CECIL, Theophania

Theophania Cecil was an English organist and composer who spent her life in London. She was the daughter of the Anglican clergyman Richard Cecil and served for many years as organist of St John’s Chapel, Bedford Row, where her father was minister. Her surviving music belongs to the English sacred and organ repertory of the Regency period.
Cecil’s principal composition is Twelve Voluntaries for the Organ, published in London around 1809–1810. The pieces are written in the contemporary English voluntary tradition and include distinctive use of the pedalboard, then still relatively uncommon in English organ music. In 1814 she also published The Psalm and Hymn Tunes used at St. John’s Chapel, arranging sacred melodies for three- or four-part voices with organ or piano accompaniment. The collection contains music by several composers, but three tunes are securely attributed to Cecil herself.