A Classic Top Ten for Manuals: Organ: Instrumental Album

All-time classical favourites-This collection presents manuals-only Organ arrangements of ten favourite classical melodies from a variety of composers including Mahler Bruch Beethoven Mozart Pachelbel Handel Allegri and Vivaldi. A Classic TopTen for Manuals is an essential classical collection for the organist arranged for intermediate level.

The Blue Rose Variations is one of several works in which the composer has drawn on ragtime and blues. The organ work is based on two transformations of the popular piano piece To A Wild Rose (Woodland Sketches Op.51 No.1) by the American composer Edward MacDowell (1860-1908). During the course of the Variations To A Wild Rose appears as a blues and also as a classical rag often as both together.The sections are Theme: a quiet blues; Variation I: a pedal solo in varied metres based on the blues in fast tempo; Variation II: the first appearance of the rag as a background to the blues as a 2' pedal solo; Variation III: a version of Variation I nowinvolving manuals too; Variation IV: another blues solo against the rag; Variation V: another version of Variation I with the pedal solo almost entirely transferred to the manuals; Variation VI: a final confrontation between the blues and the rag now much decorated. First performed in New York in April 1986. Duration c.15 mins.

Instruments: Organ ManualsClassic FM has made sure that these arias are becoming more popular than ever.