The Organ Podcast
Mark O'Brien
The Organ Podcast is a fortnightly show designed to inform and entertain organists and organ enthusiasts alike, including those who are simply curious and want to know more about this unique instrument and its music.
Episodes will feature interviews with leading UK and international organists, visit historic or little-known organs of interest, catch-up with organ rebuilds and restorations, and encounter a diverse mix of pipe organ related activities, news, discussions and initiatives from around the UK.
Presented by Mark O'Brien
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Top 10 The Organ Podcast Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Organ Podcast episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Organ Podcast for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Organ Podcast episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
In this episode, we go behind the scenes of a live broadcast of BBC Radio 3's Choral Evensong from the chapel of King's College, Cambridge. We hear from the programme's Producer and Sound Supervisor, as well as from the Director of Music at King's - Daniel Hyde.
The Choir of King's College, Cambridge
BBC Sounds - Choral Evensong
Gordon Stewart demonstrates the famous J J Binns (1855 - 1928) organ at Rochdale Town Hall. Showcasing the distinctive Binns sound and tonal design, Gordon explains the background to the great town hall organ tradition in the North of England.
Gordon Stewart - Concert Organist
Rochdale Town Hall
Organ Specification - NPOR
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Episode 13 - Pipe Organ Rescue with Martin Renshaw and Pipe-up - Katherine Dienes Williams on pressures facing cathedral organists
The Organ Podcast
08/01/24 • 47 min
In this Episode, Mark O'Brien joins Martin Renshaw, from the organ charity, Pipe-up for Pipe Organs, as he and a team of volunteers remove an organ from a closed-down Baptist chapel in Hertfordshire. Mark also has a look around Martin's warehouse, where several historic organs are lying in storage, waiting for a new home in the UK - or about to be transported to Europe.
Pipe Up for Pipe Organs
Katherine Dienes Williams talks about her role as President of the Cathedral Organists' Association and reveals some of the concerns expressed by cathedral organists to the increasing demands of their job. She also shares her experience of being the first female Organist and Master of the Choristers in a Church of England Cathedral.
Katherine Dienes Williams
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In this episode Ian Tracey, Organist of Liverpool Cathedral, demonstrates the newly installed Echo organ and showcases the extraordinary sounds and power of the UK's largest pipe organ. With a total of ten divisions, located in organ cases around the cathedral, this new echo organ completes the tonal design of the organ, which began in 1923 under the craftsmanship of Henry Willis III, and the cathedral's first organist, Harry Goss-Custard.
Liverpool Cathedral Organ
Specification
Jeremiah Stephenson, Organ Education Lead at St Paul's Cathedral, talks about his work devising events and workshops designed to introduce children to the organ. Challenging traditionally held attitudes, he explains how he presents the organ as a gateway to engage children in the wider appreciation of classical music and performance.
Jeremiahstephenson.com
Get in touch with the Organ Podcast [email protected]
William McVicker talks about the impact and legacy of one of the most significant revolutions in organ design - the Organ Reform Movement. Explaining the historical context out of which the movement grew (lead by German polymath and organist, Albert Schweitzer), William demonstrates the musical results at the console of a 1968 German-inspired reform organ at the church of Our Lady of Dolours, in London.
William McVicker
Organ of Our Lady of Dolours (NPOR)
Ben Bloor, Organist at the London Oratory, shares his experience of using social media platforms to engage with audiences and promote organ music. With over 350 videos on YouTube, an organ podcast, and a variety of short-form videos, Ben reflects on how the growing trend of organists uploading their content to social media platforms can have a wider cultural impact in changing attitudes towards performers and repertoire.
Ben Bloor
Ben's YouTube channel
Get in touch with the Organ Podcast [email protected]
In this episode we visit the largest cathedral organ in the UK to follow the organ builders from David Wells as they begin installing a new echo division to the main organ at Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral. As one of the largest cathedrals in the world, the building has its own micro climate which impacts the tuning of the organ.
https://liverpoolcathedral.org.uk/cathedral-music/organ/
David Pipe, organist at Huddersfield Town Hall, talks about the collaborations he gets involved with to bring the organ to new audiences. He explains why the organ is proving to be a success in a growing sub-genre of he heavy metal music, called Organic Doom Metal.
And RCO Chief Executive Sir Andrew Parmley talks about his musical background, his remarkable journey from accidental childhood organist to Lord Mayor of London, and the College's outreach work and vision for the organ in modern cultural as well as spiritual life.
www.rco.org.uk/internationalorganday2024.php
Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and do get in touch at: [email protected]
In this episode we join Mark Lee, Director of Music at Bristol Cathedral, as he gives a quick demonstration of some of the distinctive 'Romantic' sounds of the 1907 Walker organ - just before it gets taken away for a major restoration by Harrison and Harrison.
https://bristol-cathedral.co.uk/news/work-begins-on-our-organ-restoration-project/
Anne Marsden Thomas and Ghislaine Reece-Trapp talk about their recently published Oxford Book of Organ Music by Women Composers, and discuss some of the difficulties and extraordinary attitudes faced by women organists throughout the centuries.
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-book-of-organ-music-by-women-composers-9780193562721?cc=gb&lang=en:~:text=University%20Press%20Music-,Description,from%20a%20range%20of%20periods.
Richard Gowers talks about his experience as a King's College organ scholar, working with Sir Stephen Cleobury, and how he's diversified his keyboard skills to expand his career.
https://www.rgowers.com/
Get in touch: [email protected]
Episode 16 - Manchester Cathedral’s Tickell Organ - New discoveries in Cesar Franck’s music
The Organ Podcast
09/15/24 • 56 min
In this episode, Richard Brasier talks about some of the startling discoveries he made whilst researching for his new edition of the organ and harmonium works of Cesar Franck. He also plays an unpublished work by Franck for the first time. After five years' work, having studied previously lost manuscripts, Richard explains the approach to registration and performance based on historic evidence and the organs Franck played.
https://richardbrasier.com/education/cesar-franck/
Christopher Stokes, Organist and Master of the Choristers at Manchester Cathedral, talks about his design and planning of the Tickell organ that was installed in the cathedral in 2016. Demonstrating some of the sounds and colours of the new instrument, Chris explains how a cathedral organ designed principally for repertoire will then naturally be able to excel in accompanying the choir.
https://manchestercathedral.org/worship/cathedral-organs
https://npor.org.uk/survey/H01013
Get in touch! [email protected]
In this episode, we get a behind the scenes look at the start of the historic reconstruction of the 1877 Cavaille-Coll organ at Manchester's Town Hall with Andrew Caskie, Managing Director of Nicholson Organs.
https://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/500354/our_town_hall/7676/heritage_and_art/7
Tom Bell talks about his latest project of recording Oliver Messiaen's 18 movement 'Livre du Saint Sacrement' at Blackburn Cathedral.
https://www.tombell-organist.net/about
Margaret Phillips talks about her life and career, and demonstrates some of the instruments in her extraordinary collection of historic pipe organs.
http://www.margaretphillips.org.uk/index.htm
The Organ Podcast - Trailer
The Organ Podcast
01/26/24 • 2 min
The Organ Podcast - from February 1st - available wherever you get your podcasts.
This trailer features the voices of:
Martin Baker - former Master of Music at Westminster Cathedral
David Pipe - Organist at Leeds Cathedral and Huddersfield Town Hall
Margaret Phillips - Concert Organist
Professor Magnus Williamson - Professor of Early Music at Newcastle University
Andrew Caskie - Managing Director of Nicholson Organs Ltd
The Organ Podcast - Presented by Mark O'Brien
Episode 11 - York Minster's Organ - RCO in State Schools - Wayne Marshall's Musical Life
The Organ Podcast
06/30/24 • 62 min
In this episode, Robert Sharpe, Director of Music at York Minster, gives a tour of the sounds and colours of the organ at York Minster. Following the major restoration undertaken by Harrison & Harrison from 2018 - 2021, Robert explains why they looked back to the golden era of Arthur Harrison and Sir Edward Bairstow for their tonal inspiration, and demonstrates the astonishing results that have been achieved.
York Minster Organ Specification
York Minster Summer Organ Recitals 2024
We hear how school children are benefiting from an RCO initiative of loaning Viscount digital organs to state schools, with the aim of allowing children of all backgrounds to see, hear and play an organ.
RCO Organs in Schools
Wayne Marshall OBE, organ virtuoso, pianist and conductor, talks about his path to the organ and his extraordinary musical life that sees him celebrated all over the world for his interpretations of Gershwin, Bernstein and other 20th Century composers.
Wayne Marshall
Email the Organ Podcast: [email protected]
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FAQ
How many episodes does The Organ Podcast have?
The Organ Podcast currently has 21 episodes available.
What topics does The Organ Podcast cover?
The podcast is about Music, Music History, Podcasts, Classical Music, Church and Music Interviews.
What is the most popular episode on The Organ Podcast?
The episode title 'The Organ Podcast - Trailer' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on The Organ Podcast?
The average episode length on The Organ Podcast is 52 minutes.
How often are episodes of The Organ Podcast released?
Episodes of The Organ Podcast are typically released every 14 days.
When was the first episode of The Organ Podcast?
The first episode of The Organ Podcast was released on Jan 26, 2024.
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