Peter Horton paints a detailed picture of the life and career of this remarkable man whose output includes such favourites as 'Blessed be the God and Father' and 'The wilderness'.

Born into one of England's best-known families, Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810-76) was not only the foremost organist and church musician of his generation, but a vigorous campaigner for higher standards in cathedral music. He was also a troubled, difficult character, and accounts of his abrasive personality or anecd...