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In his introduction to this tutorial on Haydn’s famous chorus “The heavens are telling” from his oratorio “The Creation”, Ralph Allwood explains the piece’s origins. Haydn visited London and was very impressed with the tradition of choirs singing oratorios, in particular Handel’s works. He decided that he’d like to write such a work too. Someone…
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(*Note! Picture of Sonus 60 Organ above is a NOT the actual used instrument described below but shown for reference.) Back in spring 2017 a customer based in Guernsey purchased a Viscount Sonus 60 Organ for home practice. It required a personal delivery service as the instrument was to go into an upstairs room….
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Its that time of year again and the Battle of the Organs is back on at Selby Abbey. The event takes place on Friday 1st September 2023 at 7pm. We’ll see the return of internationally renowned organists Martin Baker and John Scott Whiteley, who will be taking turns on the Abbey’s magnificent Hill pipe organ,…
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I have completely forgotten how I first came to be involved with the various Oundle initiatives to provide organ teaching to youngsters. I do know it was at least 30 years ago when the programme was under the direction of my old friend James Parsons. James was Director of Music at Oundle School and the…
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We recently returned to Peterhouse Cambridge to move our Envoy 35-F instrument from the college chapel to its new home in the old Brewhouse where it becomes a permanent addition to practice resources for the College. For the short trip the organ had to be taken across busy Trumpington Street as the new home is…
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St Mary’s Church in Banbury was the host for this event organised by Director of Music Dylan McCaig, who also teaches at the local Warriner School. Dylan is clearly a great ambassador for the organ and hopefully this will be the first of many such organ days in years to come acting to engage local…
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Louis Vierne held the post of titulaire organist at Notre Dame in Paris for a large part of his life, finally dying at the organ bench there during a concert. Blind from birth, he is best known for his organ music, although there are a small number of songs and choral works in his compositional…
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Just before the pandemic Stephen Smith suggested an evening lock in to enjoy the pipe organ at Southwark Cathedral. Three years later we finally got a date in the diary. On a lovely sunny Monday in May, Richard Goodall and I took the train into Marylebone to attend evensong before the doors were closed so…
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Elgar’s epic anthem, “Give unto the Lord”, is the third release in this year’s series of choir and organ tutorials from Ralph Allwood and the choir of the Old Royal Naval College chapel in Greenwich. In an engaging lesson lasting nearly forty minutes, Ralph and Jonathan Eyre discuss how to perform and accompany this monumental…
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Every so often we get to work in exceptional buildings and extraordinary circumstances. The Jesuit Chapel at Stonyhurst College managed to combine both these attributes in a single commission. On entering the chapel at Stonyhurst College you would be forgiven for thinking it was the work of Augustus Pugin, but it is actually that of…
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Our second release in this series of Choir and Organ Tutorials, recorded at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, is the Gloria from Schubert’s Mass in G. We’re releasing it during Eastertide, as it’s such a joyful, celebratory piece, and it suits the season of resurrection. The Gloria begins “Gloria in Excelsis Deo!”, “Glory…
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All of us in the organ world are no doubt tired of the age old joke, Question: ‘Whats the difference between and organist and a terrorist’? Answer: ‘You can negotiate with a terrorist’ It no doubt stems from the probably correct recognition that if the congregation want to go in one direction and the organist…
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