The collection of Donald’s manuscripts held in Eastbourne currently comprises 277 items, from partial sheets of manuscript to books of many pages. Each item has been assigned a unique reference and every identifiable composition or fragment catalogued with a composition number. The information has been entered into a computer database containing approximately 500 records, sorted so that each composition is listed with all its versions, fragments and any finished copies presented together. Items are stored in order of their reference number, so that it is possible very quickly by reference and page number(s) to access the documents relating to a particular work.
Each record contains the following information. The first four fields have been completed for every record, the remainder where possible if the information appears in the document. Some additional information from the collection or from personal knowledge has been included under “Remarks”.
Several works have either been transcribed by hand from the orignal copies (some originals being barely legible) or presented in publisher-quality format using music typesetting software. It is intended over time to make all significant works available in high-quality printed form.
| Doc. Ref. | Page(s) | Gp. | No. | Title | Description | Inspiration | Words of hymn/song | Hymn-tune name | Key | Instrumentation | Bars | Approx. length (mins.) |
Difficulty | Date | Dedication | Status | Remarks |
Compositions are grouped (Gp) as follows. The current number of each in the collection is indicated:
Anthems (9)
Canticles (8)
Chant(s) (1)
Descants (4)
Duets (includes solo instrument with organ/piano accompaniment)(17)
Organ and piano duets (21)
Hymn-tunes (28)
Offertories (“One-liners”) (108)
Orchestral (3)
Organ solos (39)
Piano solos (15)
Songs (14)
Less than a dozen fragments remain that have not yet been identifed.
Calligraphy and inspiration meet – end of “The Golden Silence” (1938):
Inspiration wins decisively (from “…Eternity’s too short to utter all Thy praise” – organ & piano duet):
