The Elusive English Organ is a documentary film co-written and presented by Daniel Moult

Daniel Moult

Daniel Moult is a concert organist, organ tutor and animateur, ensemble player and presenter of films about music.-Education:Daniel Moult was born in Manchester, England. He attended Manchester Grammar School and St John’s College, Oxford, where he was organ scholar...

 and directed by Will Fraser. It is the only film to trace the development of the English pipe organ

Pipe organ

The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...

 from 1550 to 1830, discovering why so few pre-1830 English organs survive and to what extent it is possible to perform repertoire written during this period on instruments from the composers’ times. Locations include the Dallam organs at Lanvellec

Lanvellec

Lanvellec is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Bretagne in northwestern France.-Culture:The commune has a rich architectural and cultural heritage. The parish church of Saint-Brandan was rebuilt between 1852 and 1868. Within it, are some interesting items, including an organ, built in...

 and Ploujean

Ploujean

Ploujean is a former commune of Finistère which is now part of Morlaix since February 22, 1959.The church was built in the 15th century. It has been listed as a Monument historique since 1914 by the French Ministry of Culture, and its organ, built by Thomas Dallam II in the 17th century, has been...

, Adlington Hall

Adlington Hall

Adlington Hall is a country house in Cheshire, England. The oldest part of the existing building, the Great Hall, was constructed between 1480 and 1505; the east wing was added in 1581. The Legh family has lived in the hall and in previous buildings on the same site since the early 14th century...

, St Botolph's Aldgate

St Botolph's Aldgate

St Botolph's Church, Aldgate, St Botolph-without-Aldgate, or just Aldgate Church, is a Church of England liberal and inclusive parish church in the City of London, standing at the junction of Houndsditch and Aldgate High Street. The current 18th century church is made of brick with stone quoins...

 and St James Bermondsey. The film was produced by Fugue State Films and released in 2010 with an accompanying CD with recordings by Daniel Moult of music by William Byrd

William Byrd

William Byrd was an English composer of the Renaissance. He wrote in many of the forms current in England at the time, including various types of sacred and secular polyphony, keyboard and consort music.-Provenance:Knowledge of Byrd's biography expanded in the late 20th century, thanks largely...

, Thomas Tomkins

Thomas Tomkins

Thomas Tomkins was an English composer of the late Tudor and early Stuart period. In addition to being one of the prominent members of the English madrigal school, he was a skilled composer of keyboard and consort music, and the last member of the English virginalist school.-Life:Tomkins was born...

, John Blow

John Blow

John Blow was an English Baroque composer and organist, appointed to Westminster Abbey in 1669. His pupils included William Croft, Jeremiah Clarke and Henry Purcell. In 1685 he was named a private musician to James II. His only stage composition, Venus and Adonis John Blow (baptised 23 February...

, Henry Purcell

Henry Purcell

Henry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music...

, George Frideric Handel

George Frideric Handel

George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...

, John Stanley

John Stanley

-Leaders:* John I Stanley of the Isle of Man , Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and King of Mann* John II Stanley of the Isle of Man , Knight of the Garter and King of Mann-Politicians:...

 and Samuel Wesley

Samuel Wesley

Samuel Wesley was an English organist and composer in the late Georgian period. Wesley was a contemporary of Mozart and was called by some "the English Mozart."-Personal life:...

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Reviews include: "Will Fraser’s beautifully made organ-related films are a fascinating development in the integration of the organ culture into the wider artistic world. This film tackles a tricky subject with considerable aplomb..." ****
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