The Oxford Book of Lent and Easter Organ Music: Music for Lent, Palm Sunday, Holy Week, Easter, Ascension, and Pentecost

ISBN 10: 0193386232 ISBN 13: 9780193386235

Publisher: OUP Oxford, 2013

Synopsis

The Oxford Book of Lent and Easter Organ Music brings together a superb array of repertoire for use from Ash Wednesday through to Pentecost, providing a comprehensive volume for this extended liturgical period. The pieces―largely based on well-known hymn tunes―vary in style and length, suiting a range of purposes, from processionals and interludes to voluntaries and recital works. A range of technical difficulty makes the book useful for players of differing abilities, and clean and uncluttered scores leave interpretative decisions to the performer. An invaluable resource for a major part of the church year.

About this title

Review:

This is an essential book, a splendid collection of 34 pieces covering Lent, Palm Sunday, Holy Week, Easter, Ascension and Pentecost. Well-known hymn tunes provide the basis of 29 of them. There are items written especially for this collection, as well as several earlier pieces that I have not seen elsewhere . . . I particularly enjoyed Naji Hakim's Variations: O filii et filiae, well stocked with the hallmarks of his style and a welcome reappearance of the composer after an absence from new music lists. The eye-opener for me was Fanfare: Shine, Jesus, Shine by Christopher Tambling. This is a winner, a splendid working over of a good tune and an exhilarating piece of organ music. The collection has many uses beyond the period in the title, and every organ loft should have a copy. (Trevor Webb, Church Music Quarterly, June 2013)

This is a truly eclectic collection which will have wide appeal to organists seeking seasonal music for liturgical and recital purposes. The title of the volume does not do it full justice, however, since the music follows the church year beyond Lent and Easter through to Ascension-tide and Pentecost. . . This is a major publication. It owes much to the skills of its editor, Robert Gower, and at about fifty pence per piece it is more than worth its price. There is much to explore and enjoy and most of the music is well within reasonable technical limits. Very highly recommended. (Alan Spedding, Organists' Review December 2012)

Book Description:

'Every organ loft should have a copy' Church Music Quarterly

About this edition

• Publisher: OUP Oxford
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0193386232
• ISBN 13: 9780193386235
• Binding: Sheet music
• Number of pages: 128
• Editor: Gower Robert