Herald AV Publications

HAVPCD344 – British Fantasies & Fanfares

	Disk Title	British Fantasies & Fanfares
		Nigel Potts plays the Schoenstein Organ of St. Paul’s Parish, Washington, D.C.
	Soloists	Nigel Potts – Organ
	Location	St. Paul’s Parish, K Street, Washington, D.C.
	Date Recorded	May 2008
	Audio Tracks	13

This programme is happily not just another ‘English cathedral organ music’ compilation although elements within it may be familiar in that context. The key to the chemistry of the mix is the word ‘fantasy’. This term is one much used by composers of the early 20th century. It referred to compositions in one movement which drew their inspiration from the form of the same name of the first Elizabethan period and was much encouraged by Walter Cobbett (1847-1937) who founded an annual composition competition to encourage composers to write in the form. None of the works on this disc relate to that competition. The two Fantasias

Nigel Potts – Born in Wellington, New Zealand, in 1972, Nigel Potts has given recitals spanning four continents. He graduated with a Master of Music Degree from Yale University in 2002, where he studied with Thomas Murray, and has diplomas from the Conservatorium of Music in Wellington and Trinity College of Music, London. A recipient of the Gillian Weir Waitangi Foundation Scholarship, Nigel Potts has held Organ Scholarships at Wellington Cathedral in New Zealand and at Blackburn and Lichfield Cathedrals in England, during which time he accompanied the Cathedral Choirs on tours to Australia and Europe, and occasionally played for services at St. Paul’s Cathedral, London. Whilst living in London, he studied organ with Jeremy Filsell and John Scott, and studied Church Music at the Royal Academy of Music.