Canon Roger Job
Cathedral Precentor who became a leading exponent of the Church of England’s choral tradition
CANON ROGER JOB, who has died aged 82, was successively Precentor of Manchester Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and Winchester Cathedral, and his exceptional singing voice led him to become one of the most highly regarded exponents of the Church of England’s choral tradition.
He started early as a boy chorister of Canterbury Cathedral and, as a choral scholar of Magdalen College, Oxford, was described by Bernard Rose, its choir director, as the best counter tenor he had ever had.
His voice was perfectly suited to the priest’s leadership of choral worship – nonassertive, clear, accurate and sensitive to the words. At the same time he was meticulous in the ordering of services whether on great occasions or, in what he liked best, daily Evensong.
Job had little interest in the multitude of new services devised by the church’s Liturgical Commission. He was not averse to change, but tolerated it only as a last resort, being loath to lose that which was best in the Anglican tradition. Yet he was no crusty conservative. He had a strong, somewhat wry sense of humour, sensitive pastoral gifts and was always popular with choral foundations and congregations. His sermons were valued for their brevity.
Evan Roger Gould Job was born in Ipswich on May 15 1936. His voice took him to Canterbury Cathedral and choir school. This was followed by King’s School, Canterbury, by the end of which he had become an Associate of the Royal College of Music in piano. Two years of National Service in the Royal Navy were spent mainly in its Intelligence branch.
At Magdalen College, Oxford, Job read History then prepared for ordination at Cuddesdon Theological College. The college principal was Robert Runcie, the future Archbishop of Canterbury.
On Runcie’s recommendation Job went to Liverpool parish church to join its Rector, Christopher Pepys, a future Bishop of Buckingham. A vigorous introduction to wide-ranging parish ministry occupied him from 1962 to 1965, leaving just enough space for marriage to the Rector’s secretary, Rose Gordon.
He then became Vicar of New Springs, a deprived coal-mining village on the outskirts of Wigan, a challenging ministry for a priest destined for more privileged spheres. In 1970 Job was appointed Precentor of Manchester Cathedral, with whose highly-regarded Dean, Alfred Jowett, he collaborated closely in the production of high quality worship.
After four years Job was invited to become Precentor and Sacrist of Westminster Abbey, where he found the standard of the choir below its best – a problem beyond his power to solve. Neither could he correct the views of the Dean and Canons whose sermons, he believed, were of a Left-wing tendency.
At the time of the 1979 general election, however, he displayed on the door of his Little Cloister house a “Vote Conservative” poster which caused much amusement – and Margaret Thatcher’s arrival at No 10 brought him much satisfaction. His own appointment as chaplain of the Dorchester Hotel also gave him some consolation.
Later in 1979 the assassination of Earl Mountbatten by the IRA required an Abbey state funeral at very short notice. The service itself had been arranged under Mountbatten’s supervision some years earlier, but the implementation under conditions of maximum security became Job’s responsibility. Everything went smoothly.
Before the year was out he had moved to Winchester Cathedral as Canon Precentor and Sacrist. Thus began 15 years of happy partnership with two of the church’s most distinguished choir directors, Martin Neary and David Hill, and a choir of international repute. He became Vice-dean in 1991. In 1994, however, when the church began to ordain women to the priesthood, Job felt driven by conscience to resign from active ministry.
He retired to a Hampshire village where he attended the local church and, having brought his piano-playing to a professional standard, gave charity recitals, Four years later he accepted, with reluctance, the church’s decision and began to take services again in local churches.
He also assisted occasionally at Winchester Cathedral and sometimes at the royal chapel in Windsor Great Park when the Queen and other members of the Royal family were present. Characteristically, he requested a village funeral for himself rather than a grand cathedral ceremony.
He is survived by his wife and two sons.
Canon Roger Job, born May 15 1936, died August 9 2018