Felton: Organ Concerto in C, op. 1, no. 1.
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William Felton (1715-1769) was a clergyman by profession and musician by
reputation. He was educated at St John’s College, Oxford and was ordained as priest in 1742. The following year he was appointed vicar-choral and sub-chanter at Hereford cathedral, where he remained for the rest of his life. Despite being an amateur, Felton’s achievements as a composer were considerable and he was evidently a skilful performer. Like many provincial church musicians in the eighteenth century, Felton pursued a freelance career by performing at festivals and concerts across the region. As a member of the cathedral choir he would have performed at the annual Three Choirs Festival at Hereford, Worcester and Gloucester and his fame locally was primarily as a performer. Indeed, Charles Burney considered him to be a better performer than composer. His fame as a composer was in part due to the popularity of a glee ‘Fill the glass’, adapted from a gavotte and variations from the third concerto in his op.1 set of concertos. This tune was popular for many years after, known as ‘Felton’s Gavot’. He published eight collections of keyboard music between 1744 and 1762: sets of concertos and keyboard lessons that follow the Handelian model.