Colin Tilney demonstrated mastery across multiple early keyboard instruments through recordings that encompassed a wide array of repertoire. One of the initial wave of performers who introduced historically informed practices to broad audiences, he maintained an energetic schedule well into advanced age.
Tilney came into the world in London on October 31, 1933. After completing studies in music and languages at Cambridge, he pursued harpsichord instruction from several teachers, Gustav Leonhardt among them. Performances and recordings began in the early 1960s, at first concentrated within ensembles specializing in English music, and his initial American appearance occurred in 1971. Teaching appointments at the University of Toronto and the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto started in 1979; during those years he prepared editions of select Baroque collections, among them The Art of the Unmeasured Prelude issued in 1991. The chamber ensemble Les Coucous Bénévoles was established by Tilney in 1995, and one of his earliest recorded contributions appeared on Columbia Records’ release of Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress under the composer’s baton.
Repertoire extended from the sixteenth century through the late eighteenth, performed on the fortepiano, virginal, and continuo organ in addition to the harpsichord that remained his central instrument. Tilney regularly paired specific instruments with historically suitable works. Acclaim greeted his recording of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, and he also documented the complete keyboard output of Matthew Locke. The 1996 album Scarlatti High and Low stands as a representative example, presenting Domenico Scarlatti harpsichord sonatas drawn from the extremes of the instrument’s compass. In these and other projects Tilney combined engaging presentation of uncommon repertoire with deep knowledge of keyboard-instrument evolution. Contemporary music likewise held his interest, prompting harpsichord commissions directed to assorted Canadian composers as well as the British serialist Elisabeth Lutyens.
Relocation to Victoria, British Columbia, took place in 2002, where Tilney served as adjunct professor of harpsichord performance at the University of Victoria and as resident harpsichordist for the Victoria Symphony. Recording continued steadily for labels including Doremi, Music & Arts, and Dorian, with output remaining steady as he neared his tenth decade; the album Two Voices: The Music of Girolamo Frescobaldi was captured for the Marquis label in 2022. Released the following year, the project brought his digital catalog to roughly eighty-five titles, supplemented by earlier LP-era releases. Tilney died in Victoria one year later at the age of 91.
