Justadad Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Following on from GP's thread about playing to the gallery, I thought I'd ask for opinions about 'crowd pleasers'. By this I mean pieces of legitimate organ music that an uninitiated crowd might be likely to get into even if they haven't heard them before*. Pieces like Vierne's Carillion de Westminster, Mushel's toccata or the Lanquetuit toccata that has been discussed here recently. I'm especially interested to hear of lesser known music that you have found has gone down well whenever you have played it. Best wishes J *So I'm excluding (for the purposes of this thread) transcriptions like Thunderbirds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rcamp Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Following on from GP's thread about playing to the gallery, I thought I'd ask for opinions about 'crowd pleasers'. By this I mean pieces of legitimate organ music that an uninitiated crowd might be likely to get into even if they haven't heard them before*. Pieces like Vierne's Carillion de Westminster, Mushel's toccata or the Lanquetuit toccata that has been discussed here recently. I'm especially interested to hear of lesser known music that you have found has gone down well whenever you have played it. Best wishes J *So I'm excluding (for the purposes of this thread) transcriptions like Thunderbirds. I find most Whitlock always puts a smile on peoples faces! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vox Humana Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 This could be a very long thread! Of course there are all those popular toccatas: The Widor The Dubious The Jigout BWV 565 Not to mention other old warhorses: Alain: Litanies Karg-Elert: Nun danket (the "fireworks" voluntary, as one priest recently described it to me after all the upward rushes) Yon: Toccatina Bovet: Salamanca (or his Hamburger Totentanz) Loads of others of course, but I'm too tired to think. 20th-Century Organ Music from Russia nd Eastern Europe (Peters) contains a toccata by Sergej Slonimsky that is bitonal but immense fun. It sounds best on a big organ with incisive tone and prompt action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Harvey Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 I find most Whitlock always puts a smile on peoples faces! It can be nice but an unrelieved diet of Whitlock can pall the pallett. I quite often think Whitlock is for the organ what Roger Quilter is for the voice. While they are very charming and beautiful, they are relatively unknown outside their chosen medium and the style of early 20th century gentlemanly English lyricism is quite specialised: I sometimes feel their elegant lines are not always immediately attractive to some of the unintiated or those with simpler tastes. What about lollipops like Rawsthorne's Hornpipe humoresque? The Bach Jig fugue is always quite a crowd pleaser. The Bossi scherzo is also good - actually, most scherzos work well, maybe even the more chromatically tortured Vierne scherzos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Cox Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 I don't play the organ, or anything else for that matter, but I'm a regular recital-goer and avid collector of recordings. I'd like to think that some of the following pieces might be well received as part of a recital. I've certainly enjoyed them. In no particular order: Toccata on 'Now thank we all our god' by Egil Hovland Mozart Changes by Zsolt Gardonyi The piece Derek Bourgeois wrote for his wedding, but I can't remember what it's called. I'm sure you all know the one Elves by Bonnet Prelude and Fugue in G major BWV 541 An Elf in my Bonnet by Richard Francis A Song of Sunshine by Alfred Hollins Penguins Playtime by Nigel Odgen Alles was du bist by Billy Nalle etc etc. I could go on far too long. Dr Alan Spedding has been playing some pieces by Davide Da Bergamo (apologies if spelt incorrectly) in his recitals and these have been well received and great fun. Hope there's something useful here. Best Wishes PF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Lane Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 Trumpet Tune in D by David Johnson Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJJ Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 The piece Derek Bourgeois wrote for his wedding, but I can't remember what it's called. I'm sure you all know the one Aaaaaaagh! - Serenade? - the piece drives me totally up the wall! AJJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbarber49 Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 Sortie (from the Suite in Blue) by Johannes Matthias Michel goes down well (in one of the Jazz Inspirations books). Stephen Barber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dulciana Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 Don't forget Lefébure-Wély. It is "legitimate" organ music, and does tend to please the crowds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest drd Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 There's rather a splendid Wedding March by Dr Spedding which my brother in law played in a recital recently - I hadn't heard it before, but now I find I must try to get hold of a copy! Otherwise, perhaps Romance sans paroles - Bonnet. Wesley - Choral Song and Fugue Hollins - Trumpet Tune Second mvt. of 3e Symphonie - Sibelius (transcr.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stanley Monkhouse Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 T A Volckmar 1686-1768 - Sonata V in G. Rather a wheeze. Recorded by Martin Rost at Marienkirche, Stralsund. Hollins Grand Choeur - both of them, G minor and C major. Lovely, tuneful, substantial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazman Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 Wesley - Choral Song and Fugue Have an easy life, and forget the fugue!! What about Lindberg's Gammal fabodpsalm fran Danlarna - one of the loveliest "folksy" tunes ever written? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Newnham Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 Wesley - Choral Song and Fugue Hi But to play that as the composer intended, you really need a GG-compass organ. I'll probably play the Choral Song on our chamber organ next March when we are due a visit from the Bradford Organists' assoc. Every Blessing Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Clark Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 Hollins - Trumpet Tune Or his Trumpet Minuet? Also Finlandia seems to make 'em grin! Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 Two completely unoriginal suggestions - Rutter's Toccata in Seven and Lang's Tuba Tune. Maybe not the finest music technically but very listenable to. Of the voluntaries I have played since Easter, I got most comments of approval about Clarke's Trumpet Voluntary, which was slightly unexpected, so I'll schedule it in again sometime before the end of the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vox Humana Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 For the technically challenged, two dead easy ones that I'm sure would go down well (though I've not actually tried them) are Britten's quite haunting Prelude to "They Walk Alone" and Stanley Vann's A Tender Spiritual (the latter in a Mayhew volume called Service Music for Organ). The Britten is even easier than Flor Peeter's Aria and the Vann is about the same level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJJ Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 Karl Jenkins' 'Palladio' always had them wondering where on earth they have heard the piece before. 'Might even play it this morning in fact! AJJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 'Alleluia' and 'Marche Triomphale' from 'Douze Pieces' by Dubois usually go down well with my congregation and at a nearby church where I often play at evensong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Contrabombarde Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 Coronation March from Meyerbeer Le Prophete. And for fun, any transcription, especially if played as a duet (my own experience being Rossini's William Tell)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
churchmouse Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 in addition to Bovet's Hamburger Totentanz there is his fugue on the Pink Panther... short and sweet and best of all, usable on almost any instrument. Churchmouse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJJ Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 in addition to Bovet's Hamburger Totentanz there is his fugue on the Pink Panther... short and sweet and best of all, usable on almost any instrument. Churchmouse Who publishes this please? AJJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Farr Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 Following on from GP's thread about playing to the gallery, I thought I'd ask for opinions about 'crowd pleasers'. By this I mean pieces of legitimate organ music that an uninitiated crowd might be likely to get into even if they haven't heard them before*. Pieces like Vierne's Carillion de Westminster, Mushel's toccata or the Lanquetuit toccata that has been discussed here recently. I'm especially interested to hear of lesser known music that you have found has gone down well whenever you have played it. Best wishes J *So I'm excluding (for the purposes of this thread) transcriptions like Thunderbirds. Lemmens' Fanfare always goes down well with the punters. However, although I wouldn't say it's not well known, it doesn't seem to get much of an airing these days. Rgds MJF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
churchmouse Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 Who publishes this please? AJJ Hi Alistair, will have to dig it out and see - in midst of getting windows double-glazed so house is almost literally upside down! May take a little while Churchmouse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJJ Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 Hi Alistair,will have to dig it out and see - in midst of getting windows double-glazed so house is almost literally upside down! May take a little while Churchmouse Thanks - but don't worry now - 'nice email yesterday from Bovet - Editions Schola Cantorum. Cheers A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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