TOM WILKINSON
MUSICIAN
​PhD
Supervisor: Prof. John Butt OBE
2014-
Thesis title: 'Is J. S. Bach a compositional theorist?'
Although J. S. Bach is regarded by many as the first modern musical pedagogue, he never wrote a composition thesis. However, many of his pupils – notably his son Carl Philipp Emanuel – became prominent music theorists. This thesis will explore the changing nature of Enlightenment music theory and pedagogy, with a focus on J. S. Bach.
​CD: 'Annunciations: sacred music for the twenty-first century'
St Salvator's Chapel Choir / Tom Wilkinson, 2018
Music by Sir James MacMillan, his influences and contemporaries, and six commissions from up-and-coming composers working under his guidance.
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'Luthersche Leidensmusik'
St Salvator’s Chapel Choir / Tom Wilkinson
2017
To commemorate the quincentenary of Lutheranism, St Salvator's Chapel Choir and the Kellie Consort present sixteenth- and seventeenth-century music for Lent and Passiontide. The disc concludes with Nikolaus Bruhns's joyful Easter cantata 'Hemmt eure Tränenflut' and features guest leader Richard Gwilt.
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'A Nativity Sequence'
St Salvator’s Chapel Choir / Tom Wilkinson
2016
A delightful collection of Christmas carols old and new, including the world premiere of Philip Stopford's Ave Maris Stella.
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'Bach and the Stile Antico'
St Salvator’s Chapel Choir / Fitzwilliam String Quartet / Ars Eloquentiae
2016
Several movements of J. S. Bach’s Mass in B Minor reflect the influence of the stile antico (the strict mode of composition of Palestrina and his contemporaries). This CD is an exploration of J. S. Bach’s encounter with this style, including the world premiere recording of a Credo by Giovanni Battista Bassani (edition by Tom Wilkinson).
'[A]n intelligent exploration ... [T]he integration of ... assorted stylistic influences is realised transparently in this unaffected and lovely performance.’
Gramophone
Article: 'Musical influences on the young J. S. Bach'
Journal of the Royal College of Organists, 2015
A study of the young J. S. Bach's response to the musical legacy of the seventeenth century.
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'Ca' the yowes: a traditional tapestry'
St Salvator’s Chapel Choir
2015
A delightful selection of folk song arrangements. This CD concludes with a transcription for organ of Hamish MacCunn's The Land of the Mountain and the Flood, played by Tom Wilkinson.
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'Salvator mundi: the Purcell legacy'
St Salvator’s Chapel Choir / Fitzwilliam String Quartet
2015
An exploration of English church music in the century after Henry Purcell, this CD concludes with the world premiere recording of Hear me, O God by William Jackson of Exeter (edition by Tom Wilkinson).
'Sung with diligent attention to both notes and words, this finely chosen selection of English church music covers the richly rewarding period from the Restoration through to the 18th century.’
**** BBC Music Magazine
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'Christmas from St Andrews'
St Salvator’s Chapel Choir
2013
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Christmas carols old and new, including the world premiere recording of 'Moonless Darkness' by Ed Jones.