SKU: ST.H449

ISBN 9790220221286.

A well-known teacher and compiler of Stainer & Bell's Opera Gala series, John Norris has created Wedding Gala with an ear to giving church organists a mix of favourites and exciting discoveries to brighten the routine of music for the service of holy matrimony.

No album would be complete without the traditional wedding music of Mendelssohn and Wagner, and it can be found here in this collection alongside other classics of the wedding repertoire by Jeremiah Clarke, Bach and Handel. But there's also a thoroughly contemporary leavening, with arrangements of Sydney Carter's One More Step and Lord of the Dance, both firm favourites, plus Musorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition and Charpentier's Prelude, adding a note of splendour.

But the real bonus is for lovers of English music, with Elgar's Chanson de Matin and 'The Call' from the Five Mystical Songs by Ralph Vaughan Williams, seldom found in comparable collections. And there's also a rare new discovery: the ravishing Chosen Tune by Herbert Howells, transcribed from his Three Pieces for violin and piano, Op. 28, and available as an organ piece for the first time.

Each piece is comprehensively registered by the arranger, and the collection as a whole will be welcomed by all organists of intermediate standard as a source of new material not only for liturgical use but also for recitals.

SKU: ST.H384

ISBN 9790220208805.

John Ireland's 'Cavatina' for violin and piano, which was probably composed in 1904, also exists in a slightly expanded version for organ and shows the composer's mastery of the popular salon style of the time. Unavailable for many years, it is now reissued in a new edition that includes a scholarly note by Geoffrey Bush.

SKU: HL.14032450

8.25x11.75x0.063 inches.

The Four Quiet Voluntaries include a sprightly allegretto, a lyrical air, a lilting pastorale and variation and a theme on an Irish air. They fall within the abilities of moderately accomplished musicians.Eric Thiman was a 20th century composer, teacher and Organist who was also an advocate of amateur music-making. He was a prolific composer of church music and Piano and Organ works, and his craftsmanship and gift for melody were much admired. He was director of music at the City Temple in London. As an educator, he was a professor at the Royal Academy of Music, and he wrote many books on harmony, counterpoint and musical form.