Of course you have to remember that he is an acomplished pianist in his own right and his brother has been a cathedral DoM for some years of distinction.
The sad thing is, that since Vatican 2 the musical heritage of the RCC has been decimated, literally. I always fiond it ironic that when you watch the TV that if it depicts a catholic church you hear Gregorian chant in the background to reinforce the point, yet if you go into 90% of parishes you wouldn’t hear it at all. In fact, in a lot of parishes you’d be shouted down for suggesting the re-introduction of the Orbis Factor and Missa de Angelis over the “Hopwood Mass” and the ilk of nursery rhyme dirge. Even though they can’t normally agree on the day of the week, let alone if God is a woman, the CofE have managed to maintain a sense of musical tradition and liturgy. Many decent sized parishes are able to turn out a choir capable of a Sunday morning Eucharist with a few hymns in 4-part harmony, an anthem, and a setting by Murrill, Ives, Sumsion, or Stanford et al. Some even manage choral evensong on a regular basis in addition. The average catholic parish is lucky if it can find an organist to play in tune these days because the concept of a choral tradition to accompany the mass is long since lost and the technical capability of a lot of parish “musicians” to be able to train and direct a schola is almost non-existent.
