Robert Janes

Robert Janes (1806–1866) was organist of Ely Cathedral from 1830 until his death aged 59 in 1866.

He attended Dulwich College where he was a chorister, then at the age of 14 he was articled to the renowned choir trainer and organist of Norwich Cathedral Zechariah Buck, becoming his first pupil.

Shortly after his appointment to Ely, he oversaw the replacement of the old greatly deficient organ with a new one by Elliot & Hill.

The choral service at Ely was in a sorry state on his arrival, with no rehearsals and poor attendance by the choir. Janes' efforts to raise the standards were met with open hostility by the clerical body; his harmonised inflections were declared to be an unpardonable protraction of the length of the service, and he was forced to abandon his design of harmonizing the rest of the Preces and Versicles. His General Confession, however, remained in daily use for some time and was published in 1864 and is known as the "Ely Confession".

He had an amateur interest in printing and was the first to set pointed Anglican chant in print.

Works