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.

On location in Germany, UK Reger expert Prof. Graham Barber introduces a selection of Reger’s organ works and discusses their context and performance.

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.

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.

This video, written and presented by Andrew Cantrill, is an introduction to the pipe organ for those less familiar with the instrument.  Andrew demonstrates the sounds of the organ, how the instrument is constructed, and how it is played.  You can learn more by downloading the reading list.

Gerdi Troskie gives an overview of manageable repertoire for the beginner, including music for manuals only as well as manuals and pedals.

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).

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: this includes the Six Cornet Pieces by the renowned Dr Charles Burney (1726–1814).