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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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During the 1960s and 70s it was a fashionable thing among musical elites not to like Stainer’s music. My professor of music when I was a student used to relate the possibly bad taste old joke “what do you think of Stainer’s Crucifixion?” (I’ll leave you to figure out the punch line). There are some…
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Last year’s tutorial series on Psalms and Anthems, with Ralph Allwood and the Old Royal Naval College Chapel Choir, was so successful that it was decided to continue with a similar theme in 2023. Complementing roles of Director and Organist This year’s series emphasises the partnership between director and organist, showing how the roles complement…
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If you’re one of those who finds it annoying that Christmas seems to be done and dusted by the end of Advent, you’ll appreciate the January release of our recording of Mendelssohn’s “There shall a star”. Liturgically, the Christmas season runs from Christmas itself right through January and traditionally up to Candlemas in early February….
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I am sure at the beginning of 2022 we were all feeling justly happy for the future. Covid was finally a disease that could be managed thanks to our amazing vaccines and the level of take up. Life was surely back to normal to stay. Recording another organ tutorial series My first ‘event’ of the…
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While the world of YouTube and other online streaming platforms have an abundance of organ video material, it is seldom if ever presented in any detail on mainstream TV. So I was delighted to learn a few days ago that a video documentary made in 2021 by James Dawson will be shown on BBC 4…
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Yesterday I made a new friend in the organ world and I don’t understand why it took me so long to be aware of him. I am delighted to introduce you to Fugue State Films and its clearly passionate organ enthusiast owner Will Fraser. Continue reading to find out more about Will and Fugue State…
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