I'm a young organist aspring to be a full-time organist once I earn my degree in Sacred Music and Organ. Right now I'm employed as a part-time organist but I don't have a very large library at all...I basically have two method books which have some repetoire in it and I also have the Complete Bach Organ works...but that's about it. Does anybody recommend a good repetoire organ book for church organists that has pieces specifically for church music...postludes, preludes, and offertories?
Well they don't have the greatest quality compositions, but they have "nice" pieces every now and then and they are all serviceable and easy to learn. Check out the link:
https://www.lorenz.com/newindex.html
They have I think 3 different organ magazines with 7-10 pieces per issue.
Finally self-published some of my compositions! https://www.createspace.com/3734555
Piano and organ videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/CurtisBooksMusic
I am going back a number of years with my tradition being Catholic, but there were a series of liturgical musical volumes put out by Carlo Rossini which were original pieces by him for use during services. You can find his works still on the internet. His works were called the Liturgical Organist. Here is one site you might want to begin your search: http://www.directopus.com/sheetmusic/WB.FE07658/The+Liturgical+Organist+%2F+Volume+3.html. They range from easy to more substantial. Happy hunting!
The best series to get is "The Liturgical Organist" . This consists of 7 volumes of Preludes, Interludes and Postludes from Easy to Medium Compositions. It is published by J Fischer & Bro., a division of Belwyn Mills publishing corp., Melville, N.Y. 11746.
Don't forget the Three volume "Church Organist's Golden Treasury." Unfortunately, I've forgotton the publisher. (Boston Music? J. Fischer?)
It's an extensive collection of Chorale Preludes from the Baroque and Classical Eras, varying in difficulty and quality, but mostly very useful for service use. Should be in every organist's library.
For shorter, easier pieces, there is the Concordia Hymn Prelude Series, and The Parish Organist (also Concordia). These contain many hymn preludes, mostly with limited pedal, but there are some very nice modern settings in each volume. (I really like Donald Busarow's "Cold December Flies Away" in one of the Christmas Volumes of CHPS. It's a lot of fun.)
The Augsburg Organ Library Series is also excellent. The pieces in here are somewhat more challenging, and requre careful preparation. Most of them are Hymn-based, but there are a few free compositions. At about $35.00 a volume, it's a bit pricey, but the value for the money is good.
I buy quite a bit of sheet music from eBay, you will often find that someone has cleared out their own or someone else's house and put various collections of music up for sale. It's a good way to build a collection without spending too much.
Dunstan
It depends what you want to play.
If you like to play hymn settings, there are dozens of good collections out there. I have been playing from the "Big Brown Book" and find those to be of moderate difficulty, but with enough depth to sound good.
For classical work, you can watch eBay and sometimes find deals there, if you know what you want. I attend recitals at nearby colleges and churches every few months to get fresh ideas, and listen to CDs.
I have also been subscribing to Lorenz's "Sacred Organ Journal" which has good, usable stuff in it -- mostly shorter original pieces written in the last 20 years or so.
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