Organ Music - opportunities coming up

[Martin Cooke]

My Rector has been in touch to say remind me that Feb 6th marks exactly the 70th anniversary of the Accession of HM The Queen. Any thoughts on appropriate organ music? There are lots, I suppose! I'm thinking of swatting up the Rinck Variations which are pretty accessible.

The recent RCO Sunday 6th March marks the 2nd Society of Women Organists' Woman Composer Sunday. Do people have favourite pieces in mind for this? I have several favourites:

Florence Price: Adoration; Emma Louise Ashford's Fanfare in G minor - this is quite exciting. It's available on IMSLP, if I remember correctly, as a manuals only piece, but I bought my three stave arrangement (by Richard Williams) on Sheet Music Plus and printed it off. It's quite Lemmens-y! I shall also find some June Nixon and Rosalie Bonighton, and I need to finish learning Judith Weir's Tree of Peace. It's a shame that Anna Lapwood's compilation volume of female composers' organ music isn't published yet. I am sure that will be good.

[Rowland Wateridge]

1 hour ago, Martin Cooke said:

My Rector has been in touch to say remind me that Feb 6th marks exactly the 70th anniversary of the Accession of HM The Queen. Any thoughts on appropriate organ music?

70 years, gosh!  I remember that day, while walking home from school, seeing shopkeepers draping their windows with black crepe material to mark the passing of George VI.  A different era then.

Along with something triumphant to mark the anniversary, might you include something contemplative?  Sir William Harris was the Royal organist ‘in residence’ at the time and had also taught piano to The Queen and Princess Margaret: one of the Short Pieces, the Prelude, perhaps?

[Adnosad]

Taking current announcements from the media I do not think there will be much junketing for this " forthcoming event "

If I were to select a fitting contribution it would be  Sonata on the 94th.

Amen.

[Martin Cooke]

On 12/01/2022 at 10:05, Martin Cooke said:

It's a shame that Anna Lapwood's compilation volume of female composers' organ music isn't published yet. I am sure that will be good.

This is now available to order from Stainer & Bell.

[SlowOrg]

On 14/03/2022 at 07:40, Martin Cooke said:

This is now available to order from Stainer & Bell.

I would be curious to know, what the members of this forum who decided to buy Gregoriana, think of it. Stephen Farr’s review in the latest issue of C&O gives quite an accurate account of the compilation IMHO. I received my copy last week (after quite a long wait) and I see a lot of positives, however, I must admit that I struggle a bit in deciding which of the pieces might be worth the time and effort to learn (for the most part, sight reading isn’t really an option :). Any thoughts?

[Martin Cooke]

On 12/08/2022 at 15:22, SlowOrg said:

I would be curious to know, what the members of this forum who decided to buy Gregoriana, think of it. Stephen Farr’s review in the latest issue of C&O gives quite an accurate account of the compilation IMHO. I received my copy last week (after quite a long wait) and I see a lot of positives, however, I must admit that I struggle a bit in deciding which of the pieces might be worth the time and effort to learn (for the most part, sight reading isn’t really an option :). Any thoughts?

We have all been slow to respond to this. I think you hit a nail on the head, and the recent review in Organists' Review, which is generally rather negative about the volume, picks up on it too... are the individual pieces worth investing in? For me, in all honesty, a number of them don't seem to be. Several are really quite tricky and though I know that if I heard more of them in the flesh, I might feel spurred on, I shall await that day. Actually, I have heard Anna Lapwood play Star Fantasy and I did come home and have another look at it, but then the time/worthwhile factor kicked in and I have left it for now. Meanwhile, I shall 'work up' one or two of the straightforward and more useable/rewarding pieces as time allows. I can see myself including Melissa Dunphy's Rorate Caeli during Advent. This and Amy Summers' O Lux Beata Trinitas are amongst the most approachable items in the volume for both performer and listener, and there are others such as Ghislaine Reece-Trapp's In Paradisum  and Grace-Evangeline Mason's piece for Candlemas that await a more spacious age and look as though they will repay more effort. 

Star Fantasy and In Paradisum are included in this online recital by Anna Lapwood - worth a listen. And, for the nonce, here is a new carol by GR-T from the RSCM website. And... this is worth a listen, too! It's her piece based on 'Sumer is a-comin in'.