Synopses & Reviews
Between 1820 and 1870 a number of influences combined to bring about a radical transformation in the design and use of English organs. This important book provides a comprehensive survey of English organ building during those innovative fifty years in its history. It is richly illustrated with photographs and specially drawn diagrams and contains an invaluable appendix of organ specifications. This is a documentary source book and history that will be indispensable for all those, professionals or amateurs, that have an interest in the organ.
Review
"It will stand for many decades as a vast quarry of information, reliably documented and clearly presented. It dwarfs all previous attempts to deal with this significant phase of organ building, and provides, for the first time, a coherent interpretation and periodization." Notes"A splendid new book...Nicholas Thistlethwaite offers a comprehensive view of the development of this distinctive instrument....The Making of the Victorian Organ is an incredibly rich book featuring scholarship of the highest quality....it will be a standard work for decades to come. The book will be consulted as a reference tool and will launch more detailed research on the British organ." The American Organist
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 537-564) and index.
Table of Contents
Part I: 1. The English organ in 1820; 2. Organs and organ-building, 1820-40; 3. The Insular movement; 4. Three case studies; 5. The Bristol reformation; Part II: 6. Bach, Mendelssohn and the English organ, 1810-45; 7. The German system; 8. The work of William Hill, 1839-55; 9. The Transition; Part III: 10. The emergence of the Victorian organ, 1850-70; 11. Music and mechanics; 12. German influences, 1855-70; 13. Hill &Son, 1856-70; 14. Henry Willis; 15. Epilogue.