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| One of the two Radio City Music Hall Consoles |
Within the Radio City Music Hall in New York is an organ installed by the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company. Designed to play a wide range of music, it is unusual in having two consoles – one either side of the vast stage.
Whilst such instruments have introduced audiences to the light classics as well as popular melodies of the day over many decades, parish church organists have, by and large, avoided such music. However, an increasing number of organists are discovering that their organ can be almost as versatile and are adding ‘light’ music to their repertoire. And as the BBC has demonstrated through several radio programmes over the past couple of years, ‘light’ music does not mean ‘slight’ music.
An organist that has made a career of playing ‘light music’ on classical organs is Nigel Ogden. Nigel has been presenter of the BBC Radio programme ‘The Organist Entertains’ for many years and it is the longest running specialist music programme on the network.
Nigel is as much at home on a mighty Wurlitzer Theatre Organ as he is on a classical organ housed in a cathedral or a modest Methodist chapel and has composed a number of works that can be played on both types of instrument.
One of his most popular compositions is ‘Penguins’ Playtime’, published by Stainer & Bell (Ref H320 £4.00). The attached video demonstrates one interpretation of the work on a classical organ. And as one person has commented ‘This tune makes me laugh’. – And so it should.
Other works by Nigel include ‘An Art-Deco Three Piece Suite’ (Ref H358 £6.00), ‘Scherzo for the White Rabbit’ (Ref H348 £4.25) and ‘Saints of a Spree’ (Ref H461 £4.25) – a delightful piece based on the spiritual ‘When the saints come marching in’ but with a number of unexpected twists. Listen for yourself with this video recorded at a church in Finland.
In 2012 Nigel’s contribution to music was recognised by the British Academy of Songwriters and Authors in association with the Performing Right Society who presented him with the much coveted Gold Badge Award in the form of a tuning fork.
