Thierry Escaich’s compositional work is recognised the world over, and in acknowledgement of this he was elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts of the Institut de France in 2013. He is the only composer of international stature today whose output contains a substantial place for the organ.

David Maw analyses Escaich’s writing for the organ in detail, with examples, in this article which originally appeared in the RCO Journal for 2017. Maw discusses Escaich’s creation of genres of writing of his own invention, along with the traditional concerto form; his use of improvisation and historical allusion; and his assimilation of an unusually wide range of musical material – from folksongs to note-rows, from triads to seemingly atonal chords – without any compromise to the compositional voice.

Dr Francis Jackson’s work at York Minster, coupled with his activities as a world famous recitalist, made it impossible for him to devote regular hours to composition. That he has composed such a large body of work in a variety of different genres is testimony to his talent as a composer and his devotion to the craft.

In this article originally appearing in the RCO Journal of 2017, Philip Moore analyses Jackson’s compositional techniques, his approach to word-setting, and gives some suggestions on the interpretation and registration of Jackson’s choral and liturgical works.

How did Olivier Messiaen combine the creative life with the conventions and strictures of his role as organist? And how can that help us understand and perform his music? In this year’s RCO Organ Forum at the Royal Academy of Music, Artistic Director Robert Sholl brought together academic and performance experts to answer these questions, in a celebration of Messiaen’s work held in this, the twenty-fifth anniversary of the composers’ death.

With the formal winding up of the Percy Whitlock Trust in 2017 due to the lapsing of copyright, Robert Gower gives a summary of the aims and achievements of the Trust during its existence, and discusses Whitlock’s musical legacy.

Christopher Kent examines the life and times of William Sterndale Bennett: his contribution as organist, composer and conductor to nineteenth century musical life, and his contribution to the growing nineteenth-century appreciation of J S Bach.

Philip Moore’s new Requiem will be given its world premiere on Friday 18 November 2016 at 2pm at St Paul’s Church, Knightsbridge in a concert to be given by the BBC Singers, conducted by David Hill. The concert will also be broadcast on BBC Radio 3.
Dedicated to the memory of his Mother and Father, Philip Moore’s Requiem is written for soprano solo, mixed voices and organ.

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.

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.