Monthly Archives: November 2020

Bradford Cathedral – Organ Recital, 25 November 2020

The Cathedral’s Assistant Director of Music, Graham Thorpe will play in the recital on Wednesday 25 November at 12.30pm. The recital is only available online – click here to access the event.

Graham’s programme:

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Toccata in F, BWV 540

Dieterich Buxtehude (1637-1707)
Praeludium in D, BuxWV 139

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Nun komm der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659

Charles-Marie Widor (1844 – 1937)
Movements from Bach’s Memento Aria

Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) arr. G. Thorpe (b. 1993)
Sicilienne from Pelléas et Mélisande, op. 80

Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937)
Toccata from Symphony 5, Op. 42

The recitals are free of charge and the cathedral rely on donations to keep them going (especially during these difficult times). Theirpolicy is “pay as you feel” and you can donate at the following here.

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York & District Organists’ Association event – 14 November 2020

This pre-recorded event will be available on the YDOA YouTube channel at the following link www.ydoa.co.uk/youtube at 7.30pm.

The event is a talk entitled Pensée d’automne (Contemplation of Autumn), in which JSW presents some of the organ music of the composer, Joseph Jongen, in a lecture recital. A wide range of organs can be heard, including the giant instrument in Wanamaker’s in Philadelphia and that of the Brussels Conservatory played by Jongen himself in 1931. 

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The Organs of York Minster 1236-2021

A new book by Nicholas Thistlethwaite marks the restoration of the Minster’s organ. The book documents the earliest reference to “a pair of organs” in 1236 and describes other instruments right through to the present day. It will be published in Spring 2021 at a retail price of £30. It can be pre-ordered now with a £5 saving by emailing HLFGlass@yorkminster.org. Early subscribers can also have their name inscribed in the book.

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RCO Academy classes, events and courses

News from the RCO –

The emphasis is on online provision for the time being, but we will gradually re-introduce physical events as circumstances allow. Here’s a brief up-date of what to look out for. a) Keyboard Musicianship classes. This series of five online sessions began last Monday offering three levels of tuition using Anne and Frederick’s ‘Graded Keyboard Musicianship’ books. Details at https://www.rco.org.uk/events/keyboard-musicianship (bookings are now closed).

Improvisation classes: Drew will lead four classes on Wednesday evenings from mid-January to mid-February for beginner and intermediate students. Look out for details on the website soon.

Winter Conference, 18-20 February, online: it is not too late to offer a workshop. You need to agree the topic with Drew and then film your presentation. Details about this have already been circulated.

RCO Organ Forum, 27 March, Royal Academy of Music: a day, postponed from October 2020, exploring the music of Vierne and Tournemire under the direction of Robert Sholl. This may go online if circumstances prevent a physical event.

Easter Course, 13-15 April, Oxford or online (not both!): for those preparing for or considering C, A and FRCO and a free repertoire study strand for non-exam candidates. Details on the RCO website soon.

International Organ Day on Saturday 24 April marks the culmination of a week of activity which will include a choral day, a schools’ day and a day of ‘organathons’. This is likely to be delivered entirely online.

The Organ Student Experience: we hope to run this is Oxford 27 July – 1 August.

Summer Course: we hope to run this in London, based as usual at St Giles Cripplegate, 2 – 7 August.  

Organ Playing Diploma exam updates: details of how the January session will be run can be found at https://www.rco.org.uk/examinations_resources.php, then scroll down to the ‘Examination Resources’ section to find a pdf entitled ‘RCO Diplomas Interim Regulations….’ These are up-dated as needed

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