Classical Music
By John Bladen and others
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The organ recordings marked 'JB' were played by myself. Unless marked otherwise, they were played on the organ of Christchurch Fulwood in Sheffield, UK - a fairly typical English 3 manual organ of disappointing sound quality, but generally good reliability. The flute recordings marked 'JB' were played by myself on a Miyazawa 201 flute. The recordings marked 'synthesiser' were made using the Yamaha DS-XG synthesiser in a Toshiba laptop. Feedback to feedback2jsb@gmail.com
Please also see Free organ music and Organ repertoire.
Fantasia in G minor (BWV 542i) by Bach (Draft)
mp3 (JB) (26th July 2011)
Recorded at St John's Church, Ranmoor, Sheffield. Draft recording whilst trying out the organ.
The recording level was set far too low (1/15 th) so there is some hiss in the background.
Prelude in E minor (BWV 548i) by Bach (Draft)
mp3 (JB) (26th July 2011)
Recorded at St John's Church, Ranmoor, Sheffield. Draft recording whilst trying out the organ.
The recording level was set far too low (1/15 th) so there is some hiss in the background.
Toccata from Symphony V by Widor (Draft)
mp3 (JB) (18th June 2009)
Draft recording, taken during a rehearsal for a wedding. Played from memory. Anxious not to overload the digital recorder,
I inadvertently set the recording level so low that I had to amplify the recording no less than 9 times when converting to
a mp3! Normally this would require a retake, but because the piece is consistently loud it is listenable, though hissy at
the start.
In dir ist Freude by Bach (BWV 615) (Adapted for wedding entrance music) (Draft)
mp3 (JB) (18th June 2009)
Draft recording, taken during a rehearsal for a wedding. To make it a suitable length for wedding entrance music I've
skipped two sections. As with the Widor Toccata above, the recording level was set so low that I had to amplify the
recording 9 times when converting to an mp3, hence the background hiss.
Final from Symphony No 1 by Louis Vierne (From Easter service)
mp3 (JB) (12th April 2009)
Recorded at the end of the Easter service - hence the background noise! Played from memory.
Hornpipe by Noel Rawsthorne
mp3 (JB) (4th September 2007)
mp3 (ring tone version) (JB) (4th September 2007)
Fantastically fun piece! Please note that, contrary to the reports of some listeners, to the best of my knowledge there are no
performance errors in this recording, and all dischords were intended by the composer! The ringtone version makes a good ringtone for mobile phones.
Fugue in G minor by J S Bach (BWV 542ii)
mp3 (JB) (Major ending) (8th January 2007)
mp3 (JB) (Minor ending) (8th January 2007)
There seems to be some uncertainty as to whether there should be a major or minor ending so I have included both versions.
The switch occurs at the final pedal entry.
Fugue in C major (from Toccata, Adagio and Fugue) by J S Bach (BWV 564)
mp3 (JB) (5th February 2005)
A lightweight, cheerful and very pleasant fugue.
Fugue a la gigue by J S Bach (BWV 577)
mp3 (JB) (28th July 2004)
A delightfully simple but nevertheless tricky fugue that was always my Dad's favourite.
Final from Symphony No 1 by Louis Vierne
mp3 (JB) (15th March 2002)
Even though I must have played it a dozen times or more, I still love playing this piece! One of Vierne's earlier works,
this piece really shows off the energy of the organ. Best heard live - and on a better instrument!
Sortie in Eb by Lefebure-Wely (1817-1870)
mp3 (JB) (31st March 2002)
This can best be described as liturgical fairground music. Enjoy it!
Chorale No 3 in A minor by Cesar Franck
mp3 (JB) (26th Dec 2001)
This is the last composition by Cesar Franck, and is one of my favourite pieces. It was recorded the day after
Christmas Day 2001 - partly to try out my newly acquired Sony ECM-MS907 microphone and partly to avoid a freezing
cold walk in the snow with the rest of the family! Apart from several retakes of the third section, it was completely
unrehearsed, and I'm not happy with the end of the middle section. However I enjoy listening to it, which is why I have
included it here. Peter Hurford (my favourite organist) once said that if you enjoy listening to a recording you've made,
it's the sign of a good recording. I do intend to rerecord the piece when I have rehearsed it properly. I think I would
omit the badly tuned swell mixture next time - and preferably find a page-turner to save the 'whip crack' sounds at page
turns!
Baroque Toccata
mp3 (synthesiser)
score
This was one of my first ever compositions (Sept 2001),which I wrote when trying out various scoring programs.
I guess it is part German and part French in style, and though a relatively simple piece has proved to be quite
popular, even with people who aren't normally organ music enthusiasts. The middle section was intended to be a
fugue, but degenerated into a simple imitation when I found that fugues were actually quite complicated things
to write!
Please also see Free piano music.
Intermezzo Op 117 No 2 in Bb minor by Brahms
mp3 (Yamaha CLP 280 Digital) (First version)
mp3 (Yamaha CLP 280 Digital) (Second version)
Beautiful and emotional music. Two different interpretations.
Nocturne Op 9 No 1 in Bb minor by Chopin
mp3 (Yamaha CLP 280 Digital)
Nocturne Op 9 No 2 in Eb by Chopin
mp3 (Yamaha CLP 280 Digital)
The Cook Waltz by Adrian Cook (1986)(for 4 hands) (transcribed by John Bladen)
mp3 (synthesiser)
score
One school afternoon during our A levels this piece was born. And if I remember correctly, a small but nevertheless
significant amount of alcohol was involved. The piece was created by Adrian Cook almost in entirety. However, I
contributed the ghastly D major section in the middle in an attempt to return to a world I recognized - and promptly
had my hands pushed clear of the piano! The piece is said to be an acquired taste - one that clearly hadn't been
acquired by Mr Andrew Parnell (organist at St Alban's cathedral at the time) when he informed us that the music
department was for music - so just what did we think we were doing? He also showed distaste for the impact this piece
had on the new school piano. Nevertheless he tolerated the piece, and in the course of a year it matured and became
a regular feature of the music department at St Alban's School. In order to make the score readable, many (in fact most)
of the notes present in the original have been omitted.
Minuet from Flute Sonata No 4 in C major by J S Bach
mp3 (JB) (snippet)
OK - I'm still very much a beginner so I'm a bit embarrassed about my flute playing - but there it is! This was part
of some test recordings when experimenting with different acoustics and microphone positions. I'll record the whole
thing next time I have the microphone out.
Fugue in D Minor by J S Bach (BWV 565ii) arranged for solo flute by John Bladen
mp3 (synthesiser)
score
midi
This was an attempt to arrange the fugue from the famous Toccata and Fugue in D Minor by Bach for solo flute.
I've heard that it has been arranged for solo violin, though I've not heard it or seen the score, and the violin
has the advantage of being able to play more than one note at a time! Though tricky to play in places, this version
works quite well except for the last couple of bars of thick organ chords, when the flute is unable to do anything
to rival the intended power of these chords. I suspect that the only option is to completely change the ending.
Variation on Twinkle twinkle little star by John Bladen
mp3 (synthesiser)
score
This is an improvised descant that I play when my young kids sing this song - which is most of the time.
Everyone seems to love this piece!
Conversation No 1 for Flute and Brick Cart by John Bladen
mp3 (synthesiser)
score
When attempting a flute recording to send to a friend, my 18 month old son insisted on banging his brick cart,
full of bricks, against the radiator downstairs. When I sent the recording I apologised for the banging in the
background. My friend suggested that I composed a piece called 'Conversation No 1 for Flute and Brick Cart'
and so before breakfast that day, that is what I did. At the start the brick cart bangs a crazy rhythm. Then
the flute plays a flowing melody. The brick cart comes back in and interrupts the flute, knocking out notes as
it goes. Gradually the flute and brick cart adapt their parts until they manage to play along together. They
perform a dialogue, then a duet, before coming to a gentle conclusion - or what would be a conclusion if it
weren't for the resumed impatience of the brick cart - now rattling it's bricks in fury. The flute scolds the
brick cart from on high - as a bird scolds a cat. The original brick cart rhythm returns, now with cymbals
mimicking the bricks sliding in the cart. The flute dashes for the finishing line and finishes with a triumphant
arpeggio. But the brick cart is there - waiting to have the last say! For those of you that don't know - that is
precisely what it is like having young children around the house!
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Updates: If you wish to be advised of updates, please send an email to feedback2jsb@gmail.com with the subject 'Music Update Request'.
Playing mp3's: Many of the mp3 files have a high bit rate to achieve acceptable sound quality. If you have a slow connection, you are advised to save the files to hard disk prior to playing them to prevent interruptions due to insufficient connection bandwidth. You can however preview the files without saving them to disk first provided you recognise the limitations.
pdf files: Please download Adobe Acrobat Reader from www.adobe.com. All pdf files are designed for A4 paper. They should work adequately on US letter sized paper, but please report any problems.
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Copyright information: Please note that these recordings and scores remain my own personal property and are licensed for use by individuals only. They may not be redistributed. Hypertext links may be created to the recordings and scores, but please contact me first. No composer, author, performer or copyright information may be edited or removed.
Performance: If performing from the scores, please send an email to feedback2jsb@gmail.com with the subject 'Score Performance' describing the event (e.g. recital / church service etc).
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