Reviews of

A Directory of Composers for Organ


2005 3rd edition ISBN 0 9528050 2 2

The Organ May-July 2006

What a superb reference work this is, and excellent value too....

I found delving into this mighty tome fascinating each time I opened its covers.

The Directory is a must for reference libraries and the shelves of all who play and listen to the organ and love its music.

David Baker

Church Music Quarterly March 2006

It is a formidable achievement !

The entries in this third edition are so extensively revised and expanded that it would be a recommended replacement for the previous editions even without the new appendices.

The author is not afraid to offer his own opinions, lightening the text in a way that is reminiscent of Percy Scholes, but always on a foundation of meticulously detailed and well-organized research. If you play the organ at any level, you will derive more pleasure from your playing if you have this book at your side.

Duncan Watkins

The American Organist January 2006

When we speak of great and useful resources of the 20th century, and now the 21st century, it is difficult to imagine any single organ-related volume being more extensive or comprehensive than this one..............

What Dom Bédos, Hopkins and Rimbault, and Audsley did for the organ, John Henderson has done for its composers and its music.......... this Directory puts our repertoire in to focus. It makes one proud to be an organist.

............. It goes without saying that this volume is a must for every music library in the world!

Rollin Smith

Organists’ Review Nov 2005

Only five years after the greatly expanded second edition of this treasure-trove of information, comes the third - at over 1,000 pages! Quite how Dr. Henderson finds time to do anything else, and quite how he finds more and more information to fill all these pages is completely beyond comprehension. But rejoice! How wonderful it is that someone does it. A programme note writer’s paradise, a researcher’s reference library, a repertoire-builder’s inspiration, a music purchaser’s invaluable guide, trivia-hunter’s time-waster: this is all these and more. 
 
Despite the need to fit all this information into one volume (just!), all is neatly laid out and perfectly legible. The new edition will replace its well-thumbed predecessor on my shelves; why not give your current copy to a friend or colleague and invest in this extraordinary compendium? It will be John Henderson’s last version, so buy it while stocks last.

Paul Hale 


  Orgelforum 2005 No. 4 (translated from Swedish original)

Well then John Henderson has done it again ! A Directory of Composers for Organ has seen the light of day in its 3rd edition. When a work is published in a new edition the ordinary reader often does not notice big differences in comparison to the previous edition. There might be just some corrections of errors, a presentation of new facts or a change in illustrations. Often the differences are in minor details. This is not the case here. The new editions is really expanded.

In Orgelfoum 1/2000 the 2nd edition of this magestic/behemoth project was reviewed. Already even then one could tell that this was a huge amount of work for a mere mortal spans that incomprehensible breadth, in the documentation of, all music composed for the organ -- from all parts of the world and from all eras. Now, in its 3rd edition, the number of pages has increased by 200 and, it seems to me, that the typesize has been decreased. All this to encompass more data. If one was impressed by the previous edition - you’ve just got to see this one !  Complete amazing/unbelievable amounts of data is listed here, much of which is difficult to get hold of otherwise. Easy-to-read, not many factual errors, good data on how to get the music and - not the least - a wonderful stimulus to the "repertoire hungry"........................

I can sincerely and with a warm heart recommend this book, it should be present in every library, in every school with organ education, in all organ player’s homes. Get it and use it.

Mark Falsjö 



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