I have a few different questions.
(1) I am looking for videos of organ performances that can help me study
techniques. I really liked watching Richard Elliott's Christmas solo of "Go, Tell It On the
Mountain," where I could watch his feet to see effective toe-heel
technique, as well as playing chords with one foot, his use of the expression
pedals, hand and arm positioning, use of presets, and other things I'm not
thinking of right now. Are there other videos or youtube channels you
would recommend? I found some good videos on the "Organ
Solos" playlist for the Tabernacle Choir, but a number of those videos
spend half the time showing the organ pipes or video of nature rather than the
organist, and I'm wondering if there are other resources I should consider.
(2) I am looking for simple preludes in a similar style to Richard
Elliott's "Duo on Lasst uns erfreuen" (All Creatures of Our God and
King) and "Prelude on Deliverance" (Jesus, Once of Humble
Birth). Those preludes were both included in the packet for the Organ
Workshop put on by BYU's School of Music, and were excerpts from OrganTutor
101. Do you know where I could find other preludes along those
lines? Are there more included in the OrganTutor 101 Workbook?
(3) One of the common topics in this groups is suggested
registration. I realize that each organ is different, but is there a
resource that gives general registration suggestions for hymns? [For
example, in "Nearer, My God, to Thee," it would suggest a quieter
registration for the first two phrases of the 2nd verse, and then return to the
original registration after "My rest a stone," and then it would
suggest a fuller registration for the final verse.] I would find that
really helpful.
As some background, I am self-taught at piano (I learned my music theory by
studying violin), and I would say I'm a little beyond "Easy Piano"
level, and I can play a handful of hymns on the piano from the Hymn book.
I started learning the organ after attending the Organ Workshop in San Diego
put on by BYU last June. I'm working on the simplified hymns from the New
LDS Organist packet, some pieces from "Organ Preludes on Children's
Hymns" by Douglas Bush, and a few of the preludes from Bach 8 Preludes and
Fugues (as well as some etudes I found to focus in on pedal technique, finger
dexterity, etc.). I'm not in a music calling in my ward.
Janene