The Cambridge Companion to the Organ

An essential Companion to all aspects of the organ and its music.

Nicholas Thistlethwaite (Edited by), Geoffrey Webber (Edited by)

9780521575843, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 4 March 1999

356 pages, 31 b/w illus. 8 tables 70 music examples
24.4 x 17.3 x 2 cm, 0.66 kg

'… editors of this Companion have done an excellent job in producing a sharply-focused, coherent set of essays within 330 pages … this is a book that can usefully, indeed should, be read by anyone interested in the organ and its music. Students will need their own copies for constant reference, while the more experienced will be stilumated, informed and challenged.' Music and Letters

This Companion is an essential guide to all aspects of the organ and its music. It examines in turn the instrument, the player and the repertoire. The early chapters tell of the instrument's history and construction, identify the scientific basis of its sounds and the development of its pitch and tuning, examine the history of the organ case, and consider the current trends and conflicts within the world of organ building. Central chapters investigate the practical art of learning and playing the organ, introduce the complex area of performance practice, and outline the relationship between organ playing and the liturgy of the church. The final section explores the vast repertoire of organ music, focusing on a selection of the most important traditions.

1. Origins and development of the organ Nicholas Thistlethwaite
2. Organ construction Stephen Bicknell
3. The physics of the organ John Mainstone
4. Temperament and pitch Christopher Kent
5. The organ case Stephen Bicknell
6. Organ-building today Stephen Bicknell
7. The fundamentals of organ playing Kimberly Marshall
8. A survey of historical performance practices Kimberly Marshall
9. Organ music and the liturgy Edward Higginbottom
10. Italian organ music to Frescobaldi Christopher Stembridge
11. Iberian organ music before 1800 James Dalton
12. The French classical organ school Edward Higginbottom
13. English organ music to c.1700 Geoffrey Cox
14. Catholic Germany and Austria before 1800 Patrick Russill
15. The north German organ school before 1800 Geoffrey Webber
16. The organ music of J. S. Bach David Yearsley
17. German organ music after 1800 Graham Barber
18. French and Belgian organ music after 1800 Gerard Brooks
19. British organ music after 1800 Andrew McCrea
20. North American organ music after 1800 Douglas Reed
Appendix The church modes Christopher Stembridge.

Subject Areas: Keyboard instruments [AVRG]