Craig Sellar Lang

Who was Craig Sellar Lang?

Craig Sellar Lang was a New Zealand-born, British-domiciled organist, music teacher, and composer.

Born in Hastings, New Zealand, Dr. C. S. Lang was educated at Clifton College, and studied with Sir Charles Villiers Stanford at the Royal College of Music. He then worked as Director of Music at Christ's Hospital school in Horsham, West Sussex, from 1929, where the choristers of Westminster Abbey were briefly evacuated to during the Second World War. Lang resigned from this post in 1945 in order to devote more time to examining and composition.

His choral music includes service settings, and anthems such as He shall give his angels charge over thee. There are also many anthems for trebles' voices, composed for use at Christ's Hospital, as well as numerous secular choral works.

Lang's best-known work is his Tuba Tune for organ, Opus 15, a favourite of recitalists. This dashing little piece, which owes its title to the boisterous melody sounded forth on the organ's tuba stop, begins in the style of Handel but, in its central section, has some brief key changes that could belong to no century except the 20th. Lang's numerous other works for organ include a lengthy Sonata in D minor, the Introduction and Passacaglia in A minor, the Fugue-Trilogy on E.G.B., and many hymn preludes and sets of preludes and fugues.