Be appointed." Allan always acknowledged his debt to Jackson's musicianship and, in particular, his masterful handling of the organ.

As well as teaching at St Peter's school, York, Allan was chorus master of the Leeds Philharmonic Choir. This brought him into contact with the major oratorio repertoire. He helped bring to life some significant works and collaborated closely with Sir Malcolm Sargent. In 1954, he was appointed organist and master of the choristers at Manchester cathedral. There he completed the design of the new organ that was being built and installed after war damage to the cathedral. He expanded the repertoire of the choir and introduced works from a variety of centuries. He founded the Cantata Choir and gave the first British performance of Stravinsky's Canticum Sacrum.

It was at this time that he married Elizabeth Butcher. Allan always acknowledged that she helped keep his feet, and those of his friends and colleagues, firmly on the ground. As a team they were lively, challenging, contrasted and welcoming, both full of wisdom and common sense.

He was appointed to Canterbury cathedral in 1961. No institution is without its tensions, and on arriving at Canterbury he was greeted by the dean, Hewlett Johnson, who told him that his appointment was not unanimous, and that his was the dissenting voice. Despite this inauspicious welcome, it was at Canterbury that Allan's supreme skill as a choir trainer came to fruition. The expressive sound quality that he produced from the choristers was outstanding, and more than a match for the work being done by his high-profile contemporaries. Many of his choristers have come to prominence in the world of music. The conductors Harry Christophers and Stephen Barlow, the baritone Stephen Varcoe, the piano accompanist Roger Vignoles and the composer Gabriel Jackson are among the many who came under his spell.

While he made many organ records, there are surprisingly few recordings of the Canterbury choir. For Allan, the choir was an instrument that must be experienced live, and in services, rather than through the impersonality of the microphone. Although he never sought publicity, his work became known in the US, as a result of which he was invited to conduct the Berkshire Boy Choir, Massachusetts, in 1970 and 1972.

Even those of us who worked closely with him over several years find it difficult to pinpoint how he achieved his results. His presence was commanding, but he never dominated. He was naturally the centre of attention in any group, but he never ignored others. He had the innate humility of one who does not realise his own prodigious talents. He disliked hierarchy, and assistants were never introduced as such, but always as colleagues. Any hint of a pecking order among cathedral employees would infuriate him.

Through his passion for words, he gave his singers the key to phrasing, dynamics, tone-colour and expression. His music-making was always alive, yet had a refreshing lack of manicured self-consciousness. Whether he was piloting the choir through uncharted musical territory, or rehearsing an apparently simple psalm, he infused music with life and energy.

Allan was one of the first cathedral organists to conduct his choir on a regular basis. In the early 1960s, this was viewed with slight suspicion. As a result, choir direction had to be discreet and unobtrusive. Allan's gestures in front of the choir were models of economy. His message was in the eyes and in facial expressions, both of which reflected the music absolutely.

As a conductor of large choirs and orchestras, he guided the Canterbury Choral Society through a challenging and varied diet, including one of the very early performances of Britten's War Requiem and a thrilling performance in 1973 of Mahler's Eighth Symphony.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Ramsey, awarded Allan a Lambeth doctorate in 1974, and in 1988 he was appointed CBE.

He is survived by Elizabeth and their daughters, Lalu and Jo.

Edward Allan Wicks, organist and choirmaster, born 6 June 1923; died 4 February 2010