Healey Willan Stamp

This post features the Healey Willan stamp from Canada in 1980. Composer stamps date back a century to a first set made in Austria in 1922. You can find several articles on this sight featuring composer stamps from France, Germany, Great Britain, and the United States. There are many more composer stamps from across the globe. Most of these stamps (though certainly not all) feature composers that are native to the country issuing the stamp. The composers become symbols of pride for the population and these individuals become useful unifying figures for the country. The Healey Willan stamp from Canada is another example of a country paying tribute to one of its favorite sons.

Healey Willan

On October 12, 1880, James Healey Willan was born in London England. He began musical training at the age of eight. Then, at the age of fifteen, he began professional work as an organist at several London churches. Further, from 1903 to 1913, he served at the St. John the Baptist Church as organist and choirmaster. Willan became interested in the Anglo-Catholic Tractarian movement and the use of plainsong in worship services. He became a member of the Gregorian Association in 1910.

In 1913, Willan moved to Canada, becoming the organist-choirmaster at St. Paul’s, Bloor Street, Toronto’s largest church. The following year, he became a lecturer at the University of Toronto, where he later became head of the theory department, and the University’s organist. In 1921, he became the precentor of the Church of St. Mary in Toronto, where he served until his death. In this smaller congregation, Willan was able to build a traditional music tradition and the church became known for its choral tradition.

Willan became the first non-English church musician to be given the Lambeth Doctorate, Mus. D Cantuar by the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1956. Willan died on February 16, 1968.

Compositions

Throughout his career, Willan was a composer, primarily of sacred compositions. The royalities from his work allowed him to step back from better paying church appointments (such as St. Paul’s) and focus instead on the small parish church of St. Mary Magdalene. The smaller church was a more traditional Anglo-Catholic church where Willan could focus on his love of plain chant. He wrote a enormous number of liturgical works for use in these services.

Willan’s compositions number more than eight hundred, the vast majority of which were for choir. Other works include a body of organ music. In addition to his sacred music, he also wrote song arrangements for voice and piano, two symphonies, a piano conceto, and an opera, Deirdre. In 1953, Willan was also commissioned to write an anthem for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Willan was an inspiration to other musicians who saw a Canadian that was able to build an international reputation and career as a composer.

The Stamp

The multicolor Willan stamp was one of a pair of stamps from Canada in 1980 honoring Canadian musicians. The other honors opera singer Emma Albani. Both stamps were the design of Howard Brown, whose use of an orange background unites their appearance. Brown based the Willan stamp on a photograph of the composer seated at a large four-rank organ taken in 1918. The 17 cent stamp featuring Willan was one of the first Canadian stamps to depict a musician.

Willan’s liturgical music holds up very well! Try to find some to listen to, here is a favorite of mine, Hodie, Christus natus est.