The RCO launches The Organ Podcast
Over the last few years, the Royal College of Organists has made a major commitment to providing video-based tuition for members, and in particular those planning to take the RCO diploma examinations. These videos inevitably require using a computer terminal, even if this is a tablet. Podcasts are much more accessible and can be streamed into mobile phones, car audio systems and smart speakers.
© Royal College of Organists
The recent launch of The Organ Podcast deserves a round of applause as it takes advantage of the easy access to audio delivery offered by podcast technology. The initial podcast offered an in-depth journey around the quite breathtaking reconstruction of the 1877 Cavaille-Coll organ in Manchester Town Hall. The work is being carried out jointly by Nicholsons and Flentrop, which in itself is very unusual. Work began in 2o20 and will not be completed until towards the end of 2025 or even 2026. This is because it is linked into the much larger project of the complete refurbishment of the Town Hall. It will be worth waiting for.
The second interview is with Tom Bell, who is in the process of recording the Livre du Sainte- Sacrament, composed by Olivier Messiaen in 1985/1986. The recording is being carried out on the organ in Blackburn Cathedral. If this sounds an unpredictable choice to listen to the Sounding French recording made by David Briggs in 2007. It is fascinating to hear how Tom Bell has gone about the process of recording this massive work.
The third item is a conversation (and I use that description deliberately) with Margaret Phillips. Margaret has created the English Organ School at her home in Milborne Port, Somerset, a few miles from Sherborne. There are seven historic organs in the collection. Margaret was Professor of Organ at the Royal College of Music from 1996-2001 and has an extensive catalogue of recordings, including the complete organ works of J.S.Bach together with the Art of Fugue.
The interviews are conducted by Mark O’Brien, a distinguished musician and organist. He achieves an excellent balance in asking the right questions, giving the interviewee time to respond and yet ready to move off into a related topic. That is no mean feat and makes for some very easy listening.
The podcasts will be released on a fortnightly schedule and I am looking forward to them with considerable enthusiasm. The Organ Podcast is available free of charge from Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon and all popular podcast directories. It is also available via the College’s YouTube page, and the RCO content platform iRCO (with either a member or free guest account), or click here.
As organists we are very fortunate to have such a forward-looking professional society in terms of education and training. In addition, with The Organ Podcast the RCO is seeking to reach beyond its membership to all with an interest in organs and organ music.