Judith Bingham’s contribution to the solo organ repertoire spans some forty years, and organ writing has been a constant feature of Bingham’s compositional activity. This survey from Stephen Farr examines this important oeuvre from several performance related perspectives.

Richard Moore provides a catalogue of Peter Racine Fricker’s organ works, and discusses why he fell out of favour in the 1970s, in spite of writing prolifically until his death in 1990.

Ralph Downes was strongly influenced by his experience at the London Oratory and time spent in Holland and France, when it came to designing the revolutionary Royal Festival Hall organ. Jonathan Ambrosino suggests that the seven years Downes spent in the United States could also have influenced his ideas – in particular his friendship with G Donald Harrison of Aeolian-Skinner.

Christopher Anderson discusses perceptions of Max Reger as an organist rather than composer, and the layers of assumptions which grew around the composer during his lifetime as to his status as organ virtuoso.

Tom Wilkinson considers the surviving early keyboard works of J S Bach, and suggests that his codification of tonal harmony, and his ability to employ it at the service of structure, began back in his teenage years.

A dairy door in a 17th-century house in Wetheringsett, Suffolk, and a piece of decaying timber found behind old pews and lumber in the churchyard shed at Wingfield, Suffolk, have transformed our knowledge and understanding of the pre-Reformation English organ.

This article and free download includes detailed descriptions and specifications of the Wetheringsett and Wingfield Organs, along with a look at the culture of the English church before the Reformation, including the use of the organ and its music within the liturgy.

Composers of the French organ school of the Classical period were meticulous in writing out types of registration. Alexei Panov discusses evidence for the exact composition of Grand Jeu and Plein Jeu registrations, in the light of writings of the time.

Paul Spicer looks at Britten’s music that is performable in church, and suggests that choir directors have a treasure trove of wide-ranging music, from a great musical mind, which needs to be explored beyond the familiar.

The RCO’s Library contains many examples of printed music from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and a series of digitised editions has been launched to highlight this area of the collection, in order to bring to light often rare material that is not readily available in either printed or electronic formats. This includes the Six Cornet Pieces by the renowned Dr Charles Burney (1726–1814).