Photo by Gerry Szymanski
William Timberlake Allen was born in Aberdeen, South Dakota on June 2, 1926. After serving with the U. S. Army in World War II, he studied with Merritt Johnson at Northern State College in Aberdeen from 1946–1948. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Music Composition with Anthony Donato at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois in 1950 and received his Master’s degree from the same institution in 1951. In 1954 he received his Ph.D. in Music Composition from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York where he studied with Bernard Rogers.
From 1953–1992 he was Professor of Theory and Composition at Houghton College in Houghton, New York and was Composer-in-Residence for many of those years. He was named Professor Emeritus in 1998.
Dr. Allen has written a ballet, operas, orchestral and chamber music, choral works, and has composed extensively for the piano and the organ. He was also an amateur poet, and the author of several plays and musicals performed at Houghton College. Many of his sacred organ compositions are dedicated to his wife, organist Jane McMahon Allen.
Dr. Allen died on December 29, 2016 after a brief illness.
“So shall it be at last,
in that bright morning,
when the soul waketh
and life’s shadows flee;
O in that hour,
fairer than daylight dawning,
shall rise the glorious thought,
I am with thee.”
— Harriet Beecher Stowe
List of Works
Dr. Allen wrote an enormous amount of music for many genres and instrumentations. The catalog below is not exhaustive, but it is as complete as it can be with the information currently available (December 31, 2025). Updates will be made to the list as necessary.
Special thanks go to Danny Lloyd White and his 1991 dissertation, “The Choral Works of William Allen.” Much of the list below comes from his Appendix A (p. 168), with corrections and additions by DJF.
A Mighty Fortress is our God (Ein feste Burg) (2009)
Abide with me (Eventide) (1960)
Ademàn espanõl (1995)
Alarums and Excursions (1988)
Alas and Did My Savior Bleed (1955)
Amazing Grace (Fughetta on New Britain) (1955)
Arise, and Bless the Lord (St. Thomas (Williams)) (1960)
Arrest at Philippi (1984)
Azmon (1980)
Be thou my vision (Slane) (1990)
Cadenza for J. S. Bach’s Fugue in G major, BWV 541b (1988)
Cadenza for J. S. Bach’s Passacaglia & Fugue (1963; 1987)
Canon and Fugue (1950) — organ or instrumental
Celebration Toccata (1979)
Church’s One Foundation, The (Aurelia) (1988)
Come, Holy Ghost, our Souls Inspire (Veni Creator Spiritus) (1997)
Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing (Nettleton) (1960)
Come, Thou Long-expected Jesus (1961)
Come, thou, Almighty King (Italian Hymn or Moscow) (1962)
Concerto for Organ (1956)
Counterpoint in imitation of Scheidt (1949) — organ and piano
Diferencias: The Beginning of a Spanish Event (1988)
Fantasy and Fugue in C on “Puer nobis” (1986)
Fantasy for Organ (1970)
Four Impromptus for a Festival (1983)
From Heaven Above to Earth I come (Vom Himmel hoch) (1955)
Fugue for a Party (1995)
Fugue in B-flat minor (1950) — organ or instrumental
Herr Jesu Christ, dich (1949)
Improvisation on a Fragment (for Anton Heiller) (1968)
In the Year That King Uzziah (1960)
Jesus the Christ (1986)
Jesus, Priceless Treasure (Jesu, meine Freude) (1983)
Joy of the Lord is my Strength, The (1993)
Just the Way You Are Tonight (arrangement) (1955)
Little Trio Sonata
March Noble (1963; 1987)
Marschieren Wir! Ja, Ja, We Go Marching (1995)
My Life is Hid in Jesus (Variations on Christus der ist mein Leben) (1953/86)
Never Will I Leave My Jesus (Meinem Jesum lass’ ich nicht) (1952–53)
Now thank we all our God (Nun danket alle Gott) (1960)
O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go (St. Margaret) (1983)
O worship the King (Rondeau on Lyons) (1961)
Of the Father’s Love Begotten (Improvisation on Divinum mysterium) (1983)
Once in Royal David’s City (Irby) (1998)
Out of the depths I cry to thee (Aus Tiefer Not) (1963)
Pageant for Organ, Piano, and Drums (1969)
“Pedal” for Organ (1962)
Petite élégie (1995)
Petite Sonata en Trio (1959)
Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven (Lauda anima) (1986)
Prelude (St. Anne) (1955)
Prelude and Fugue in F (1992)
Prelude and Fugue: “Dorm Life” (1986)
Prelude for Organ: “Night Shall Be No More” (1985)
Prelude: Like as a Mother Comforteth (1977)
Psalm 104: The Lord Shall Rejoice in His Works
Savior of the Nations, Come (Nun komm’ der Heiden Heiland) (1986)
Soar, My Soul, to God on High (Schwing’ dich auf zu deinem Gott) (1952)
Soldiers of Christ, arise (Diademata) (1983)
Sonatine for Organ (1936)
Spirit Like a Dove Descending, The (1987)
Star of Mandalay, The: Little Concerto for Organ and Orchestra (1985)
Three Studies, Canons, and Fugue (1949) — organ or piano
Toccata [in F major] (1963)
Toccata in C (1966)
Triumphal March (1947) — organ and piano
Triumphal Tribute (1977)
Two Fragments for Improvisation (for Langlais) (1967)
Variations on “Wrestling Jacob” (1963)
What Shall I Do, My God, To Love (Manchester New) (1993)
Ye Servants of God (Hanover) (1983)
A few scores & recordings …
This website has been made by a former student, Daniel J. Fortune, to honor the life, work, and legacy of Dr. William T. Allen.