New Oxford Organ Method

2

The New Oxford

Organ Method

Anne Marsden Thomas

and Frederick Stocken

The New Oxford

Organ Method

Anne Marsden Thomas

and Frederick Stocken

for online perusal only

A

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ISBN 978–0–19–351832–2

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Contents

Foreword

Introduction

Acknowledgements

Getting started

Introducing the instrument

Practice strategies

vi

vii

ix

x

xii

xv


Part 1 Ordinary touch with associated style and technique

1 Air (Henry Purcell) 1

Foundation pitch • Ordinary touch • Articulation • Five-finger hand shape •

Position fingering • Open hand shape • Coordinating hands in ordinary touch

2 Larghetto (Charles Wesley) 12

The four tonal families • Adding higher pitches • Blending tonal families • Relaxed

wrists • Changing manuals with relaxed wrists • Closing and opening the Swell •

Exposing sustained notes

3 Verset (Giovanni Battista Martini) 23

Mutation stops • The pedalboard • Playing with the toe • Home position of the feet

• Finding pedals by counting from home position • Three middle fingers covering

adjacent notes • Part-playing • Trills

4 Quand Jésus naquit à Noël (Jean-Jacques Beauvarlet-Charpentier) 37

Plein jeu registration • Mobile knees • Independent movement between left hand

and feet • Moving the toe between white and black notes • Each foot preparing

ahead • Trills in French Baroque music • Silence d’articulation • Appoggiaturas

5 Chorale Variation on ‘Freu dich sehr, o meine Seele’ (Johann Pachelbel) 49

Principal chorus • Singing touch with one finger • Coordinated releases in

contrapuntal music • Trill with an early ending • Trill with a turned ending • Using

articulation to invigorate a musical line

6 Prelude in F (attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach) 61

Balancing pedal and manual • Measuring intervals between the feet • Moving a

3rd with each toe • Exchanging toes on a repeated note • Duplets and triplets •

Hemiolas • Notes of anticipation • Coordinated releases on three staves • Exposing

sustained voices in a multi-voice texture

new oxford organ method

7 Adagio and Allegro from Concerto in C (Tomaso Albinoni) 78

The first movement: Adagio: Right-hand solo registration • Independent pedal

activity • Releasing early before rests • Rapid hand-position shifts • Adding manual

ornaments

The second movement: Allegro: Changing stops in a silence • Releasing early

before rests • Rapid hand-position shifts • Adding manual ornaments

8 Praeludium in F pro organo pleno (Johann Ludwig Krebs) 96

Organo pleno • Pedal octaves • Crossing toes on adjacent notes • Pivoting,

supported by a sustained pedal note

9 Fughetta on ‘Gottes Sohn ist kommen’ (Johann Sebastian Bach) 109

Light and clear Baroque registration • Subject, answer, and countersubject • Voice

collision • Sharing an inner voice between the hands in ordinary touch • Projecting

dissonance


10 Rising Passacaglia (Frederick Stocken) 121

Terraced dynamics • Changing stops during a piece • Playing a melody on the

pedals • Phrasing independent voices • Staggered releases

Part 2 Legato touch with associated style and technique

11 Elegy (William Walton) 134

Legato touch • Combining Swell pedal and stops to make an extended diminuendo •

Sharing an inner voice between the hands in legato touch • Repeated notes in legato

music • Tying repeated notes from different voices • Finger substitution • Pulling a

finger from a black to an adjacent white note • Phrasing • Slow release of notes

12 Quasi Allegro (César Franck) 148

French nineteenth-century registration • Toe to heel on adjacent notes • Covering

three or four pedal notes in advance • Thumb devices to extend the hand • Sharing

an inner voice without diagonal lines • Passing a voice smoothly between left hand

and foot

13 Offertoire (Léon Boëllmann) 163

Grading dynamics by changing manuals and using the Swell pedal • Chromatic

pedalling using toe and heel • Sliding the heel • Substitution in one foot •

Alternating heel and toe in 3rds between a white and a black note • Swell pedal

with the right foot while both feet play • Passing a tied note between the hands

14 Grand Chœur (Théodore Salomé) 178

Registering a French Grand Chœur • Legato scale passages for the feet • Double

pedalling • Detached chords over legato pedals • Illusory legato • Accents made by

lengthening notes • Late nineteenth-century trills

Contents

15 Trio (Josef Rheinberger) 197

Trio registration • Navigation points on the pedalboard • Substituting one foot

for another on a sustained note • Alternating heel and toe in 3rds between white

notes • Tracing legato techniques through a continuous pedal part • Distinguishing

between articulation and phrasing

16 Chorale Prelude on ‘Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren’

(Max Reger) 210

Registering graded dynamics with stops • Pre-sets • Pedal touch—further

considerations • Pivoting in a rest • Combining pedal techniques in quick

succession • Combining manual techniques in quick succession

17 Aria (Brian Solomons) 223

Gap registration • Extended crescendi and diminuendi with the Swell pedal •

Adjusting legato


Part 3 Further lessons in style and technique

18 Dialogue (Jean-François Dandrieu) 234

Cornet • Grand jeu • Positif • Rapid manual changes • French Baroque ornaments

• Shortened note values • Notes inégales (‘unequal notes’) • Paired fingering •

Tempo guidance for French Baroque style

19 Lento (Frank Bridge) 250

Undulating stops • Left foot on the Swell pedal • Structural analysis • Expression

through the Swell pedal • Articulation within multi-voiced phrases • Exposing a

single voice through multiple voices • Registering gradual dynamic changes

20 Praeludium in C (first section) (Dietrich Buxtehude) 263

Adapting Baroque registration for modern organs • Footing options in ordinary

touch • Descending scales as a rhetorical gesture • Silence as a rhetorical gesture •

Dotted figures as a rhetorical gesture • Strict rhythm within stylus phantasticus

Index 276

List of stops 278

Foreword

It is fifty years since C. H. Trevor’s The Oxford Organ Method was first published, and for a generation

of teachers and students this was the organ method of choice. Written and compiled by one of the most

influential organ teachers and editors of the post-war years, it forensically instructed the student in all

aspects of learning the instrument, from the mechanics to the music, based on the performance practice

techniques of the time. In the intervening years, research and resources have immeasurably recalibrated our

approach to teaching and performance, as has the scrupulous restoration of important historic organs. This

interdisciplinary aspect of scholarship and performance now defines how organists make music and how they

teach. As the writer and commentator Alex Ross appositely remarks, ‘even if history can never tell us exactly

what music means, music can tell us something about history’.


The New Oxford Organ Method is not an update but a natural successor to C. H. Trevor. It is written and

compiled by two leading teachers whose combined wealth of experience, at all levels of the educational

spectrum, gives them a unique insight into how students want to learn and what they need to learn in the

twenty-first century. As there can never be a ‘one size fits all’ approach to teaching and learning, there is

flexibility within this teaching method for students to work at their own speed, on their own or preferably

with a teacher.

The avid student will experience the rewards of discovering the expressive qualities of the organ, and a

good organ is often said to be our best teacher. However, learning to breathe life into the most mechanical

of instruments will require great discipline, patience, and an actively sensitive ear, ever alert to the subtleties

of touch, sound, and musical projection; important tropes that will be a constant guide in the creative

development of the organist and musician. This contemporary and comprehensive Method will help shape

the student’s learning journey, providing a framework of repertoire that is holistic and relevant.

Perhaps the last word can be left to the legendary American organ builder Charles Fisk in his essay ‘The

Organ’s Breath of Life’: ‘the organ is nothing but a machine, whose machine-made sounds will always be

without interest unless they can appear to be coming from a living organism … the ultimate source of life is

of course the player.’

David Titterington

Head of Organ, Royal Academy of Music

Professor, University of London

Introduction

The organ offers unique opportunities for making music, with its distinctive expressive possibilities, its

enormous dynamic range, and its long tradition as an instrument for both sacred and secular music. The

organ’s repertoire is at least five centuries old, ranging from the simplest music to the most complex, and

covers a wide range of styles.

The New Oxford Organ Method places this organ repertoire at its centre, using carefully selected pieces as

the basis for learning the instrument. It teaches technique through the music so that you can make a direct

connection between the pieces you encounter and the techniques which lead to a musical performance.


How to use this book

Most organ methods group aspects of organ playing—technique, style, registration, and practice strategies—

into different sections, with pieces as a separate activity. Their structure leaves the student or teacher the

constant challenge of selecting and ordering appropriate material from different sections. By contrast,

The New Oxford Organ Method presents an integrated flow of exercises, which incorporate all these aspects

and lead to an engaging piece as the culmination of each chapter.

We recommend using the Method with a good teacher, who will be invaluable for monitoring progress

and giving tailored, immediate feedback. The Method is also suitable as a self-teaching resource. Whether

supervised or not, we advise you to work through the Method systematically from beginning to end.

The Method is designed both for beginners at the organ and for experienced players revising their skills. If

you are a beginner, we expect you already have basic keyboard skills, such as being able to read music in

treble and bass clefs, to play with both hands together, and to understand musical conventions such as repeat

and da capo signs. This book will give you a comprehensive training in all the basic skills of organ playing.

If you are an experienced organist, there are of course no prerequisites, except a willingness to refresh both

your technique and your awareness of style in interpretation. The Method aims to give you all the tools you

need to achieve stylish, confident performances in a variety of repertoire.

Pieces

The first part of The New Oxford Organ Method presents ten pieces that use ordinary touch, the notquite-legato

touch familiar to players before the nineteenth century. Because organ tone does not decay, we

believe ordinary touch, with its emphasis on timed releases of sound, is the most distinctive new aspect of the

instrument for beginners. Ordinary touch trains the hands in position fingering, develops toes-only footing,

and trains you how to play an expressive line through manipulation of note-lengths. The second part,

comprising seven pieces, introduces the greater complexities of legato touch. We explain that both ordinary

viii


touch and legato touch are subject to a wide array of nuances, and your touch in both categories will develop

increasing sophistication as the book continues. Once you have absorbed the basic principles of playing with

both ordinary and legato touch, you will arrive at the third part: three pieces that focus on advanced style

and technique.

We also direct you to our online companion resource www.oup.com/noom, where you will find other pieces

to learn between chapters, and suggestions for further listening to inspire your interpretation.

Technique

Leading to the piece within each chapter there are technical exercises, and these technical exercises always

relate directly to the upcoming piece, which gives them a strong sense of purpose. At first the Method

provides comprehensive fingering and footing, but these markings reduce later, to encourage you to find your

own solutions. There is often other fingering and footing which serves the music equally well, but we suggest

that students do not change fingering and footing except under the guidance of an experienced teacher.


The pedals are introduced in Chapter 3 with one note per foot. As you progress, you gradually learn to cross

the entire pedalboard, and you learn practical location skills so that you can find the pedal notes without

looking at your feet. This careful grading of pedal activity prompted us to add a few pedal notes to the piece

in Chapter 4 by Beauvarlet-Charpentier, but most other pedal parts are exactly as the composers wrote them.

Scales and arpeggios in every major and minor key are also seeded throughout the book, some in traditional

format, but many with new twists, incorporating additional pedal notes, for example.

Style

Playing stylistically means respecting the composer’s intentions and the traditions of the period. For example,

should you use legato or ordinary touch? Do you start a trill on the printed note or the note above? How do

you accent a note? How do you shape a phrase? Which stops suit the music? The integrated structure within

each chapter answers these questions as they occur, with exercises that frequently blend style and technique.

Registration

Topics involving registration also have their own exercises, not only giving students bite-size information

about the subject but also gradually introducing them to organ management. Each chapter begins with an

aspect of registration before moving to technical and musical training. For example, the first piece requires

just one stop, and each subsequent chapter introduces new registration, covering various traditions according

to the tone colours required by the piece.

To maintain our graded approach to training we have made a compromise in Chapter 4, changing the

composer’s registration from grand jeu to plein jeu. We introduce the grand jeu only towards the end of

the Method, when the advanced student is more likely to have access to an instrument with suitable stops.

Although we offer specific registration schemes, we also show how to experiment, and at the back of the

book there is a list of stops to support this. The aim, ultimately, is to make you resourceful, because each

organ, and the acoustic into which it speaks, is unique.

Introduction

ix

Studies

Each chapter ends with three newly composed studies, sixty in all, which develop core technical features that

the chapter has explored. These studies have a flexible use: they can be performed after brief preparation

as sight-reading, played after a longer period of preparation as quick studies, or used for extended revision,

consolidating technical points learned earlier in the chapter.

Practice

Each chapter trains you in how to practise. In addition, there are twenty practice strategies described at the

front of the book (see pages xv–xxi), and each chapter refers you back to these.


Finally

This is a practical method based on extensive experience of teaching; consequently, we exercised self-control

in not discussing topics of scholarly dispute. We know that expert readers may find some of our statements

simplistic, but we believe that learning simple guidelines in the early stages develops confidence. Confidence

is an essential foundation for progress, allowing you to develop creativity as you mature as a musician. As

Pablo Picasso said, ‘Learn the rules like a pro so you can break them like an artist.’

Acknowledgements

We are indebted to:

Brian Solomons, for his encouragement, clear-headed criticism, and generous help in so many ways. Philip

Croydon for commissioning the book, and Jonathan Cunliffe, our editor, for his wisdom, practical advice,

and attention to detail. Jerry Black, for the many photographs that supplement the text. The hundreds of

students of all ages and stages who have helped us grow as teachers. We particularly thank recent students

who valiantly worked through this method, enabling us to test and refine its contents.

Previous writers of organ methods from whom we have learned as students, players, teachers, and now

writers: Jacques Lemmens’s ground-breaking École d’orgue of 1862, which influenced more than a century

of methods; those by Stainer, Alcock, Buck, Gleason, and our distinguished predecessor, C. H. Trevor, with

his landmark Oxford Organ Method of 1971; later methods, for example by Roger Davies (1985), Ritchie

and Stauffer (1992), and Sanger (1993), which incorporated more recent scholarship. We are also indebted

to Peter Hurford, whose teaching and whose book Making Music on the Organ (OUP, 1988) marked a seachange

in interpretation and technique in the UK.

Getting started

This section covers practical considerations when starting the organ:


• Practice instrument

• Posture

• Bench

• Shoes

• Practice

Practice instrument

A good instrument, however small, will speed progress and stimulate musicality. The ideal practice

instrument is a well-maintained pipe organ, but a digital organ is often a practical alternative.

Posture

Sit as though sitting on a wall with your legs hanging. Balance your weight on your ‘sitting bones’ (the

ischial tuberosity): this means the pair of rounded bones that extend from the bottom of your pelvis. If you

are unaware of these sitting bones, sit on your upturned hands and you will feel them. Your thighs should be

half on and half off the bench. Keep your back straight and your shoulders relaxed. Aim to keep a straight

line from the back of your head down your spine. Join your knees together and place your feet side by side.

If the bench is at a suitable height, your whole shoe will rest lightly on the surface of the long pedals (the

white notes). See below if the bench is at an unsuitable height.

Bench

The height and position of the bench have a major impact on developing a healthy posture and technical

facility.

continued...

Introducing the instrument

This section gives you a brief outline of the pipe organ followed by your first tasks at the instrument.

Pipe organs need:

• Air

• Pipes

• Stops

• One or more keyboards, usually including a keyboard (pedalboard) to be played by the feet


They may also have accessories.

A digital organ mimics the pipe organ but has no pipes or air because the sound is produced electronically.

Air

The organ’s sound results from pressurized air (known as wind) vibrating within pipes. A machine called an

electric blower provides the air, and this is known as the organ’s wind supply. Before electricity, organs were

hand-pumped by assistants.

Pipes

A row of pipes, called a rank, provides

a pipe for each note on the keyboard or

pedalboard. A small organ (right) may

have only four or five ranks (that is, four

or five pipes for each key or pedal), while a

large concert or cathedral organ may have

as many as 100 ranks. Each rank has a

particular tone quality and range of pitch.

Getting started

xiii

Stops

Stops can be knobs (below left) or tabs (right). They allow the organist to select different ranks of pipes. By

activating a stop, the player allows wind to enter only that rank of pipes controlled by the stop.


stops using knobs

stops using tabs

Keyboards

When a key is depressed on a keyboard, wind enters one or more pipes, according to the stops selected. A

keyboard played by the hands is called a manual, and each manual has its own ranks of pipes. Most organs

have two or more manuals, and most repertoire is designed for an organ of at least this size.

In English-speaking countries, the usual names for the manuals, working down from the top manual, are

Swell, Great, and Choir (or Positive):

Two-manual organ

Three-manual organ:

Each keyboard on the organ, whether manuals or pedals, accesses its own group of pipes, called a

‘department’. The keyboards, stops, and bench are together called ‘the console’. Some consoles are detached

from the pipes.

continued...

Practice strategies


Would you like to learn without making any mistakes?

It may seem impossible, but you need only one thing to achieve it: to choose the practice strategy best suited

to each task. We offer twenty proven practice strategies, and later we advise you which ones to use for each

piece in the Method. The first, Slow–Staves–Segments, is the most important and the one to use for almost

every piece; the remainder are not presented in any particular order. You can, of course, use any combination

of these strategies.

Whatever your chosen strategy, aim for complete accuracy and believe you can achieve it. Of course, you

may occasionally misjudge what is possible, or your attention may slip. If you make an error, always correct

it immediately, never letting an error become a habit: three of the following strategies are particularly useful

for correcting an error—Stop and think, Static focus, and Destination practice.

Practice strategy 1: Slow–Staves–Segments

The basic learning strategy is Slow–Staves–Segments. You can apply its three components, Slow, Staves, and

Segments, in any order and in any combination.

Slow

Choose a tempo that allows you to be both musical and accurate. That probably means playing more slowly

than you think. Playing slowly allows you to be accurate from the start.

Staves

Begin by learning each stave separately. In a three-stave piece, next learn left hand with pedal, then right

hand with pedal, and then hands together. Finally, combine the three staves.

Segments

Divide the piece into manageable segments. The segments may be as long as half a piece, or as short as two

or three beats. Repeat each segment until you know it thoroughly. When you have learned the whole piece in

this way, link the segments together.

xvi


Practice strategy 2: Table-top fingering

Sticking to well-planned fingering is crucial for accurate learning of the manual parts. In Table-top fingering,

you prioritize the fingering, learning it before you learn the notes. Start by ‘playing’ each phrase through on

a table-top or the organ’s music desk, using Slow–Staves–Segments. When the fingering feels automatic, play

the phrase on the manuals.

Table-top fingering is especially useful if you find it challenging to learn fingering and notes at the same time.

Practice strategy 3: Three-stage pedal learning


Learn a pedal part in three stages:

• Train each foot separately so that, on releasing a note, it automatically moves to the next note it will

play. As you train, place your hands on the key cheeks—the side-ledges of the lowest manual. Avoid

placing your hands on the bench as this encourages tense shoulders.

• Learn the complete pedal part with both feet. You may need to pivot your knees, so use your hands

on the key cheeks to support this movement.

• Remove your hands from the key cheeks and place them above your head. The ‘hands-up’ position

ensures that your pivoting no longer depends on your hands for support. It also benefits your general

posture, by lengthening your back.

Practice strategy 4: Vary rhythm

An entertaining and profitable way of learning a segment of equal-length notes on the manuals is to change

their rhythm; for example, ‘swing’ the rhythm by lengthening alternate notes, or apply dotted rhythms, or

apply long–short–short. This places accents on different notes, developing independent finger-strength and

training the muscles to remember the note patterns. Confirm the success of Vary rhythm by practising the

printed rhythm before you leave the segment. You can also apply Vary rhythm to a pedal passage of equallength

notes.

Practice strategy 5: Stop and think

Sometimes a challenge, such as a change of hand position, a new division of the beat, or a hard-to-digest

chord, requires more thinking time than the printed rhythm provides. Stop on the note or chord before the

challenge and insert as much thinking time as you need to prepare for the challenge ahead. Repeat this Stop

and think strategy until you feel able to restore the printed rhythm.

Practice strategies

xvii

Practice strategy 6: Speak instructions

When coordination is challenging, add Speak instructions to Stop and think. When you stop before the

challenge, speak aloud to instruct your hands and feet, for example ‘left toe B, left-hand G’. Here too, aim to

restore the correct rhythm within the same practice session, even at a slow tempo.

Speak instructions is particularly useful for beginners whose left hand tries to mimic the pedal part. Speak

instructions is also useful when practising on an instrument without pedals or without a Swell pedal. For

example, speak the pedal instructions ‘D, F, G’, etc., or ‘left toe, right heel, right toe’; speak the Swell pedal

instructions ‘open Swell’, ‘close Swell’, etc. This ensures you process all the activities, ready for your return

to a more appropriate instrument.


Practice strategy 7: Block figures

Baroque music often elaborates a chord by splitting it into a figure: for example, instead of playing C–E–G

simultaneously, C, E, and G make a figure of single notes. When you spot that the notes of a figure are an

elaborated chord, block them into a chord while you learn. This encourages you to shape your hand into

the entire figure instead of approaching each note independently. Confirm the success of Block figures by

practising the notes as they are printed before you leave the segment. Block figures is also useful when

learning a passage of alternate toes in the pedals; in the same way, play with both feet simultaneously to

encourage them to prepare ahead.

Practice strategy 8: Use your pencil

Save time in your practice by making decisions and neatly recording them on the score with a pencil. These

decisions will include:

• Extra fingering and footing, if required.

• Extra broken vertical lines to remind you to release together.

• Diagonal lines to show the movement of a voice between the hands.

• Arrows to remind you to pivot your knees.

• Musical shapes, for example a forward arrow to indicate a phrase’s travel to a cadence, and a zig-zag

line to indicate where the tempo relaxes.

• Occasional words as reminders.

Ideally avoid making any temporary pencil marks that you might later want to remove; stick removable

memo notes on the score instead. If you do need to remove pencil marks, always take the score off the music

stand before applying the eraser, to avoid crumbs falling on and in between the keys.

continued...

Part 1


ORDINARY TOUCH

WITH ASSOCIATED STYLE

AND TECHNIQUE


Chapter 1

Air

Henry Purcell (1659–95)


When playing the organ, there are essentially two types of touch: legato and non-legato. Legato means

‘joined-up’, so that there are no gaps between the notes, while non-legato means ‘not joined-up’, so that

there are gaps (often very small) between the notes. This chapter introduces non-legato touch—or ‘ordinary

touch’, as it became known—which was the standard touch for all organ music until the nineteenth century.

Henry Purcell was the outstanding British musician and composer of the Baroque era. As was the case with

many seventeenth-century musicians, Purcell’s career began in the church, first as a chorister at the Chapel

Royal, then as organist at Westminster Abbey, a position he held until his death.

Foundation pitch

Gently draw (which means pull out or activate) any stop labelled 8ʹ (8-foot).

8ʹ indicates that the stop speaks at foundation pitch, the same pitch as the piano. It is called 8ʹ because the

longest pipe of the 8ʹ rank (the lowest note, bottom C) is often 8 feet long. Try various foundation-pitch stops

(any stop with 8ʹ on it), listening to their different tone colours and characters—some bold, others less so.

Choose an 8ʹ stop that you like, and at an mp dynamic level. Continue to use that stop for the exercises below.

Ordinary touch

Ordinary touch, with its subtle gaps between notes, allows each note to start and end clearly. To create these

gaps you need to shave a fraction off the end of each note.

A good way to start is to play repeated notes in time as smoothly as possible, as in the following exercise,

starting with the left hand:

LH

? b

3 œ

4

œ œ ˙ œ ˙

2 2 2 2 2 2

(based on bb. 12–14)

2 new oxford organ method

Here is the same rhythm but with different notes. Copy the length of the tiny gaps you made in the above

exercise. You should hear a beautiful musical line in which every note is well defined, beginning and ending

clearly:

LH

œ œ œ ˙ œ

? 3 b 4

2 1 3 4 1 5

˙


Now practise ordinary touch in the right hand with a similar exercise, first with repeated notes, then with an

exercise from the piece:

RH

œ œ œ œ ˙ 3

RH 4

3

& b 4 4 4 4 4

4

& b

4 3 4 2 3

œ œ œ # œ ˙


(based on bb. 15–16) (bb. 15–16)

Articulation

So far in ordinary touch all the gaps you have made between the notes have been the same. However, if you

want to emphasize a certain note, you can insert a bigger gap before it by shortening the previous note. This

art of varying gaps between notes for expressive effect is called articulation.

As you play the following, use articulation to emphasize the first note of each bar:

LH

œ

? 3

# œ nœ

œ œ nœ

˙ ˙

b 4

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4


The next exercise has the same notes as the previous exercise, but with some barlines repositioned. Use

articulation to indicate these new barlines:

LH

œ

? 3

# œ nœ

œ œ nœ

bœ

˙

b 4

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4


Five-finger hand shape

Until this point your fingers have adopted the default position for any keyboard instrument—five fingers on

adjacent notes. In order to refine this position to form the ‘five-finger hand shape’, line up the five fingers

of one hand, take a pencil, and rest all your fingertips on it, including your thumb. Take this hand shape to

the keyboard. Now adjust the spaces between the fingers to cover five notes and slightly relax your hand so

that it feels natural. Although your thumb and little finger are aligned, the other fingers may spread forward

slightly, depending on the shape of your hand.

Chapter 1

3

As you play, remember these three features:

• Ordinary touch

• The five-finger hand shape

• Keeping your fingers in contact with the keys

RH

&b 4

1

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙

LH

? œ œ b 4

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙

1


(based on the key chord of Air)

The next exercise includes two black keys. Adjust your hand shape only minimally to accommodate them:

LH

? 3 b 4 œ

1

œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ ˙


Position fingering

In Air the fingering will often prompt you to shift your hand shape to new positions on the keyboard. This is

called ‘position fingering’. The position shifts where a note or chord needs emphasis, for example on the first

beat of a bar. Create the emphasis with an articulation break, which allows you to shift position. Position

fingering usually:

• Allows you to place a strong finger on a strong note. This is an important principle in older music,

where the three middle fingers (2nd, 3rd, and 4th) were regarded as the strongest.

• Keeps a comfortable five-finger or slightly open shape, even as you shift position.

• Avoids placing your thumb on a black note, which would distort the position of your hand.

These concepts of applying strong fingers to important (‘strong’) notes while maintaining a good hand shape

were priorities in Baroque music.

Position fingering soon feels reliable, provided you keep your hand relaxed and move sideways across the

keyboard as you shift.

Play the following exercises, in which the marked fingering prompts your hand to shift position at the

barlines. As you shift in the gap, remember to brush over the keys:

LH

? 3 œ b 4

# œ œ œ œ œ # œ nœ

4 5 2 4 2

œ

RH

3

& b 3 3 3 3

4 œ œ œ œ

œ œ œ œ œ

œ œ œ ˙

(bb. 4–6) (based on bb. 9–12)


RH

3

& b 4

4

œ

4

4 5 4

# œ œ

œ œ œ

œ

œ œ œ œ œ ˙

œ œ œ

4

4

# œ

œ œ œ

œ

œ ˙


When choosing fingering for pieces requiring ordinary touch, performers today sometimes feel torn between

the principle of placing strong fingers on strong notes and limiting a journey across the keyboard. In this

Method we have marked fingering which we feel best serves the music; there will almost always be other

possibilities, but we advise you not to change our fingering without the aid of an experienced teacher.

Open hand shape


You sometimes need to extend your hand into an ‘open hand shape’.

The first bar of the next exercise slightly extends your hand between the first two notes, and this repeats in

most subsequent bars:

RH

3

& b 4 1 2 3 4 1 1 4 1

œ

4 œ j œ œ œ

œ j œ œ œ

œ j œ œ œ

œ j œ œ ˙ Œ

&b 1 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 2 1 2

œ

œ œ j œ œ œ

œ j œ œ œ œ J

œ œ œ

J œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙


The next exercise extends the hand between the 4th and 2nd fingers:

RH

3

&b 4

œ œ œ J

œ ˙ # œ ˙ Œ

4 3 4 2 4 2 3 4 3 4 2

œ

# œ œ J

œ

˙

&b 4 2 3

# œ ˙ Œ

œ

4 3 4 2 4

# œ œ 2 3

J

œ ˙ œ ˙


In Air the left hand contains instances of a more open hand shape than those you have just played. The next

exercises focus on these open hand shapes. In the first exercise the bars alternate between open and five-finger

hand shapes:

LH

? b 4 ˙

œ œ # œ œ œ

Œ

œ

n˙

5 2 2 4 1 5 2

? b

# œ œ œ Œ

n˙

œ nœ

œ œ œ Œ

w

2 4 1 5 2 2 4 1 5

nœ


continued...


{

3

& b 4

4

œ

Air

4

œ 4 5

# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙

Henry Purcell

(1659–95)

? 3 œ œ # œ nœ

œ œ nœ

bœ

œ # œ

b 4 œ

œ

5 2 1 5

œ


5

{

& b 4 4

4 2

œ # œ œ

œ œ œ

œ

œ œ œ œ # œ ˙

? œ b œ œ # œ nœ

œ œ

œ œ œ œ

2 4 2 2

œ

5

9

{

& b 3

3 3 3 4

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

œ œ œ ˙ œ

? b

œ

5

œ œ œ œ œ œ

2

œ œ œ œ œ

5 2 2

{

4 4

& b œ œ œ œ œ œ œ 4

œ œ œ œ # œ ˙

13

? ˙ œ

b

˙ œ œ œ

œ œ œ

4 1 1 2

œ

This piece exists in a keyboard version, called ‘Minuet’, and as incidental music for William Congreve’s

play The Double Dealer.

Chapter 1

9

Studies

When you have learned Air, consolidate your skills using the following studies. You can use them for sightreading,

quick study, or technical revision.

For sight-reading preparation, memorize the useful method: ‘Stops–Key–Hands–Time’.

Stops Register the organ according to the guidance on each of the studies.

Key Read and absorb the key signature.

Hands Plan how to play the notes. The marked fingerings usually indicate shifts of position.

Time Ask yourself: ‘what beat shall I count?’ and ‘at what speed shall I count it?’

The time signature will help you choose the beat. To help you choose the beat’s speed, consider

the title, expression marking (e.g. Allegretto), and overall challenge as you see it.


Before you perform the study, resolve to play it without stopping, even if you make an error.

Gt.: 8ʹ

Technical work in the key

Study No. 1: Position fingering

These scales have fingering that Purcell might have used. Notice that the second note in each pair feels

lighter. This paired fingering gives shape to the scale.

A harmonic minor scale, hands separately with early fingering, ordinary touch

LH

?

w w w w w w # w w

3 2 3 2 3 2 3 2

RH

LH

&

?

3 4 3 4 3 4 3 4

w w w w w w # w w

w

# w w w w w w w

3 4 3 4 3 4 3 4

RH

&

3 2 3 2 3 2 3 2

w

# w w w w w w w

The above style of fingering is impractical for most scales, especially those with many black keys, so

subsequent scales in this Method provide modern fingering.


{

{

3

& 4

5

?

&

?

Gt.

3

4

mf

Study No. 1

Allegretto

2 4 2 3 2 4 4 2 3

œ

œ

œ

# œ

j œ # ˙ # œ œ œ œ œ J # œ œ # œ

œ

# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙

2 2 2 1

# œ nœ

J

2 4 2 3 3

2 2

# ˙ # œ œ œ # œ ˙

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

˙

œ


Sw.: 8ʹ


Study No. 2: Open hand shape

E harmonic minor scale, hands together, ordinary touch

1 3 1 4

1 3 1 1 3 1 4 1 3

{ &# œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

Sw.

?# œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ

œ

?

& œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

œ œ

œ œ

œ

{

7

{

5 1 3

3

1 4 1 3

Study No. 2

3 1 4

1 3 1

Grave

3

& # 5 5

1 2 5 1 2

3 1 2 1 3

4 œ œ œ # œ # œ œ œ œ œ # œ # œ œ

œ nœ

œ œ œ œ

Sw. mp

?# 3

4 ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ # ˙

& # œ 5 3 1 2 1 5

œ

3 3 1 2 1 5

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙

?#

n˙

# ˙ n˙ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ

1 1 1 2

continued...

Chapter 2

Larghetto

Charles Wesley (1757–1834)


This chapter introduces you to the different tonal colours of the organ, and to playing on two manuals.

Charles Wesley, the composer of Larghetto, was the son of another Charles Wesley, the famous Methodist

hymn writer, and brother to the organist and composer Samuel Wesley.

To establish D minor, the key of Larghetto, draw any 8ʹ stop and play the following exercise:

D harmonic minor scale, hands together, ordinary touch

{ & b 1 3 1 4 1 3 1 1 1 4

3

1 3

œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

? b œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ

œ

?

&

œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ

œ œ

œ œ

œ œ

œ œ

œ œ

œ

œ

œ

5 1 3

1 3 1

1 4 1 3 3 1 4

The four tonal families

Organ tone divides into four families: Principals, Flutes, Reeds, and Strings. Understanding these tonal

families helps you make informed choices about registration (choice of stops) and navigate the many

individual stop names. See page 278 for a list of common stop names arranged into tonal families. As you

progress through this Method, you may not have the stops that we suggest. In such cases, experiment to find

your own solutions.

Play the chord below on a Principal 8ʹ on the Great or Swell. Listen to how Principals sound rich and

authoritative:

RH

& b 5

31w

Cancel the Principal 8ʹ. Some organs have a piston that cancels all the stops, called ‘General cancel’, usually

positioned under the lowest manual to the right.

Chapter 2

13

Now play the above chord on a Great or Swell Flute 8ʹ. Listen to how Flutes sound sweet and muted.

Cancel the Flute 8ʹ and play the chord on a Great or Swell Reed 8ʹ. Listen to how Reeds sound pungent and

penetrating.

Cancel the Reed 8ʹ and play the chord on a Great or Swell String 8ʹ, if you have one. Listen to how Strings

sound narrow and concentrated.

Cancel the String 8ʹ and draw the Principal 8ʹ again on the Great.

Adding higher pitches


Higher pitches add a brighter colour to the sound. Play the chord once again and, while sustaining it,

brighten the sound by adding the following stops:

• Add a Principal 4ʹ (shorter pipes, sounding one octave higher)

• Add a Principal 2 2 /3ʹ (a twelfth higher)

• Add a Principal 2ʹ (two octaves higher)

Cancel all the stops and repeat the exercise with Flutes, as far as your organ allows. You may need to work

on a manual other than the Great to find most or all of these stops:

• Draw a Flute 8ʹ

• Add Flute 4ʹ

• Add Flute 2 2 /3ʹ

• Add Flute 2ʹ

If your instrument is large enough to provide a variety of Reeds, repeat the exercise as far as possible with

Reeds.

There are usually no Strings at higher pitches.

Blending tonal families

Cancel the previous stops and then draw Great Principal 8ʹ. Sustain the chord below on the Great:

LH

? b

1

35

w

Using stops on the Great, add a Flute 8ʹ and, if you have one, a Reed 8ʹ. Listen to the blended result: the

Flute adds warmth and fullness, while the Reed adds pungency. Reeds vary enormously in volume and it may

be that the only Reed you have overwhelms the other stops; do not use the Reed in this case.

Now add higher pitches: Principals 4ʹ, 2 2 /3ʹ, 2ʹ. This registration, which has the brightness of higher pitches

and the blended sound of three tonal families, was popular with eighteenth-century English organists, who

called it ‘full organ’.


Play the opening two chords of Larghetto on the Great, using ordinary touch:

{

5

32

3

& b 4

œ

Gt.

? 3 b 4 œ

5

œ

œ

(b. 1)

You will use the Swell for alternate phrases in this piece. Register the Swell while sustaining the right-hand

chord of the exercise below.


Sw.: Pr. 8ʹ, 4ʹ, Fl. 8ʹ, Reed 8ʹ

Add the left-hand note and listen to the blended 8ʹ sound with one higher pitch:

5

31

{ &b w

Sw.

w

? b

1

(based on b. 1)

Relaxed wrists

The big chords in Larghetto need an economical and relaxed technique. As you sustain each of the chords

below, slowly remove weight from them, so that the springs in the keys gradually push your fingers back to

the surface, and the chord stops sounding. This slow release of the notes promotes relaxed wrists, allowing

your fingers to develop strength and independence without your arm interfering. In fact, your relaxed wrist

allows your fingers to operate freely while you keep your arm level:

5

5

4 31 31

21

{ &b w w w

Sw.

w w

?

w

b

1 1 2


Now play the same chords in the rhythm in which they appear in Larghetto, as shown below. The first chord

bounces rapidly to the second chord, and your relaxed wrists should make this possible:

Chapter 2

15

{

&b

3

4

Sw.

? 3 b 4

5

3

1

œ

R

œ

R

4

2

1

œ

œ

5

3

1

œ

1 2

œ

(bb. 1–2)

Changing manuals with relaxed wrists


Another benefit of relaxed wrists is that they allow you to change manuals quickly and without tension.

Larghetto has no fewer than eleven changes of manual, as shown by ‘Sw.’ and ‘Gt.’ printed on the score.

The placing of these directions between the two staves means that the direction applies to both hands.

As you play the following two chords, release the first chord slowly, with relaxed wrists. Then move calmly

and economically to the second chord, which is on the Swell:

1

&b 4

3 ˙

{? 3 b 4 ˙

5

Gt.

Œ

Œ

5

3

1

˙

˙

Sw.

1

Continue monitoring your relaxed wrists while you play the following sequence of chords. Adopt a slow tempo:

1

& b 4

3 ˙

{? 3 b 4 ˙

5

Gt.

Œ

Œ

5

3

1

˙

˙

Sw.

Œ

Œ

5

3

1

5

2 1

˙ Œ ˙˙ Œ

˙

Œ

˙

Gt.

1 2 1 5 1

˙

Œ

Œ ˙ Œ

5

3

1

˙

˙

Sw.

Œ

Œ


Closing and opening the Swell

English organs of this period had no pedal notes, but some had a device called a Swell pedal. All the pipes of

the Swell organ are enclosed behind shutters. A foot-operated device called a Swell pedal opens and closes

the shutters. When the shutters are closed, the pipes sound quieter. Practise operating the Swell pedal in the

following exercises.

continued...

Chapter 2

19

{

Larghetto

5

3

2

5

3

1

Larghetto

4

2

1

5

3

1

3

& b 1 1

4

œ ≈ œ œ R

œ œ Œ œ œ ≈ œ # œR œ œ Œ

Gt. f Sw. p

Gt.

Sw.

? 3 b 4 œ œ ≈ œ œ

R

œ œ

Œ œ ≈ œ œ œ

R Œ

5 1 1 1

5

2

5

3

1

Charles Wesley

(1757–1834)

4

2

5

2


5

{

9

{

{

&b

13

Gt.

4

5

5

2

2 5

œ

1

œ 2

œ # œ

5

2

1

1

Sw.

? b Œ œ œ œ œ œ Œ

œ

# œ œ

5 4

5

3

2

5

3

1

4

2

1

5

3

1

œ

&b ≈ œ

œ R

œ œ Œ œ ≈

œ œ # œR œ œ Œ

Gt.

Sw.

Gt.

Sw.

? b œ œ ≈ œ œ

R

œ œ

Œ œ ≈ œ œ œ

R Œ

5 1 1 1

&b

Gt.

5

2

5

4

œ œ˙ bœ

4

2

1

˙

˙

5

2

1 (close Sw.)

Sw.

pp

5

2

5

3

4

1

4

2

5

3

1

5

3

3

2 1

? b Œ œ œ œ Œ œ œ œ

œ

œ Œ Œ

5 1 2 2 1

3

œ

#œ

n œ œ Œ ‰

1

5

1

2

4

2

1

4

2

œ œ œ # œ Œ

œ r œ

œ # œ

From Concerto in D minor, No. 1 of Six Concertos for the Organ or Harpsichord, Op. 2

œ œ J

œ œ

Œ

5

2

1

Œ


Studies

for sight-reading, quick study, or technical revision

The following preparation method for sight-reading duplicates that of the previous chapter, but adds manual

changes and Swell pedal, should they be required:

Stops Register the organ according to the guidance on each of the studies.

Key Read and absorb the key signature.

Feet If the study includes directions for the Swell pedal.

Hands Plan how to play the notes and mime any manual changes. The marked fingerings usually indicate

shifts of position.

Time Ask yourself: ‘what beat shall I count?’ and ‘at what speed shall I count it?’

Sw.: Fl. 8ʹ, Pr. 4ʹ, Sw. open

Gt.: Pr. 8ʹ, 4ʹ

Study No. 1: Changing manuals with relaxed wrists


G major scale, hands together, ordinary touch

Play this scale first on the Swell, then immediately afterwards on the Great:

1 3 1 4 1 3 1 1 3 1 4 1 3

&#

{?#

{

5

{

& # 4

Sw.

?#

4

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

?

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

œ œ

&

5 1 3 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

œ œ

œ

Andante risoluto

mp


1 4

Gt. mf

1 3 3 1

Study No. 1

Sw.

4

1 3 1

5

5 5

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ ˙

˙ œ œ ˙ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ ˙

5 5 5 5 5

& # 5

5

5

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ w

Gt.

Sw.

Gt.

?# ˙ œ œ ˙ œ # œ ˙ œ nœ

w

5 5 4 2 1 2

continued...

Chapter 3

Verset

Giovanni Battista Martini (1706–84)


This chapter introduces the pedalboard and the technique you need to play it.

The Franciscan friar Giovanni Battista Martini was a leading Italian composer and teacher; he was admired

by Mozart and J. C. Bach, who both sought his musical advice. Martini was director of music at San

Francesco in Bologna for most of his life, and composed a large body of instrumental music, including this

toccata-like Verset.

Mutation stops

The Italian organs of Martini’s time had a range of stops giving colourful higher pitches. As Italian Principal

stops were light in character, experiment with all the 8ʹ Principals your organ can offer and choose the one

with the lightest sound. Sustain the key chord of A minor with either hand as you work:

? w

Brighten the sound by adding higher Principals: 4ʹ, 2 2 /3ʹ, 2ʹ. If you have a 1 1 /3ʹ draw that, too.

Stops such as 2 2 /3ʹ and 1 1 /3ʹ, whose numbers include fractions, are described as mutations. A mutation sounds

a note which has a different letter name from that played:

• 2 2 /3ʹ plays an octave and a 5th above the note.

• 1 1 /3ʹ plays two octaves and a 5th above.

To establish A minor, the key of Verset, play the following exercise:

A harmonic minor scale, hands together, ordinary touch

1 3 1 4 1 3 1 1 3 1 4 1 3

{ & œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

?

?

œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ

œ

&


œ œ

œ œ

œ

œ

œ œ

œ œ

œ œ

œ

5 1 3

1 4

1 3 3 1

4

1 3 1


The pedalboard

Italian organs of this period had just one octave of pedals, which organists used for long notes. This piece is

typical, with just one long note for each foot.

Check that you are sitting above the centre of the pedalboard—that usually means Eb. Most organs position

pedal Eb exactly below the manual Eb. As you are about to play with your feet, check the advice about

posture, organ bench, and organ shoes in ‘Getting Started’ at the front of this Method.

Register the pedals with Principal 16ʹ. A note played on a 16ʹ stop sounds an octave lower than written, and

16ʹ is the foundation pitch on the pedals. Look down and play the C just to the left of the central Eb of the

pedalboard with the tip of either shoe:

? w

Couple all the stops you have chosen on the manuals to the pedal.

Locate the following notes, and see below how they are notated:

?

C at bottom of

pedalboard

w


C in centre of

pedalboard

w

C near top of

pedalboard

w

Now look down to find the two pedal notes, A and E, for this piece, the first note with your left foot, the

second with your right:

? w

w

Chapter 3

25

Playing with the toe

The ideal point for playing pedal notes is the inside tip of your shoe, alongside your big toe. We refer to this

inside tip as ‘the toe’. Tilt your foot so that the toe is ready to play a pedal. Pretend that you have painted a

coloured dot on that part of your shoe, and always play on this imagined dot. Join your knees, as this tilts

each foot onto the imagined coloured dot.

Follow the next stages slowly. They lay essential foundations for your pedal technique that will equip your

feet to play as musically and with as much agility as your fingers.

Place your hands on the key cheeks, which are the sides of the lowest manual. Check that your back is

straight, your neck relaxed, and your shoulders dropped.


• Silently rest the inside edge of your left shoe on the A you have just found.

• Leave your heel on the note and angle the tip of your shoe upwards above the note.

• Relax your calf muscle, so that your toe falls and causes the note to sound. Sustain this note.

• Check that your heel remains lightly on the surface of the note as the toe plays.

• To release the note, gradually allow the spring in the pedal key to return your shoe to the surface.

The note stops; meanwhile your shoe still rests on the surface of the key.

• Repeat. You should feel as though your ankle controls a tapping action.

• Repeat all the steps above with your right foot on its note, E.

continued...


Verset

Giovanni Battista Martini

(1706–84)

&

{

Vivace

c

? c

Œ ‰

1 2 4 5 2 1 4 2

œ j œ œ

œ œ

œ œ œ


˙ œ

Œ ‰

œ œ œ

J

œ œ

4 2 4


? c

w

m

w

3

&

{

?

4 4 4 4

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

œ œ œ # œ œ œ

2 4 2 4 3 5

œ

œ

?

w

w

5

&

{

?

?

3 1 3 1

5 3 1

# œ œ œ œ œ R œ œ œ œ œ œ

œ r œ# œ œ

œ

w

Œ

œ

Œ

# # œ œ œ nœ

˙

w

4 2 4 2 4 2 4

Ÿ

343


# œœ

2

4

5

continued...

Chapter 4

Quand Jésus naquit à Noël

Jean-Jacques Beauvarlet-Charpentier (1734–94)


This chapter trains each foot to travel purposefully across the pedalboard, always anticipating its next move.

The French Baroque composer Jean-Jacques Beauvarlet-Charpentier wrote Quand Jésus naquit à Noël

(‘When Jesus was born at Christmas’) when he was organist of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. His post

there ended with the onset of the French Revolution.

Plein jeu registration

The plein jeu indicated specific stops on a French organ of this period. The plein jeu creates a full-bodied

sound, ideally based on a 16ʹ Principal.

An essential feature of the plein jeu is the Mixture stop. This adds two or more high-pitched Principals, at

least one of which is a mutation. Mixture stops are often named Mixture but may have other names—see the

list of stops on page 278. Register the chorus described below:

Gt.: Pr. 16ʹ, 8ʹ, 4ʹ, 2ʹ, Mixt., Fl. 16ʹ, 8ʹ. If you have two Mixture stops called Fourniture and Cymbal, use these.

Ped.: Reed 8ʹ, Gt. to Ped.

To establish A major, the key of Quand Jésus naquit à Noël, play the following exercise. With Great coupled

to Pedal, the first and last notes in the left hand will not sound. If your manual compass is sufficiently high,

you may wish to play the manual parts an octave higher.

A major scale, hands together; foot on tonic pedal, ordinary touch

{ &# #

# 1 3 1 4 1 3 1 1 3 1 4 1 3


?# #

#

?


œ

&

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

œ œ

œ œ

œ

œ

œ

?# #

#

5 1 3

1 4

1 3 3 1

4

1 3 1

˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ œ

m


Mobile knees

When you play the pedals your knees need to be mobile—pointing to the right, left, or centre of the

pedalboard to carry your feet to their notes. Before learning how to mobilize your knees, check your posture.

Are you balancing your weight on your ‘sitting bones’? Are you sitting powerfully—shoulders low, head

high, back wide and relaxed? Are your knees together?

Place your hands on either side of the lowest manual. Pulling gently against your right hand, pivot your

lower body to face the extreme right. Keep your head and shoulders facing the music desk. Now pull

gently against your left hand, pivoting your knees to face the extreme left. As you pivot, check your legs are

relaxed; if they are, your feet will brush over the white pedals.

Next, find home position and play these notes. Your knees, held together, will point straight ahead:

?

m

˙ ˙ ˙ ˙

m


Now pivot to the far left. Without looking down, find C and E down an octave, as shown below. Check their

positions against the sides of the black keys, just as you did when finding home position, and play:

?

m

˙

m

˙ ˙ ˙

Similarly, pivot to the far right, still keeping your knees together. Find C and E two octaves higher, and play:

?

m

˙ ˙ ˙ ˙

m

When playing Quand Jésus naquit à Noël your knees will face slightly left of centre. Return to home position

and count from there to find the first notes for this piece: left toe A and right toe D:

?

(count)

˙ ˙ ˙

m m m

(count)

m

˙

m

˙


Independent movement between left hand and feet

Whenever your feet have the bass voice, your left hand needs to find independence as an inner voice, so plan

each chord before playing the following:

Chapter 4

39

LH

Ped.

œ œ œ œ œ œ

?# # #

2 1 2 1 2 1

?# # m m m m m m

# œ œ œ œ œ œ

(based on b. 19)

Play the next exercise, which includes repeated notes in the pedal:

LH

Ped.

?# #

#


2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1

?# #

# m œ m œ m œ m œ m œ m œ m œ m œ


(based on b. 19)

Now play the passage that inspired the exercises above:

LH

œ œ

?# #

#

œ

2

˙

Œ

2 1 2

Ped.

?# #

# 2

m m m

Œ œ œ œ

˙

m

(bb. 19–20)

Moving the toe between white and black notes

Move the toe as little as possible between white and black notes, playing the white pedal notes just in front

of the black ones, and black pedal notes on their front edge:

LH

Ped.

LH

Ped.

?

œ

2

# œ œ bœ

œ # œ nœ

1 2 1

# œ œ # œ œ œ ˙

?

2 œ # œ œ bœ

œ # œ nœ

# œ œ # œ œ œ ˙

m m m m m m m m m m m m m

œ

?

2

# œ œ bœ

œ # œ nœ

1 2 1

# œ nœ


# œ œ œ ˙

? m m m m m m m m m m m m m

2 œ # œ œ bœ

œ # œ nœ

# œ nœ

# œ œ œ ˙


continued...


{

& # # #

?# #

#

Quand Jésus naquit à Noël

Moderato con spirito

2

2

Jean-Jacques Beauvarlet-Charpentier

(1734–94)

Ÿ

3232 3


J J œ œ œ ˙ ˙ œ œ œ œ

3232 2 4 3232 Ÿ

Ÿ

Ó

˙ ˙ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ Ó

1 3 4 2

?# #

# 2 Ó ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑


5

{

5

5 5 21

5 4

& # # # 2 2 21 œ œ œ œ ?# #

#

œ j œ

Œ œ œ œ œ

˙

4 2

œ J

œ

2 2 1

4

5 2 1

4

1

5

3

2

5

3

1

5

3

2

œ œ œ œ

œ œ œ œ

˙˙

nœ

œ # œ œ

œ

œ

˙

5

2

œ

˙

œ

?# #

# ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑

9

{

4 4

& # # # 1

3 4 1 1 1 5 5 2 1 (1)

œ œ

œ œ œ

œ œ ˙ ˙

œ œ

œ œ ?# #

#

˙ ˙ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ

4

3

3

5

2

4

1 3 1

3

œ j œ

œ œ Œ

œ œ œ

3 4 3 2

œ

œ

œ

?# #

# ∑ ∑ ∑

Ó œ œ

m

continued...


Studies


If using these pieces for sight-reading, remember the preparation method: Stops–Key–Feet–Hands–Time.

Sw.: Pr. 8ʹ, Sw. open

Gt.: Pr. 8ʹ

Ped.: Pr. 16ʹ, Sw. to Ped.

Study No. 1: Each foot preparing ahead (i)



Bb major scale, hands together; feet on dominant and tonic pedals, ordinary touch

{ & b b

? b b

Gt.

? b b

2 1 3 1 4 1 3 1 1 3 1 4 1 3 1 2


?


œ œ

&


œ œ

œ œ

œ œ

œ œ

œ œ

œ

3 1 4 1

˙

m

m

œ

3 1 4 1 2 1 4 1

˙

m

m

œ

˙

m

m

œ

3 1 4 1

˙

m

m

œ

œ

m

Study No. 1

7

? b b

? b b

Andante giusto

2

4

m m m

m m m

œ œ j œ œ œ Œ œ œ j œ œ œ

m

m

mp

m m m

œ œ j œ œ nœ

m

Œ

m m m

bœ m

œ j œ œ ˙

m

Œ

continued...

Chapter 5

Chorale Variation on ‘Freu dich sehr, o meine Seele’

Johann Pachelbel (1653–1706)


This manuals-only piece teaches you how to vary your ordinary touch for expressive purposes. Now your

left hand has the starring role, as its lively line accompanies and invigorates a slow-moving chorale melody.

A German hymn (‘chorale’) inspired this chorale variation by the south German Baroque composer Johann

Pachelbel. The title means ‘Rejoice greatly, O my soul’, and the words sung to this chorale look forward

courageously, depite the trials of life, to eternal joy. The music is both hopeful and serene.

Principal chorus

‘Principal chorus’ means a combination of Principal stops—one of each pitch. Sustain any note on the Great

and draw, as far as your organ allows, Principals 16ʹ, 8ʹ, 4ʹ, 2 2 /3ʹ, 2ʹ. You can add a Mixture, too, if you like.

Although Freu dich sehr, o meine Seele is for manuals only, we always advise you to start your practice with

pedal technique, so learn this scale in G major—the key of the piece. The scale is in contrary motion between

your left hand and your feet, which develops their ability to play independently. Draw Great to Pedal, and

play slowly using ordinary touch, ensuring that the start and end of each chord is perfectly coordinated:

G major scale, left hand; feet, toes in contrary motion, ordinary touch

LH

& # 1 3 1 1 3

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

Ped.

?#

m m m m m m m


m m m m

m m m m

Remove the Great to Pedal coupler to continue with this chapter.


Singing touch with one finger

Your right hand always has at least two notes sounding together in this piece: the chorale melody, and

another voice below. The last bar adds a further voice. This means that you often need to repeat the 4th or

the 5th finger on consecutive notes to free enough fingers to play the lower notes:

RH

3

& # 5 5 5 4

1 2 1 2

2

ẇ

w ˙ ˙ ˙

(bb. 1–2)

Because ordinary touch has tiny gaps between notes, you can easily move the same finger across the

keyboard. In fact, the gaps support a singing line—think of them as being like consonants, subtly defining

the start of each new note.


The exercise below presents the whole chorale melody, and we have added commas between the phrases,

which remind you to make a larger gap. Keep your fingers in contact with the keyboard as you shift, and

listen closely to the defined, yet singing, line you are creating:

RH

3

’ ’

& # 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 3 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

2 w ˙ w ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ w w ˙ w ˙ ˙ w w

9

’ ’

& # w 5 ˙ 5 w 5 ˙ 5 ˙ 5 w 4 w 5 w 4 ˙ 4 w 5 ˙ 5 ˙ 5 w 5 w

4

17

’

& # 3 5 5 5 3 4 5 3 5 5 5 5 5 4 5 5

w ˙ w ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ w w ˙ w ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ w

Coordinated releases in contrapuntal music

Sometimes all three voices release together, even though one or more start at different points. First play the

following segments, releasing all three voices together at the end of each exercise:

5

1

{ &# ?#

5 1

5

w

{ &# ˙

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ?# œ œ { &# 2

w

œ œ ?# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

4 1 4

3

4 1 4

(b. 9) (b. 9) (b. 10)

Now play the following exercise, which joins together the above segments. The broken vertical lines remind

you when to coordinate releases:

continued...


Chorale Variation on

‘Freu dich sehr, o meine Seele’

Johann Pachelbel

(1653–1706)

{

3

& # 5 5 5 4

1 2 1 2

2

ẇ

w

˙

˙ ˙

?#

3

2

‰ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

1 4 2 5 4 4


3

{

& # 4 2 2 4 2 4 2 (2)

˙œ œ ˙œ œ ˙œ œ ww ˙

?#

4 1 2

4

3

’

5

1 2

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

œ

ẇ

2 3 1 3 3

˙

5

2

˙œ

œ

6

{

& # 5 3

w

?#

3 4

5

1

˙˙

4 1 5

5

1

˙

5

2 5 1 1

ẇ ˙ wœ œ œ œ ˙

œ œ œ œ œnœ

œ œ œ

œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

œ

2 4 4 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 1 3

’

9

{

5

1 5

2

5

1

5

3 4

& # 5 1

w ˙

w ˙ ẇ w ˙

µ

?#

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

4 1 4 1 4 1 1 4 2

(4)

32

Chapter 5

57

{

{

12

& # 5 3

w

?#

15

’

4

2

3 3 2 4 3 4 3 2 2 3 3 2 4 4

& # 5 3 5

3 4

˙ w ww ˙

?#

Ÿ~~~~~~~

œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ nœ

4 1 1 23

w ˙ w ˙

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œnœ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

5

3

2 4 2 2 1 3

5

3

’

œ œ œ œ


{

{

{

17

& # 3 1

w

?#

19

22

5

3 5

2

5

3

1 3 3 4 3 4 3 5

4

2

& # 3 1

1

˙ ˙ ˙ w

?#

& # 5 1

w

?#

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ nœ

5

3

3 4 4 4 4

5

1

2 4 1

˙ w ˙

3

2 2 4 2 5 2

5

5

3

4

1

œ nœ

5

2

œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ

œ œ œ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œnœ

œ œ œ œ œ œnœ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œnœ

œ

˙

˙

˙˙

’

5

1

w

4 1 4

1 4 4 2 2 2 5

5

2

˙œ œ ẇ

˙

œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

œ œ ˙ œ

5

1

˙

˙

The first of four variations on ‘Freu dich sehr, o meine Seele’

continued...


Studies


If using these pieces for sight-reading, remember the preparation method: Stops–Key–Feet–Hands–Time.

Study No. 1: Singing touch with one finger

Gt.: Fl. 8ʹ



E melodic minor scale, single finger in each hand, then hands together, ordinary touch

Begin by playing an E melodic minor scale using the same finger for each note, in ordinary touch. As always,

aim for a close, though not quite legato, link between notes.

{ &# œ œ œ œ œ # œ # œ œ nœ

Gt.

?# œ œ œ œ œ # œ # œ œ nœ

3 3 3 3 3 3 3

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

Now play a two-octave scale of E melodic minor, using ordinary touch:

nœ

nœ

œ œ œ œ œ

œ œ œ œ œ

{ &#

?#

Gt.

œ œ œ œ œ # œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ # œ œ nœ


1 3 1 4 1 3 1 1 3 1 4 1 3

5

1 3 1 4 1 3 3 1 4 1 3 1

nœ

nœ

œ œ œ œ œ nœ

nœ

œ œ œ œ œ nœ

nœ

œ œ œ œ œ

œ œ œ œ œ

{

Œ

p

4 3

Andante cantabile

Study No. 1

3

& # 4 3

4 œ

Œ œj œ ˙˙

Œ ˙ œ ˙ œ # ˙ ˙

œ

Gt.

?# ˙ ˙˙ œ ˙˙

∑

œ ˙˙ œ œ˙ œ œ

2 1 (1)

(2) 2

1

(2)

(1)

2

1

(2)

continued...

Chapter 6

Prelude in F

attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)


In this chapter, your feet will learn new techniques and play notes that are increasingly independent of the

manual parts. Prelude in F has a number, BWV 556i, from the catalogue of J. S. Bach, but in fact it was

probably composed by one of his pupils. Whoever wrote it, generations of organists have enjoyed this

cheerful piece.

Balancing pedal and manual

You need a bright, clear registration on one manual supported by pedals of equal volume. German organs of

Bach’s time often had a small department of pipes placed in a separate case behind the organist’s back, called

the Rückpositiv; ‘Rück’ means ‘back’. More recent organs often follow the same plan, and the department

may be called Rückpositiv, Positive, or Choir. Traditionally, this small department lacked a Principal 8ʹ, so

a typical registration would be Flute 8ʹ, Principal 4ʹ, Principal 2ʹ. This gives a lighter impact than a Principal

chorus on the Great, and it suits Prelude in F. If you do not have these stops on a Rückpositiv, register Flute

8ʹ, Principal 4ʹ, Principal 2ʹ on any manual.

Use a similar registration for the pedals, but an octave down: Flute 16ʹ, Principal 8ʹ, Principal 4ʹ. If you lack

any of these stops on the pedal department, you may be able to couple them from a manual you are not

using. Avoid coupling the manual you are using to the pedal because, if you do, when the left hand and pedal

play the same note, the left-hand note will be disabled.

Play the following chord, adjusting the registration if necessary to achieve a clear pedal sound, equal in

volume to the manual:

{

3

& b 1

8 œ

? 3 b 8

œ

1

35

? 3 b 8 œ

m

(b. 14)


To establish the key of Prelude in F, play the following exercise:

F major scale, hands together; foot on tonic pedal, ordinary touch

1 4 1 3 1 4 1 1 4 1 3 1 4

&b

{


? b

?


œ œ

&

5 1 3 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

œ œ

œ œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

1 3 1

1 4

1 3 3 1

? b ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ œ

m

4


Measuring intervals between the feet

For confident note-finding, learn to measure intervals between your feet. First, check your posture. Place

your hands on the key cheeks, join your knees together in front of you, and sit upright, perhaps imagining

you are supporting a heavy, jewelled crown on your head.

Place your feet side by side and gently join your heels. In the exercises below, find each new starting note by

counting from home position.

To measure a 2nd, think of your feet as two pencils lined up together in parallel. If you play on their

imagined coloured dots, as described in Chapter 3, there is plenty of room to place them side by side:

2nds: ‘parallel pencils for the feet’

m m m m m m m m

? b 4 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ Ó

m m m m m m m m m

? b 4

œ

mœ œ

mœ œ

mœ œ

mœ œ

mœ œ

mœ œ

mœ œ

mœ ˙ Ó

m m m m m m m m m


The next exercise includes a black note, which means that one foot is slightly forward of the other. Still keep

the feet as close together as possible:

m m m m m m m m


m m m m m m m m m


As you play the next exercise keep your heels joined, and part your toes so that your feet make a V-shape

from the heels, as they measure a 3rd:

Chapter 6

63

3rds: ‘heel V-shape’

m m m m m m m m m


m m m m m m m m

The next two exercises each include a black note; remember to keep your heels joined:

(based on bb. 8–9 and 42–3)

m m m m m m m m

? m

b 4 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ Ó

m m m m m m m m

m m m

?

m m m m m m

b 4 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ Ó

m m m m m m m m



For intervals of 2nds and 3rds, you kept your heels together,

and this hinge at the heels helped you measure these intervals

accurately. For intervals larger than a 3rd, part your heels; now

your joined knees are the hinge, and your lower legs make a

V-shape from your knees.

Prelude in F includes 4ths and 5ths between your feet. Use a

narrow knee V-shape to play notes a 4th apart, and a slightly wider

knee V-shape to play notes a 5th apart.

Practise these knee V-shapes:

4ths: knee V-shape

? m

m

m

b 4 œ

m

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ w

m

m

5ths: knee V-shape

m

m

m

? b 4 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

w

m

m

m



continued...

Chapter 6

71

{

Prelude in F

3

& b 1 2 1 4

8 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

? 3 b 8 ∑

4

2

? 3 b 8 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑

4

2

4

2

4

2 2

1

3 1 2 1 1 2 1

attr. J. S. Bach

(1685–1750)


5

{

8

&b 1 3 5 1 2 4 1 3 5

œ œ

{

œ œ œ œ œ

{

1 2 4

& b 1 3 5

3 3 3

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ nœ

11


1 2 4

? b

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ nœ

œ

5

?

m

b ‰

œ

œ ‰

œ

‰

m

m

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

?

# œ œ œ

b

œ

5

m

?

m

b œ ‰ œ ‰ œ

m

‰

4

1


2 m 3 2 Fine

& b 1 2 5

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

? œ œ œ œœ j œ œ œ œj

b J J

œ

4 3 1 1 4 2 1

4 35 24 35

m

m m

? b œ ‰ œ œ j œ j œ

m m

œ

m

continued...

Chapter 7

Adagio and Allegro from Concerto in C

Tomaso Albinoni (1671–1751)


These two concerto movements introduce new coordination challenges: your feet have a more extensive role

than in previous pieces, while your hands make rapid position shifts.

Albinoni was an Italian composer and a contemporary of Vivaldi. He was one of the first composers of

concertos for a solo instrument or group of soloists. This concerto was originally composed for strings, but it

transfers effectively to the organ.

The first movement: Adagio

To establish A minor, the key of Adagio, draw any Principal 8ʹ and play the following exercise:

A melodic minor scale, hands in similar motion, ordinary touch

{&

?

1 3 1 4 1 3 1

5


nœ


nœ

5 1 3

œ œ œ œ œ nœ

1 3 1 4 1 3

œ œ œ œ œ nœ

nœ

1 4 1 3 3 1 4 1 3 1

nœ

œ œ œ œ œ

œ œ œ œ œ

Right-hand solo registration

The Adagio introduces an expressive right-hand melody, accompanied by the left hand and pedals. When

choosing a registration that includes a solo voice, first choose the sound for the solo voice; only then find the

accompanying stops to support it.

For your right-hand registration, choose 8ʹ and 4ʹ stops on any manual, preferring Flute stops for sweetness

of tone. Test your options while you play the opening of the melody:

Chapter 7

79

RH

& c

2

# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

(Adagio, b. 1)

Call your chosen manual Manual I. You could add a Tremulant to your right-hand solo registration. A

Tremulant varies the wind supply to create the effect of a vibrato.

Now choose the sound for your accompaniment. Use a different manual and choose an 8ʹ stop, probably

also a Flute. Call that Manual II. Play the following to assess the balance between the hands. Some of the

left hand’s upper notes either sound above, or duplicate, the right-hand melody, so make sure that you have

clarity on both manuals, but that the right hand dominates:

& c # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

{

II

I mp 2 3

& c

p

œ

1

4

Œ

œ

1

4

Œ

œ

2

4

(Adagio, bb. 1–2)


The pedal is part of the accompaniment, so it must balance with the left hand. The usual convention is to

choose stops from the same tonal family as the manual, but an octave down: Flute 16ʹ. Try any low pedal

note with this stop and listen. If its pitch is indistinct, add a Flute 8ʹ, too.

Play the left hand and pedals together, and check that they are the same volume:

LH

Ped.

II

& c

p

œ

1

4

Œ

? c

m œ Œ œ Œ œ

m m

œ

1

4

Œ

œ

2

4

(Adagio, bb. 1–2)

Independent pedal activity

When your hands and feet have independent activity, your feet need a high level of confidence, so learn their

part thoroughly before starting the manuals.

Warm up your feet with a pedal scale of C major, the relative major of the key of the Adagio and the key of

the second movement, Allegro. Remember to:

• Place your hands on the key cheeks.

• Prepare both feet on their starting notes.

• Keep your knees together throughout.

• Pivot your lower body from left to right as the notes ascend, and from right to left as they descend.


C major scale, feet, consecutive toes, ordinary touch

m m m m m m m m

?


m m m m m m m

? m œ mœ mœ m m m m m


m m m

œ

m

œ

m

œ œ

m m

Now learn the complete pedal part of the Adagio, as presented below. Work in this order:


• Place your hands on the key cheeks.

• Turn your lower body slightly to the left, as most pedal notes are in the lower octave.

• Train the right foot on its own, then the left foot on its own.

• Combine both feet.

? c

m m m m

œ Œ œ Œ œ Œ œ Œ œ Œ œ Œ œ Œ œ Œ œ Œ

m m m m m

#˙

m

Œ

m

# œ ˙ w

m m

(complete pedal part, Adagio)

Releasing early before rests

As you learned in Purcell’s Air, you normally shave a tiny amount from the length of every note in ordinary

touch, and this still applies even if the note is followed by a rest. Only you can decide on how much to shave

from each note—it depends on the resonance in the room and your own taste. As you play, listen closely to

the following options. Note that in both cases the left hand and pedal release together, but they do so at an

earlier point in the example on the right:

I 3 4 2

{ & œ œ œ œ j

& œ ‰

?

II 1

5

œ

m

‰

I 3 4 2

{ & œ œ œ œ j

j

& œ

≈ ‰

(Adagio, b. 4) (Adagio, b. 4)

?

II 1

5

j

œ ≈ ‰

m

Having decided which release is best, apply it consistently to the exercises that follow. Notes of the same

length in the left hand and pedal must release together.

continued...

Chapter 7

89

{

I

Adagio and Allegro

Tomaso Albinoni

(1671–1751)

mp 2 3 4 2 3 4 2 2

& c # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ# œ œ œ

& c

II

p

œ

1

4

Œ

œ

1

4

Adagio

Œ

? c

m œ Œ œ Œ œ Œ œ Œ

m m m

œ

2

4

‰ œ#

œ#œ

3

5

Œ


3

{

5

{

&

&

4 4 3 4 2 2 4 4 3 4 2 2

œ œ œ œ œ œ#

Œ œ

2

5

3

5

? m m

œ Œ œ Œ œ Œ

m

&

&

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ nœ

4 4 2 2 3

œ œ œ œ œ œ b˙

œ

1

5

œ œ

Œ

œ

œ œ ˙

# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ nœ

2 2

Œ

Œ

œ œ œ œ

Œ

œ œ œ ? m m

œ Œ

Œ

#˙ # œ ˙ w

m m m

Œ

2

5

1

4

œ

m

bœ

˙ w

Œ œ œ œœ

œ

w

2

4

œ œ œ

continued...

Œ

Œ


Studies


For sight-reading preparation, remember the method: Stops–Key–Feet–Hands–Time.

Study No. 1: Rapid hand-position shifts

Sw.: Fl. 8ʹ, Sw. open

Gt.: Fl. 8ʹ

Ped.: 16ʹ, 8ʹ


B melodic minor scale, hands together, ordinary touch

{ &# #

œ œ œ œ œ # œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ# œ œ nœ

nœ

œ œ œ œ œ nœ

nœ

Gt.

?# #

?

œ œ œ œ œ # œ # œ

œ

&

œ œ œ œ œ # œ # œ œ

nœ

nœ

nœ

nœ

œ œ œ œ

4 1 4

1 4 4 1

{

5

{

1 3 1 4 1 3 1 1 3 1 4 1 3

Allegretto

1 3

3 3

Study No. 1

3

1 4 1

3 3

œ œ œ œ œ

œ œ œ œ œ

& # # 5 8 œ œ œ # œ

j ‰ œ œ J

‰

œ œ œ œ j ‰ œ nœ

J

‰

Sw. p

Gt. p

5

& # # 8 œ œ œ œ j ‰ œ # œ

j ‰

œ œ œ œ j ‰ # œ nœ

j ‰

2 2 2

2

?# # 5

m

m

8 œ œ j ‰ œ œ J ‰ œ œ j ‰ œ œ J ‰

m

m

& # 3

3

3

# nœ

œ

œ

œ

œ

œ ‰ J ‰ œ œ œ œ ∑

J J

‰

Sw.


& # #

nœ

œ œ œ j ‰ œ œ j ‰

œ œ œ

2

# œ

j ‰

œ œ j ‰

2

2

?#

m

# # œ œ ‰ œ œ ‰ œ œ

J J J ‰ œ œ j ‰

m m

m

Gt.

continued...

Chapter 8

Praeludium in F pro organo pleno

Johann Ludwig Krebs (1713–80)


Praeludium in F is a Baroque showpiece that will display your increasing confidence on the pedalboard. You

will use new pedal techniques underneath exciting figuration on the manuals.

Krebs studied the organ with J. S. Bach in Leipzig, and his teacher held him in high regard. Krebs’s many

compositions were greatly influenced by his teacher, and he successfully continued the Bach tradition until

the end of the eighteenth century.

Organo pleno

Krebs indicated in the title of this piece the registration he wanted: organo pleno, which literally means ‘full

organ’, but in the German-speaking regions of the Baroque period this indicated a specific set of stops. Draw

all the available Principal stops from the lowest pitch up to Mixture on the Great and the pedals, plus Pedal

Reeds 16ʹ, 8ʹ, and Pedal Principal 32ʹ if available.

If your pedal department has insufficient stops to balance the Great, couple down suitable stops from an

unused manual. Only couple the Great to Pedal as a last resort, because coupling the manual on which you

are playing compromises the left hand’s clarity and was not common practice in Krebs’s day; he and his

German contemporaries regarded the pedals as a separate, self-sufficient department.

The next exercise accustoms your ear to the key of the piece, warms up your pedal technique and

coordination skills, and tests the effectiveness of your registration:

• Begin by practising your feet on their own.

• Remind yourself not to look down at your feet.

• When combining the staves listen especially to the pedals—they need to be prominent but must not

overwhelm the manual chords. Adjust the registration if necessary.

Chapter 8

97

F major dominant seventh, left- and right-hand chords; feet, broken chord, ordinary touch

5

3

2

&b cww

w w

˙

Ó

{

c

w

w

˙

Ó

? b

1

5

? b c

œ

m

m

œ

œ

m

m m m m m m


m m m m m


œ

m

m

œ

˙

m

Ó

(based on b. 27)

If possible, ask someone to watch you while you play in order to check that your back is straight. If it is not,

you may need to adjust the bench—up or down, in or out—or you may need to sit further forward or back

on the bench. Roll your shoulders and continue only when they feel loose and relaxed.

Pedal octaves

Place your hands on the key cheeks, ready to learn a new interval on the pedalboard. Find your first notes,

below, by counting from home position. Check that:

• Your knees are together.

• Your knees are centred between the two notes, so each leg-shape mirrors the other.

• Your leg muscles are relaxed.

?

m

b c ˙

˙

m

(based on b. 11)

With a little practice these three rules—knees together, knees centred, legs relaxed—will equip you to play

any octave confidently.

As you play the next exercise, memorize the knee V-shape—the shape your legs make below your joined

knees. Tap into your spatial memory of the pedalboard, too, recording exactly where these notes are, as you

will return to these same notes soon:

m

? b c œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ Ó

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

m

(based on b. 11)

Pull gently with your right hand to pivot your lower body to the right, maintaining the knee V-shape.

Count up ready for the next exercise, which is a 5th higher than the last. As you play, again use your spatial

continued...

Chapter 8

103

Praeludium in F pro organo pleno

Johann Ludwig Krebs

(1713–80)

{

&b c

c

1 4 2

5 3

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

? b

œ Œ œ Œ œ

1 1

35 25

Œ œ Œ


? b c Œ

Œ

Œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

m m m m

Œ

3

& b 5 2 3 2

{

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ r œ œœ œ œ œ œ œ

r≈ ‰ Œ œ Œ œ Œ

? œ œ

œ

œ œ œ

b Œ œ

œ œ

Œ œ œ œ

Œ ≈ œ

œ œœ œ

œ œœ œ

œ œœ œ

œ œœ

1 1 2 4 5 1

24

4

2

1

? b Œ Œ Œ Ó

Œ

œ œ œ

œ œ

m m m m m

Œ

6

{

5

31 5

32

& b œ Œ œ Œ œ Œ œ

? b

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

2 5 3

Œ

? b Œ

Œ

Œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

m m m m

Œ

continued...


Studies



Sw.: Fl. 8ʹ, Sw. open

Ped.: Fl. 16ʹ, 8ʹ

Study No. 1: Pivoting, supported by a sustained note


C# harmonic minor scale, hands together, ordinary touch

{ &# # # 2 3 1 3 1 4 1 3 1 1 3 1 4 1 3 1 3

#

œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

Sw.

?# #

# # ?

œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ

œ

&


œ œ

œ œ

œ œ

œ œ

œ œ

œ

œ

œ

3 1 4 1

{

& # # # #

Sw.

Adagio espressivo

2

4

Sw.: Pr. 8ʹ, Fl. 8ʹ, Reed 8ʹ, Sw. closed

Gt.: Pr. 8ʹ, Fl. 8ʹ, Sw. to Gt.

Ped.: Fl. 16ʹ, Pr. 8ʹ, Sw. to Ped.



p

3

1 4 1 2 1 4 1

Study No. 1

3 3

Study No. 2: Crossing toes on adjacent notes

3 1 4 1

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙

2

& # # # #

4 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

3

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ ˙

3 3

?# # # # 2

m m m m m m

4 œ ˙ ˙ œ œ œ J # œ# œ

˙ œ

œ œ

m

m m

m m

m ˙

m

For technical exercises in the key of this study, please see pages 20 and 49.

continued...

Chapter 9

Fughetta on ‘Gottes Sohn ist kommen’

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)


This manuals-only piece introduces important new features of contrapuntal playing. It is a short fugue

(fughetta) on the chorale tune Gottes Sohn ist kommen by the master of organ fugues, J. S. Bach.

A fugue is a piece in which the voices enter one by one, imitating each other. When they have all entered,

a conversation between the different voices continues until a final resolution. A fugue is thrilling on any

instrument, but a fugue on the organ is probably the most stirring of all. The main melody of this fughetta,

called ‘the subject’, is a quotation from a chorale.

Light and clear Baroque registration

Choose a registration that serves both the chorale words and the texture of this piece. The chorale text,

‘God’s Son has come’, about Christ coming to redeem human sin, speaks of a great mystery, and this

suggests a light, modest registration. But the texture of the piece interweaves the three independent voices,

and this feature requires a registration that is clear. We recommend that you meet these two requirements

by registering a Flute 8ʹ for lightness and a Principal 4ʹ for clarity. Try this registration on more than one

manual while playing the following F major scale, which is the key of the piece. The scale is in 3rds, using

fingering typical of early music. Keep your wrist relaxed and lightly drag your fingers from chord to chord.

The effect of your ordinary touch must be nearly legato, but with coordinated starts and ends to each chord:

F major scale, 3rds, hands separately, ordinary touch

LH

? b

2

4

2

4

2

4

2

4

2

4

2

4

2

4

2

4

2

4

2

4

2

4

2

4

2

4

2

4

2

4


RH

& b 4

2

4

2

4

2

4

2

4

2

4

2

4

2

4

2

4

2

4

2

4

2

4

2

4

2

4

2

4

2



Subject, answer, and countersubject

Every fugue or fughetta has a subject, an answer, and a countersubject. A standard fugue starts with a single

voice: the subject, which inspires the whole piece. With your right hand, play the subject of Gottes Sohn ist

kommen, which is the first seven notes of the chorale. Internalize this all-important melody by singing aloud

as you repeat it on the keyboard. Feel the intensity growing through these slow notes:

RH

3

& b 1 2

4 ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ œ

(bb. 1–4)

Now the second voice enters, playing the answer. The answer is the subject at a different pitch and sometimes

with additional adjustments, as here. Play the answer, feeling the music intensify towards the last note, as

you did with the subject:


LH

3

&b 4

Œ

œ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙

5

(bb. 4–7)

Meanwhile the first voice continues into the countersubject. The countersubject includes three sequential

statements of the same motif (boxed), so articulate them consistently:

RH

3

3

& b 4 1 1 3 1 1 2 1 2 1 3 1 1

4 œœœœœœœ œ r œœœœœœœœœœœ œ r œbœœœœœœœœœœ œ r œ œbœœœœœœœœœ œ

(bb. 4–8)

The motif which appeared sequentially in the countersubject, above, appears in almost every subsequent bar.

Play the following statements of the motif, articulating between each one:

LH

? 3 b 4 ≈ œ bœ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ R œ œ œ œ œbœ

œ œ œ œ œ bœ

3 3

(bb. 18–20)

RH

5

1

Œ

3

& b 1 3 1 5

4 œ œ œ bœ

œ œ œ œ Œ œ œ œ œ

R

œ r œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙

2 4 4 4 1

(bb. 16–18)

continued...


{

Fughetta on

‘Gottes Sohn ist kommen’

Johann Sebastian Bach

(1685–1750)

3

& b 1 2 4 1

4 ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

3

& b 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ Œ

œ

5

œ


5

&b 1 3 1 1 2 1 2 1 3 1

{&b

˙ œ ˙ œ ˙

8

&b 1 4 2

{

&b

11

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ bœ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œbœ


5 5

& b 1 2 3 5

{

œ j ‰ Œ Œ


4

2 1 2 1 3 1

œ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

œ œ œ œ œ œ

œ œ

œ œ

œ

œ

œnœ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

?

˙

œ œ œ œ œ œ

1

5

5

1 2

≈ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙œ œ œ œ

œ

œ

? ˙ œ œ ˙œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

b

1 4 1 2 2 2 2 3 3

3 4 4

continued...


Studies


For sight-reading preparation, remember the method: Stops–Key–Feet (where relevant)–Hands–Time.

Study No. 1: Voice collision (i)

Gt.: Pr. 8ʹ, Fl. 4ʹ

Ped.: Pr. 16ʹ, 8ʹ (pedal registration for the technical exercise only)




Study No. 1

Before playing this study, identify where the voices collide and plan how to manage the collision.

{

{

Andante marcato

2

&b b 2

4 ˙ œ œ ˙ ˙ ˙

Gt. mf

2

&b b 4 ‰ œ j œ œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

4 2 3 2 1

6&b b 5 4 1

œ œ œ

‰ J œ œ œ œ Œ ‰ œ j œ œ œ Œ

& bb œ bœ

˙

1

˙

Œ

œ œ ˙œ œ œ

Œ

continued...

Chapter 10

Rising Passacaglia

Frederick Stocken (b. 1967)


All the pieces so far in this Method used ordinary touch because they were all written in the seventeenth and

eighteenth centuries, when ordinary touch was standard. From the early nineteenth century, legato gradually

became the standard touch. Sometimes, however, ordinary touch benefits music from this and later periods,

as it promotes clarity. This often applies to music inspired by Baroque models, such as Rising Passacaglia.

A passacaglia is a serious piece, often in three-time, with a repeated bass. This modern passacaglia sometimes

presents its repeated bass in rising keys, hence its title.

Terraced dynamics

Arranging two or more manuals in graded dynamics and moving between them as you play is called

‘terraced dynamics’, and this is a feature of Rising Passacaglia. Blend several 8ʹ stops, as described below, to

produce a warm, sonorous tone on both Swell and Great.

Sw.: Pr. 8ʹ, Fl. 8ʹ, Str. 8ʹ, Sw. open

Gt.: Pr. 8ʹ, Fl., 8ʹ

Play the cadence below on the Swell, then repeat it on the Great. Great Principal 8ʹ and Flute 8ʹ are usually

louder than equivalent stops on the Swell, so you already have terraced dynamics:

4

2

1

? # œ œ œ

{?

œ

œ œ

1

5

3

3

(bb. 48–9)

Next, make the Great registration louder by drawing the Swell to Great. As you play the cadence again, you

can hear that the Great is now even warmer in tone because of the additional Swell stops. The coupler also

ensures that moving from Swell to Great maintains many of the same sonorities.


Register the pedals using Flutes 16ʹ and 8ʹ. Listen to their sound as you play the pedals of the next exercise,

which is in A minor, the key of Rising Passacaglia. Then add the left-hand accompaniment on the Swell:

A minor, left-hand melody; feet, broken chord, ordinary touch

LH

Ped.

Sw.

& 4 ˙ œ œ ˙ ˙ ˙ œ œ j ˙

1 2 3

m m

?

4 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

m m

5


3

1

3 4 5

œ œ œ

œ œ

œ œ œ

˙

Ó

Ó


Changing stops during a piece

When moving between manuals in terraced dynamics, you will need to adjust the pedal registration so that

it balances either manual. The easiest way to balance the pedals is to register them lightly, and to add or

remove the Great to Pedal coupler as required.

Learn to move with maximum efficiency as you change stops in the next exercise, and decide how you will

operate the Great to Pedal coupler. You may have a thumb piston or toe-operated device that adds and

removes the Great to Pedal. If not, notice that the left hand is free on the second chord because the right

hand is playing its note. If using the left hand to operate the Great to Pedal coupler, work in the following

order:

• Train your right hand to move calmly from its last chord on the Swell to its first chord on the Great.

• Train your left hand to move calmly from G# on the Swell, first to the Great to Pedal coupler, and

then to A on the Great.

• Combine the three staves. As you play the first chord, move your eyes to the Great to Pedal coupler.

• On the next beat move your left hand to the coupler, and simultaneously move your eyes back to the

music.

• If necessary, use Practice strategy 5: Stop and think to ensure successful completion of the exercise.

{

3

& 4

Sw.

mf

3

& 4 # œ œ Œ œ b˙

? 3

4

5

3

Add Gt.

to Ped.

œ œ œ Œ

Gt.

3

2

4

1

# œ # œ˙ œ

2 1 2

œ

m

’ m œ

Œ

m œ

˙

m

(bb. 27–9)

Chapter 10

123

In the next exercise, remove the Great to Pedal coupler just as calmly:

{

2

1

1

3

& 4 # œ œ Œ œ œ œ

? 3

4

? 3

4

Gt.

œ

1

4

œ

m

œ

3

5

mœ

Remove

Gt. to Ped.

Œ

Sw.

mp

# œ œ œ

4 3 3

Œ Œ Œ

(bb. 31–3)


Playing a melody on the pedals

Previous pieces in this Method have presented the pedals in a supporting role, but in Rising Passacaglia they

play the main melody.

The haunting passacaglia theme on the pedals inspires every bar of this piece. Here are the opening three

statements of the theme, the third one ‘rising’ in key. Adopt the ‘hands up’ position and use ordinary touch

to play this exercise. Express the hairpins, but not through use of Swell pedal; instead, simply feel the musical

shape. This automatically makes tiny, expressive, adjustments to note lengths and the placing of notes in the

rhythm:

3

4

? m œ

mp

m m

m m m

˙ œ ˙ œ ˙

m m

œ œ Œ œ

m

m m

˙ œ ˙ œ

m m

? m m m

˙

œ œ Œ œ

m

m m m

˙ œ ˙ œ # ˙

m m

m

# œ œ Œ

m

(bb. 1–12)

continued...

Chapter 10

127

Rising Passacaglia

{

At a solemn tempo

3

& 4 Œ ∑ ∑ ∑

mp

mp

Frederick Stocken

(b. 1967)

? 3

4 Œ ∑ ∑ ∑ Œ ˙ ˙ œ œ œ ˙ # ˙ œnœ

? 3

4

m m m m

œ

˙ œ ˙ œ ˙

m m

Sw.

œ

m

Œ

3

˙ ˙ œ œ œ ˙ # ˙ œnœ

2

m m

œ Œ œ

m m m

˙ œ ˙ œ ˙

m m

œ

m


8

{

&

?

3 2 3

œ ˙ ˙ œ œ œ ˙ ˙ # œ œ œ # ˙

œ

˙ œ œ # œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ œ # œ

1 2 2

? m m m m m

œ Œ œ

˙ œ ˙ œ # ˙

m m

m m

# œ œ Œ œ

m

{

13

&

?

?

˙

œ

˙

m

2 4 3 1 3 1 2 1 4

# œ œ œ # ˙ ˙ # œ ‰ # œ J œ œ # œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ œ

# ˙ œ œ œ # œ # œ # œ # œ # ˙ ˙ # œ œ

m m m m

# œ ˙ œ # ˙ œ

m

3 2 2

#œ

m

Œ

m

# œ

˙

m

# œ

m

continued...


Studies



Study No. 1: Changing stops during a piece

Sw.: Pr. 8ʹ, 4ʹ, 2ʹ, Mixt., Reeds 8ʹ, 4ʹ, Sw. open

Gt.: Pr. 16ʹ, 8ʹ, 4ʹ, 2 2 /3ʹ, 2ʹ, Mixt.

Ped.: Pr. 16ʹ, 8ʹ, Sw. to Ped., Gt. to Ped.



For a technical exercise in the key of this study, please see page 107.

Study No. 1

This study shows another way of indicating registration changes, with plus and minus signs.

{

7

{

& # #

Fanfare

2

4

Gt.

5

2

f

−Gt.

to Ped.

2

œ

∑

∑

# œ œ

˙˙ #

˙˙

nœ

?# 2 œ bœ

œ ˙

# 4

∑

1

4

5

?# 2

m

m

# 4 œ œ ˙ ∑ ˙ ∑ œ œ

m

& # #

œ

˙

−Gt.

to Ped.

∑

?# # ˙ ∑

5

2

˙

+Gt.

to Ped.

∑

Sw.

5

mf

Sw.

Gt.

# ˙˙ œ œ œ

1

5

?# # ˙ ∑ ˙ ∑

œ œ ˙

m m

∑

5

1

œ

1

5

˙

1

œ œ œ œ

2

4

+Gt.

to Ped.

˙

#˙˙

˙

1

5

∑

Gt.

5

1

1

5

+Sw.

to Gt.

∑

∑

∑

5

2

ff

1

4

m

˙

œ

# œ œ

œ

˙

˙

continued...

Part 2


LEGATO TOUCH

WITH ASSOCIATED STYLE

AND TECHNIQUE

Chapter 11

Elegy

William Walton (1902–83)


The second part of this Method focuses on repertoire using legato touch, the usual touch for Romantic

music. Even advanced pianists can find that playing legato successfully on the organ demands new techniques

and careful listening.

Walton composed this Elegy for the 1955 film Richard III, based on Shakespeare’s play. Its mournful music

for manuals only accompanies Act 2, Scene 1, in which the dying king, Edward IV, learns of his brother’s

death.

Legato touch

Legato literally means ‘bound’. This bound-together touch became standard in the late nineteenth century.

It requires a tiny overlap between notes so that the first note masks the start of the next one. Consider how

you walk: as you transfer your weight from one foot to another, both feet are briefly on the ground. It is just

the same on the keyboard: when one finger moves to another in legato touch, there is a moment when both

fingers are depressing keys.

Draw a Principal 8ʹ on both the Swell and the Great, and practise a scale in legato touch. As Elegy is in G

minor, even though it has no key signature, play the scale of G melodic minor. Control the amount of overlap

through careful listening: the overlap should be so brief that the effect is smooth, but without blurring. To

help you monitor your touch, place your right hand on the Great and your left hand on the Swell. Then

repeat with your right hand on the Swell and your left hand on the Great:

G melodic minor scale, hands together, legato touch

1 3 1 4 1 3 1 1 3 1 4 1 3

{ &bb ? b b

œ œ œ œ œ nœ

# œ œ œ œ œ œ nœ

# œ œ nœ

bœ

œ œ œ œ œ nœ

bœ

?

œ œ œ œ œ nœ

# œ

œ nœ

&

5 1 3 œ œ œ œ œ nœ

# œ œ bœ

nœ

bœ

œ œ œ œ

1 4

1 3 3 1

4

1 3 1

œ œ œ œ œ

œ œ œ œ œ

Chapter 11

135

Now explore legato touch with exercises from Elegy. All exercises in this chapter are slow:

LH

?

4

Œ

bœ bœ

˙˙ Œ Gt. 1

4

2

5

1

4

2

5

˙˙


RH

Sw. 3 & 4 œ b œ

œ œ˙ # œ Œ

3

1 5

œ

bœ

œ

œ

œ

(bb. 11–14)

Cancel all stops before continuing.

Combining Swell pedal and stops to make an extended diminuendo

The warm textures and solemn mood of Elegy suggest several blended 8ʹ stops from the Flute, String, and

Principal families, providing that the Principal tone is light. Register the following:

Swell: two or three 8ʹ stops from different families, achieving mf with the Swell open.

Great: one or two 8ʹ stops from different families, achieving p.

Walton wrote a diminuendo in each of the final two phrases, which might look impossible with only one

Swell pedal. However, after you close the Swell pedal to produce the first diminuendo, you can produce a

second diminuendo by re-opening the pedal in the break between phrases, while removing some stops. To

practise this, play the following exercise; the instruction after the first phrase shows you how to achieve the

double diminuendo:

LH

?

4

Ó

Sw.

˙ œ bœ

˙

1 3 1

mp


In the break between phrases

remove one or more stops

and open Swell pedal

5

4

˙

b˙

œ œ

4

1

3

œ œ

œJ ‰

w

pp

(bb. 25–9)

To continue, restore the Swell stops you just removed and open the Swell pedal.

Sharing an inner voice between the hands in legato touch

You are already familiar with sharing an inner voice in ordinary touch. Now you are ready to explore the

implications of sharing an inner voice in legato touch. Look at the following exercise without playing it,

following only the inner voice. Diagonal lines show how this inner voice passes between the hands:


&

4 {?

4 Œ

˙ œ

Œ œ œ bœ

œ˙ bœ

bœ

œ

b˙

œ œ bœ

œ œ œ œ

˙

3

4 b˙

3

4 b˙

(bb. 5–7)

Start by playing this inner voice on its own, using a perfect legato:

&

4 {?

4

1 2 1 1

Œ 3

œ œ ˙ 4 ˙

Gt.

œ

˙

1 1

3

4



Now use the following strategy to reassemble all three voices:

• Each hand on its own. Observe that sometimes you play one note, sometimes two.

• Hands together. Maintain legato in all voices and pay special attention to the inner voice.

5 2

1 5

&

4 ˙ œ

Œ

{

œ œ bœ

œ˙ bœ

œ œ œ œ

Gt.

?

œ

4 Œ bœ

b˙

œ œ bœ

˙

5 3 1 1

2

4

2

5

1

3

4 b˙

3

4 b˙

(bb. 5–7)

Repeated notes in legato music

In ordinary touch, repeated notes produced ready-made gaps, but repeated notes in legato touch need special

care. On the keyboard, a repeated note cannot be legato because it must release so that it can sound again.

While you release the repeated note, avoid accidentally releasing other notes in the chord. Observe the boxed

chord in the following exercise, in which both the right hand’s notes release, but the left hand’s notes remain

legato:

{& œ œ b œ ? b œ˙ œ œ

Play it like this:

{&

Sw.

4

1

5

2

œ œj ‰ œ b œ ? b œ˙ œ œ

(b. 15)

continued...


Elegy

5

&

{

9

?

&

{

&

13

&

{

?

&

{

?

Slow q = 56

4

Gt.

4

3 4

p

1

4

5 2

1 5

53

bœ˙

Œ

œ

2

œ

b˙

œ œ bœ

1

4

˙

4

2

3

4 b˙

3

4 b˙

4

Sw. mf

4

William Walton

(1902–83)

3

œ j œ œ 5

œ 4 œ # œ œ œ # ˙˙ œ 4 b œ œ œ˙ # œ

5

4

5

3

4

5

1

5

3 3

5 3 1 1

2

&

4

1

2 5

1

œ bœ

# ˙ nœ

˙

3

1

˙

Œ

˙

1

3

b œ # œ Œ

5

œ œ# œ 4 b˙

œ œ œ n œ

4

bœ b œ # ˙ b˙

bœ bœ

˙˙ 5

4 Œ ˙˙ œ bœ

œ ˙˙ 4 Œ

˙ œ

Œ œ œ bœ

œ˙ bœ

Œ

œ

bœ

œ


bœ

?

œ

3

5

˙ œ bœ

4 35 2

5

1

3

4

˙ Œ 4 Œ

1 3 1 1

4

5 5

œ œ œ œ

12

34

˙

œ œ œ bœ

œ

5

1

œ

1

5

b

œ

1

4

5

2 5

b

# œ b œ œ œ œ

œ bœ

˙ œ œ œ

œ

œ

Œ œ

Œ

œ

5

1

3

# œ bœ œ 1

3

5

œ œ œ

˙˙

1

b

#

œ œj œ œ œ

bœ

œ œ

bœ

œ

œ

2

3

nœ

1

5

5

4

5

4

© Oxford University Press 1963 and 2020

continued...


Studies



From this stage in the Method, you have more autonomy in preparing the studies. Unless you are using a

study for sight-reading, we suggest that you sometimes mark decisions concerning fingering, footing, and the

distribution of notes between the hands.

Study No. 1: Finger substitution


Sw.: Pr. 8ʹ, 4ʹ, Fl. 8ʹ, Sw. open

Gt.: Fl. 8ʹ, Sw. to Gt.

Ped.: Pr. 16ʹ, Fl. 8ʹ , Sw. to Ped., Gt. to Ped.


G major scale in 3rds, hands separately, legato touch

Use finger substitutions as marked

RH

Sw. & #

3 1

4 3

2 1

4 3

2 1

4 3

2 1

4 3

2 1

4 3

2 1

4

2

5

3

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙

4

2

3 4

1 2

3 4

1 2

3 4

1 2

3 4

1 2

3 4

1 2

3

1

LH

Gt. 1

3

2 1

4 3

?#

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙

2 1

4 3

2 1

4 3

2 1

4 3

2 1

4 3

2

4

3

5

2

4

1 2

3 4 1 2

3 4

1 2

3 4

1 2

3 4

1 2

3 4

1

3

Study No. 1

{

5

Lento espressivo

4

& # Gt.

?#

?#

& #

4

4

œ

˙

œ

mp

œ

œ b

b

# œ œ œ˙

b˙

bœ

˙ œ b œ bœ

Œ

b œ b

w ˙ Œ

nw

˙

m

m

œ j

# nœœ

œ j # œ œ œ Ó ˙˙ œ œ œ # œ Ó

n

œ

œ œ n

nœ #

œ

œ œ

b

bœ

b˙

˙

bœ

˙ bœ n

# œ

œ œ j nœ

j

bœ

n # œ

Œ

n

# œ

continued...

Œ

Chapter 12

Quasi Allegro

César Franck (1822–90)


This forthright piece from the Romantic period introduces legato techniques for the feet and further legato

techniques for the hands. Quasi Allegro means approximately ‘As if in a lively mood’. César Franck, a

Parisian composer, teacher, and organist, intended Quasi Allegro for performance on either harmonium or

organ. A harmonium has no pedals, so Franck’s original score was on two staves, but playing some of the

bass notes on the organ pedals, as in our arrangement, eases the performance and strengthens the sonority.

French nineteenth-century registration

French organists of this period liked blending the sound of Reeds with many Principals and Flutes of the

same pitch. Although Quasi Allegro keeps your hands on only one manual, the registration couples through

stops from at least one other manual.

Register, as far as your organ allows:

Sw.: Pr. 16ʹ, 8ʹ, 4ʹ, Fl. 16ʹ, 8ʹ, 4ʹ, Reeds 16ʹ, 8ʹ

Gt.: Pr. 16ʹ, 8ʹ, 4ʹ, Fl. 16ʹ, 8ʹ, 4ʹ, Reed 8ʹ, Sw. to Gt.

Ped.: Pr. 16ʹ, 8ʹ, 4ʹ, Fl. 16ʹ, 8ʹ, 4ʹ, Reeds 16ʹ, 8ʹ, Sw. to Ped., Gt. to Ped.

Now listen to this rich and distinctive registration in the final two chords of Quasi Allegro. Although most of

the piece uses legato touch, these two manual chords need accents, so separate them above a legato pedal:

{

& # #

3

4

Gt.

5

3

2

1

œœ

ff

?# 3 œ # 4

5

?# # 3

4 œ

m

4

2

1

˙

˙

˙

m

˙

(bb. 44–5)

Chapter 12

149

You may find that you need to adjust the registration. For example, one or more of the Reeds you have

chosen might be too loud. You can also add a Mixture if it does not overwhelm the Reeds.

ff on the organ is one of the loudest sounds a musician can produce on any instrument, but it can be wearing

on the listener, especially if you practise in a public space. A good practice registration could be just Great 8ʹ

and Pedal 16ʹ plus Great to Pedal.

Toe to heel on adjacent notes

When you played in ordinary touch you used only your toes, but legato touch usually needs heels as well as

toes. There are three possible signs for a heel in organ music:

These signs all have identical meaning. This Method always uses the circle.

As with toe signs, those placed above the note indicate the right foot, while those placed below the note

indicate the left foot.

1 4 3

To play with your heel, first rest your heel on the surface of a note, then imagine that a string attached to its

œ

base tugs it a small distance œdown, depressing the note. Prepare both feet before playing this:

&

{

Sw.

˙

?

¡ N M

?# 3

¡ m

# 4 ˙ ˙ # œ œ

¡ m

(bb. 34–6)

Always play on the inner edge of the heel.

This tilts your foot at the same angle you

used for playing with toes. The next two

exercises each alternate the toe and heel of

one foot, with your toe pointed outwards:


# œ œ œ œ

# œ œ

? 4 # ¡ ˙ # m ˙ # ¡ ˙ # m ˙ # ¡ œ# m œ

¡ œ m œ # ¡ œ # m œ

¡ œ m œ # ¡ œ# m œ

¡ œ m œ ¡ œ m œ ¡ œ m œ # ¡ œ# m œ

¡ œ m œ ¡ œ m œ ¡ œ m œ # w

¡

?

4

˙ # ˙ ˙ # ˙ œ# œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ w

¡ m ¡ m ¡ m ¡ m ¡ m ¡ m ¡ m¡ m ¡ m ¡ m ¡ m¡ m ¡ m ¡ m ¡


continued...

Chapter 12

157

Quasi Allegro

César Franck

(1822–90)

& # #

{

3

4

Gt.

3

2

1

ff

3

2

1

3

1

5

2 4

3

3

21

œ œ Œ œ œ Œ œ Œ œ œ œ ˙œ œ œ œ Œ œ œ Œ œ œ Œ

?# 3 œ # 4 Œ œ Œ

œ œ œ

Œ œ œ œ

Œ œ Œ

œ

Œ

3 3 3

?# # 3

m m m

m m m

4 œ Œ œ Œ œ Œ ∑ œ Œ œ Œ œ Œ


6

{

3

3 21

& # # 1 5 21 4

3

1

2

2 3 1

œ œ œ

œ # #

#

œ œ œ

œ

Œ œ

Œ œ Œ

˙

œ œ œ œ

œ

œ œ œ Œ œ

?# œ œ œ œ

# œ œ œ Œ œ œ œ

Œ œ Œ

œ Œ œ 2 1

4

?# # ∑

11

& # #

{

œ œ

Œ œ Œ

2

4

2

5

Œ Œ

œ œ œ

m m m

3 2 4

4

1 3 2

2 . 21

∑ . .

œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

sempre ff

?# # Œ œ Œ

œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ œ

2

4

?# # Œ

m

4

Œ

∑ ∑ ∑ ∑

5

3

∑

∑

4

2

4

œ

m

Œ

∑

œ

m

œ# œ œ œ œ œ

œ Œ continued...


Studies



Study No. 1: Toe to heel on adjacent notes (i)

Sw.: Fl. 8ʹ, 4ʹ, Str. 8ʹ, Sw. open

Gt.: Fl. 8ʹ, 4ʹ

Ped.: Fl. 16ʹ, 8ʹ, Sw. to Ped., Gt. to Ped.



For exercises in the key of this study, see pages 131 and 145. Use legato touch for both scales.

{

5

{

3

& # # # Gt. 3 1

4 ˙

Allegro leggiero

mp

?# #

# 3

4 ∑

?# #

#

3

4

# œ œ œ œ œ.

¡ m

Sw.

p

2

4

Study No. 1

∑

¡

# œ

m œ œ œ œ.

∑

nœ

œ œ œ œ.

¡ m

Gt. 4 2

∑

¡

nœ

m œ œ œ œ.

& # # # ˙ ∑ ∑ Œ Œ œ .

?# #

#

Gt. .

Sw.

1

3

˙

# ˙

œ nœ

œ œ œ ˙

# ˙ Œ

b˙

Gt.

˙

2

4

5

2

?# #

# ∑

¡ m œ œ œ œ œ.

¡ m

# œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ

.

œ

¡ .

m

continued...

Chapter 13

Offertoire

Léon Boëllmann (1862–97)


The study of legato touch continues with a piece that presents a reflective melody above colourful harmony.

Its composer, Léon Boëllmann, came from the generation after César Franck and, like Franck, he was a

Parisian organist and composer. He wrote Offertoire to accompany the offertory in the Mass—the bringing

of the bread and wine to the altar.

Grading dynamics by changing manuals and using the Swell pedal

Within the piece’s quiet dynamic, there are subtle, but important, dynamic changes. Here is the opening

registration:

Sw.: Fl. 8ʹ, Str. 8ʹ, Sw. closed


Ped.: Fl. 16ʹ, Sw. to Ped.

To establish Ab major, the key of Offertoire, play the following exercise:

Ab major, left-hand arpeggio; feet, broken chord, legato touch

LH

Ped.

& bb b bGt. ˙ œ œ

1 2 ˙

˙

3

2

5

? b b b b œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

Alternate toes

˙ œ œ ˙ Ó

5

3

2 1

œ œ œ œ

œ œ œ œ

˙ Ó

The Swell pedal frequently grades the dynamic in Offertoire. As you have coupled Swell to Great, opening

the Swell pedal will make a crescendo whether you are playing on the Swell or the Great. While you play the

following, control the continuous crescendo with your right foot on the Swell pedal:


RH

3

&b b 4 b bSw. 3 Gt.

4 3

4 œ œ bœ

œ

œ nœ

bœ

œ

(bb. 56–8)

Now close the Swell pedal and add Swell Principal 4ʹ. Repeat the above exercise, listening to how the

additional stop provides a further level of crescendo.

You can also make a crescendo on the pedals because you have coupled the Swell to Pedal. Close the Swell

pedal again and play the following with your left foot while operating the Swell pedal with your right foot:

? 3 b b b b 4

œ ˙ nœ

˙

¡ m ¡ m


(bb. 56–8)

Chromatic pedalling using toe and heel

The above exercise introduced chromatic pedalling, and you are now going to develop this technique.

Check the Swell pedal is still open, and play these exercises, remembering the following points:

• Rest your hands on the key cheeks.

• Keep your knees together.

• Use the inside edge of both heel and toe.

• Keep your knees level, letting your ankle joints do the work.

• Monitor legato by listening closely.

? 3 b b b b 4

¡ m ¡ m ¡ m ¡ m ¡ m ¡ m ¡

nœ

bœ

nœ

bœ

œ œ nœ

œ nœ

bœ

nœ

œ n˙


? 3 b b b b 4

œ bœ

nœ

œ nœ

œ nœ

bœ

nœ

bœ

œ bœ

˙

¡ m ¡ m ¡ m ¡ m ¡ m ¡ m ¡


Now play this exercise from the piece, inserting tiny gaps between the phrases:

? 3 b b b b 4

m ¡ m ¡

˙ n˙

bœ

˙ ˙ œ ˙ nœ

˙

¡ m ¡ m

(bb. 9–14)

continued...


{

Andante

3

5 4

p dolcissimo

Offertoire

3

&b b b b 4 Œ

œœœ Œ Œ Œ Œ Œ

œ

Sw. 1

nœ˙ œ œ

23

2

5

Léon Boëllmann

(1862–97)

&b b b b Gt.

1 3

Sw. 1 4

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ j ‰ œ œ

œ j

‰

Œ


? 3 b b b b 4 Œ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑

5

{

& bb b b 1 3

œ œ œ nœ

bœ

œ œ œ

& bb b b œ

?

nœœœ

Œ œ

n nœ Œ

1

3

1

3

˙

œ œ œ

3

b b ˙ œ œ œ ˙œ œ

21

43

? b b b b ∑ ∑ ∑

4 5 2

4

(2)3

5

Gt.

5

œ œ j ‰ œ œ œ J bœ

œ

1

24

4 2

b

˙

2

5

m

Œ Œ œ ˙

m

œ œ

{

10

&b b b b Sw. 5 4 Gt. 4

˙ œ œ œ bœ

bœ

œ ˙ œ nœ

? b b b b # ˙ bœ b ˙ n

˙

? b b b b

1

3

1

4

3 2

˙

bœ

1 4

(1)2

4

3 Sw. 3

œ

œ nœ

bœ

œ

b˙

n˙

œ ˙

¡ m ¡

n˙

bœ

˙ ˙ œ ˙ nœ

˙ nœ

¡ m ¡ m ¡

œ

bœ

(1)

4 5

nœ

nœ

œ

2 1

continued...

Chapter 13

175

Studies



Study No. 1: Sliding the heel

Sw.: Fl. 8ʹ, 4ʹ, Pr. 4ʹ, Sw. closed






{

&b b b

Andante elegaico

4

∑

? b b b 4 ∑

Study No. 1

Gt. 4 3

Œ œ œ nœ

˙ # ˙ # ˙ œ n˙

Œ

˙

Sw. 1

4

nw

∑

n˙

1

b˙

nœ

? b b b 4 Œ œ nœ

œ w w # œ œ n˙

# œ nœ

n˙

¡ m ¡ m ¡ m ¡ m¡

m ¡ m¡

6

&b b b

{

˙

# œ ˙ # œ ˙ # œ ˙ ˙ w nw

? ˙

b b n˙

˙ # ˙ ˙ n˙

w # w nw

b

1

2

w

nw

? b b b # w nw

nw

bw

m ¡

w bw

m¡ m ¡ m

w

¡

continued...

Chapter 14

Grand Chœur

Théodore Salomé (1834–96)


This chapter develops legato touch on the pedals, including scale passages involving both feet. Salomé was

organist of the Paris church of Sainte-Trinité, where he played an organ by the celebrated organ builder

Aristide Cavaillé-Coll.

Registering a French Grand Chœur

French composers often named pieces by their registrations; Grand Chœur is French for ‘full organ’, and on

a French nineteenth-century organ that meant a specific registration. Register a French Grand Chœur in three

stages:

• Draw what the French called the ‘fonds’ on the Swell, Great, and Pedal. Fonds are foundation stops:

the Principals and Flutes 16ʹ, 8ʹ, and 4ʹ.

• Add Reeds 16ʹ, 8ʹ, 4ʹ, as far as your organ allows, to all departments.

• Couple Swell to Great, Swell to Pedal, and Great to Pedal.

Listen to this registration as you play the opening moment of the piece on the Great:

{

5

21

& # c Œ œ

?# c Œ

?# c

˙

m

œ

1

2

4

(b. 1)

This chord should sound weighty, blended, and vibrant. If it feels oppressive or opaque, however, try adding

one or more higher-pitched (2ʹ and Mixture) stops. These may add clarity but must not dwarf the Reeds.

Chapter 14

179

Write down the registration you have chosen, and then reduce the volume for the exercises that follow, so

that you do not exhaust your ear.

Legato scale passages for the feet

Establish G major, the key of Grand Chœur, by playing pedal exercises in this key based on the legato scales

with which the piece opens. Place your hands on the key cheeks and remember to pivot on the inside edges

of your heel:

?# c

˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ w

m ¡ m ¡ m



Similarly, as you pivot on B, below, pivot on the inside edge of your toe:

?# c

˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ w

¡ m ¡ m ¡


Now play the first five notes of the scale, again keeping your foot on its inside edge as it points to the right

and left:

?# c

˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ w

m ¡ m ¡ m


Next, with your right foot, learn the top three notes of the scale. Keep your foot on its inside edge:

?# c

¡ m ¡ m ¡

˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ w


Now play the whole scale. As always, prepare both feet before you start, keep your knees together, and do

not look down:

Prepare right heel on E

?# ¡ w

m

¡ m ¡

w w w w w w w

¡ m ¡ m


As the pedalboard is too small to extend this G major scale into two octaves, develop your fluency in scaleplaying

by learning the C major scale. The boxed notes remind you to prepare ahead the ‘spare’ foot—keep

your foot on this boxed note until it is needed. Your knees should remain together, adjusting their position to

hover between the notes you are playing.

continued...


4

{

5

21

& # 4

21.

5

31.

5

31. 5

21

{

Grand Chœur

Tempo di Marcia ma poco animato

c

?# c

Œ

Œ

ff

œ œ œ œ

œ œ

œ œ

1

2

4

1 1

24

.

œ

1

2

5

œ # œ œ œ œ œ

4

2

1 .

5

31.

4 2

œ œ # œ œ œ œ œ

&

. .

1

. . bœ

2

1

35 4

3

1

3

5

1

3

5

Théodore Salomé

(1834–96)

œ œ œ œ. œ œ

.

. œ .

?#

¡ m ¡

c

˙ ˙ ˙ œ œ œ œ ˙

m ¡ m ¡ m

4

2

3

& # 3 2

1. . . .

. . . .

1 3 3 2

3

##

Œ œ œ œ œ œJ œ

‰ œ œ

Œ œ œ j ‰

Œ ˙

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ j ‰ œ œ œ œ œJ œ œ

œ œ

J

& # œ ˙ œ œ j ‰

# #

2

œ˙ œ œ œ j ‰ J

œ˙ œ bœ

œ

2

3

nœ

nœ


7

{

?#

œ

m

œ

3

4

˙ œ j ‰ Œ Ó

m

5

2 3

1

5

5

(2) 52 2 4 5

& # 4

œ

˙ œ œ œ œ œ # œ ˙œ œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ

& # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ j ‰

w 1 1 w 1 1

2

5

?

∑

#

˙

œ œ œ

?# ∑ ∑ ∑

œ

˙

w

1

5

Œ

b˙

2

b œ

continued...

Chapter 14

193

Studies


Sw.: Str. 8ʹ, Fl. 8ʹ, Sw. closed



Study No. 1: Illusory legato

For technical exercises in the key of this study, please see pages 11, 134, and 161.

Study No. 1

{

3

&b b Œ

œ

4

Sw. pp

? 3 b b 4 Œ

Misterioso e legatissimo

Œ

œ

# ˙

Œ # œ œ

œ ˙˙˙

Œ

bn˙˙

˙ œ œ ˙ Œ Œ

n

œ˙

# n

œ n ˙ ˙

? b b

3

4

Œ Œ Œ œ

˙ ˙ ˙

5

&b b

Œ


b˙˙

œ˙ ˙

œ

n˙

b˙

U

˙

{? b b

Œ

Œ

œ

bn˙

n#

˙ n˙ U

# ## ˙

? b b

˙

˙

˙

œ

˙

u˙

continued...

Chapter 15

Trio

Josef Rheinberger (1839–1901)


Rheinberger’s Trio presents three independent musical lines: two upper voices played in canon on the

manuals with a supporting line on the pedals. A canon is a compositional technique in which a melody is

imitated in one or more voices successively, so that each entry overlaps. Projecting these independent lines

develops your physical agility and aural facility.

Rheinberger was a prolific composer and a close contemporary of Salomé, yet this graceful Trio offers a

complete contrast to the majesty of Grand Chœur.

Trio registration

The three musical lines need different tone colours of equal, but quiet, volume. With this in mind, register a single

8ʹ stop on two different manuals and experiment to find an equal balance while keeping each voice distinct.

One possibility is to play with your right hand on a Flute 8ʹ and your left hand on a quiet Reed. Try your

registration and establish F major, the key of Trio, by playing the manual part only of the scale patterns below:

F major scale, patterns of contrary motion, hands and feet, legato touch

5 4 1 1 4

&b ˙ œ

˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

{? b


˙

œ œ œ

˙ œ

œ J

œ

5 1 3 3 1 1 3

¡ m ¡ m

m ¡ m ¡ m ¡ m

m ¡ m ¡

? œ b œ œ œ œ œ œ

m ¡

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

m ¡ m ¡ m

m ¡


m ¡ m ¡ m

Your pedal registration needs both a 16ʹ for sonority and an 8ʹ for clarity; if you do not have a suitable 8ʹ

pedal stop you could couple your right-hand registration to the pedal. Play the pedals alone in the exercise

above before practising left hand and pedal, then right hand and pedal, and finally all three staves. When you

believe you may have an equal balance between the three voices, double-check this while slowly playing the

opening of Trio:


{

3

& b 5

4

4 ‰ œ œ œ œ œ ˙

3

& b 4 Œ ‰ œ œ œ ˙

1 5

? 3

m ¡ m

b 4 ˙ œ œ œ œ

m


Now try an alternative scheme: change the left-hand’s registration to a single Principal 4ʹ, Reed 4ʹ, or Flute

4ʹ, and play your left hand an octave lower than written so that the music sounds at the correct pitch. You

may find this arrangement is more comfortable, as the hands will not cross. Check the balance again, using

both exercises above, and make any adjustments necessary.


Navigation points on the pedalboard

Previous chapters gave you three possible methods for finding pedal notes:

• Using home position.

• Judging the interval between your feet, using the heel V-shape or the knee V-shape.

• Judging the interval between notes played by each foot, counting either from home position or from

the previous note that foot played.

As with home position, the technique ‘navigation points’ uses the sides of black notes, but not necessarily

those in the centre of the pedalboard.

Your right toe has two useful navigation points: the side of

any Bb and any Eb.

Your left toe has two useful navigation points: the side of any

C# and any F#.

Having found a white note from a navigation point, draw

your toe back from the black note into its normal playing

position.

continued...


Studies


Sw.: Pr. 8ʹ, Fl. 4ʹ, 2ʹ, Sw. open

Gt.: Fl. 8ʹ, 4ʹ, 2 2 /3ʹ, 2ʹ

Ped.: Pr. 16ʹ, 8ʹ, Fl. 4ʹ

Study No. 1: Navigation points on the pedalboard


For technical exercises in the key of this study, please see pages 21, 47, 80, and 180.

&

{

&

{

{

Humoresque

Study No. 1

Gt. f

Sw. f

Gt.

Sw.

? 2

> > > >

œ

6

?

11

2 > œ

4 J

4

2

4

>

œ œ

>


œ J


J J J J J œ œ œ j œ œ

J

œ œ œ œ > >

J J

œ œ

œ œ

œ J

œ œ œ œ

J J J

œ œ J # œ œ œ œ

J J # œ J

m> m>

œ j Œ ‰ œ j Œ ‰ œ Œ ‰ œ ∑ ∑

m

>

m

>

J J

>

>

œ œ œ œ j œ œ J œ œ # œ

j œ œ œ œ œ œ j œnœ


J J œ

œ œ

œ J

Gt.

Sw. Gt. Sw.

Gt.

? > > > > >

œ œ œ J œ # œ œ œ

J J œ œ # œ œ œ œ

J J J œ œ œ œ œ

J J œ œ J J

? ∑ ∑

&

?

Gt.

m >

Œ ‰ j Œ ‰

m

> œ m > œ j Œ ‰ œ J

œ œ œ œ œ œ > œ œ œJ

œ œ œ - œ - œ - œ œ œ œ œ

œ œ œ

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ J

‰

-

Sw.

- >

œ - -

- - - - - - -

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ >

J J œ

œ œ œ

‰

1

? ∑


Œ

m>

‰ œ J

mœ Œ Œ ‰

#

m

>

œ

j œ

m

Œ

Sw.

1

œ ‰

m

continued...

Chapter 15

207

Study No. 2: Substituting one foot for another on a sustained note

Sw.: Fl. 8ʹ, Str. 8ʹ, Sw. open


Ped.: Fl. 16ʹ, 8ʹ, Sw. to Ped.



Before playing this study we suggest that you adopt Practice strategy 3: Three-stage pedal learning.

Then practise the left hand alone, using Practice strategy 7: Block figures to encourage you to read a whole

bar at a time. Combine the left hand and pedals, using each left-hand rest to prepare a whole bar. Then

combine the right hand and pedals, ensuring that the right hand’s repeated notes do not disturb either its

own phrases or the pedals’ legato. Finally perform the complete study.


Turn the page for Study No. 2

Study No. 3: Distinguishing between articulation and phrasing

Sw.: Fl. 8ʹ, 4ʹ, Sw. open

Gt.: Pr. 8ʹ, Fl. 8ʹ



F# major scale, hands together; feet, triadic notes, legato touch

{& # # # # #

#

Sw.

?# # # ## #

?# # # ## #

2 4 1 3 1 2 4 1 3 1 1 3 1 4 1 3 1 4



4 1 3 1 4 1 3 1 2 1 3 1 4 1 3 1

˙

m

m

m

œ ˙ œ

m

˙

m

m

m m

œ ˙ œ œ

m m

Turn to page 209 for Study No. 3


{

5

{

9

{

& # #

& # #

Andante amabile

Gt. 5

3

4

3

4

p

?# # 3

4 œ

m

Sw.

m

˙

m

¡ œ # m˙

Study No. 2

œ

m

m

˙

m

¡ m

œ ˙

& # # 2 3

˙ ˙ ˙ ˙

& # #

m

?# # ˙

m

¡ œ m

˙

# œ ˙ ˙

¡ m

& # # ˙ 5

˙ ˙ # ˙ nœ

& # #

Œ

˙ ˙ ˙ # ˙ nœ

Œ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ ‰ œ œ œ œ # œ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ ‰ œ # œ

œ œ # œ


‰ œ œ œ # œ

œ

‰ œ œ # œ œ ‰ # œ œ

œ œ œ œ ‰ œ # œ œ œ œ

‰ œ œ œ œ œ ‰ œ œ œ œ # œ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ ‰ œ # œ

œ œ # œ

œ

m

m

œ

{

?# # ˙

m

13

¡ œ # m˙

œ

m

m

˙

m

¡ œ m˙

& # # ˙ 2 ˙ 4

œ ˙ ˙

& # #

m

?# # ˙

‰ œ œ œ # œ

m

œ ‰ œ œ œ nœ

¡

œ m

˙

# œ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ

m

œ ˙ ˙

m

˙

œ

m

Chapter 15

209

& # # # #

{

#

#

5

& # # # #

{

#

#

9

?# #

# ## #

& # # # #

{

#

#

Allegretto piacevole

Sw.

6 8

6 8

6 8

Gt.

?# #

# ## #

?# #

# ## #

‰ œ œ œ œ œ

mp

p

p

‰

œ œ œ œ œ

Study No. 3

œ œ œœ œœ œœ ‰ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ

œ

J œ œ J œ œ œ œ ˙

m

˙ ˙ ˙ ˙

‰ œ œ œ œ œ

‰ œ œ œ œ œ ‰ # œ œ œ œ œ ‰

nœ


?# #

# ## #

œ

œ œ œ œ œ J œ œ J œ œ # œ œ œ œ

?# #

# ## # m m

˙ œ œ ˙

m

˙

m

‰


œ œ œ œ œ

œ œ œ œ œ

‰ œ œ œœ œœ œœ ‰ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ ‰ œ œ n œ œ

J œ œ J œ œ œ œ ˙

œ œ

?# #

# ## #

13

& # # # # #

{

#

?# #

# ## #

˙ ˙ ˙ ˙

m

‰ œ # œ

œ

‹œ

œ

œ œ ‰ œ œ œ œ ‹ œ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

?# #

# ## # ¡ m ¡ m m

œ œ œ ‹ œ œ J œ # œ

m m

# œ

j ‰ œ œ œ œ n œ

œ

J œ œ J œ œ œ œ ˙ ˙

Please see www.oup.com/noom for a list of pieces to listen to, and further pieces to learn at this level.

˙

m

˙

˙

Chapter 16

Chorale Prelude on

‘Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren’

Max Reger (1873–1916)


Max Reger’s exultant chorale prelude on Lobe den Herren (‘Praise to the Lord’) combines legato techniques

and has frequent registration changes. Reger was a late-Romantic German composer, renowned for his lush,

chromatic style.

To establish G major, the key of Lobe den Herren, draw a Great Principal 8ʹ and Great to Pedal, then play

this exercise based on the broken chord of the dominant seventh chord in G major. Use alternate toes unless

otherwise indicated:

G major dominant seventh, feet, including toe-to-toe substitution, legato touch

?#

4

?#

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

œ œ œ œ ˙

m

m m m

˙ ˙ ˙

m m

Registering graded dynamics with stops

m

m˙ ˙ m

˙

m

˙

m m m

m

˙

m

m

w

The dynamic range of Reger’s registration scheme consists of four levels, from f through più f to sempre più

f, and finally fff. We will call these Levels 1 to 4:

Level 1: f

Level 2: più f

Level 3: sempre più f

Level 4: fff

Choose stops for these four levels in reverse order, starting with the loudest, and ensuring that the difference

between adjacent levels is noticeable but not extreme. Your hands will play on the Great throughout. Begin

by coupling Swell to Great, Swell to Pedal, and Great to Pedal. Check the Swell pedal is open.

Chapter 16

211

• For Level 4, draw all stops, except Strings and Tremulants, on Swell, Great, and Pedal, and listen to

the very loud chord.

• To reduce the registration for Level 3, remove the loudest stop or stops (probably the Reeds) from

Great and Pedal.

• To reduce the registration for Level 2, remove the next loudest stop or stops (probably the Mixtures)

from Great and Pedal.

• To reduce the registration for Level 1, close the Swell pedal.

Level 4

{ &#

?#

?#

4

˙

˙

2

5

˙

¡

Level 3

{ &#

?#

?#

5

˙

˙

1

3

˙

m

Level 2 41

{ &#

(b. 19) (b. 14) (b. 8) (b. 2)

?#

?#

˙

˙

1

˙

m

Level 1 41

{ &#

?#

?#

˙

˙

1

˙

m


With your pencil, complete the chart below, recording the four registrations you used:

Level 1

Level 2

Sw.

Gt.

Ped.

Swell to Great, Swell to Pedal, Great to Pedal

Swell closed

Open the Swell

Level 3

Add

Level 4

Add

continued...


Practise registering the four levels as you play the chords below. Start by cancelling all the stops, then refer to

the chart above as you register.

Level 1 41

{ &#

?#

?#

˙

˙

1

˙

m

Level 2 41

{ &#

?#

?#

˙

˙

1

˙

m

Level 3

{ &#

(b. 2) (b. 8) (b. 14) (b. 19)

?#

?#

5

˙

˙

1

3

˙

m

Level 4

{ &#

?#

?#

4

˙

˙

2

5

˙

¡


Pre-sets

Some organs provide pre-set combinations (‘pre-sets’), which allow you to simplify your registration changes.

These may include:

• Pistons, sometimes called thumb pistons

• Toe pistons

• Combination pedals

See ‘Getting started’, page xiv, for a photograph.

If you have no pre-sets on your organ, go straight to the next topic, but revisit this topic when you have an

opportunity to play an organ with pre-sets.

Whether operated by thumb, finger, or toe, pistons divide into two types:

• Department pistons. These operate only the stops for a single department. The pistons are numbered,

for example ‘Sw. 2’ means piston number 2 for the Swell. These pistons are sometimes referred to as

‘divisional pistons’ or ‘divisionals’.

• General (‘Gen.’) pistons. These operate all the stops on the organ, including the couplers. General

pistons are either at one side of the manuals or above the top manual. Sometimes they are duplicated

above the pedalboard.

If you are not the person with primary responsibility for the instrument, you must not alter the stops

operated by each pre-set without permission. Nevertheless, the stops set by someone else may still be useful

to you, so do experiment. On a pipe organ, change from one piston to another slowly, respecting the

complex mechanics inside the instrument.

Department pistons sit underneath the manual whose stops they operate.

Chapter 16

213

Your thumb will generally operate the department

pistons that relate to the manual on which you

are playing. For ease of access the pistons are

conventionally centred beneath the keyboards to which

they relate.


If you are playing on a different manual, it may be

more convenient to operate the department piston

with the tip of the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th finger. This is often

necessary if you need to change the stops of a manual

coupled to the one on which you are playing, or to

prepare the stops of a manual on which you are about

to play.

Most organists set up the department pistons in a crescendo, from the quietest registration on the lowest

number to the loudest registration on the highest number. If you have department pistons, discover whether

they match any of the registration levels in Lobe den Herren.


Many organs give the option of linking the pistons of the Great and Pedal departments via a coupler called

the ‘Great and Pedal Combinations Coupler’. You may find this useful if you are using department pistons in

Lobe den Herren. If you have such a coupler, draw it and experiment.

As for the general pistons, most organists set them up for specific pieces, so it is unlikely they will give you

the registrations you want for Lobe den Herren, but do experiment with the stops already set on them.

Set up a four-level scheme using pre-sets, which gives identical or similar stops to your original scheme, and

practise operating your scheme while you play the following scale. Maintain the pulse and operate the pre-set

a split second before the next note. Set the registration for Level 1:

?#

Level 1 Level 2

¡ m Level 3 ¡ m ¡ Level 4

œ œ œ Œ œ œ œ œ Œ œ œ œ Œ œ œ œ œ w

m ¡ m ¡ m

m ¡ m ¡ m


If you have decided to use pre-sets, write their details (e.g. Gt. 4) on the registration chart, above.

Now cancel all the stops and again register Great Principal 8ʹ and Great to Pedal, ready to learn the notes of

Lobe den Herren. Start, as always, with the pedals.

Pedal touch—further considerations

Legato on the pedals needs extra attention, especially when the link from the pedal note to the pipe is

mechanical (mechanical action). Legato touch always means an overlap between notes, but normally the

overlap must be imperceptible. On the pedals, however, you often need a more extended overlap, especially

in the lowest octave, in order to achieve a clear legato. On a mechanical-action organ, the lowest pedal notes

need more energy, too, as they offer greater resistance than the higher notes.

Place your hands on the key cheeks and compare your touch in these two passages, which are in different

octaves of the pedalboard. The effect should be smooth but not smudged:

?# 3

2

m ¡ m

˙ ˙ ˙

(b. 15)

?# 3

2

˙ ˙

¡ m

˙ # ˙ ˙

¡ m ¡

(bb. 4–5)

Chapter 16

215

Similarly, repeated notes on the pedals may need more separation than they do on the manuals because of their

low pitch. Look at this exercise from Lobe den Herren, and notice that the first three notes have tenuto marks:

?# 3

2

Play them like this:

?# 3

2

-˙ -˙ ˙-

˙ ˙ ˙

m ¡ m

m - œ Œ œ - Œ œ - Œ ˙ ˙ ˙

(bb. 14–15)

(bb. 14–15)


Pivoting in a rest

In Chapter 8, you learned to pivot against a sustained note—a sustained left-foot note to pivot to the right,

and a sustained right-foot note to pivot to the left. But sometimes there is no suitable note available to

support your pivoting. For example, in the exercise below you need to pivot to the right after the fourth

note, ready for the next entry. The fourth note is unsuitable for support because you are playing it with your

right foot. Instead, wait until the rest, hook your right toe against the side of Eb, and pull your lower body

comfortably into home position:

Place feet on

3

m

home position

?#

m ¡ m

2

∑

˙ # ˙ ˙ w

m¡ m ¡

m - ˙ - ˙ - ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙

(bb. 11–15)

Home position is, of course, a navigation point, but you can hook your toe against any navigation point

to pull your lower body into a new position, enabling you to pivot in a rest. From now on, when you are

finding the first pedal notes of a piece, use navigation points to guide your feet to their initial notes.

Combining pedal techniques in quick succession

Play the following exercise, which is the complete pedal part without the dynamic changes. It combines

legato techniques in the pedal, some in quick succession. Apply legato touch except for notes which repeat

or have a tenuto mark. The annotations will help you find the notes, suggest techniques, and prompt you to

pivot. First play with your hands on the key cheeks, and then repeat while adopting the ‘hands up’ position:


?# 3

2

?#

Prepare

both feet

-˙

-˙

˙-

m

m ¡

˙ ˙ ˙ ˙

¡ m

˙ ˙

¡

˙ # ˙ ˙

m ¡ m ¡

Knee V-shape to

gauge octave

m

˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙

¡ m ¡ m

˙ ˙ ˙

¡ m ¡

˙ # ˙ ˙ w

m¡ m ¡

m

˙

Retain both

feet on their

previous notes

w Ó Ó

m

Knee V-shape

to gauge 4th

m

∑

m - ˙

Both feet to

home position

?#

?#

Knee V-shape

to gauge 4th

m ¡ m

m

˙

m - ˙ - ˙ - ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙

m

œ œ ˙

¡ m

Ó

Ó

Knee V-shape

to gauge 4th

m

˙ ˙ ˙ œ # œ ˙ ˙

m ¡ m ¡ m ¡

m

Knee V-shape

to gauge

octave

˙

m

m

˙

˙

m

Knee V-shape

to gauge 4th

Knee V-shape

to gauge 5th

m

m

uw

˙

m

(complete pedal part annotated)


Combining manual techniques in quick succession

Practise these annotated examples, employing Practice strategy 5: Stop and think as necessary to digest the

technical guidance. Practise it thoroughly until you can restore the printed rhythm:

& #

{

?#

3

2

3

2

& # 4

{

?#

4

2

w

Release tenor

C so alto can

replay the note

End of phrase:

breath in all

voices

’

Release

repeated note

3- -

œ œ œ œ ˙ ˙ ˙ œ

Alto passes

between hands

Release soprano

G because of the

tenuto mark 1

œ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ

2 3

5

Bracket Double finger

indicates

alto in LH 35 substitution

23

Independent

rhythm in

alto

Substitution

34 1 3 2 1

˙œ œ ˙ ˙œ œ ˙œ œ ˙œ # œ ˙

œ

# œ œ œ ˙ # ˙ œ bœ

1 2

3

1

˙

˙

œ

œ


Chapter 16

217

RH

5 Release D because

Pull 2nd

& # - 2 of the tenuto mark 45 finger 4

1

2 2

˙ ˙œ œ ˙œ œ

(b. 16)

Towards the performance

Use Practice strategy 13: Learn backwards. Start with bars 18–21; then start from bar 13; then bar 7; and,

finally, start from the beginning.


Practice strategy 8: Use your pencil to mark in diagonal lines, where voices move from one hand to another

in the inner parts, and to add any extra fingering you need. You may also want to use your pencil to write in

the registration, but instead consider writing the registration on removable memos (sticky notes), so that you

can discard them and use new ones when registering afresh on another organ.

The pedals always imitate the first part of the soprano’s phrase. Take care that the pedal articulation always

matches the soprano entry.

When choosing your performance tempo, consider these factors:

• The German word lebhaft at the start of the score roughly means ‘lively’, but also implies vigour.

• In the English-speaking world the chorale melody is paired with the hymn ‘Praise to the Lord, the

Almighty, the King of Creation’, and these words sum up the grandeur needed.

• Listen to how the organ behaves in the acoustic and pace your performance to allow the intricate

inner parts to speak clearly.

• The various accidentals that pepper the score are almost all indications of chromatic writing, which

adds richness to the music. Give these harmonic progressions enough time to speak, and play deep into

each key. For example, bar 9 has four chromatic notes, as well as two suspensions in the right hand.

Perhaps imagine you are playing on a vast organ on the side of a mountain to thousands gathered in the

distance.


4

{

& # 3 2

{

8

{

?#

?#

Chorale Prelude on

‘Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen

König der Ehren’

Lebhaft

f

Max Reger

(1873–1916)

3

& # 3

1 4 1 3

2

-

˙ ˙

- œ ˙œ œ ˙œ œ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙

Gt. f

n

?# 3

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ˙ # œ ˙œ œ # ˙œ œ œ

2

œ˙ # œ œ

3

5

?# 3

2 ∑

4

1

54

2

1

3

1

4

5 2

4

m ¡

m - - ˙

˙ ˙

˙ ˙ ˙

¡ m

1

’

w œ œ œ œ ˙ -

˙

-

˙ œ ˙œ œ

3

più f

œ œ nœ

œ œ œ œ œ œ nœ


4 2 1 3

5

˙ ˙ ˙ # ˙ ˙

¡ m ¡ m ¡

m

˙

w Ó Ó

˙

m m -

& # 4 35

4 54

23 34 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 2 1

˙œ œ ˙ ˙ œ ˙œ ˙ ˙ # œ ˙ ˙œ # œ ˙œ nœ

˙

œ # œ œ

?# œ ˙ # ˙ œ bœ

œ # œ œ n˙

˙ œ œ

?#

˙œ # œ ˙ ˙ w œ œ œ œ ˙

n˙

1

4

2

3

più f

1 2

3

1 1 3 2 1 2

-˙


m

˙ ˙ ˙ ˙

¡ m

˙

¡ m

˙ ˙ ˙

¡ m ¡

continued...

4

Chapter 16

219

2

11

& # ’

{

?#

w ˙ œ œ ˙ œw

œ œ œ ˙

œ

1

(2)

œ

˙

- -

1 1

˙ ˙

œ œ œ

sempre più f

5

2-

1

˙œ œ

œ nœ


1 2 1

5

2

?#

m

˙ # ˙ ˙ w

m¡ m ¡

∑


14

& # 3 4 45

5 2 1 2 1 - -

{

?#

?#

sempre più f

18

1

3

& # 2 3 2 4

1 4 3 54 5 1 45 2 U

{

?#

?#

w

fff

fff

sempre rit.

From Thirty Little Chorale Preludes, Op. 135a

1 2

1 4 2 2 3 2 1

3

4

2

34

2 ’

#

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ ˙ œ # œ œ œ ˙œ œ

J ˙

m ¡ m

m

˙

m - ˙ - ˙ - ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙

m

œ œ

¡ m

˙

˙ ˙ œ œ

˙ ˙ œ ˙œ œ ˙ œ

œ œ œ U w

˙ n˙

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ nœ

œ œ œ # œ œ ˙ w

1

5

Ó

œ œ œ ˙

1

4

Ó

˙

˙œ œ ˙ ˙ ˙œ œ ˙œ œ w œ œ œ œ

3 1

4

2

5

2 1

5

3 4 2 1

5

m

˙ ˙ ˙ œ # œ ˙ ˙

m ¡ m ¡ m ¡

m

m

˙

œ

w

# œ œ ˙ nœ

˙

m

˙

m

m

w

m

uw

1

3

5

˙

m


Studies


Ped.: Pr. 4ʹ

Study No. 1: Combining pedal techniques in quick succession


Eb major scale, feet, legato touch

?

¡ m ¡ ¡ m ¡ m ¡ m ¡ m ¡ m ¡

b b b

m œ ¡

œ œ m

œ œ ¡

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ m ¡ m ¡ ¡ m ¡ ¡

œ œ m

œ œ ¡ œ m

˙

Ó

Study No. 1

Andante cantabile

4


m

œ œ œ ˙

m

? b b ¡

b

f m

m

œ œ

m

œ ˙

¡ m

m

m m

œ ¡ œ œ ˙

m

m ¡

œ œ œ ˙ m ¡ m m

œ œ

5

m

? b b œ œ œ b œ œ œ œ nœ

œ œ œ œ bœ

m ¡ m

m

œ

m ¡ œ

m m


m m

8

m

? b b b

œ œ nœ

m

m œ œ

¡ m œ œ œ ˙

¡ m

m ¡

¡ m

œ œ œ ˙

œ œ œ

m m m ˙

m

œ œ œ Œ Œ

m

continued...

Chapter 16

221

Study No. 2: Combining manual techniques in quick succession

Sw.: Reed 8ʹ, Sw. closed

Gt.: Pr. 8ʹ


Eb harmonic minor scale, hands together, legato touch

&bb b b 2 1 4 1 3 1 4 1

bb {



? b b b b b b



1 4 1 3 1 4 1 2



2 1 4 1 3 1 4 1 3 3 1 4 1 3 1 4 1


Eb melodic minor scale, hands together, legato touch

& b b b b 2 1 4 1 3 1 4 1

bb {

œ œ œ œ œ nœ

nœ

œ œ œ œ œ nœ

nœ

? b b b b b b

œ œ œ œ œ nœ

nœ

œ œ œ œ œ nœ

nœ

Study No. 2

œ bœ

bœ

œ bœ

bœ

1 4 1 3 1 4 1 2

œ œ œ œ œ bœ

bœ

œ œ œ œ œ bœ

bœ

œ œ œ œ œ

œ œ œ œ œ

2 1 4 1 3 1 4 1 3 3 1 4 1 3 1 4 1

{

& bb b b b b

Sw.

? b b b b b b

Andante lamentoso

3

4

3

4

4

1

˙

œ œ ˙œ œ ˙ ˙

n˙

œ œ ˙œ œ ˙

n˙

Gt. mp

œ œ œ œ

˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙

˙

p

2 2

5

2

Add Sw.

to Gt. 4 2

b˙

œ œ

mf

n˙

5

œ

8

{

& bb b b b b b

˙

œ œ

n˙

œ

˙ n˙

n

nœ

œ œ œ

˙œ œ œ

? b b b b b b œ œ nœ

œ nœ

˙ n˙ ˙ ˙ œ ˙

˙

˙

f

˙


Study No. 3: Registering graded dynamics with stops

Register your own choice of stops.


C# melodic minor scale, hands together; feet, pedal melody, legato touch

{ &# # # 2 3 1 4 1 3 1

#

œ œ œ œ œ # œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ# œ œ nœ

nœ

œ œ œ œ œ nœ

nœ

Gt.

?# #

# # ?

œ œ œ œ œ # œ # œ

œ nœ

&

œ œ œ œ œ # œ # œ œ nœ

nœ

nœ

œ œ œ œ

3 1 4 1

3

1 4 1 2 1 4 1

?# #

# m

m

m ¡

# ˙ œ ˙ œ

˙

œ œ

œ

m

m

m

m

4 1 3 2 1 3 1 4 1 3 1 3

œ œ œ œ œ

œ œ œ œ œ

3 1 4 1

mœ

œ

m


& # # # #

{

?# #

# #

Maestoso

4

4

Study No. 3

œ j w n˙ ‰ œ j w n ˙ Œ ‰ bœ

J

œ w n

J

˙

n

‰ œ nw

n ˙ b

n

œ

J

Œ ‰ J

mf f mp

?# # # # 4 ‰ Ó ˙ ˙ Ó Ó

m

˙ n˙

¡ m ¡

Ó

5

& # # # # n

{

?# #

# b

n

#

b ẇ ˙ n˙˙ Ó Ó

# ˙˙

˙˙ œ œj

˙

pp

w ˙ n˙

Ó Ó ˙ ˙ œ J

?# #

# # ∑ Ó Œ Œ Œ

nœ

p

œ œ

¡ m m m

˙

œ j


Chapter 17

Aria

Brian Solomons (b. 1948)


This darkly expressive piece focuses on the quality of your legato touch and also develops your control of the

Swell pedal. The British composer Brian Solomons lives in London. He has family roots in Lithuania and,

rare among composers for the organ, is Jewish. His output includes several organ pieces and two operas.

Gap registration

The composer calls for a rather unusual registration, known as gap registration. Here are some examples of

gap registration:

• 8ʹ and 2ʹ, but no 4ʹ

• 8ʹ and 2 2 /3ʹ, but no 4ʹ

• 16ʹ and 4ʹ, but no 8ʹ

• 8ʹ and 1 1 /3ʹ, but no 4ʹ, 2 2 /3ʹ, or 2ʹ

Aria requires Flutes 16ʹ and 4ʹ in the right hand, and you may have two options for achieving this:

Option 1

Consider Option 1 registration if you have a Great Flute 16ʹ, and if your organ compass extends to this note:

Register Great Flutes 16ʹ and 4ʹ and play the following slow melody with your right hand, listening to the

hollow effect of the gap registration.

RH

&

b˙

Adagio

& # 1

c

˙ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ b˙

œ œ w

Now that you have registered the right-hand melody, you need to find balancing stops on another manual

for the left-hand accompaniment, and pedal stops to balance the left hand.

(bb. 1–5)


Left hand: 4ʹ. Choose one or more stops from any family other than Reeds, producing a warm mp volume

with the Swell pedal almost closed. Play the left hand’s part an octave lower, so that it sounds at 8ʹ pitch.

Ped.: Fl. 16ʹ, 8ʹ

Option 2

Choose Option 2 registration if you lack a Flute 16ʹ manual stop or a sufficiently high compass:

Gt.: Fl. 8ʹ, 2ʹ, and play the whole of the right hand an octave lower.

Left hand on Swell: 8ʹ. Choose one or more stops from any family other than Reeds, producing a warm mp

volume with the Swell pedal almost closed. Play the left-hand part at the normal pitch.

Ped.: Fl. 16ʹ, 8ʹ


Whichever option you choose, add Swell to Great so that the right hand’s melody benefits from opening and

closing the Swell pedal. Slowly play the following exercise, and ask yourself:

• Are the left hand and Pedal balanced in volume with the right hand slightly prominent?

• Does the Swell pedal make an effective crescendo and diminuendo across both manuals?

Adagio

c

& #Gt. 1

{

mp

?# c w

˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ w

w

mp

w

Sw. 1

35

?# c

w w w

m

(based on b. 1)

Extended crescendi and diminuendi with the Swell pedal

Aria has a crescendo over 16 slow beats, followed by a diminuendo of equal length. First practise the

extended crescendo while slowly playing a pedal scale of E minor, the key of Aria. Add Swell to Pedal to

enjoy the effect of the Swell pedal while you practise this section. Start with the Swell pedal closed and adopt

the ‘hands up’ position:

E harmonic minor scale, feet with Swell pedal, legato touch

?#

œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

¡ m ¡m ¡ m ¡ m ¡ m ¡ m ¡ m¡

œ

m ¡

continued...

Chapter 17

225

Now practise the 16-beat crescendo as it appears in Aria. Start with the Swell pedal closed and play slowly:

?# c

bw

nw

w bœ

œ

m ¡m ¡ m

nœ

¡m bœ

¡ m

w

¡

(left foot, bb. 11–15)

In Aria, the diminuendo involves your right foot alternately playing notes and operating the Swell pedal. In

the next three exercises, we have added sustained notes in one hand. Remember that the next two exercises

are for the right foot alone; save your left foot for its own notes, which you will add later. Start with the

Swell pedal closed:

LH on Swell

3

?#

c

w ˙ ˙ w

Move right foot

to Swell pedal

Sw. fully

open

m

?#

m

c ˙ Ó ∑ Ó b˙

Sw. ⅓ closed


Start with the Swell pedal almost open, and follow the instructions as you play:

&

# RH on Swell

c

w

w


w

w

w

w

w

w

?# c

Ó

Sw. ⅓

closed

Sw. ⅔

closed

m

m

b˙

Ó ˙ ∑ w

Sw. fully

closed

m


Add the left foot to the next exercise, starting with the Swell pedal almost open. Although you close the

Swell pedal in three stages, it creates the impression of a continuous diminuendo. Remember to play legato:

?# c

bw

w w w

?# c

LH on Swell

3

˙

m

Sw. ⅓

closed

m

b˙

Sw. ⅔

closed

m

b˙

˙ w w

m

m

Sw. fully

closed

m


You are now ready to practise Aria’s complete pedal part, together with the Swell pedal. In any piece where

your feet operate the Swell pedal and play pedal notes, always learn the Swell pedal at the same time as

learning the pedal notes. Start with the Swell pedal closed:


Adagio

m

?#

m

¡ m

m m

c w w w ˙ ˙ w

w

m m

w w ˙ b˙

w

¡ m m m ¡

11

?#

bw

nw

w bœ

œ

m ¡m ¡ m

nœ

¡m bœ

¡ m

w ˙

¡ m

f

m

b˙

17

?#

1. 2.

m

m m

b˙

˙ w w w w w

m m mp

p

w

m

(complete pedal part)


You have been playing with the Swell to Pedal coupler drawn because, when playing with pedals alone,

it was important that you could hear the effect of the Swell pedal. However, drawing Swell to Pedal is

unsatisfactory whenever you play the same note in the left hand and pedals. We give you two exercises,

below; choose the exercise that matches the registration you are using. When you add the left hand, you will

hear that it does not sound independently:

Option 1 Option 2

?# c

?# c

Ó

w

m

LH plays an

8ve lower

5

˙

?# c Ó

?#

m

c w

LH plays at

printed pitch

5

(based on b. 22) (based on b. 1)

˙

Remove the Swell to Pedal coupler, therefore, before you continue. Although the pedals are now unaffected

by the Swell pedal, the manual parts are still under expression, creating the illusion that the Swell pedal

affects all three staves.

Adjusting legato

When playing legato, adjust the relationship between notes according to the resonance of the room. As you

play the following exercises, ask yourself:

• Is the effect perfectly smooth but without smudging?

• Do repeated notes sound clearly but without disturbing the phrase?

RH

& #Gt. c

1˙ œ œ # œ œ # ˙ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ # œ œ œ n˙

(bb. 6–9)

Chapter 17

227

The left hand plays four chords in every bar. For maximum control of the relationship between the notes,

keep your fingers in contact with the keys. Practise this next exercise, maintaining legato in the pedals while

slightly separating the left-hand chords. Ensure left-hand and pedal coordination:

Adagio

?# c œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

œ œ bœ œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ

bœœ

b


Sw.

m

m

¡

m

?# c w w w ˙ ˙ w

m

m

œ œ

(LH and pedals, bb. 1–5)


Towards the performance

You already appreciate the value of slow practice. Now we introduce you to the opposite strategy, Practice

strategy 15: Slow music fast. This can be helpful because:

• It helps you feel the direction of the long phrases and of the overall structure.

• It focuses your attention on technical challenges.

• It streamlines your physical movements, and may help you identify the best fingering.

• It clarifies the underlying pulse of the music, as explained below.

To gain these benefits in Aria, apply Slow music fast to the right hand only. Work one phrase at a time and

return to the Adagio tempo within the same practice session. Slow music fast reveals that, although the

music is printed in four-time, the underlying pulse is two beats per bar. When, having slowed the music down

again, you apply this underlying two-time to the left hand, you may want subtly to inflect the chords, giving

the first and third beats of the bar a marginal elongation. This elongation is often the best way to provide an

accent in legato touch, since a longer note or chord seems louder.

Because the right hand’s melody draws the ear, use Practice strategy 14: Unbalance registration to assess the

effectiveness of the touch in the accompanying left hand and pedal. The slow, pulsating tread of the left-hand

chords is the heartbeat of the music. Play these chords steadily, avoiding the temptation to rush the first two

beats, where the right-hand melody is often static. As the left-hand chords are slightly detached, there is time

to find convenient fingering, perhaps without marking it in the score.

If you have a third manual, consider moving your right hand there for the repeat, starting with the last three

notes of bar 19a. If you do this, perhaps find a more intense gap registration to increase the sense of yearning.

Sit powerfully with relaxed, wide shoulders. We remind you about posture at this point because making

slow, emotional music can encourage you to tense your shoulders unhelpfully.

The title Aria and its haunting melody both invite Practice strategy 10: Sing aloud. This, along with Slow

music fast, will help you identify the high points of each phrase and the climax of the music. As you sing it,

however, you will quickly realize that the phrases are too extended for human lungs, and its two-and-a-halfoctave

range too wide for the human voice. Who then could sing this piece? Imagine some mythical creature,

perhaps an angel, singing at night, your gap registration underlining the music’s unearthly atmosphere.


Aria

Brian Solomons

(b. 1948)

& #Gt. 1

{

Adagio q = 66

c

mp

?# Sw.

c

?# c

˙ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

œœ

œœœ

m

m

w w w

m

œœ

#œ

œ œ

œ œ

bœ œ

œ œ


4

& # 1

{

8

?#

?#

¡ m

˙ ˙ w

m

& # 2

{

?#

?#

b˙

œ œ w ˙ œ œ # œ œ # ˙ œ œ œ œ

bœœ

˙

œ

# œ œ œ œ

œ

œ

b

œ œ œ œ

œ # œ œ œ n˙

œ œ

œ œ n

œ œ

n œ

œ

œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ

bœ

w

w

¡ m

m

m

w ˙ b˙

w

m

m ¡ bw

m

œ

w

œ œ # œ œ

2

b˙

n

b œ

# œ œ

œ œ œ œ

œ œ œ

© Oxford University Press 2011 and 2020

continued...

Chapter 17

229

12

& # 3

{

?#

˙ œ ˙ œ œ bœ

nœ

œ œ œ b œ œ œ

œ

1

nœ

˙ nœ

b b nœ

œ œ œ

b˙

œ nœ

f

œ n bœ œ

œ œœ

œ

œ

?#

nw

w bœ

œ

¡m ¡ m

nœ

¡m

bœ

¡ m

w

¡

{

3

& # b˙

œ 4

œ ˙ bœ

16

?#

b

œ œ œ œ b b œ

œ

b œ

rall.

1.

4 5

A tempo

nœ

œ œ œ # œ ˙ œ

œ œ œ

œ

#

n

œ

œ

œ œ

mp

œ œ œ œ œ

œ

?#

˙

m

m

b˙

m

m

b˙

˙ w w

m

m

2.

19b 3

& #

˙

œ œ œ œ


˙ œ œ œ œ w

w

{?#

p

œ œ

œ œ

œ

œ

œ

œ

œœ

œœ

œ

œ

œ œ

œ œ

w

?# w m w w

w

m


Studies


Study No. 1: Extended crescendi and diminuendi

with the Swell pedal

Sw.: Pr., Fl., Str. 8ʹ, Sw. open




For technical exercises in the key of this study, please see pages 60 and 75, but play legato.

{

&b b b 2

Adagio espressivo

Sw.

p

Study No. 1

w w ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙

? b b nww

# w nbw

b 2

w

∑

? b b b 2

w w w w ˙ ˙

m ¡

∑

6

&b b b

{

? b b b

w w w w w

w

nw

bb˙

n˙

w

pp

bbw

w w

? b b b nw

w w w w w

m¡

Study No. 2: Adjusting legato

Sw.: Fl. 8ʹ, Str. 8ʹ, Sw. closed

Gt.: Fl. 8ʹ, 4ʹ, Sw. to Gt.

Ped.: Fl. 16ʹ, 8ʹ

continued...

Chapter 17

231


D melodic minor scale, left hand and feet a 10th apart, legato touch

LH

Ped.

? b

Gt.

œ œ œ nœ

# œ œ œ

3 1 3 1 4

&

œ œ œ nœ


1 3 1 3 3 1 3 1

?

4 1 3 1

?

m ¡ m ¡ m ¡ m ¡m ¡ m ¡ m ¡ m

b

?

œ œ œ œ œ nœ


# œ œ nœ

bœ

œ œ œ œ œ nœ

bœ

œ œ

m ¡ m ¡ m ¡ m

m ¡ m ¡ m

œ œ

¡ m

œ

¡

bœ

œ œ

œ œ œ nœ

bœ

œ œ œ

&b Sw. 5 3

{

Andante piangevole

3

4

Study No. 2


3

2

˙ # ˙ œœ ˙

p

˙ œ ˙˙

nœ

mp

? 3 œ œ œ

b 4 œ # œ œ nœ

œ

J

J

˙ ˙ œ

œ j œ œ

Gt. 1 2 1 4 1 2 1

? 3 b 4

˙

˙ ˙ ˙ ˙

3

6

3 5 2

?

2 3

# n˙ œ

˙

{

b ˙ œ ˙

˙ # œ ˙ ##

˙ œœ

? b # œ nœ

j nœ

œ ˙ ˙ nœ

œ j œ œ # œ # œ

j nœ

œ

1 2 1 4

? b ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙

11

5

3

?

{

b n ˙˙ œ n ˙˙

# œ ˙

# ˙ œœ ˙ ˙

? b

˙ ˙ œ

œ j œ œ # œ œ j nœ

œ ˙

1 2 1

œ ˙

4

? b

˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙

?

5

3

˙


Sw.: Fl. 8ʹ and 2 2 /3ʹ or 8ʹ and 1 3 /5ʹ, Sw. open

Gt.: Fl. 16ʹ and 4ʹ or 8ʹ and 2ʹ

Ped.: Gt. to Ped.


Db major scale, feet, one octave, legato touch

Study No. 3: Gap registration

The boxes alert you to a new technique. Place your toe over both notes in the box; use the inside edge of

your toe to play the first note, then roll your toe over to play the second note.

?

m m m ¡ m ¡ m

m

b b b b b œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

m ¡ m

m m

œ œ

¡

˙

m

Choose your own touch and fingering for this study.

2

&b b b b b 4


Allegretto scherzetto

Sw.

Study No. 3

œœ œ

{

œ

œœœ œ œ œ œœ œ œœœœœ œ

mf

? 2 b b b b b 4 ‰ ‰ œœœ ‰ œ œ∫œ

œ J nœ

œ J

œ

Gt.

7

&b b b b œ

b J nœ

œ bœ

{

J œ bœ

œnœ

œ œ œ œ

? b b b b b œ œ œ œ œnœ

œ ‰ ‰ nœ

œ

12

& bb b b b

{? b b b b œ b

œ œ ‰ œ œ œ ‰ œ œ∫œ

‰ ‰ œœœ ‰ œœbœ

b œbœœœ œ nœ

œ

œœ œ œ


œ œœ

n œ œ nœ

œ ‰ nœ

# œ œ œ

# œ œ

œ

‰ nœnœ

œ œ œ œ

œ


œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ J ‰ ‰

œ nœ

œ nœ

œ j ‰ ‰

Part 3


FURTHER LESSONS

IN STYLE

AND TECHNIQUE

Chapter 18

Dialogue

Jean-François Dandrieu (c.1682–1738)


In the first two parts of this Method, you built a comprehensive range of fundamental techniques and explored

many musical styles. This final part presents three more advanced pieces from varied periods and countries.

This chapter introduces additional features of registration, ornaments, and rhythm in French Baroque style.

Dandrieu was one of the four organists of the Royal Chapel at Versailles in the court of King Louis XIV. The

title Dialogue refers to the dialogue between contrasting musical statements.

Start by listening to recordings of French Baroque music on organs of the period. Then, if you do not have

all the stops listed below, copy the sounds you heard as closely as you can on your own instrument.

Dialogue was designed for a three-manual organ, with three registrations called ‘Cornet’, ‘Grand Jeu’, and

‘Pos.’ A three-manual organ is therefore ideal; if you have a two-manual organ, one manual will do double

duty. Although your organ may be different from the organs that Dandrieu knew, it is usually possible to find

a compromise. We suggest options below. Follow your chosen option throughout the chapter:

• Option 1: for a three-manual organ

• Option 2: for a two-manual organ with a Cornet (see below) on the Great, and adjustable pre-sets

• Option 3: for a two-manual organ without adjustable pre-sets

Cornet

The Cornet is a bold and colourful combination of five Flutes: 8ʹ, 4ʹ, 2 2 /3ʹ, 2ʹ, and 1 3 /5ʹ. Its function is either

to play a right-hand solo melody or to boost the treble in chordal music, and therefore its range provides

pipes only down as far as middle C or the G below.

Option 1

Start by finding a Cornet on a manual other than the Great. You may have a stop called Cornet, but, if not,

you may be able to combine individual stops to make a Cornet; otherwise choose a colourful chorus, maybe

Principals 8ʹ, 4ʹ, plus Reed 8ʹ or mutations. Play the exercise below on your chosen registration.

Option 2

For this option, register a Cornet on the Great, and play the exercise below. Save the Cornet on a pre-set.

Chapter 18

235

Option 3

Play the exercise below on Swell Principals plus Flutes 8ʹ and 4ʹ. Even if you have a Cornet stop, you cannot

use it here because its pipes do not cover the left-hand’s register, which you will need later.

RH

Cornet

1

4

œ œ œ œ œ œ

& 2

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙


Grand jeu


A grand jeu registration (abbreviated to Gd Jeu) is a vivid and brilliant ‘full organ’ on the Great using specific

stops.

Options 1 and 3

Great: Reeds 8ʹ, 4ʹ, and another Cornet, as far as your organ allows. Also add a Flute 8ʹ and Principal 4ʹ.

Option 2

As above, but save the grand jeu on a pre-set.

Play this:

5

3

2

2 &

# œ

{ œ

2

? Gd Jeu 2

œ

œ

œ

(bb. 51–2)

Positif

Dialogue calls for a third manual, called the Positif (abbreviated to Pos.). This is a manual controlling pipes

on the front of the organ case, behind the player’s back. In German-speaking lands this department is called

the Rückpositiv. The passages marked ‘Pos.’ in Dialogue either accompany the Cornet or play in dialogue

with the grand jeu.

Option 1

Call your third manual ‘Pos.’, and experiment with 8ʹ and 4ʹ stops in the Principal and Flute families to

achieve a balanced accompaniment to the Cornet. In the exercise below, play with your right hand on the

Cornet, and your left hand on the third manual that you have just registered.


Option 2

Call the Swell ‘Pos.’ and register with 8ʹ and 4ʹ stops in the Principal and Flute families. Check the balance

with the Cornet, which you saved on a pre-set, in the exercise below.

Option 3

Call the Swell ‘Pos.’, using the registration you set for Cornet. Play both Cornet (RH) and ‘Pos.’ (LH) on the

Swell in the exercise below.

Cornet

1

2 œ œ œ œ œ œ

&

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙

{?

2 Œ Ó Œ


Pos. 5 2 2 2



Sometimes the music requires you to play with both hands on the Positif manual. In these cases:

Option 1

Play the exercise below on the manual you designated as ‘Pos.’

Options 2 and 3

Play the exercise below with both hands on the Swell.

2

4

1

1

3

1

&

œ

˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ ˙

{

Pos.

& 2 # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ ˙

2

4

2

4

2

2

3

5


Rapid manual changes

To achieve rapid manual changes, begin by practising them slowly. The halts indicated in the next exercise

allow you to relax and plan ahead. As you repeat the exercise, you will find the halts gradually reduce and

you are able to change manuals rapidly and gracefully.

Option 1

Gd Jeu = Great

Cornet = the manual you designated ‘Cornet’

continued...


Dialogue

Jean-François Dandrieu

(c.1682–1738)

{

&

?

Gravement et pointé

3

4

Gd Jeu

3

4

3 M 2 M

œ j œ œ œ

œ j œ

J

œ ‰


‰ Œ Œ ‰ #

œ j ˙

J ˙

1

2

1

5

‰

5

1

œ j

œ

J

œ j

œ

J

1

5

5

1

#

œ˙

œ

˙

2

5

4

1 m

5

1

œ ‰ j œ # œ œ ‰ j

J

œ

J

Pos.

œ œ j

‰ œ œ œ

J œ ‰

œ

J

1

2

5

&

{

?

2

1

m

5

3

5

1 1

4

2

œ

˙

M

b œ ‰ nœ J

bœ

œ ‰ j œ

J

˙

œ œ

˙ ‰ œ J ˙ ‰ œ j œ œ

# œ

5

21

˙

œ œJ œ

m

œ ˙ ‰

4

1

‰ j

œ

J

Gd Jeu

4 1

3

3 1

5

1

œ j

œ

J

4

1

œ

˙ œ œ

œ

˙

˙

œ j

10

&

{

?

2

# œ œ

œ

˙

# j œ˙

F

œ œ œ

212 2

œ œ

54

2

1m

5

nœœ # œ˙

œ j 2 ˙

˙

œ

œ

Gaiment

Cornet

1 m

Œ˙ œ

2 ˙ Œ Ó Œ

1 Pos.


œ œ œ œ œ

{

15

&

œ œ œ œ m˙ 434 M m

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

? m œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ #

m

œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ

12 2

12

Chapter 18

245

{

{

20

3 3 3 32 m ∫ 2 2 2 2

& œ œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ# œ œ#

œ

? M

œ œ œ œ nœ# œ œ # œ œ # œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

24

3 3 3 3 32 m 2 m 2 1 1

# œ œ # œ œ œ

&

# œ œ œ œ # œ

œ œ j œ

˙

Gd Jeu

? M ˙

# œ œ

œ œ

œ ˙ Œ

œ

Ó

œ œ

Œ

œ

œ

2 2 5

{

{

{

{

28

&

?

32

&

?

36

&

?

40

&

?

m m M

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ

œ œ œ œ #

m

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ

12

m 2 m 4 3

œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

# œ


m

M

# œ œ œ œ # œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

12

F 3 3 3 3 1 3

3

3 3

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

œ M


3 3 3 3 m 32 m 32 2 1

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ j œ œ j ˙

œ


4 2

4 2 2 3

œ œ œ œ œ œ

œ ˙ & œ

4

1

2

4

4

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

œ

Pos.

m

# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

3

˙ œ ˙

3

12 4

3

4

2

œ

continued...

Chapter 19

Lento

Frank Bridge (1879–1941)


This Lento develops expressive playing in a late Romantic English style. Lento is typical of this style in its

use of legato touch (more advanced here than before), a refined use of the Swell pedal, and frequent changes

of registration.

Bridge wrote Lento in 1918, the last year of the First World War; its soulful character reflects the sense of

desolation at that time.

Undulating stops

English organs of this period often had a quiet String rank tuned slightly flat or slightly sharp on the Swell. A

stop tuned slightly flat or sharp played together with a perfectly tuned stop of similar tone produces a subtle

undulating effect, especially with the Swell pedal closed. Typical names for undulating stops are Voix Céleste

and Vox Angelica. If you have such a stop, try it alone on the first note of the piece:

?# # ˙

3

(b. 1)

Now cancel that stop and compare its pitch with a different String 8ʹ.

Add the two stops together, play the note, and listen to the undulating pitch.

On some organs both the tuned and detuned string ranks play when you draw a single Voix Céleste (or Voix

Célestes) stop. You can check by listening to the stop.

Lento begins on this gentle, undulating string sound, but later has many registration changes. Before finding

the registration changes, however, draw a quiet but clear registration while you work on various other

points:

Sw.: Several 8ʹ and 4ʹ stops to achieve mp with the Swell open


Ped.: Sw. to Ped.

Chapter 19

251

Left foot on the Swell pedal

So far, when operating the Swell pedal, you have only used your right foot, but at the start of Lento your right

foot is unavailable, as otherwise your feet would cross uncomfortably. Without looking down, practise moving

to and from the Swell pedal with your left foot. The next exercise begins with your right foot on the Swell

pedal, then your left foot; meanwhile the other foot plays pedal notes. The directions suggest the approximate

point at which to move your left foot to the Swell pedal. Place your hands on the key cheeks, and play:

?

Right foot on Swell pedal

Left foot on Swell pedal

m ¡ m ¡ m ¡ m ¡


m ¡ m ¡ m ¡ m


?

Right foot on Swell pedal

œ m œ ¡ œ m œ ¡ m ¡ m


m ¡ m

œ œ

¡ m

œ ˙

¡ m

¡Left

foot on Swell pedal

Structural analysis

To make wise musical decisions from the outset, always begin by exploring the musical structure of a piece.

Here the piece has a recurring bass figure, which you might not otherwise notice. The recurring bass figure

is a short plaintive melody, which is restated seven more times, and absent only at the climax. The first

statement moves from left hand to pedal:

LH

Ped.

Sw.

?# # 4

˙ œ œ œ œ œ

3

?# # 4 ∑

Sw. ¼ open

∑

w

m

∑

(bb. 1–3)

As the piece progresses, the figure undergoes three modifications: extra articulation, rhythmic change, and

transposition.

Extra articulation

In the next exercise two statements of the plaintive figure overlap, but the final note is missing from the

second statement. As you play, make the extra articulations subtle, without compromising the musical line:

LH

Sw.

?# # 4

˙ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ

4 5 5 3 4 4 5 5 3

Sw. closed

(bass, bb. 11–14)

continued...

Chapter 19

257

Lento

{

A

& # #

Lento

4

Sw.

∑

?# # 4

˙ œ œ œ œ œ Œ

p 3

?# # m

4 ∑ ∑ w

∑

p

1

Frank Bridge

(1879–1941)

5

3 2/1

4 5

Ó œ œ

˙Œ n

˙œ œ J

œ œ œ

&

œ ˙ ˙ # œ 3

w


5

{

& # #

& # #

?# #

œ œ œ

b

˙ bw

Œ ˙ œ Œ œ œ

˙

˙˙ ˙ œ j ‰ ∑ J

œ nœ

2

?

˙˙

w ˙ ˙

5 1

5

4

n ˙ œ œ j ‰ Ó Œ œ

w w w œ ˙ œ ˙ Œ

B

10

& # #

{

rit.

∑

C

Œ

molto tranquillo

3

2

œ œ œ

˙

3

1 1

œ j œ

œ J

œ œ ˙

[mp]

?# # œ œ œ Œ

œ ˙ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ ˙œ

Œ

œ œ ˙

˙ œ

5 2

5

4

?# # ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑

4

2

‰ j

œ

J œ œ œ ˙

2 5

5

œ j

continued...


Studies

Study No. 1: Left foot on the Swell pedal

Sw.: Fl. 8ʹ, Pr. 4ʹ, Str. 8ʹ, Reed 8ʹ, Sw. closed

Gt.: Pr. 8ʹ, Sw. to Gt.

Ped.: Pr. 16ʹ, Fl. 16ʹ, 8ʹ, Gt. to Ped., Sw. to Ped.

& bb b b

{

Gt.

? b b b b

? b b b b

Largo misterioso

6

4

6

4

6

4

˙˙

p

b˙

nb˙ ˙˙ n˙˙

b˙

b ˙

# n ˙ b ˙

n˙˙

˙˙ b ˙˙

¡ m ¡ m ¡ m ¡

œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ ˙ œ m œ œ ˙

˙

#

˙˙ ˙˙ n ˙


5

& bb b b

{

? b b b b

n ˙ b˙ b

˙˙

n˙˙

#

#

˙˙

mf

n

n

˙˙ n # ˙ n ˙

n n ˙

b n ˙

n n ˙ b ˙˙ ? b b b b m ¡ m ¡ m

bœ

nœ

œ ˙ ¡

# œ nœ

œ ˙ # œ nœ

œ n˙

8

& bb b b

b

n ˙ n

#

˙˙ b

n

˙˙ b ˙

˙˙

nb˙ ˙ ˙

{? b b b b

p

# ˙ n ˙

n b ˙ n

˙˙

b ˙

b˙

n˙ ˙

? b b b b

m ¡ ¡ m ¡

# œ nœ

œ ˙ nœ

bœ

œ ˙ œ m œ œ ˙

˙

m

˙

continued...

Chapter 20

Praeludium in C (first section)

Dietrich Buxtehude (c.1637–1707)


This piece returns to the German Baroque period. You have already encountered German Baroque style and

technique in Part 1 of this Method in works by Pachelbel, Bach, and Krebs, and a piece attributed to Bach.

The features of this style include ordinary touch, clear registration, and clarity in multi-voice textures. This

declamatory Praeludium in C incorporates these features within a freer style, which exploits contrasts between

speed, sustained chords, and silence for dramatic effect; this is the ‘stylus phantasticus’ (‘fantastical style’).

Although born in Denmark, Buxtehude spent most of his professional life in Lübeck, Germany. He was

such a celebrated organist and composer that Bach walked 250 miles to hear him play. Buxtehude’s organ in

Lübeck was substantial, including five pedal reeds. To achieve the grandeur of Praeludium in C when playing

on a modern, probably more limited, organ, you may need to adapt the rules of pure Baroque registration.

Adapting Baroque registration for modern organs

Register organo pleno, remembering that organo pleno does not include the Great to Pedal coupler, and play

this exercise. Use alternate toes for the pedals, unless otherwise marked. The impact of the pedal passage

should be bold, with each note speaking promptly:

& c ∑

‰ œ j œ

{

Gt.

? c

∑ ∑

m m

? c ≈ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

# œ œ

œ œ # œ

(bb. 6–7)

Normally, you avoid coupling the Great to Pedal in music of this period, because each department of the

Baroque organ had its own character. However, if the pedals on your instrument lack impact, you may need

to relax this rule. Provided that the left hand and feet do not duplicate notes, using Great to Pedal should not

seriously compromise the clarity of either, and may be the best option.

œ

m


Footing options in ordinary touch

Composers mostly wrote pedal parts to suit alternate toes, and the shape of this pedal line in the passage above

prompted you to play most of the passage with alternate toes. Occasionally, though, composers clearly intended

one toe to play consecutive notes, even at speed. Here is an example from Praeludium in C; first play it slowly:

?

m m

ì

œ r œ œ œ œ R

m m m

(bb. 34–5)

Keep your ankle joint loose enough to allow the spring in the key to propel your left toe quickly from D

to C. This beat does not need quite as fast a tempo as the surrounding beats, as the music draws back here

before driving on to the next cadence.


You might find it easier to use your right heel on the D. Only adopt this compromise, however, if you can

maintain ordinary touch:

?

m ¡ m

ì

œ r œ œ œ œ R

m m

(bb. 34–5)

You may be tempted to use a heel elsewhere, too; for example, in the next exercise a right heel on the fifth

note (G, the downbeat) might look comfortable:

?

# œ

mœ œ m

œ

¡ œ

R

m m

œ

m

mœ

(bb. 3–4)

However, we advise against using the heel here, because that G is on a downbeat and needs an accent. A toe

encourages an accent for two reasons: shifting the same toe from the previous note ensures an articulation,

and you can strike a toe more quickly than you can a heel, using your ankle joint. Here, too, you can bend

the rhythm to give yourself time to reposition your toe for the G, because a delayed downbeat can increase

its impact. In fact, it is a good idea silently to ‘block’ the octave figure before playing the first note of the bar,

as shown below in the brackets. This helps you feel the three notes which follow as a confident gesture:

?

m m

# œ œ œ œ R

m m

m

œ j

œ

m

mœ

œ

œ

(bb. 3–4)

The first exercise in this chapter presented a virtuosic pedal solo; virtuosity is one feature of the stylus

phantasticus. Another feature of stylus phantasticus is the use of rhetorical gestures for dramatic effect, such

as scales.

Chapter 20

265

Descending scales as a rhetorical gesture

Rhetoric is the art of oratory, and in speech rhetorical gestures add power and clarity to the argument. In a

similar way, rhetorical gestures in music add power and clarity to a musical argument.

Descending scales at various speeds—fast, moderate, and slow—feature in this movement for rhetorical

effect:

(a) Fast scales, called passaggi, dazzle the listener with virtuosity. Baroque organists played passaggi

with each hand taking four notes. There are two such scales, each of an octave, in the exercise

below. Insert a breath between each scale, and play both scales with the most effective touch for your

instrument, remembering that occasional legato touch is effective within a Baroque piece:

{&

&

Gt.

5

’ 5

œ œ œ œ

œ œ œ œ

1

œ œ œ œ

?

œ œ œ œ

1

(b. 8)


(b) Moderately paced scales lend solemnity to the movement. Guided by the added commas, play the

following example, defining the scale with a break before and after it. This slower scale benefits from

ordinary touch, with a slight freedom in the rhythm:

c

4

’ 5 ’

4

& ˙ œ œ œ ˙

œ

{

Gt.

& c Ó

Œ

˙

œ œ œ

1

1

œ

3

? c ˙ Ó Œ

m

(bb. 23–4)

(c) Slow scales in this piece combine in dissonant part-writing. Here your right hand has two

simultaneous scales, each decorated with repeated notes, diversions, and accidentals. As you play, let

your ordinary touch clarify the movement of the voices and their interplay:

4

2

& c œ ˙œ œ œœ œ # œ

œ j

{

Gt.

œ œ œ # œ œ

? c

œ œ œ

5

3

1 2 5 5

3 2 4 5 2 1 4

œœ nœ

œ

œ bœ

j œœ bœ

œ

œ bœ

j

3 3 2 3 4


nœ

5

3

nœœ œ œ œj œ

n

nœ

nœ


1

5

1

continued...

Chapter 20

269

Praeludium in C

Ped.

? c

Dietrich Buxtehude

(c.1637–1707)

m

≈œœœ œ œ ‰ œ j œ Œ ‰ œ J œ œ œ œ œ œœœ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ R œ œ #Rœ

œœœ

œ

4

{

& ∑ Ó Œ ‰ œ j ∑

& ∑ ∑ ∑

? m œ œ

œ

≈ œ # œ œ œ œ œ ≈ nœ

œœ œ R œœœ œ œœ œ # œœœ œ œ ≈ œ nœœ œ œ œ œ œœœ œ œ œ œœœ


7

&

{

&

5 5

‰ œ j œ Œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ

Œ œ ˙

œ œ œ œ

Ó

Œ

?

œ ˙ Œ &

œ œ œ œ

1

œ œ œ œ

? # œ

m œ m Œ

#œ œ

Ó

Œ

nœ

m m

˙

œ

m m

˙

m

1

œ

2

4

˙

1

3

{

10

&

&

?

œ œ œ œ

5 5 2

Ó

œ œ œ œ

1

œ œ œ œ

?

œ œ œ œ Œ

1

Œ œ ˙ Ó œ œ œ œ œ œ

Œ

&

œ ˙ Ó Ó

2

4

œ

m

˙

m

Ó

∑

œ œ œ œ

4

continued...


Study No. 3: Dotted figures as a rhetorical gesture

Sw.: Fl. 8ʹ, Pr. 4ʹ, 2ʹ, Quiet Reed 8ʹ, Sw. open

Gt.: Pr. 8ʹ, Fl. 8ʹ, 4ʹ, Sw. to Gt.

Ped. Fl. 16ʹ, 8ʹ, Gt. to Ped.

Overdot the dotted notes, as explained in this chapter.

{

Andante risoluto

2

& # # # Gt.

4 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ j ‰

mf

2

& # # # 4 # œœ œ

Sw.

?# #

# 2

4 ∑ Œ

œ œ j ‰

œ


# œœ n#

œœ

nœ

œ Œ Œ

Sw.

j nœ

# ‰

j

nnœ

‰

œ

Gt.

# œ nnœ

œ œnœ œ

œ

Œ

# œ

nœ œ nœ

œ

œ

œ


7

{

& # # # - Gt.

bnœ

# œ # œ Œ Œ

# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ j ‰ œ œ œ œ

& # # # bœ nœ

bœ -œ

œ

œ #-œ

?# # # œ

Œ

Œ

∑

∑

Sw.

# œœ œ

∑

œ œ j ‰

Œ

œ

# œœ n# œœ

œ

Œ

{

13

& # # #

& # # #

?# #

#

œ œ œ

nœ

Œ

Sw.

j

nœ

# ‰

n n j

œ ‰

Gt.

# œ bnœ

nœ œ nœ œ

# œ bnœ

nœ nœbœ œ

œ œ

-œ

œ œ

-œ

nnœ

-œ

# œ

œ œ nœ

# œ œ Œ

-œ

Œ

Œ


Index

This index comprises the following categories:

Coordinating three staves

Manual playing

Miscellaneous

Ornaments

Pedalling

Registration

Style

Technical exercises

Pieces


* = Study

Coordinating three staves

LH and feet, 38, 154

Releases for both hands and feet, 67, 75*

Manual playing

Combined manual techniques, 216, 221*

Coordinating hands, 5, 11*

Finger substitution, 138, 144*

Hand shape, 2, 4, 10*, 150

Inner voice sharing, 112, 113, 120*, 135, 145*, 151

Paired fingering, 9, 241, 249*

Part-playing, 28

Position fingering, 3, 9*, 27, 36*, 81, 86, 92*

Relaxed wrists, 14, 15, 20*, 236

Releases, 50, 60*

Repeated notes, 136, 137, 138, 146*

Vertical lines, 6

Voice collision, 111, 118*, 119*

Miscellaneous

Canon, 197

Cavaillé-Coll, Aristide, 178

Duplets and triplets, 65, 74*

Fugue, 109, 110

Passacaglia, 121

Sight-reading preparation, 9, 20, 34

Tuning (non-tempered), 243

Varying repeats, 55

Ornaments

Adding manual ornaments, 82, 86, 93*

Appoggiaturas, 41, 48*

Notes of anticipation, 66, 76*

Pincé, 238

Tremblement, 237

Trills, 29, 40, 52, 53, 59*, 187, 237

Pedalling

Arrows to indicate pivoting, 100

Combining pedal techniques, 215, 220*

Crossing toes, 98, 106*

Exchanging toes on a repeated note, 64

Footing options in ordinary touch, 264, 272*

Heel and toe in 3rds, 166, 177*, 200

Home position, 26, 27, 34*, 35*

Intervals between the feet, 26, 62, 63

Legato pedal touch, 149, 160*, 161*, 164, 214

Melody on the pedals, 123, 131*

Navigation points, 198, 206*

Octaves, 97, 107*

Pivoting, 99, 100, 106*, 215

Preparing the feet, 40, 46*, 47*, 150

Scale passages, 179, 194*

Sliding the heel, 165, 175*

Substitution, 165, 176*, 200, 207*

Swell pedal, 15, 21*, 166, 251, 252, 260*, 261* (see

also Registration)

Toe over two black notes, 232

Toe, moving between notes, 39, 64, 264

Index

277

Registration

Technical exercises

Baroque, 96, 109, 263

Changing stops, 83, 122, 130*, 255

Combination pedals, 212

Cornet, 234

Dynamics, changing, 121, 135, 163, 210, 222*, 224,

230*, 255

French nineteenth-century, 148, 178

Gap registration, 223, 232*

Grand Chœur, 178

Grand jeu, 235

Mixture, 37

Mutation, 23

Organo pleno, 96

Pistons, 212

Pitch, 1, 13, 23, 24, 37

Plein jeu, 37

Positif, 235

Pre-sets, 212

Principal chorus, 49

Rückpositiv, 61

Solo, 78

Swell pedal, 15, 21*, 163, 224, 230*, 252, 261*(see

also Pedalling)

Tonal families, 12, 13

Tremulant, 79

Trio, 197

Undulating stops, 250

Style

Exposing sustained notes, 17, 21*, 68, 113, 254, 262*

Hemiolas, 66

Passaggi, 265

Phrasing, 124, 131*, 139, 202, 207*

Releases, 50, 60*, 80, 94*, 125, 139, 239, 247*

Structural analysis, 251

Stylus phantasticus, 263, 265, 266, 267, 268

Tempo and rhythm, 88, 169, 186, 239, 240, 242,

247*, 248*, 266, 267, 268, 273*, 274*

Touch and articulation, 1, 2, 41, 50, 53, 58*, 134, 182,

183, 186, 193*, 195*, 202, 207*, 214, 226, 230*,

253

C major, 21, 47, 80, 180

C minor, 60, 75

C# minor, 106, 222

Db major, 94, 232

D major, 107

D minor, 12, 231

Eb major, 195, 220

Eb minor, 221

E major, 119

E minor, 10, 58, 224

F major, 62, 93, 97, 109, 197

F minor, 162, 177

F# major, 207

F# minor, 131, 145

G major, 20, 49, 144, 180, 210

G minor, 11, 134, 161

G# minor, 176

A major, 37, 59

A minor, 9, 23, 35, 78, 122

Ab major, 146, 163

Bb major, 46, 48, 181

Bb minor, 76

B major, 131

B minor, 21, 92


Pieces

Albinoni, Adagio and Allegro, 89

attr. Bach, Prelude in F, 71

Bach, Fughetta on ‘Gottes Sohn ist kommen’, 116

Beauvarlet-Charpentier, Quand Jésus naquit à Noël, 44

Boëllmann, Offertoire, 170

Bridge, Lento, 257

Buxtehude, Praeludium in C, 269

Dandrieu, Dialogue, 244

Franck, Quasi Allegro, 157

Krebs, Praeludium in F pro organo pleno, 103

Martini, Verset, 32

Pachelbel, Chorale Variation on ‘Freu dich sehr, o

meine Seele’, 56

Purcell, Air, 8

Reger, Chorale Prelude on ‘Lobe den Herren, den

mächtigen König der Ehren’, 218

Rheinberger, Trio, 204

Salomé, Grand Chœur, 190

Solomons, Aria, 228

Stocken, Rising Passacaglia, 127

Walton, Elegy, 142

Wesley, Larghetto, 19

List of stops

Common stop names listed in tonal families, with their usual register.

Principals

Flutes

Strings

Reeds

Choral Bass (4ʹ)

Contrabass (16ʹ)

Cymbal (Mixture)

Diapason (16ʹ, 8ʹ)

Doublette (2ʹ)

Fifteenth (2ʹ)

Fourniture (Mixture)

Fugara (4ʹ)

Geigen (4ʹ)

Gemshorn (4ʹ)

Mixture

Montre (32ʹ, 16ʹ, 8ʹ)

Octave, Octav,

Ottavo (4ʹ)

Open Diapason (16ʹ,

8ʹ)

Open Wood (32ʹ, 16ʹ)

Prestant (4ʹ)

Principal (16ʹ, 8ʹ)

Quint (2 2 /3ʹ)

Scharf (Mixture)

Superoctave (2ʹ)

Twelfth (2 2 /3ʹ)

Violin Diapason (16ʹ

or 8ʹ)

Violoncello (16ʹ)

Zymbal (Mixture)

Blockflöte (8ʹ)

Bourdon (16ʹ, 8ʹ)

Chimney Flute (8ʹ)

Clarabella (8ʹ)

Claribel (8ʹ)

Cor de Nuit (8ʹ)

Cornet (Mixture)

Flageolet (2ʹ)

Gedackt (8ʹ)

Harmonic Flute (8ʹ)

Hohlflöte (8ʹ)

Larigot (1 1 /3ʹ)*

Nachthorn (4ʹ or 2ʹ)

Nason Flute (4ʹ)

Nazard, Nasard

(2 2 /3ʹ)*

Piccolo (2ʹ)

Quintadena (16ʹ, 8ʹ)

Recorder (4ʹ)

Rohrflöte (8ʹ)

Rohrgedackt (8ʹ)

Sesquialtera (Mixture)

Spitzflöte (8ʹ)

Stopped Diapason (8ʹ)

Subbass (16ʹ)

Terz (1 3 /5ʹ)

Tierce (1 3 /5ʹ) *

Waldflöte (2ʹ)

* May be a Principal

Aeoline (8ʹ)

Céleste (8ʹ)

Dulciana (8ʹ)

Fugara (4ʹ)

Gamba (8ʹ)

Salicional (8ʹ)

Viola (8ʹ)

Viola da Gamba (8ʹ)

Voix Céleste (8ʹ)

Vox Angelica (8ʹ)


Bassoon (16ʹ, 8ʹ)

Bombarde (16ʹ)

Clarinet (8ʹ)

Clarion (4ʹ)

Cor Anglais (8ʹ)

Corno di Bassetto (8ʹ)

Cornopean (8ʹ)

Cremona (8ʹ)

Cromorne (8ʹ)

Dulzian (16ʹ or 8ʹ)

Horn (8ʹ)

Fagott, Fagotto (16ʹ)

French Horn (8ʹ)

Hautboy, Hautbois

(8ʹ)

Krummhorn (8ʹ)

Ophicleide (16ʹ)

Oboe (8ʹ)

Orchestral Oboe (8ʹ)

Posaune (16ʹ)

Regal (16ʹ)

Schalmei (4ʹ)

Tromba (8ʹ)

Trombone (16ʹ)

Trumpet, Trompette

(8ʹ)

Tuba (8ʹ)

Vox Humana, Voix

Humaine (8ʹ)

continued...

The New Oxford Organ Method

The New Oxford Organ Method focuses on the organ’s rich repertoire, using carefully selected pieces as

the inspiration for learning the instrument. Each chapter focuses on a single piece to demonstrate and

instruct players in pedalling and finger-work, registration, practice methods, and historically informed

interpretation. Detailed technical descriptions are supplemented with illustrative photographs, and

acquired techniques are reinforced through short musical studies that provide practice material and are

also suitable for wider application. A comprehensive approach, the Method is designed for all organists,

with or without a teacher, but in particular those seeking an integrated course of study that embraces

the literature and practical music-making.

• Ideal for players of any age starting with basic keyboard ability (approx. ABRSM Grade 3)

• Suitable as a ‘refresher’ course for more advanced players

• Designed to encourage learning through joined-up practical activities

• Attractive pieces cover a range of styles, including works by J. S. Bach, Buxtehude, Franck,

Reger, and Walton

also available:

Oxford Service Music for Organ series

Oxford Bach Books for Organ series

Graded Keyboard Musicianship, Books 1 and 2

Anne Marsden Thomas is one of the most influential organ teachers of today, and has wide experience as a concert organist.

She has written and edited over twenty books for organists. She is Director of Music at St Giles Cripplegate Church, City

of London. In 2015 she was awarded the MBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours, and in 2017 she was the first woman to

receive the Royal College of Organists’ highest distinction, the RCO Medal.

Dr Frederick Stocken is a widely commissioned and performed composer, whose recorded and broadcast music ranges

from organ and choral pieces to orchestral works. His publications include not only compositions, but also musicology

and keyboard tutors. He is Organist of St George’s Metropolitan Cathedral, London, and a distinguished teacher of organ,

music theory, and musicianship at all levels.

Cover image: St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, UK, Simon Balson/Alamy Stock Photo

1

ISBN 978-0-19-351832-2

9 780193 518322

New Oxford Organ Method

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