by Ben Hogwood Picture by Clive Barda

Earlier this week we learned of the sad news of the death of choral conductor and organist Martin Neary. Neary was known primarily for his work with the choir at Wesminster Abbey, put in to perspective by this fine obituary of his work on the Presto website. I wanted to take the opportunity to put together a short playlist of some of Neary’s recordings, which you can find below.

The funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997 was an incredibly intense event, a memorable occasion where it seemed the UK – and especially London, where I was – ground to a halt for an hour. The music that stayed in our consciousness afterwards, as well as Elton John’s reworking of Candle In The Wind, was the remarkable Song for Athene by John Tavener. Neary ensured it was given the best possible performance, which speaks volumes for his musicality and temperament.

Song For Athene leads the playlist below, which concludes with Neary playing Widor’s effervescent Toccata:

https://tidal.com/playlist/acf7f6d7-97c1-4786-8140-025a5f8cc913

Published post no.2,675 – Thursday 2 October 2025