Here’s a nice exchange on Twitter. Are organists (particularly church organists) artists, servants of the music, or simply servants of the people? Discuss, as they say in exams.
To have one organ at your school would seem like luxury – to have two is near self-indulgence, especially when they are two such good examples of their kind. Roger Carter, who teaches at Haberdashers Aske’s School for Boys, in…
I have been delighted at the global correspondence that has hit my inbox and Twitter feed since my first post on my great-grand-uncle, composer and organist Carl Hemann. At least two people have made the effort to tell me about…
Adrian Brockless recently contacted me to say he was trying to get this little piece of his father’s better known. Much of Brian Brockless’ organ music is pretty challenging, but the Toccatina upon Tallis’ 9th tune is straightforward both to…
Those were the days! – when a Lady Organist had a Village Organ Blower at her command, who addressed her as Marm. From Punch and dating from around 1910 (judging by the costume, and obsequiousness). My favourite…
Calgary organists promise howling pipes and decomposing musicians from 10pm on 31st October at Knox United Church, as part of Calgary Organ Festival, coming up at the end of this month. Entry to this event is by donation to the…
Organists roll their eyes and sigh when asked for “The Widor Toccata” at weddings – it’s become a modern cliché, and most of us know that it all stems from the performance by Francis Jackson at the wedding of Prince…
After the usual stalwarts of coffee mornings, bazaars, quiz nights and raffles, what other options are there for parish fund raising, when the organ, inevitably, needs expensive attention? The historic 1914 Lewis & Co organ at St Andrew’s, Leytonstone, in…
Henry Fairs is Head of Organ Studies at Birmingham Conservatoire and Organist to the University of Birmingham, UK, and his musical career began as a chorister at Leominster Priory. After graduating he studied in France and Germany, and was a…
Dr Carol Williams was British born, in a musical Welsh family, and was giving recitals by the time she was eight. She studied at the Royal Academy of Music, then with Daniel Roth at St Sulpice, Paris, before moving to…
The Southbank Centre recently tweeted a picture of the next step in the rebuild of the Royal Festival Hall organ. The last time I saw this sort of big plumbing was on a trip round the engine room of…
We’ve had our student recital, our certificates, said thank you to our teachers, and are heading back home to our solitary organ benches. It’s been an intense few days, and some of us were definitely losing the edge by yesterday…
The RCO sees improvisation as an Essential Skill for organists, so we’ve had these daunting/inspirational workshops on improvisation all through the course from some of the best in the business. Some students have decided to try and keep the momentum…
Q. How many altos does it take to change a lightbulb? A. One, and nine others to say ‘But it’s too high for me’ Q. How many sopranos does it take to change a light bulb? A. One,…
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