Making Music on the Organ

Book excerpt: Making Music on the Organ has already established itself as an indispensable guide to the art of organ playing. It records the ideas which underpin Peter Hurford's performance and teaching and its chief concern, as the title indicates, is to show how to make music, rather than merely playing the notes, on this instrument. There is advice on the technical problems of performance, an explanation of the workings of the instrument, and chapters on interpretation, including, most usefully, reflections on the interpretation of Bach. This new paperback edition makes a number of textual amendments and additions, and includes three new appendices on the principles of good organ design, the swell-box, and the temperament. This title also appears in the Oxford General Books catalogue for Autumn 1990. Contents: Notes of Usage; Introduction; The Organists Place in Musical Performance; How the Organ Works; A Basic Physical Approach to the Organ; The technical Basis of Movement and Expression; Some Thoughts on Interpretation; Towards a grounding in Bach Interpretation; The French Classical School; Renaissance; Appendices; Reading List; Index of Works Cited; General Index.