Performing Purcell’s Voluntary for Double Organ

The most substantial of Purcell’s organ works, the Voluntary for Double Organ has been described as ‘an exuberant product of the English Baroque’.  This paper by Desmond Hunter reviews aspects of the notation and considers several issues concerning the work’s performance, set against the background of a more general discussion of the genre.

Masterclass with Bine Bryndorf on Bruhns and Buxtehude

The thirty-first IOA London Organ Day was held on 4th March, under the direction of Tom Bell, featuring the stylus fantasticus of the early Baroque. The venue was the Dutch Church, in the City of London, with its Flentrop organ, perfect for this repertoire. The morning session included a masterclass on with Bine Bryndorf, who gave valuable practical insights into the performance of Bruhns and Buxtehude.

Searching fantasy: Froberger’s fantasias and ricercars four centuries on

Given Johann Jacob Froberger’s significance in the written history of music, it is surprising how little of his music is regularly played or known today. The 400th anniversary of Froberger’s birth presented an ideal opportunity for Terence Charlston to reassess current trends and to enhance the diversity and presence of Froberger’s music within our performance culture.

The pin-up of the organ world

What pipe organ would you expect to see on the wall of an organ scholar’s bedroom? The 1735 Christian Muller instrument of the St Bavokerk, Haarlem, of course, in all its beauty and grandeur. The RCO took twelve lucky organists on a Masterclass to play it, under the tutelage of Reitze Smits.