Godalming Organist, John Belcher to give recital on the Cavaille-Coll Organ at Farnborough Abbey

The third concert of the summer season on the Cavaille-Coll Organ at Farnborough Abbey will be given by John Belcher, the organist of Godalming Parish Church this Sunday. The concert starts at 3.00pm and lasts for one hour.

After studying at the Royal College of Music and Trinity Hall, Cambridge, John Belcher has held various church appointments. As a student, he was Organist of Knockholt Parish Church, after which he became successively Organist of Holy Trinity, Folkestone, Assistant Organist of Chester Cathedral, Organist of St. Peter's, Bournemouth (during which time he taught at Winchester College), Organist & Master of the Choristers of St. Asaph Cathedral and then of Tewkesbury Abbey before moving to Godalming in 1996.

John has given recitals at many important venues in Britain, and for several years he played at the Haslemere Festival. He has made recordings on the organs of Tewkesbury Abbey and Godalming Parish Church. For nearly twenty years he was an examiner with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music and he was for a time Organ Adviser to the Diocese of Portsmouth.

In 2008 John was elected to an Honorary Fellowship of the Guild of Church Musicians for his "great contribution to church music over many years".

John will be playing the following pieces:-

Concerto No 1 in G (after Prinz Johann Ernst)    

                                                            Johann S Bach (1685-1750)

Offertoire pour le jour de Paques             

                                                           Alexandre Boëly (1785-1858)

Sonata No 3 in C minor (Op.56)               

                                                      Alexandre Guilmant (1837-1911)

    Preludio - Adagio molto - Fuga

Four Sketches (Op.58)                     Robert Schumann (1810-1856)

    C minor - C major - F minor - D flat major

Suite du Premier Ton                                 Denis Bédard (b.1950)

    Plein Jeu - Dialogue - Récit - Grand Jeu

Petit Homage à Gabriel Fauré                       Peter Aston (b.1938)

Toccata in E minor (Op.23)          Fernand de la Tombelle (1854-1928)

There will be a retiring collection at the end of the concert – please be generous.  Come along and enjoy the beautiful surroundings of Farnborough Abbey – an oasis of green and calm hidden away in Farnborough that goes unnoticed as we rush past in cars and trains in our daily lives.

The next organ recital will take place on Sunday 7th August and will be given by Adam Kiss from Finland who will play music by Liszt, Franck, Dubois and Gigout.