Assistant Director of Musc at Gloucester Cathedral, Ashley plays the organ for the Cathedral's principal services and accompanies the Cathedral choir in their busy schedule of concerts, tours and broadcasts.
Sanders Toccata
As Organist and Master of the Choristers at Gloucester Cathedral and Conductor of the Three Choirs Festival for over a quarter of a century, John Sanders enriched the world of music far beyond the normal confines of the provincial organ loft. Organist, conductor, composer, teacher, adjudicator and, not least, an assiduous administrator, this multi-faceted musician influenced and nurtured the lives of many generations of aspiring musicians. Toccata (1979) was one of 2 pieces written by John for the organ, the other,the contrasting Soliloquy (1977).
Joubert Passacaglia and Fugue Op 35
This piece was written in 1961 during his tenure as Lecturer in Music at the University of Hull.
Briggs Variations on ‘Greensleeves’ (2004)
The Variations reflect Brigg's detailed study of the French organ schools, notably the improvisations of the late Pierre Cochereau.
Schumann Studien für den Pedalflügel Op 56
This piece was originally written for the pedal piano, a kind of piano that includes a pedalboard, enabling bass register notes to be played with the feet, as is standard on the organ.
Louis Schone made a pedalflügel for Robert Schumann in 1843, when he was in Dresden; his pedal keyboard had 29 notes and was connected with an action placed at the back of the piano where a special soundboard, covered with 29 strings, was built into the case. Schumann wrote much music for the pedal piano and was so enthusiastic about the instrument that he convinced Felix Mendelssohn, who owned a grand pedal piano, to form a class devoted to it in the Leipzig Conservatory.
Holst Three movements from The Planets (arr. Arthur Wills)
A prolific composer and arranger for the organ, Dr Arthur Wills was born in 1926. He was Director of Music at Ely Cathedral from 1958 to 1990 and Professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London from 1964 until 1992.
Herbert Brewer Marche Héroïque
Written in 1914, Sir Herbert was Organist and choirmaster at Gloucester Cathedral from 1896 until his death in 1928.
