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Walter Hussey's legacy of twentieth-century choral commissions ranks him among a rare breed of discerning and impassioned benefactors who inspired genius and left the world a more beautiful place. His deeply held convictions and urbane aesthetic sense, combined with a diligent winsomeness, helped produce a catalogue of choral works that is at once remarkable and inspirational. Yet, perhaps Hussey's place in history is even more remarkable, for, in the twentieth century, he pursued a singular desire to re-forge the ties between the church and composers. Reflecting on Hussey's career as patron of the arts, Kenneth Clark noted, "As far as I know, only one man has had the courage and insight to maintain-I wish I could say revive-the great tradition of patronage by individual churchmen, the Dean of Chichester. He has done so through tenacity, courage and an exceptional flair for the best. If he had not been in holy orders he would have been a great impresario."1
Although Hussey's name appears in the dedicatory lines before each of the choral works he commissioned, and his name is given a passing mention in the various biographies of the composers with whom he worked, no annotated catalogue of Hussey's work as a commissioner of choral music exists. Hussey left only a summary presentation of his life's work as patron in his book, Patron of Art: The Revival Of A Great Tradition Among Modern Artists, published in the year of his death, 1985. In this memoir, which is no longer in print, Hussey highlights only the more significant artistic collaborations, and of these, the only choral works that receive substantive discussion is Britten's Rejoice in the Lamb and Bernstein's Chichester Psalms. The present article will augment this information with an abridged biography of Walter Hussey followed by brief discussions of the eleven choral works commissioned by him.
Biographical Sketch
The Reverend John Walter Atherton Hussey, the youngest son of the parish priest of St. Matthew's Church in Northampton, was born on May 15, 1909. His early education came at Waynflete House School in Northampton, The Knoll, a preparatory school in Woburn Sands, and Marlborough College. Among his contemporaries at Marlborough were the British Poet Laureate, Sir John Betjeman (1906-1984), and the film actor James Mason (1909-1984),...