Pipedreams with Michael Barone
Pipedreams, website of the US public radio show, is well worth a visit, even if we can only listen to the archives, not the live programmes, outside of the USA. Their archives contain hundreds of hours of online…
Marie-Claire Alain – Maitresse de l’orgue
The death has just been announced of Marie-Claire Alain at the age of 86. She came from a distinguished musical family, whose friends, associates and teachers included just about everyone of musical importance in France at the time. Her brother,…
Joyce Jones – queen of the pedals
Who wouldn’t like to play the pedals like Joyce Jones? I’ve just ordered her book, Pedal Mastery For Organ from Amazon and I can’t wait. The page previews show exercises ranging from elementary to quite terrifying. Joyce Jones is renowned…
Useful links
No self-respecting website is complete without a page of useful links, so here’s mine. If you have any suggestions to add to the listings let me know!
Dame Gillian Weir
Do we like pictures of organists in gorgeous frocks and pretty shoes gracing the organ steps? Of course we do – I know Dame Gillian Weir has resisted, rightly, being styled as a lady organist, but the organ world desperately…
Sight-reading resources
Sight-reading practice requires an endless supply of fresh pieces – because of course, it’s no longer sight-reading after the first play-through. The ABRSM books of graded sight-reading tests† are useful (and they also include graded transposition tests) but you work…
Staying put on the organ bench
Here’s my solution to staying put on the organ bench. OK, so I need to develop the posture and muscle tone to perch and swivel with nonchalance, but I’m still finding my feet, and need the trainer wheels at the…
Why Prelude+Fugue?
The evolution of a musical form is, like biological evolution, seldom linear. But Philip Norman teased out a straight line of sorts, in his explanation of the development of the prelude/toccata/whatever + fugue format, on Saturday at Bloomsbury Central Baptist…
Recent Comments