Organ Music and Rivers

[Alexander Binns]

I am doing a concert next term and am looking for organ music with links to rivers, or in particular the River Thames.

 

Other than a transcription of the water music or Vierne Sur le Rhin does anybody have any ideas?

 

Many thanks!

[GrossGeigen]

Not really close to Old Father Thames, but BWV 653 or "Scenes from the Wye" by Frederic Wood??

 

Good luck.

[sprondel]

BWV 685 (Jordan);

Parrys »Wanderer« (well, that was a yacht, but perhaps wet enough).

 

Best

Friedrich

[GrossGeigen]

Severn Suite - Elgar. There's a recent new edition by Jeremy Cull.

[David Drinkell]

Many people will know Fela Sowande's "Joshua fit de battle ob Jericho". I have a feeling he also composed a "Deep River" for organ.

 

There are sections about various rivers in Ernest Austin's "The Pilgrim's Progress", which you can find on IMSLP.

 

"Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam" and "An Wasserflüssen Babylon" by lots of composers, especially Bach.

 

"Elizabethan Serenade" (aka "Where the gentle Avon flows") - Ronald Binge (there's an organ arrangement by W.S. Lloyd Webber).

 

"Scenes on the Wye" by F.H. Wood.

 

Two Aquarelles (To be sung of a summer night on the river) - Delius, arr. Murray

 

Chelsea Fayre - Reginald Goss Custard (in the "Purple Album", if you can lay your hands on one, as well as separately).

 

Psalm Prelude, Set 2, No.1 - Howells ("Out of the deep")

 

Prelude on "Babylon's Streams" - J.V. Peters

 

"Shenandoah" - Tambling (from "Songs from the Islands" published by Mayhew, although I can't figure what Shenandoah has to do with it).

 

Fuga Vulgaris (from "Toot Suite") P.D.Q Bach (fugue on the Volga Boatmen - a duet: it can be played by one player, but you need a friend to do the "Toot")

 

You mention Vierne's "Sur le Rhin" (thanks - it looks good and I didn't know about it!), but I see the next piece in the set is "Carillon de Westminster"!

[timothyguntrip]

There's a great transcription of Smetana's 'Vltava' too.

 

Timothy Guntrip

[sjf1967]

There's a piece called Underground Stream in one of the Albright Organ Books - Vol 2 I think.

[Colin Pykett]

Not quite rivers, but aqueous nonetheless:

 

Summer Night on the Water (Delius)

On the Lake (Heinrich Hofmann)

Fountain Springs (Enrique Granados)

The Sweet Rivelet (Francis Jackson)

 

Some are arrangements - I can give you details if interested.

 

CEP

[David Drinkell]

The Delius is one of the Two Aquarelles, arranged by Gregory Murray (Delius would probably have been furious at the idea!). It sounds very well, but demands thumbing and is thus tricky to play.

[headcase]

Noel Rawsthorne's Hornpipe Humoresque - vaguely nautical, anyway. Always goes down well, with lots of well-loved themes given some pleasingly revolting treatment.

[Colin Pykett]

The Delius is one of the Two Aquarelles, arranged by Gregory Murray (Delius would probably have been furious at the idea!). It sounds very well, but demands thumbing and is thus tricky to play.

 

I'm wondering whether we're talking about the same thing. My arrangement (of one of them) is indeed by Murray but it's pretty straightforward and with no thumbing indicated, though I can see where it would heighten the effect at certain points. I solo various bits here and there on a separate manual though - but not by thumbing.

 

I play it on my website (the home page, near the bottom) but won't give a link here as it's rendered on a pipeless instrument I'm afraid! (The reason for mentioning this is not so much to advertise my approximation to the composer's intentions as to help establish whether we are indeed talking of the same piece).

 

CEP

[iy45]

The Delius is one of the Two Aquarelles, arranged by Gregory Murray (Delius would probably have been furious at the idea!). It sounds very well, but demands thumbing and is thus tricky to play.

 

Having heard Mr Binns play (he's the Organ Scholar at Southwark Cathedral), I can say with confidence that it would have to be very tricky indeed to cause him any problems!

 

Ian