• Welcome to the Pipe Organ Forum! This is a part of the open community Magle International Music Forums focused on pipe organs (also known as "church organs"), organists, organ music and related topics.

    This forum is intended to be a friendly place where technically advanced organists and beginners (or even non-organists) can feel comfortable having discussions and asking questions. We learn by reading and asking questions, and it is hoped that the beginners (or non-organists) will feel free to ask even the simplest questions, and that the more advanced organists will patiently answer these questions. On the other hand, we encourage complex, technical discussions of technique, music, organ-building, etc. The opinions and observations of a diverse group of people from around the world should prove to be interesting and stimulating to all of us.

    As pipe organ discussions can sometimes become lively, it should be pointed out that this is an open forum. Statements made here are the opinion of the poster, and not necessarily that of the forum itself, its administrator, or its moderators.

    In order to post a new topic - or reply to existing ones - you may join and become a member by clicking on Register New User. It's completely free and only requires a working email address (in order to confirm your registration - it will never be given away!). We strive to make this a friendly and informative forum for anyone interested in pipe organs and organ music.

    (Note: If you wish to link to and promote your own website please read this thread first.)

    Many kind regards
    smile.gif

    Frederik Magle
    Administrator

    Krummhorn
    Co-Administrator

Current Composers of Organ Music

susangio

New member
Ok, the Pipe Organ Forum says beginners can ask questions, and I need educating, so here goes: Besides the very talented Frederik Magle, whose work I can't possibly imagine being matched, can anyone give me/us a pretty comprehensive list of Current composers that include the pipe organ as a major player in their work? :eek: ...if that list is pretty long and needs narrowing, how about work that leans more toward the Light than toward the Dark? Susanne
 

Caddis

New member
Hi susangio
I don't have a long list but can list the following out of hand.
Naji Hakim (France)
Jean-Pierre Laguay (France)
Jean- Paul Imbert (France)
Daniel Roth (France)
Sophie-Veronique Choplin (France)
Jean Guillou (France)
Klaas Jan Mulder (Netherlands)
Martin Mans (Netherlands)
Fons Brouwer (Netherlands)
Willem van Twillert (Netherlands)
Ronald de Jong (Netherlands)

I will post a more complete list later on,that's all I have for now:cheers:
 

susangio

New member
Wow! that's a good list to start with. Thanks so much. I'll investigate for sure. Susanne.:tiphat:
 

Contratrombone64

Admiral of Fugues
Unfortunately in Australia our composers neglect the organ so coming up with even just ONE who writes for it predominantly is difficult. However, Ross Edwards' wonderful "Very High Kings" opens with thunderous chords from the organ and was premiered in the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall ... with its weak but magnificent Pogson organ (the world's newest and largest mechanical action organ I think is it's claim to fame). Sadly, I can't think of another contemporary Australian composer who's used it, though there would be many, surely.
 

Caddis

New member
Hi susangio,apologies for the late response.This is the other half of my list.
Marc Giacone (Monaco)
Maasaki Suzuki (Japan)
Lionel Coulon (France)
Lionel Rogg (Switzerland)
Arie J. Keijzer (Ned)
Gerben Mourik (Ned)
Aart de Kort (Ned)
Sander van Marion (Ned)
Joris Verdin (Bel)
Jozef Sluys (Bel)
Pam Decker (USA) (As a big fan of sophisticated music,her music is very interesting.But I would certianly not put my fingers through such levels of torture!)
 

susangio

New member
Thanks again, Caddis, and Contratrombone64, for the info about contemporary composers incorporating pipe organ in their compositions. Caddis, I am curious to know how you came up with your list (teach a fisher to fish) :)
 

Caddis

New member
11 of those names come from my cd collection.The other names I got from the internet,on the look out for new recordings and new or lesserknown composers.The two main websites I search are www.france-orgue.fr and www.orgelland.nl .Both sites contain an index of organists and tons of info,the french site has got more than 8000 recordings listed.There are enough recordings to choose from both sites to blow the credit card and give your bank manager a major heart attack.I also collect mp3 samples on a regular basis.
 
Last edited:

susangio

New member
Thank you, Caddis, for the websites! That will help tremendously. Can't wait to start exploring. Perhaps you'll have an answer to my question in the Help and Troubleshooting Forum, as well....? ;)
 

AndrewBlackburn

New member
New organ music and composers

Hi
I recently premiered a work by the Australian/Chilean composer Andrian Pertout for organ, flute and live electronic signal processing of both the organ and flute.
You can see more information abouit this performance held on the grand concert organ of the Melbourne Town Hall at
www.hutes.com.au
Also in the performance was another premiere of a work by Peter Neville for organ and percussion.

Both works were very well received by a large audience. :)

I think it is important for we organists to encourage composers to write for our instrument. The organ has a very important place in the story of new music - from the 14th to 20th centuries and as the current custodians of this heritage it is up to us to continue and develop it with the finest composers of our age in all styles.

As a matter of interest, are there other organists/composers in this forum who are regularly working with pipe organ and electronic processing (not eelectronic organs in this instance)?
 

susangio

New member
Current Composers of Organ Music: Melbourne Town Hall Recording Project

Hello Andrew, thanks for sharing that! The webpage on the Melbourne Town Hall Project looked Really interesting! I wish there were some sound samples to listen to (hint hint). Also your own web page was interesting--nice photos of pipes, and a couple of samples of your composition and playing ;) Cool collection of metronomes in the background of the middle photo!:D
 

Soubasse

New member
As a matter of interest, are there other organists/composers in this forum who are regularly working with pipe organ and electronic processing (not eelectronic organs in this instance)?

I'll put my hand up as a yes to that question. I've also written a number of organ solo pieces, but nothing published (I'm open to suggestions!). They've all received favourable reviews and comments at performances here and abroad.
 

NEB

New member
And there-in lies one of the problems. I've no doubt there is plenty of contemporary music out there, but unpublished it just can't get played very much. I had hoped that the internet might change that. Maybe it has?

Would be nice to know where it all resides so I could take a look at some of those works by the various current composers...
 

AndrewBlackburn

New member
Library of contemporary music - lots of organ music here too

Thankyou for the nice comments about the Melbourne Town Hall Organ Project. When we find some time :eek: we will put up a version of the video of the performance (bits)

A review -report of the performance can be seen at:
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/07/08/1183833337610.html

To all those who are looking for some composers of organ music in Australia, there is an excellent resource at the Australian Music Council.
http://www.amcoz.com.au/
You can browse under organ. The last time I looked in any detail there were more than 100 pieces. Some excellent works there to perform. They range in difficulty from very simple to very difficult. Good luck.
 

susangio

New member
Hi, all, I would like to enthusiastically share with you an album (2000) I just listened to that incorporates pipe organ - thought you might be familiar with it, and if not you should listen to it! The album is called Triptych and is by Paul Halley, member of the Paul Winter Consort. The music on this album is his compositions-quote, "new works for a unique ensemble [of] piano, organ & harpsichord." It's very good! The pipe organ used is the Albert Schweitzer Memorial Organ designed by the Fratelli Ruffatti Company of Padua, Italy and (I'm quoting the pamphlet) was installed in Spivey Hall (Clayton State College campus, Georgia, USA) between 1991-1993, with a total of 4,413 pipes, 79 ranks, 2 electric ranks and 88 speaking stops. The harpsichord Mr. Halley uses for the recording was designed and built by Carl Dudash. At least half of the compositions use all three instruments together (overdubbing). What a nice blend!!!
 

Arvin B

New member
Here's some American composers:

Richard Purvis
Paul Manz
Daniel Pinkham (I believe he just passed away. RIP)
Emma Lou Diemer
Robert C. Hebble
Franklin Ashdown
David Cherwien
Seth Bingham
 

susangio

New member
Current Composers of Organ Music: Performances

Thankyou for the nice comments about the Melbourne Town Hall Organ Project. When we find some time :eek: we will put up a version of the video of the performance (bits)

A review -report of the performance can be seen at:
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/07/08/1183833337610.html

To all those who are looking for some composers of organ music in Australia, there is an excellent resource at the Australian Music Council.
http://www.amcoz.com.au/
You can browse under organ. The last time I looked in any detail there were more than 100 pieces. Some excellent works there to perform. They range in difficulty from very simple to very difficult. Good luck.

Got any suggestions for CD-recorded performances for our listening pleasure?
 

PraeludiumUndFuge

New member
Are these all composing in a modern style?
Contemporary or modern music is terrible!
I just recently discovered these modern/contemporary composers, along with the horrible modern American-style instruments the music is often played on, with reeds which sound like they are made out of plastic.
No offense to the lovers of that stuff but it is very different from the historical organ music!!
Only historical European organs (or instruments voiced in the style) and no music post-18th century for me please.
Meantone temperaments are nice too!
 
Last edited:

AndrewBlackburn

New member
Hi susangio,
There will be a DVD of the concert that I can make available when it becomes so. I will post the info on this forum when the copies are made.
Otherwise we still plan to put some of the contents on the web.

========

Hi PraeludiumUndFuge,
Provocatively, I am very happy to agree with you about the QUALITY of the sound which appears in much new music.
Music is always Music and the sound - so admirably created (or synthesized) by the 17th Century organ builders still has a place in new and contemporary music. Remember that the pipe organ of this erq is an acoustic additive synthesizer which was 'reinvented' by Robert Moog and as organists and musicians we must keep the instrument we love, alive, active and at the forefront of musical expression right up to today. Remember too that all the beautiful and wonderful music which we treasure from earlier years has been filtered and sorted by time. Much new music of today will not receive a second or third performance - but that which is great - will become treasured also by later generations. So do keep looking and listening to lots of new music - and don't feel upset that not every piece is 'great'
 
Last edited by a moderator:

susangio

New member
CD-recorded performances

Hi, Andrew [Blackburn], sorry I wasn't more clear with my question about CD-recorded performances :), I meant that the site you referred us to that had "more than a 100...."--if I understood correctly, that was for written music in case we wanted to try playing some of it, yes? I meant only to question whether there are some CDs one could make referrals on for current (contemporary) works by composers who incorporate the pipe organ in their music, as Frederik does. Thanks for any info you have! ;)
 

NEB

New member
I do enjoy browsing contemprorary music from time to time, and looking through the scores I can usually get some kind of an idea of the pieces in question. Problem I find is that when looking on the interent, you often don't get the opportunity to browse the scores but are often required to buy a work after seeing a single sample page (or equally often just from a title), so I simply don't follow up on them because I'm not prepared to spend the money on something that may turn out to be garbage. At least if I've had the chance to look through something properly, then If in the final eventuality I decide I don't like it and don't want to use it or whatever, it's down to me and my misjudgement of what I saw. I can live with that aspect of caveat emptor but not buying blind!

That said, I do think there is a place for contemporary music in 'worship' and I'm not entirely sure it's necessarily that bad to go with the current fad that may be around from time to time. Doesn't mean I have to actually like much of the last 25 years output for 'hymns' voluntaries etc. and there is a great deal of what can only be described as 'bile'. BUT, there are some absolute Gems amongst them. Equally though, clearing through the music cupboards at my main church, they have lots of very old sheet music of Organ and choral music dating mostly from the late victorian era or turn of the 20th century. An awful lot of that was complete bile too. But there are some I've set aside for further inspection...
 
Top