'Humoresque' for organ by Graham Twist

Описание: Here’s my first completed organ composition of 2025. The world seems to have been even more miserable than usual at the start of the New Year, so rather than indulging in one of my more melancholic creations (!), I thought it would be fun to write a little ‘Humoresque’ (a sister piece for my ‘Caprice’ of a few years ago).
I have loved the films of Laurel and Hardy since childhood, so the opening phrase pays oblique homage to their famous theme. So many of their movies are classics that I struggled to add clips to this upload to do justice to their comedic genius . . . but I hope you like the tributes I have included (much better than just watching me play!). One clip is apparently subject to copyright, so this video will not play in all territories!
I have dedicated my composition to Colin Ashworth. Colin surprised me two years ago with a really beautiful composition which he dedicated to me – his gorgeous ‘Reverie’ (   • 'Reverie' for organ by Colin Ashworth  ). Well, it’s taken me some time to reciprocate, but I was delighted when he agreed to be the dedicatee to this new composition, which echoes some of his wonderful harmonic writing. I am very much an amateur organist and pretend composer who doesn’t really know what he’s doing! Colin, on the other hand, is a most accomplished organist and composer who does know what he is doing (he was Organ Scholar at St Paul's, Clifton, during his university student days many moons ago!). Do visit his YouTube channel - many delights await you if you click on this link:    / @cjashworth  
You will find two presentations of my composition in this upload. The first sees me exploring further the registration and voicing possibilities of ‘Organteq 2’. As I have mentioned previously, I have always wanted to design and build my own organ. ‘Organteq’ is a computer program that enables the performer to physically model organ tone, reproducing the heart of complex flue and reed pipe physics. The sound is generated in real time from scratch, reproducing the typical and variable pipe attack transients chiff, as well as the 3D configuration, where pipes are located in space according to their keyboards. The software offers 74 unique stops and more than 4,000 pipes, inspired by the works of famous French builders from the Romantic period, such as Cavaillé-Coll, and by great German baroque builders, such as Schnitger, Silbermann, and Tröst. These stops can be assigned on a 50-stop console of 3 manuals and pedal board.
Organteq does have many limitations, but I do think it offers good value for money and has an interesting creative edge over Hauptwerk sample sets . . . even if it does not yet match the very best of Hauptwerk sounds! You can choose to place the generated organ tone in a wide variety of acoustics, so the first recording uses the inbuilt ‘church’ setting, which has quite generous reverberation.
The real master of Physis organ technology is my very good friend, ‘Digital Pipes’. Not only has Paolo voiced his Viscount Physis organs to exceed the limitations of Hauptwerk sample sets so that these pipeless instruments sound as good as any real organ I have ever heard . . . he is also the king of acoustic sound-scaping! Paolo very generously took my 'dry' recording and let me hear the piece as it would sound in several ‘real’ acoustics. The second recording lets you hear my piece as it would sound in the Chapel at the Castle de Haar in the Netherlands; King’s College Chapel in London; and Duke’s Hall at the Royal Academy of Music. Paolo chose acoustics which avoid too much reflected sound, which ensures greater clarity of tone (hearing ‘Humoresque’ in the massive reverberation of St Rouen Cathedral resulted in the piece getting totally lost in the building!). Let me know in the comments which acoustic setting you like best!
If you would like a (gratis) copy of the score, just message me on Facebook or send me an email: [email protected]
I hope my little ‘Humoresque’ puts a smile on your face!