English Organ Sonatas 3

The organ sonatas of William Faulkes (1863-1933) and J. Frederick Bridge (1844-1924) are elegant examples of the style that many Victorian composers fostered in their writing for the developing symphonic organ in England. They are playable on both small and large instruments and allow for creativity in registration. They are also of limited technical difficulty and have an inimitable charm that could relate well to an audience and congregation alike.

As discussed in The Genesis and Development of an English Organ Sonata (2017), the English sonatas had an important pedagogical role jointly inherited from Mendelssohn’s very practical and popular approach to the instrument and the continued European legacy of the lesson-sonata tradition whereby in learning a piece you also learned the instrument and vice versa.