The Village Organist
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"The Village Organist: a series of pieces for church and general use" was a sequence of books of organ music published by Novello and Co between 1870 and 1907.
The first series comprised two books. The first was published by Novello in 1870, described as:
[...] short easy voluntaries by eminent composers [...] edited by T. Richard Matthews B.A. Rector of St Nicholas church, North Coates, Great Grimsby [1826–1910[1]] [...] Here are voluntaries by Professors Bennett and Ousley, Drs. Dykes, Stainer, Elvey, Chipp and Monk and Messrs Henry Smart, G. A. Macfarren, J. Barnby, E. H. Thorne and J. B. Calkin".[2]
Apart from its thirty-nine voluntaries the first edition of the book also contained psalm chants and hymn tunes. (Later editions did not contain the psalm chants, which had been separately published by Novello as The Village Chant Book.)
A second "and concluding volume",[3] also edited by T. R. Matthews, was published by Novello in 1872, issued in aid of the St Nicholas North Coates church organ fund. It claimed to contain works that were "all expressly composed for it and not published in any other work".[3] It was favourably reviewed in The Musical Times of 1 August 1872 as a collection that "pleasantly exemplifies the present state of musicianship in England, and will be found valuable for practical use where short voluntaries are needed, in towns as much as in villages".[4]
As recorded by a reviewer in The Musical Times of 1 August 1872, this volume contains works by:[4]
- Dr Arnold
- Joseph Barnby
- J. P. Barnett
- Julius Benedict
- W. H. Calcott
- W. G. Cusins
- M. Delaborde
- Henry Farmer
- R. Forsey Brion
- Dr Gauntlett
- Mrs Mouncy Bartholomew
- F. E. Gladstone
- C. Goodban
- John Hullah
- H. S. Irons
- G. A. Macfarren
- Dr E. G. Monk
- Franz Nava (Pseudonym of E F Rimbault)[5]]
- S. Reay
- Dr Rimbault
- E. Silva
- Henry Smart
- Stainer
- E. H. Turpin
- C. G. Verrinder
- Dr Wesley
- extracts of work by Beethoven, Mozart and Onslow
From 1877 both books were available combined into a "New edition, complete in One Volume, 142 pages".[6]
