Nigel Day - a personal appreciation

To have had to assist me in my work at St Peter’s, three such first-class musicians as Leslie Jenkins, David Page, and latterly Nigel Day, was a rare privilege, and one that I appreciated more than I can say. Each one brought his own special gifts to the task, and it might seem invidious to single out one from the other, and yet it will be my abiding impression of Nigel’s assistance to me that, allied to his musicianship, was a quality of cheerful loyalty that I found unfailingly encouraging in sometimes difficult circumstances.

Asked to turn over the pages for me in St Peter’s, the Albert Hall or Oxford Town Hall, he would immediately agree with enthusiasm - and with him it was not just turning the pages on the day. He would rehearse with me until we both felt at ease, and a sudden "pull the Great to Pedal out. NOW!" or similar desperate request never disturbed his equanimity. At Oxford particularly, where aids for the player are non-existent, he was superb - turning over pages, pulling out stops, and above all, radiating calm.

Sometimes the St Peter’s Singers were asked to rehearse in the old church office. What could we use for accompaniment? Nigel was there, carrying a very heavy keyboard up all those stairs and serenely playing for us, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

As a contemporary of my own sons at Mountford House, then a pupil of mine at the High School and later still as Organist at the Unitarian Church on that superb instrument (now distressingly no more), I followed his musical progress with great interest. It was a bonus that his father Derek and I realised that we had been fellow pupils at Haydn Road School in the thirties, and when Nigel returned to Nottingham I felt he was a heaven-sent colleague.

His conscientiousness was entirely typical of his work at St. Peter’s, and on a Sunday morning the 8am congregation had scarcely left the church before he began working at the music for the day’s services. He would sing too, when we were short of a part, Alto, Tenor, Bass, with skill and sensitivity - and I have learnt much about the hymns we sing from his monthly articles in the Magazine.

Whether it was a grand occasion, such as the Ordination of Women service in Southwell Minster, or a quiet Choral Evensong at St Peter’s, his dedication and concentration on the work in hand was always most marked. His recent playing of the inordinately difficult accompaniment to the Britten Te Deum was a model of its kind. He served us well, and we are all grateful.

Kendrick Partington

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Last revised 30th April 1999