The Cambridge companion to the organ

Description

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