Your Recommendations for Music for Haverhill Organ

[BarryG]

Having just ordered the Haverhill OIC sample set, I would appreciate your recommendations on the specific pieces/composers you think best suited to this organ, and for English organs in general. I know it's an open-ended question, but just two or three off the top of your head(s) would send me in the right directions for my own exploration.

Thanks in advance.

Barry Gerken

[jocr]

Barry,

Even though these seldom involve pedal and often excerpt short passages from larger works, I found C.H. Trevor's Old English Organ Music volumes a good place to start:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books&field-author=C.%20H.%20Trevor

http://www.virtuallybaroque.com/list5gal.htm

A certain leeway in registrations is suggested for smaller organs, and there are some rather strange ideas involving the newly discovered Swell engine, and of course I added my own touches.

James Pressler

[dhm]

Barry,

It's perfect for Howells and anything else from the early- to mid-20th century "English Cathedral" school.

Enjoy!

Douglas.

[imcg110]

Alfred Hollins
Edward Elgar
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Gerald Finzi
John Ireland
Noel Rawsthorne
Eric Coates or Reginald King for a bit of light relief

Enough to get you started??

[Charles Braund]

In addition to the above names mentioned, there are many other British composers whose works will be eminently suitable. However, just because it's an English organ doesn't limit it to British composers and you should find that most of the french works by Vierne, Widor, Guilmant, Gigout etc. will work very well along with the romantic German school that includes Reger and Rheinberger etc.

The works of Bach and Buxtehude etc. will be playable but will have to be approached from the "English" way of rendering and registering them which is somewhat different from the way that they were meant to be performed. Not all pieces will come off successfully and one or two will sound quite odd.

[imcg110]

Also :
William Walton
Marches of Scotson Clark.

They are many other composers you CAN play on it, but perhaps fewer that you would WANT to! That is the whole point of Hauptwerk after all.

Binns voicing scheme favours the English Romantic repertoire, but has quite a different makeup from Willis/Harrison etc with a more old style European Diapason chorus development, so will handle older music better than many English organs with a more orchestral leaning - The Handel organ concertos are good on it. If you can find the Vol XII of the A Leduc Bach oeuvres arranged by Marcel Dupre, the sinfonias sound great too. Also the Guilmant Grand Choeur in D (alla Handel) works very well.

Anything with Tuba or Trumpet in title will be good too - CS Lang, Hollins minuet, Norman Cocker, John Stanley.

If you want something very easy that sounds more complex than it really is - try the Gordon Young Prelude in a Classic Style.

[davidgarner16]

Others have already suggested suitable pieces but two of my personal favourites that would suit this organ are:

- Frank Bridge: Adagio in E (from 3 pieces for organ)

- Kenneth Leighton: Fanfare

In fact, both of these men were fine composers and I'm sure you'd enjoy any piece they wrote. If you fancy a technical challenge, Leighton's Hymn Preludes are good fun - the one on "Helmsley" is a blast. I can't play it tho (yet ...)

David.

P.S. Nearly forgot - get hold of the "Little Organ Book in memory of Hubert Parry" for more romantic English pieces that would be appropriate on this organ. The first piece in the volume - written by Parry himself - is really lovely.

[David Butcher]

Hello Barry,

Firstly, thanks for the order.

You've had some excellent suggestions and, as Charles suggests, you don't need to be limited to English composers here. Having said that, I'll give you two more composers from these shores ... Charles Stanford and Percy Whitlock.
I'm a great fan of Whitlock's music and this book is a good starting point (arguably he's at his best in shorter pieces) ...
http://www.musicroom.com/se/ID_No/06432 ... ?kbid=1070

Whitlock uses the Tuba a lot and although there isn't one on the Haverhill organ, this will be addressed in the extended set. Meanwhile, it gives a good excuse to give the Trumpet en Chamade an outing !

I will try to add some more demos over the next few weeks.

David

[gingercat]

If you want something very easy that sounds more complex than it really is - try the Gordon Young Prelude in a Classic Style.

Sounds like the kind of piece I like - I'll have to give it a try ;)

[imcg110]

I saw it for sale on the Royal School of Church Music web shop last night whilst looking for something else!!

[BarryG]

This continues to be the most helpful and supportive of forums!

Indeed these suggestions open another world of music that I've yet to explore, but will begin doing so immediately. Perhaps my long-suffering and patient spouse will hear some familiar pieces (British parents, and herself somewhat "Brit" at heart). (Perhaps she will continue to be uncritical of my sample set purchases!)

Thanks to all (and to any who would care to add to these).

Barry Gerken

[gingercat]

(Perhaps she will continue to be uncritical of my sample set purchases!)

I find it much easier not to mention the words "buy" or "purchase" - just "I've got a new organ"... Makes life much easier ;)

(I'll just add that I do purchase my sample sets incase anyone misinterprets the above!)

[kaspencer]

Barry,

One thing about the Haverhill organ that you'll instantly become aware of is the extremely bright (and very powerful) Trompette en Chamade stop.

That will get you playing two well-known short pieces that suit that stop perfectly, namely: Trumpet Tune (Henry Purcell), and Trumpet Voluntary (Jeremiah Clarke).

I hope that these suggestions aren't just too obvious! But I know you'll love the sample set anyway.

Regards

Ken.