CHANNILLO
Series Description:
The year is 1879. The prestigious post of Organist and Master of the Choristers at Hartley Parish Church, West Yorkshire, has recently become vacant because of the sudden death of Dr Thomas Burchill. Burchill was renowned the length and breadth of both Britain and the Empire in terms of choir training; so much so that Queen Victoria had summoned the singers to Windsor Castle on more than one occasion.
Burchill’s position is now up for grabs, and there are a long list of contenders for the role: this will be a once in a lifetime opportunity for the successful applicant, for not only will they rule the music at the Parish Church, but they will dominate music-making of every kind throughout Hartleydale. More to the point, Hartley Parish Church is on the verge of becoming a Cathedral, subject to passing a number of stringent tests, one of which is an independent assessment of the standard of the music-making.
Out of the 70 people who apply for the post of Organist, six are shortlisted by the ambitious Vicar, Dr Percy G. Banks, assisted by his long-time friend and mentor, Professor Temple Mann, from Yorbridge University.
The day of the auditions arrives. One of the candidates fails to appear; a second is taken ill before he can perform. Of the remaining four, Mann rejects three out of hand, saying that there is only one possible candidate for such an important post: Dr Harold Walker, Organist of nearby Holme Hill Church.
Success seems assured for the choristers and the music of the Parish Church and a celebratory dinner is held on the evening of Walker’s confirmation in post. The following day, the new Organist is expected to take his first practice but is nowhere to be seen when the time comes. He is not at his residence by the entrance to the churchyard and his wife and children last said goodbye to him as he went on his teaching rounds in nearby Holme Hill. A search of the church itself is carried out: lo and behold, Walker is at the keys of the organ; not asleep, but quite dead: killed at the console.
Category/Genre(s): Mystery/Thriller, Adult FictionUpdated: Weekly
Status: Completed
Series Description:
The year is 1879. The prestigious post of Organist and Master of the Choristers at Hartley Parish Church, West Yorkshire, has recently become vacant because of the sudden death of Dr Thomas Burchill. Burchill was renowned the length and breadth of both Britain and the Empire in terms of choir training; so much so that Queen Victoria had summoned the singers to Windsor Castle on more than one occasion.
Burchill’s position is now up for grabs, and there are a long list of contenders for the role: this will be a once in a lifetime opportunity for the successful applicant, for not only will they rule the music at the Parish Church, but they will dominate music-making of every kind throughout Hartleydale. More to the point, Hartley Parish Church is on the verge of becoming a Cathedral, subject to passing a number of stringent tests, one of which is an independent assessment of the standard of the music-making.
Out of the 70 people who apply for the post of Organist, six are shortlisted by the ambitious Vicar, Dr Percy G. Banks, assisted by his long-time friend and mentor, Professor Temple Mann, from Yorbridge University.
The day of the auditions arrives. One of the candidates fails to appear; a second is taken ill before he can perform. Of the remaining four, Mann rejects three out of hand, saying that there is only one possible candidate for such an important post: Dr Harold Walker, Organist of nearby Holme Hill Church.
Success seems assured for the choristers and the music of the Parish Church and a celebratory dinner is held on the evening of Walker’s confirmation in post. The following day, the new Organist is expected to take his first practice but is nowhere to be seen when the time comes. He is not at his residence by the entrance to the churchyard and his wife and children last said goodbye to him as he went on his teaching rounds in nearby Holme Hill. A search of the church itself is carried out: lo and behold, Walker is at the keys of the organ; not asleep, but quite dead: killed at the console.
Category/Genre(s): Mystery/Thriller, Adult FictionUpdated: Weekly
Status: Completed