This page has additional info on my "Introducing the organ" cd.
introducing
the
organ
roger tilley

Track List
1.Te Deum Prelude-CHARPENTIER
2.Voluntary in E minor-John STANLEY
3.Adagio from organ concerto in A minor-J.S.BACH
4.Toccata-Theodore DUBOIS
5.Noel- Henry MULET
6.Fanfare-Kenneth LEIGHTON
7.Liebster Jesu,wir sind hier-J.S.BACH
8.Two pieces from Fundamentum Organisandi(1452)-Conrad PAUMANN
9.Organ Concerto no.10-George Frederick HAENDEL



CDFACE



JOHN STANLEY (1713 – 1786) was a blind organist. His music is typically Baroque, following the standard format of preludes and fugues, where short melodies are repeated and elaborated. Voluntaries were played while money was collected during church services.
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685 – 1750) not only wrote the vast range of works, for which he is so famous, but he also transcribed works of other composers to suit the organ. Indeed, Bach used both the organ and the orchestra regularly in church, so his organ compositions are frequently orchestral in style. Most organists agree that his chorale preludes, variations on church hymns, are his most profound keyboard works.
THEODORE DUBOIS was typical of nineteenth century French organists. The scale of the instruments in French churches was very grand, so music was composed to exploit this grandeur. The word toccata means “touch”, so such pieces were written to exercise dexterity. French organs also incorporated unusual sounds such as the voix celestes which were created by having two sets of pipes slightly out of tune with each other so as to make a wave oscillation in the resulting sound.
HENRY MULET also composed many grand pieces for the organ, but the beautiful harmony of his simple Noel sounds exquisite on the flute stops.
KENNETH LEIGHTON’s Fanfare, published in 1967 , is a well – constructed piece demonstrating lively syncopated rhythms with biting harmony. It is ideal for the reed (brass) stops on the organ, in this case the trompette and trombone, which are added to the principal tone group.
CONRAD PAUMANN (1410 – 1473) is the earliest composer for the organ. The mediaeval organ was actually a single loud mixture tone group, and stops cut out sounds rather than adding them. These two pieces are from Paumann’s treatise Fundamentum Organisandi published in 1452.
GEORGE FREDERICK HAENDEL published his organ concerti in 1740 as works to be performed during intervals in his oratorios. This must have made performances very lengthy, but it gave the composer a chance to perform himself and to show his great technical skill as an organist. The Concerto no. 10 in D minor has the typical three movements with a linking ad libitum before the finale.