John Alldis, 1929-2010

John Alldis, who died on December 20 aged 81, was a
distinguished choral conductor.

Through his eponymous choir, Alldis was responsible for
introducing the British public to some of the more eclectic
contemporary music of the last century; he also worked with Pink
Floyd and Duke Ellington, established a permanent chorus for the
London Symphony Orchestra and wrote pantomime music.

The John Alldis Choir, a 16-strong force, announced itself in
1962 with the premiere of Alexander Goehr’s A Little Cantata of
Proverbs. A series of new works followed, including the premiere of
Stravinsky’s Requiem Canticles at the Edinburgh Festival in 1967,
for which Alldis rehearsed the choir but which was performed under
Pierre Boulez.

Indeed Alldis, like many choir masters, spent much time
preparing singers whose performances would be credited to a
big-name conductor. The Colin Davis recording of Handel’s Messiah
from 1966, with a pared-down LSO Chorus (effectively the John
Alldis Choir), was said to have “shattered previous conceptions of
Messiah”.

During the 1960s composers such as Goehr, Malcolm Williamson and
Harrison Birtwistle were pushing the boundaries of contemporary
music. While orchestras and chamber ensembles were willing to take
them up, there were few takers in the choral world. Alldis was
convinced that there were unexplored possibilities. “There is a
feeling that [choral music] hasn’t been carried to its logical
conclusion,” he once said.