Summer 2020 Virtual
SMIA Conference
Anthem Accompaniment and Organ Management
in the British Cathedral Tradition
Dr. David Baskeyfield
Organ & Improvisation
This presentation is aimed at both organists and choir directors. Anthem accompaniment is the bread and butter of most of our Sunday mornings and is one of the foremost skills of the church organist. David Baskeyfield will outline techniques for getting the very most out of a given anthem as the organ relates to the choir, providing variously support and decoration. Additionally, he will give an account of the rather free approach to the accompaniment of psalms sung to Anglican chant in this idiom. The approach taken is linked to a particular manner of organ management which both allows flexibility in the moment and saves a lot of time in accompaniment preparation; we will examine organ management as practiced by organists in the cathedrals and collegiate churches, for whom anthem accompaniment is part of the daily routine. Worked examples will be largely drawn from the Anglican tradition.