websites for organ geeks
For all you organ geeks out there (you know who you are) here’s a starter list of appropriate web links: though perhaps I should say aspiring organ geeks, because true geeks will have found these sites and more already…
apps for organists
Many of the music apps for iPad, iPhone and the like are of the Christmas cracker variety – fun for a few minutes but not of any lasting use. However here are some that have stood the test of time…
Marjorie Meinert
Thank you Kayla, for pointing me towards a theater organ site that’s given me another US organist to consider – Marjorie Meinert. A big-timer on US radio and TV in the 40s and 50s, at the height of her career…
Barbara Dennerlein – hot stuff on the Hammond B-3
I am no expert on jazz, and and couldn’t for the life of me tell post-bop from hard bop, but I have huge admiration for what Barbara Dennerlein has done for the organ. For starters, Barbara has revived the legendary…
A 50s revival – the London Royal Festival Hall organ
Dubbed the Marmite organ (you either love it or loathe it), the 1950s Royal Festival Hall Harrison & Harrison panorama organ has always been controversial. It’s two thirds through renovation, following a major refurbishment of the Hall itself, including a…
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…
Recent Comments