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Your camera is inverted, is that sufficient to avoid the “digital strategy”?

BWV 671 is just insanely beautiful and daring and I wasn't aware of the the cyclic meaning of the cantus firmus in those three Kyrie-pieces of Clavierübung III. The ending is just so utterly harsh and intense. The six-voice fugue on 'Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir' BWV 686 is also really great though, completely overfulfilling any expectations you'd have for a stile-antico chorale fugue. I'm not aware of any piece of that period having a two-voice pedal either. I'd have a really hard time chosing between BWV 671 and BWV 686, it's like the ultimate dilemma, one is lush and shiny with a twist for the ages, the other just rolls over you with its sheer amount of voices and stretto-counterpoint.

Perfect performance and perfect registration and tempo. You are phenomenal Ben

Love this piece.

It always amuses me to think that this wonderful composition only exists because GTB was asked to fill-in for the BBC as the broadcast service finished earlier than expected (ah . . . if only all services were so obliging!). Public demand saw him score an approximation of his ever-popular improvisation. You register and perform this piece with superb artistry, Ben: bravo! (And not that it is of any interest to anyone other than me, but this was the first piece I ever played in public at a school concert [a Walker Organ!] when I was fifteen . . . fifty-one years ago. If only I had played it one percent as beautifully as you in this recording.)

Great to hear this well known piece from a world famous Australian born composer.

C'est bien, cette pièce. Je vais la réécouter, pour voir.

Thanks Ben such a gem beautifully interpreted with thoughtful registrations.

Beautiful piece, beautifully played!

Grade 7 organ core

How do organ players do with so many pedals lol I could never

A very refined piece Ben. The reed solo is especially moving. Glad of your comments about Huddersfield - my aunt and uncle lived there and I stayed there whet I went to visit them.

A really gorgeous performance, Ben, of Bairstow's delightfully romantic 'Evening Song', so wonderfully suited to the Speechly Organ at St Lawrence's Church: bravo! I think this was Bairstow's first published organ work (1900), so written in his mid twenties about the time he moved to Wigan Parish Church from Westminster Abbey. (I wonder on which organ he first played this composition!). I've read in the comments on another TH-cam performance that this piece actually started life as a composition for cello and piano, written to be played at a private soiree. The claim remains unsubstantiated as no original copy of the score has ever come to light, and although you can imagine where the cello might have played in the A section, the B section does not really seem to support this assertion. (I have always thought that the B section might have been inspired a little by the 'Quasi Allegretto' from César Franck's 'Pastorale' . . . or do you think that is too fanciful of me?). Like Bairstow, I was also born in the West Riding, and only a few miles away from his home town of Huddersfield . . . but where I dabble haphazardly in organ composition, I don't think the great man would have had anything positive or kind to say about my efforts! Indeed, as a Yorkshire man who did not hold back from calling ubiquitous popular music (and much Victorian Church music) tripe or trash, his forthright views, so trenchantly expressed, often gained him unpopularity in some quarters . Later in his career, Bairstow could have returned to Westminster Abbey to be Organist and Director of Music there, but he chose to be rooted most of his life in 'God's own County', explaining once in a broadcast the reasoning behind this preference: "I know the Yorkshire-man with his fearlessness, his energy, his rather material outlook, and his straightness which sometimes develops into rudeness. That is the main reason why I stayed - because I believe I am more useful here than in London. But, naturally, there was also the pull of the Minster and the beautiful City of York. Usefulness and a life amidst beautiful surroundings are of far more importance to one’s happiness than notoriety and a large income." Oh, such sanguine advice for any aspiring cathedral organist! Francis Jackson wrote extensively about Bairstow, noting that the man was in no way afraid of genuine emotion. On the contrary, he experienced himself how Bairstow looked for it and brought it out to its fullest extent, whether in his own playing or in his choir training and conducting. Jackson recalled that as an organist, Bairstow was "authoritative, exciting, gripping, dramatic. He thought that the 'German sixth' in Bach’s Fantasia in G minor needed his left hand to play it on the Tuba - that enormous York Tuba - in addition to the Great played with his right hand. He felt the drama so strongly that he needed to put the point over to his listeners." Mmmm. Would the Tuba ever feature during a performance of Baroque organ music by you, Ben? You'd be a brave man today if you broke from the accepted conventions of 'authentic' registration choices! Thankfully, 'Evening Song' does not call for the Tuba . . . but I can understand why another commentator has mentioned that Lady Bairstow liked to hear this piece played on her birthday. For, you should know, all Yorkshiremen are true romantics at heart - despite their forthright bluster!

Do you take request? :)

Thank you Ben. I’m gutted I missed you at Rochester especially as it is only 5 minutes away. I love the new CD: fabulous music which I do not know (apart from the Durufle).

Sir Edward always had to play this after evensong, in York Minster, on pain of severe displeasure if he did not, on Lady Bairstow's birthday

Too true

Why do I always miss you when you get back to Rochester? I’ll drop you an email. I always remember meeting you after I had moved back there and thinking you were one of the choristers and not the sub organist!

Hallo Ben I always look forward to your video performances. There is lots of repertoire i am discovering for the first time. I got your Ad Fontes recording at last the other day: beautifully played, produced, recorded and presented. The organ at the Oratory sounds magnificent.

A gem of a piece, played with great care and sensitivity. Thank you for this blissful moment of peaceful calm, so needed right now in our world!

A really gorgeous performance, Ben, on the magnificent Downes/Walker Organ. Although not published until 1953, as you remark, the 'Six Pieces' were written in the early 1940s and Howells later recalled in a 1962 radio interview that he composed the set during his recuperation from a severe illness suffered in 1940. In a 1954 review of the 'Six Pieces', Professor Luther Noss (Yale University) noted that this music represents: "a sort of Anglicised impressionism: all of the familiar impressionistic devices are used, but in moderation, and with a fine understanding of their application to the organ. They offer both a unity and a variety which permits their use singly or as a group... these pieces represent contemporary English organ music at its conservative best." So very true. Although 'Impressionism' is not easily defined (!), in this Preludio, I do strongly sense an atmosphere being created . . . an intangible feeling/spirit that at times is quite dark and unsettling (perhaps reflecting the anxieties of war time). I confess to originally thinking the title of this Preludio connected the work to RVW's wonderful hymn (especially as Howells was a great admirer) - but, of course, no such connection is to be found! Looking to translate the Latin, the piece is simply a ‘Prelude without a name’ (which is no more enlightening, unless we cynically conclude that Howells didn’t quite know what he was writing!). In fact, understanding the title takes us on a journey back to the Tudor era. In the 16th century, there arose a tradition of writing pieces entitled 'In Nomine', using the plainsong of part of the Benedictus - 'In Nomine Domine' as a cantus firmus around which were woven three or more contrapuntal lines, usually for instruments such as viols. Also, from the Renaissance period, was the tradition of the 'Missa Sine Nomine' (mass without a name). At that time, most masses were paraphrase masses, or parody masses, using existing plainsong or polyphonic material as the basis for the composition. Settings which were written as completely new music were said to be 'Sine Nomine'. (Which is why RVW adopted this idea for his new tune to William Walsham How's text). So, with both of these ideas in mind, we might imagine that Howells was inspired to 'fuse' Tudor England with the new 'Impressionistic' sounds of the twentieth century! Writing in the 'Organist's Review' in 1992, the composer, conductor and organist, Paul Spicer, observed with great insight about 'Sine Nomine' that: "here is another classic example of an apparently easy piece, ideal as an incoming voluntary, which rewards a hundred-fold the performer who has an ounce of spirituality in his blood and who takes the time and trouble to create the atmosphere Howells intended." And this you do magnificently, Ben: B R A V O !

I remember when you played this and Simon accompanied you. Lovely to hear it again.

That's rather fun!

Blocked and reported to the RCO

Isn't the Organ at Holy Trinity, Sloane Sq in a cage too?

Great recital today from the organ cage. Enjoyed this very much. 😊

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Ok mate

Looking forward to the recital!

It's the interplay between fairly standard progressions then, a series of crazy chords that is intriguing; an unusual find. Excellent playing as usual, Thanks very much, and please keep digging up these interesting "lost" pieces.

F A B U L O U S ! Bravo, Ben! A really magnificent performance on the wonderful Rochester Cathedral Organ with its glorious Tuba (which PWW must have equally relished!). His 'Fanfare' from 'Four Extemporisations' is, for me, such a quintessential expression of English organ music from that period, so beautifully crafted and just brimming with Whitlock's charisma as a composer who had more than mastered his trade. Although recorded back in May, you have uploaded this on a day when youngsters are maybe thinking about some wicked little 'tricks' tonight . . . but your playing here is certainly all 'treat', and you have earned yourself the sweetest candy as your deserved reward! (Looking forward to attending your recital tomorrow at Leeds Minster - another treat to come!)

I live here it's great

IN my view this is one of Bach's under-rated prelude and fugues and here it is played so beautifully by Ben. Thank you!

What a bizarre piece. Thank you for sharing it and playing it so perfectly.

I like this song ❤️

many rare gems are still to be found and played - congratulations on playing this gem Ben

As a Benedictine Monk, I'm not sure humorous echo effects would have been the 'order' of the day for Kolb . . . and although Benedictines do not take a vow of silence, hours of strict silence have always been set, with silence being maintained as much as could be practically possible . . . but maybe playing the organ escaped such strictures. This is the first Kolb work I have ever heard and the bold harmonic language suggests a rather free spirit, which is intriguing as I could not find out too much about the man. Many thanks for bringing such music to my attention - and bravo on a sparkling performance!

really different music. Registration is perfect. If I do compare with Muffat, it looks very modern. Thank you for this new composer to me.

Must be THE most challenging of Alain's compositions for organ - so hats off for this convincing and very musical live performance. Many thanks for posting and working on this for our pleasure!

It's always a pleasure to hear and watch you play! I'm also grateful for the abundance of Stanford's music across all organ channels. I didn't know about his music five months ago and now I'm interested in hearing and learning more about him. Cheers from Brooklyn, New York!

Impressive, Ben! With modern organs having banks of thumb and toe pistons, steppers, sequencers and plenty of other aids to assist the organist, it's a tonic to see your excellent console management at an organ that requires so much more from the player in performance! This Stanford 'Postlude' fits the tonal scheme of a vintage 1877 Father Willis perfectly with its very limited upper work and pedal, but still, a 'big' sound - even though it is located in a boxed-in chamber (well done on the excellent audio quality and magnificent playing!). Looking at the instrument on the NPOR, it's interesting to note that the Great Twelfth was replaced in 1915 with an Open No 2 . . . and that this was not changed back in the 2021 overhaul to give at least one mutation! I see the cost of the new organ in 1877 is listed at £760. Using the internet to convert that into an equivalent for 2024, that amounts to about £112,000. So what excellent value the organ was back then, as that sum would go nowhere at all today to build a three manual organ with 25 speaking stops. BRAVO!

Thanks, Ben. A nice bright start to the day!

Maravilhosa música.Obrigado sr Bloor ❤

Bravo, Ben. Wonderful playing, thank you..

love those crashing chords.

I add my whoops and applause to the rousing - and much deserved - acclamation we briefly heard at the end from the highly appreciative St Lawrence audience who heard this piece played live by you in your July recital. What a splendid instrument this 1866 Henry Speechly organ is, and very well suited to Stanford's music. I first heard this work as a teenager when I bought the 1967 Abbey record of Francis Jackson playing 'Nineteenth Century Organ Music' at York Minster, and it has been a favourite ever since. The British musicologist, Professor Jeremy Dibble has written some useful programme notes about this work which are worth sharing to supplement your commentary. As you remark, Ben, the Fantasia and Toccata, Op 57, was completed in July 1894, but it was not published for another eight years until 1902. The dedicatee, Sir Walter Parratt, was Professor of Organ at the RCM, as well as Director of Music at St George’s Chapel, Windsor. Parratt (along with his older contemporary, Stainer) was one of the first genuine virtuoso organists in England at the end of the nineteenth century, and Dibble notes that "his importance to the development of the organ profession can be witnessed in his organ recitals which abjured the more traditional programming of arrangements of the ‘classics’ in favour of original works for the organ" (a sentiment close to your heart, Ben, thinking to your recent interview with Mark O'Brien!). Dibble adds that "The fantasia, with its strong opening flourish, mimics Bach’s fantasia and fugue in G minor, BWV542, though Stanford’s gesticulative dissonances at the conclusion to each phrase are thoroughly romantic, as is the panoply of chromatic progressions. Bachian too is the secondary allegretto con moto section in compound time. A repeat of the first animated paragraph in F major is concluded by a reprise of the allegretto, now transformed in D major, and a coda in which the initial flourishes are presented in dialogue between the hands. The toccata invokes the mood and figuration of the ‘Dorian’ toccata and fugue, BWV538. A ‘free’ form, like its fantasia counterpart, it has an aura of improvisation, but, as one would expect, this apparent ‘looseness’ conceals a sophisticated concerto design in which the opening figure for pedals constitutes a functioning ritornello, punctuating the important formal modulations to related keys, while the toccata material for the hands constitutes the ever-expanding, tonally fluid episodes. An exciting, dynamically rhythmical work, it concludes, like many toccatas, with an extended tonic pedal and a majestic Buxtehude-like gesture for full organ". You would have delighted Dibble if he could have been there to hear you play on 9th July . . . or if he ever listens to this upload: B R A V O !

Such a beautifully sensitive rendition of this wonderfully cheesy yet charming piece- many thanks Ben

Fabulous playing and luxuriant registrations- I love Ben.