Appreciation by Neil Crutchley

In Memoriam is a title that usually brings with it certain emotions; most of them are sombre and reflective but I think the best way to describe David Fisher’s talk on 11th November is to say that it was uplifting. Subtitled “In memory of a lifetime in music” and delivered with his characteristic blend of scholarship, wit and wisdom, David's talk took us on a journey from his earliest years as a young choirboy at Leicester Cathedral through his time at university and as a music teacher, to his remarkable achievements as a conductor and composer.

He talked about those now gone who had influenced and inspired him and made the very pertinent point that for most of his career there was no instant way of capturing scenes or sounds by using a mobile phone as we would today. This meant that he had very few visual or sound mementos from his formative years, but he did have some, such as school and university photographs and a few precious recordings of Leicester Cathedral choir led by the fondly remembered Dr. George Gray. More than fifty very short musical extracts and videos illustrated the talk, many leaving the listener wanting to hear more than just a few seconds. They ranged from 1960s psalm singing at the Cathedral and the exhilarating final bars of Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast, to Barbra Streisand, Verdi and Herbert Howells.

As a conductor, David’s two most impressive achievements were founding the Kingfisher Chorale and leading them within six years to the Sainsbury’s Choir of the Year competition and his tenure as the conductor of the Derby Choral Union, where he performed with many well-known soloists including the renowned Dame Emma Kirkby, with whom he forged a lasting friendship. These events were well documented in sound and in a few cases, vision.

However, I suspect for most of the large audience, the truly revelatory aspect of the evening was hearing tantalizing extracts from David’s own compositions. For many years now he has been arguably Leicester’s leading composer. He’s received several commissions, not least from the Vienna Boys’ Choir. Equally at home in captivating miniatures and large-scale choral works (including a Requiem) we marvelled at his versatility and imagination, as well as his ability to write a memorable tune. Happily, David has many recordings of his compositions and each short extract played was met with a spontaneous round of applause.

The one work we heard (and saw) performed in its entirety was his exquisite carol In the Stable, memorably set to words written by his wife Pauline. This lovely little piece, with its “ear-worm” melody, deserves to be a Christmas staple with choirs throughout the land.

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