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…
Four St Cecilias
Today is St Cecilia’s Day – our patron saint – so here are four of my favourite St Cecilias. Where and when she was martyred is a matter of debate, but she is generally recognised as a noblewoman of Rome…
Playing Bach with Professor Peter Williams
Can you be in rapport with an eighteenth century German Lutheran? asked Professor Williams, at the beginning of his study day on Bach in Cambridge last Saturday. All playing is distortion of a kind he said – you are imposing…
My favourite Dave Walker cartoon
Cartoonist Dave Walker has a mission, he says, to explain the church to baffled outsiders. This cartoon is one of my favourites.
The lady with rhinestone-studded organ shoes – Diane Bish
Here’s another organist with that terrific combination of virtuosity and showmanship typical of the US of A. (We Brits do virtuosity, but our showmanship is a little more homespun.) Diane Bish is an international concert organist, recording and performing all…
My secret weapon – the Moor double keyboard piano
I have no excuse for feeling uncomfortable about manual hopping on the organ, with this piano to practice on. This splendid instrument belongs to a trust, but lives with me. The keyboards are essentially an 8′ and a 4′ working…
The art of concentration with Daniel Moult
Many of the RCO Academy classes are held in St Giles Cripplegate church, which boasts no fewer than three organs. This class was on a rainy London evening earlier this week, topic: concentration, tutor: the excellent Daniel Moult. Daniel was…
Psychology books for organists
The sports psychologists have been putting sportsmen and women through Mental Skills Training (MST) for years, and musicians have only just caught on to the fact that many playing and performance issues are mental rather than physical. So our tutors…
…and in high heels – Ethel Smith
Ginger Rogers famously did everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in high heels. Ethel Smith’s chosen instrument was the Hammond organ, and she played not only in high heels, but in a tight frock and often a hat. Her…
What the well-dressed lady organist is wearing this winter
The default dress for chaps playing the organ is, of course, suit and tie. Women have more options, and to cope with the bone-numbing cold of winter rehearsal and services, the temptation is to opt for layers of miscellaneous garments…
Plainchant at Ampleforth
I confess I had a very woolly understanding of plainchant – until last weekend that is, when the RCO gave us a day of Discovering Plainchant at Ampleforth Abbey, in the North Yorkshire hills (near where I grew up). Plainchant…
Useful manuals-only repertoire
I was pitched into the role of church organist with little preparation, and zero repertoire. I was told that it took at least a year, if not eighteen months, to develop a reliable pedal technique – and I am finding…
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