Overview

A diverse collection of seasonal organ music for manuals only, covering the church's year from Advent to Epiphany. The pieces are drawn internationally from across the centuries and include a mixture of established repertoire, attractive new arrangements, and four newly commissioned pieces. The collection is technically accessible (approx. Grades 4-5) and provides approachable repertoire for all church musicians, making it an attractive companion to The Oxford Book of Christmas Organ Music.

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9780193517677

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Reviews

"With 28 pieces for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany, this handsomely produced volume is excellent value for money. . . Many of [the original pieces and arrangements] are by little-known organists (indeed there has been considerable detective work and searching of archives). Included are some real discoveries . . . The third category - pieces published for the first time - is the highlight of the volume . . . These five pieces make the volume well worth puchasing by organists who usually use pedals as well. * Sunday by Sunday (RSCM), December 2017 * In Christmas Organ Music for manuals, editor Robert Gower has unearthed some real rarities - Léon Roques or Jan Zwart, anyone? - which stand alongside far more familiar fare and a sprinkling of commissions . . . The editor has done an especially canny job of arranging and simplifying some particularly demanding seasonal Bach and Handel . . . The collection understands its brief perfectly, fulfils it admirably, and is functional in the best possible way. * Stephen Farr, Choir & Organ, Jan/Feb 2018 * For many of you who are familiar with The Oxford Book of Christmas Organ Music, this new collection of organ music . . . is long overdue. Gower has finally given us a very attractive companion, with organ music beautifully composed and arranged for manuals only, with organists invited to ""explore judicious use of the pedal . . . as is appropriate"" . . . This collection . . . will bring much joy to players and listeners alike . . . Many of the works will work effectively on a continuo or chamber organ, or even a piano if the need arose . . . What is most appealing about this collection is the variety of works on offer . . . There is much to be explored here by those wishing to build on their existing collection of Christmas repertoire. * Christopher J. Luke, New Zealand Organ New, March 2018 *"

In Christmas Organ Music for manuals, editor Robert Gower has unearthed some real rarities - Leon Roques or Jan Zwart, anyone? - which stand alongside far more familiar fare and a sprinkling of commissions . . . The editor has done an especially canny job of arranging and simplifying some particularly demanding seasonal Bach and Handel . . . The collection understands its brief perfectly, fulfils it admirably, and is functional in the best possible way. * Stephen Farr, Choir & Organ, Jan/Feb 2018 * With 28 pieces for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany, this handsomely produced volume is excellent value for money. . . Many of [the original pieces and arrangements] are by little-known organists (indeed there has been considerable detective work and searching of archives). Included are some real discoveries . . . The third category - pieces published for the first time - is the highlight of the volume . . . These five pieces make the volume well worth puchasing by organists who usually use pedals as well. * Sunday by Sunday (RSCM), December 2017 *

With 28 pieces for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany, this handsomely produced volume is excellent value for money. . . Many of [the original pieces and arrangements] are by little-known organists (indeed there has been considerable detective work and searching of archives). Included are some real discoveries . . . The third category - pieces published for the first time - is the highlight of the volume . . . These five pieces make the volume well worth puchasing by organists who usually use pedals as well. * Sunday by Sunday (RSCM), December 2017 *

Author Information

On retirement from a teaching career spent successively at St Paul's Boys' School, Barnes, Radley College, Oxfordshire, and Glenalmond College, Perthshire, (where he was also a Housemaster and Senior Tutor), Robert Gower worked as Organist at St Barnabas Catholic Cathedral, Nottingham, before moving briefly to the most northerly parish in the Church of England at Berwick-upon-Tweed. Returning to Scotland so as to be nearer to family, he is now Director of Music at Dundee Parish Church. Robert's commitment to English 20th-century repertoire is reflected through his founding and leadership of the Percy Whitlock Trust between 1981 and 2016 and in his longstanding Chairmanship of the Gerald Finzi Charitable Trust, from which he retired in 2022. He enjoys transcribing music for organ (with a wide range recently embracing both Leroy Anderson and Maxwell Davies) and in liturgical composition, completing a three-year cycle of responsorial psalms for the Church Music Society.

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