Ex Tempore - The Art of Organ Improvisation in England

http://www.fuguestatefilms.co.uk/extempore - In Ex Tempore Ronny Krippner sheds light on how English organists improvised. In an 85-minute documentary film and accompanying CD recording he blows open the 'illusionists art' of improvisation and shows us how it is done. He discusses the main English organ composers between 1500 and the present day - Tallis, Byrd, Purcell, Handel, Stanford, Howells, Mathias and Leighton. For each composer, he sketches their musical background and analyses their compositional techniques before performing a full improvisation in their style. The organs he plays are carefully chosen to present the different musical styles at their best. They include big cathedral organs in Bristol and Liverpool to smaller historical instruments at Little Stanmore and Adlington Hall. Ex Tempore includes interviews with internationally distinguished improvisers David Briggs and Martin Baker, organ builder Dominic Gwynn, and early music scholar and Handel expert Donald Burrows.