Reske, Willy

Willy Reske (1897-1991) was a composer who lived in New York City. He apparently knew fellow LDS Church member Claude C. Cornwall, who lived in Hoboken, New Jersey from 1926-1933 while working as the recreation director aboard the S.S. Leviathan, one of the world�s great passenger liners.

Willy Reske (1897-1991), the arranger of this traditional French carol, was a German-born convert to the church who emigrated from K�nigsberg to New York City in 1926. He was a professional organist, playing for 33 years for St. Paul�s Evangelical Lutheran Church, while also serving in leadership positions in the Manhattan/Brooklyn branches/wards. He is the composer of two hymns in our current hymnal (�Thy Servants Are Prepared� and �God�s Daily Care�) as well as hundreds of other compositions that have been used in the Church � he was, for instance, the composer of the prelude/postlude music used in connection with the Sacrament Gem in Sunday School, composing new music for that purpose month after month, year after year.

From: Advent 2009: �We Must Adore Thee,� Willy Reske (arranger)

Ardis E. Parshall, Keepapitchinin, 19 November 2009