GEORGE THOMAS THALBEN-BALL was born of English
parents on 18th June 1896 in Sydney, Australia.
When the young Thalben-Ball was three years old
he and his family returned to England. He later
joined the choir of G. D. Cunningham in Muswell
Hill and, having won a scholarship to the Royal
College of Music, went on to study organ there
with Walter Parratt.
While at the Royal College
Thalben-Ball worked with Walford Davies, who had
required a good sight-reader to assist in
accompanying one of his choir-training courses.
Early in 1919, following the retirement of
Walford Davies who had recently joined the newly
formed RAF as its Director of Music, he was
appointed first as Acting Organist and Choir
Director at the Temple Church,  and in
1923 to the permanent position which he held for
62 years.
One of the choir's recordings
on a double sided 78rpm disk, 'Hear My
Prayer' and 'O, For The Wings Of A
Dove' by Mendelssohn with the solo part
sung by 'Master Ernest Lough', was
released in June 1927 and caused a sensation. It
proved so successful that the masters of the
original wore out and the same artistes had to
re-record the two sides a year later. In 1962 it
became the first classical single in HMV's
history to sell a million copies. The recording,
now transferred to compact disc, is still
available as an item in various
collections.
The degree of Lambeth Doctor of
Music was conferred on Thalben-Ball by the
Archbishop of Canterbury in 1935. The Temple
Church was destroyed in an air raid in 1941 but
Thalben-Ball remained much in demand not only as
a church and concert hall recitalist but also at
the BBC; he went to Bedford to be in charge of
the music for 'The Daily Service'
broadcast each morning. He was occasionally
called to read the news such as when the regular
newsreader was unable to reach the studio because
of a bomb damaging the main line from
London!
While in Bedford Thalben-Ball
stayed in lodgings on The Embankment - his family
moved to and remained in Wales until the end of
the war. "He often went rowing on the ...
river and ... he liked to explore the surrounding
countryside on a delapidated bicycle. Once he was
riding along in heavy rain with one hand on the
handlebars and the other holding aloft a shabby
umbrella. He was highly delighted when a small
boy on the kerb called out, 'Oi, guv'nor,
where's yer tight-rope?' (Recounted by
Jonathan Rennert in his biography, "George
Thalben-Ball" published by David and Charles
in 1979 - with acknowledgement). 
After the war GTB remained as an
adviser to the BBC until 1970 and continued on
the committee compiling the BBC Hymn Book until
that venture came to fruition in 1951.
On 23rd March 1954, the Temple Church
'Quire' was rededicated and Thalben-Ball
was able to rebuild the famous choir. He was
presented to H.M.The Queen when she attended the
restored 'Round Church' on 7th November
1958. The choir was soon back to its former glory
and during the 1960s and 70s a new series of
gramophone records was made. Ernest Lough, now a
bass, sang with the choir which now also included
his sons Robin and Graham.
GTB was appointed City Organist of
Birmingham in 1949 to succeed G.D. Cunningham,
his former teacher, and here he gave weekly
lunch-time recitals on the Town Hall organ.
George Thalben-Ball opened many important organs,
including the rebuilt organ at the Royal Albert
Hall, and that at the BBC Concert Hall. He
performed regularly at the Henry Wood Promenade
Concerts in the Royal Albert Hall and at the
Royal Festival Hall. His good sense of humour was
legendary. After a performance at one Promenade
Concert (which was being broadcast) he received
his usual prolonged applause. Since there was no
time available for encores, he came on stage for
his second bow having donned his overcoat. For
the third bow he added a hat, the fourth an
umbrella - and a suitcase for his fifth and final
appearance!
GTB later toured Australia, the
USA and Canada. In 1981 he gave an organ recital
at Bedford School during the school's
'Restoration Year' in celebration of the
rebuilding of the main building destroyed by fire
in 1979.
George Thalben-Ball was knighted
in 1982. That same year he retired from Temple
Church. On 18th January 1987, soon after his
ninetieth birthday, he died; he was buried at
Highgate Cemetery in London.
The picture
(right) shows, from right to left, George
Thalben-Ball, Basil Cameron, Sir Adrian Boult,
Leslie Woodgate, Berkeley Mason and, possibly,
the organist at St Paul's Church, Bedford
where the 1940s photograph appears to have been
taken. (With acknowledgement to Jonathan
Rennert)
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HUBERT LESLIE WOODGATE (Below right, and third
from the left in the photograph above) was born
on 15 April 1900. Following his education at
Westminster and the Royal College of Music he
joined the BBC and later became its Chorus
Master.
Popularly known as Leslie
Woodgate, he became one of the foremost choral
trainers in the United Kingdom. He conducted, and
was director of, several provincial choral
societies, and was much in demand as an
adjudicator at festivals. He became
director of the Kentucky Minstrels, a popular
singing group that performed ‘on the
wireless’ during, and immediately
following, WWII.
Woodgate's hundreds of choral
compositions include a large percentage of
arrangements of folksongs, Christmas carols,  Afro-American
spirituals and other popular music. Woodgate also
edited the ‘Penguin Song Book’ and
the ‘Penguin Part-song Book’ and
wrote a treatise entitled ‘The Chorus
Master’.
Woodgate also composed
instrumental and orchestral works. Organ pieces
include an Impromptu and Pastoral Song and
Variations on an Old French Carol Tune.
Orchestral works include an English Dance Suite
for strings which was also published as a piano
solo. He was still working at the BBC at
the time of his death on 18 May 1961.
(Leslie
Woodgate's photograph on the right with
acknowledgement to the BBC)
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