James McVinnie: an introduction to the Royal Festival Hall organ
‘It takes a long time to get to know the particularities of every instrument,’ says James McVinnie as he takes a seat at the Royal Festival Hall organ.
In this video the organist walks you through the nuances of our Royal Festival Hall organ, identifying what each aspect of the instrument – from its four different keyboards to its foot pedals and its many stops – does and how this can, and has, been utilised to produce an incredible array of sounds.
He also outlines the challenges the instrument presents, chief of which being the need to play with feet and hands simultaneously, which McVinnie demonstrates by playing Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565.
‘Being an organist is a little bit like being a painter. You can choose your colours like on a painter’s palette. And the colours that you can get out of this organ are absolutely incredible.’
McVinnie next returns to the Southbank Centre on 29 June, to present an all-minimalist programme with the James McVinnie Ensemble.