James O’Donnell on the Queen’s funeral, Westminster Abbey and the power of music

He soundtracked the Queen’s funeral, and the wedding of William and Kate. James O’Donnell talks about stepping up in the big moments in front of the world.

James O'Donnell

You were Organist and Master of the Choristers at London’s Westminster Abbey for 23 years. What do you miss about it? The whole set up at the abbey is geared towards putting your best foot forward every day, and so there’s a rhythm of professional, serious music-making there which happens daily. So when a very, very big event comes along, of course you raise your game for that – but you have the security of knowing the discipline of daily practice is there. You know you’ve been making good music every day.

Some of the “very, very big events” you’ve soundtracked include the wedding of Kate and William, and the Queen’s funeral. What role does music play in bringing these historical events to life? It’s all pieces of the same picture. The power of the music is immensely boosted by the context, so you can’t separate these things too much. When there’s a very momentous occasion going on, the music is designed to give musical expression to that.

Do you feel the pressure of the world watching? Strangely enough, you don’t. The Queen’s funeral was watched by an enormous, worldwide audience, but we were not aware of that; it just felt like a very big, major service in Westminster Abbey, which is where we worked every day. It’s not that you’re blasé about it, quite the contrary, you’re very aware of the importance of it, but it feels familiar. And that’s a good thing, I think, because ultimately it is a church service in a church, so it should feel familiar.

O'Donnell at work

I hate to be too morose, but have you thought much about the music to be played at your own funeral? I hope I’ve got a bit of time to think about it! I remember a memorial service in the abbey for a very venerable judge, and at the end there was a marching band that came in and played When the Saints Go Marching In and everybody was just beaming. I thought it was terrific to give mourners something life-affirming and joyous to take with them. So here’s hoping I’ll have a bit of that spirit.

You were 38, and a Catholic, when you took the job at the abbey. Was it a controversial appointment? There was a little bit of comment at the time, you know, “How can a Catholic do this?” and all that kind of thing, but it wasn’t a big deal to me and it wasn’t a big deal to the abbey authorities. I had to give careful consideration to whether it was the right thing for me, personally and spiritually, but in the end I determined that maybe I could bring a little something different to the job.

What was it about playing the organ that captured your imagination as a boy? I encountered the organ like most people do – in church. And I just liked it; I responded to it. It was partly the sonority, the way it fitted into the church and fitted the building. It fitted the liturgy. I kind of began studying the piano as a means to an end – to get closer to the organ – and I was able to start learning as soon as my legs were long enough to reach the pedals.

At the time, in the late ’70s and early ’80s, popular music was full of keyboard and synth-led music. Were you ever drawn to pop? Some of my contemporaries at Cambridge who studied music went into the pop and film music world, and they’re all immensely rich now – much wealthier than I am. Good luck to them! But it wasn’t for me.

As Master of the Choristers, how did you approach the challenge of leading both professional adult vocalists and very young performers? My aim was to have a fairly calm, consistent, kind of non-scary regime so people felt they could occasionally make a mistake and the sky wouldn’t fall in. When you start off in a role, you feel like if anything goes wrong it’s the end of the world. I’m sure I fell into that trap in the beginning, but I think I calmed down as I got a little bit older.

So, James, can you sing? I can sing enough to be able to make a point, but I’ll only ever do it ina choir practice. I don’t do it in polite company!

James O’Donnell performs in Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane in July and August.