This website is dedicated to the collection, preservation, archiving and sharing of material connected to the musical legacy of Martindale Sidwell and his wife Barbara. The reunion in April 2009 of singers, organists, clergy and musicians associated with Martin and Barbara during their years at Hampstead and later at St. Clement Danes demonstrated the strength and depth of that legacy and the desire to ensure its survival and documentation. If you have material. memories or reminiscences please share them with us by contacting us using the e mail link below.

News
Sidwell Anniversary Concert in Hampstead on February 21, 2026, at 7.30 pm

Martindale and Barbara Sidwell arrived 80 years ago to revive the splendid music tradition in Hampstead, North London. The Friends of the Music of Hampstead Parish Church invites anyone who knew or sang with Martindale to a Sidwell Anniversary Concert in church on February 21, 2026, at 7.30 pm, to honour their memory. The Very Revd Dr Philip Buckler (who was vicar at the time of Martindale’s tenure) will share some memories, and we look forward to welcoming back many of the singers and organists who sang or played with Martindale, as well as Church and local dignitaries. The Professional Choir of Hampstead Parish Church and an Orchestra of Period Instruments directed by our Director of Music Dr Geoffrey Webber will perform a varied program including music by Purcell, Bach and Britten – and those who sang with Martindale are invited to join towards the end. They will be a celebratory reception afterwards. Please contact Friends of the Music fom@hampsteadparishchurch.org.uk

We have now gained access to a considerable collection of tape recordings which are being transcribed at the moment. These will appear on this page as an announcement and and on the relevant web page as when they are completed. The first of these is a recital by the Oriana Trio, and the recordings can be found on the Barbara Sidwell concerts and recordings page of the website. There is also a very fine recording of the Stanford evening service in G by Hampstead Parish Chuch Choir from 1975 to be found on their page. Also new on this page is a recording of three treble solo pieces sung by Sebastian Forbes with Martin's organ accompaniment recorded in 1955.
A complete recording of the service of nine lessons and carols from 1972 is featured on the Church Choir page plus a very fine performance of the Christmas Oratorio by the Hampstead Choral Society from the same year. Both have been edited to CD.
During the past two years we have lost a number of friends and ex-choristers. Some of these are remembered with brief tributes and obituaries which can be found in the links section of the website.
We are also proud to announce that an edited edition of Martindale Sidwell's Festal Jubilate in C minor can now be downloaded from the MS compostions page.
Two more archive recordings have been added to the list of available CDs. These are the services of nine lessons an carols from 1980 and 1981. The recordings are made available courtesy of Chis N Miller. Our thanks to him for the hard work in transcribing and editing these.
A recent Choral Evensong on Radio 3 broadcast from Bath Abbey featured one of Martindale Sidwell's psalm chants. The chant, numbered 358 in the hand written chants in the old HPCC chant book, was originally written for Psalm 23 and sung at Martin's mother's funeral.

it is used for Psalm 119, verses 97-104 and Gloria.