About
Sir David Valentine Willcocks (30 December 1919 – 17 September 2015) was a British choral conductor, organist, composer and music administrator. He was particularly well known for his association with the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, which he directed from 1957 to 1974, making frequent broadcasts and recordings. Several of the descants and carol arrangements he wrote for the annual service of Nine Lessons and Carols were published in the series of books Carols for Choirs which he edited along with Reginald Jacques and John Rutter. He was also director of the Royal College of Music in London.
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During the Second World War (1939–1945) he served as an officer in the British Army, and was decorated with the Military Cross for his actions on Hill 112 during the Battle of Normandy in July 1944. His elder son, Jonathan Willcocks, is also a composer.
Discography
Albums
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The Psalms of David from King's, Volume 1
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The Psalms of David from King's, Volume 2
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Hymns for All Seasons
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St. Matthew Passion
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Spem in alium (40-part Motet)
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A Christmas Garland
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Choral Music From King’s College, Cambridge
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Epithalamion / Merciless Beauty / Four Hymns
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Allegri: Miserere / Palestrina: Stabat Mater / Litaniae de Beata Virgine Maria
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Haydn: Nelson Mass / Vivaldi: Gloria
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Allegri: Miserere; Palestrina: Stabat Mater
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In Honour of the City / At the Tabard Inn / Sweet Thames Run Softly
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Lux Aeterna
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Motets
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Howells: Hymnus Paradisi / Finzi: Dies Natalis
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Vivaldi: Gloria / Magnificat / Pergolesi: Magnificat
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In Honour of the City of London / Fanfares and Marches / Jubilate Deo / Antiphon / 4 Christmas Carols / Where Does the Uttered Music Go?
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Byrd motets in paired settings with Palestrina, Philips, Gabrieli, Victoria, Lassus
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3 Masses
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Family Carols
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Messiah
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St. Matthew Passion: Highlights
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Cantata No. 147 / Three Motets
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Handel: Coronations Anthem / Blow: Anthems
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Carols for Advent
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The World of Christmas Carols
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Requiem / Pavane
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A Ceremony of Carols / Saint Nicolas
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Messiah
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3 Masses / Mass "The Western Wind"
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Miserere and Other Spiritual Classics
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Fauré: Requiem / Pavane / Duruflé: Requiem
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Coronation Anthems
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Te Deum / Messe de Minuit de Noël
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A Christmas Festival: 26 Favourite Carols
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Choral Music of George Dyson
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Hodie / Fantasia on Christmas Carols
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George Frideric Handel's Messiah
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Miserere
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The Psalms of David
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Carols From King’s
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Byrd and his Contemporaries
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Cantata no. 147 / The Six Motets / Chorales & Chorale Preludes for Advent and Christmas
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Hymn to Dionysus / Choral Hymns / Two Eastern Pictures
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Folk Songs of the Four Seasons
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Haydn: The Nelson Mass
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Tallis: Tudor Church Music I (Spem in alium)
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The Complete Argo Recordings
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Byrd: Mass in 5 Parts; Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis
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Taverner: Tudor Church Music; Croft: Burial Service
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Missa in angustiis, Hob.XXII:II "Nelson Mass"
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100 Years of Nine Lessons & Carols
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Handel from King’s: Chandos Anthems 2, 5a, 6, 9, 10 & 11
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Requiem & Pavane
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Hymns from King's
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Carols for Christmas, Volumes I and II
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Riders to the Sea / Epithalamion / Merciless Beauty
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Vivaldi: Gloria / Bach: Magnificat
Compilations
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A Choral Journey Through The Ages
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A Boy Was Born
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Water & Fireworks Music / Coronation Anthems
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Palestrina: Masses and Motets
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Parry: Ode on the Nativity / Holst: The Mystic Trumpeter / Vaughan Williams: The Sons of Light
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Carol Symphony
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Four Coronation Anthems / Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne
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Haydn: Nelson Mass / Vivaldi: Gloria / Handel: Zadok the Priest
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Vespers (1610)
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Choral Favourites From King's
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Requiem
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Stabat Mater • Litaniae De Beata Virgine Maria • Veni Sponsa Christi • Magnificat
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Christmas Carols From King’s
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Five Tudor Portraits / Benedicite / Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus
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The World of Christmas
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Sancta Civitas / Five Mystical Songs / Toward the Unknown Region
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Flos Campi / An Oxford Elegy / Magnificat / Fantasia on the old 104th
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Cantata No. 147 Herz und Mund und that und Leben (includig 'Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring'); Chorales & chorale preludes for Advent & Christmas
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Coronation Anthems / Dixit Dominus
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The World of King’s
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British Composers: Vaughan Williams / Finzi / Holst
Links
Conductor position
Parent
Teacher
Also known as
David Willcocks
Tags
- conductor
- organist
Identifiers
- MusicBrainz
- d337e7f7-be08-47d4-9d00-964367e99972
- ISNI
- 0000000081773005
- IPI
- 00032951199
Data from MusicBrainz, saved 12 Nov 2026. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, covers from the Cover Art Archive and Apple Music.