Fostering a love of organ music

Press, 29 May 1985, Page 28

Fostering a love of organ music

Part of the appeal of a pipe organ to musicians is that no two instruments are the same.

While providing infinite variety of sound, the fact that each instrument is unique creates challenges for organists, especially when giving recital tours. Even a church organist who plays regularly on several different pipe organs finds there are problems and beauties peculiar to each organ. Helping organists to develop skills needed to master a variety of organs is only part of the work of the New Zealand Association of Organists.

The wider aim of the association is to promote and foster an interest in the performance and repertoire of pipe organ music and in the instruments themselves.

Through the distribution of regular magazines (both national and international), members of the assocation are kept informed of the

latest reviews, news about organs, repertoire, recordings which are available, and forthcoming organ events.

Perhaps the most valuable part of the work of the association is the promotion of recitals and arranging informal playing sessions among members. Each year the regional branches of the association arrange for a number of visiting overseas and local organists to give recitals. Top-class performers such as Maurice Clerc and Darryl Nixon are among the organists who have delighted audiences with their concerts. In a more informal setting, the Christchurch branch of the association has held monthly “play-a-

longs” for about the last two years. These sessions are held at a different venue each time so that members can both hear and play different organs, while expanding both their confidence and knowledge of the organ repertoire.

Organists within the association are becoming increasingly more interested in the preservation of historic instruments. The president of the Christchurch branch of the association, Mr John Dodgshun, says that there are many such important organs in New Zealand which are worth preserving and restoring. “An example of a fine restoration is the 1878

Halmshaw organ in the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, which was faithfully restored to its original specifications seven years ago,” say Mr Dodgshun.