Registration of Baroque Organ Music

Here, for the first time in a single volume, is a comprehensive study of registrational practices from circa 1550 to 1800. Each of the four parts of the book - the Renaissance and the Early, High, and Late Baroque - starts with a brief description of the political and religious climate of the period and the way it affected organ building and the music composed at the time.Within each historical period, Owen provides for each country a list of the active composers and information about representative organs, including their locations, dates, builders, and stoplists. She then discusses the registrational practices in each area in relation to contemporary musical styles and forms, referring to sources such as scores and treatises.In light of the historical evidence, Owen advises organists on adapting the earlier principles and practices to modern instruments in order to perform Baroque organ works in a style appropriate to their period and region.With its comprehensive geographic, historical, and musicological approach, The Registration of Baroque Organ Music will long remain an invaluable reference - and source of delight - for all organists.

"In this book, Barbara Owen has created a rich resource of historical information coupled with strategies for interpreting that information on today's instruments." —Journal of the American Musical Instrument Society"... Barbara Owen has succeeded admirably in distilling three centuries of organ registration practice into a volume less than three hundred pages long.... Anyone with an interest in the history of the organ and its music... will not want to ignore this book." —Sixteenth Century Journal"It is rare to find a book that combines such careful scholarship with a practical focus that makes it accessible to performing musicians as well as research specialists." —Notes"An excellent volume from historical, musical style and interpretive standpoints. Highly recommended for all large academic and professional music collections." Choice"... recommend this book to all serious organists." —The American Organist MagazineBarbara Owen has prepared the first work to present in a single book the registrational practices of organists from c.1550 to 1800. The four parts of the book move from the Renaissance through the Early, High, and Late Baroque. Each part starts with a brief description of the political and religious climate of the period and the way such factors affected the compositions and the organ-building of the time.