Our member and RCO accredited teacher, Marilyn Harper, gave a workshop to 8 or so members of the Society at Christ’s Chapel in Dulwich, using the magnificent 3-manual Drake organ. The topic was the New Oxford Organ Method – an organ study book written by Anne Marsden Thomas and Frederick Stocken (another of the Society’s members). The primary focus of each chapter of the book is a single piece of repertoire, with preparatory exercises providing the necessary technical work building towards the piece. Each lesson covers four main topics, which are systematically developed: practice methods, registration, fingering and pedalling, and historically-informed interpretation.

Marilyn took the group through a couple of chapters of the book featuring contrasting pieces – Air by Henry Pucell and Quasi Allegro by Cesar Franck – in each case with a player demonstrating how the exercises focus on small sections of the piece, helping the performer to read between the notes to bring out the musicality of the piece. Marilyn reminded us that the performer is really a middleman, whose job is to communicate the thoughts of the composer to the audience member – with careful study of musical lines, articulation, and registration, this job can be greatly improved.

One of Marilyn’s pupils who has been following the method for some time, shared his thoughts in the following short video, together with one the pieces he has been working on:

Adagio from Concerto in C, Tomaso Albinoni: