Organ recitals

Philip Sawyer's career as an organ recitalist has taken him to many places in the United Kingdom as well as to the Netherlands and France. He has given public recitals in, amongst other places: Westminster Abbey, London; Westminster Cathedral, London; Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris; Monaco Cathedral; Nice Cathedral; St Laurens’ Church, Alkmaar; St Bavo's Church (the Grotekerk), Haarlem; St Bavo's RC Cathedral, Haarlem; the Universities and Cathedrals of Edinburgh and Glasgow; the University of St Andrews.  He has recorded organ recitals for BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio Scotland.

His keyboard repertoire interests lie mainly in the 17^th, 18^th and 20^th centuries.

From the 17^th and 18^th centuries his particular interests are the music of

• Frescobaldi
• Buxtehude and the North German organist-composers
• the Classical French composers
• JS Bach
• British composers.

His 20th century interests have led to the commissioning of new works.

These are:

• Toccata (Richard Jones)
• Three Nativity Dances (Alan Ridout)
• Metamorphoses (Neil Courtney)
• Intrada (Michael Barlow)
• Suite for flute and organ* (Leon Coates)
• Partita on 'Christe qui lux es et dies' * (David Johnson)
• Missa Brevis* (Julia Craig-McFeely)
• Drone, Hymn and Complement* (Jan Peterson, of Austin, Texas)
• Beyond the Orgelbüchlein (Jan Peterson)
• The Water of the Spirit* (John McLeod)
• The Stigmata of St Francis (John McLeod)
• The Seven Sacraments of Poussin* (John McLeod)

(* indicates that the work was commissioned with financial assistance from the Scottish Arts Council.)

Philip Sawyer has given a number of performances of Messiaen's La Nativité du Seigneur and L'Ascension. Several of the performances of La Nativité were played simultaneously with a showing of Geoffrey McEwan's lithograph prints that were inspired by the same music.

In addition, he has performed Alan Ridout's Three Nativity Dances with a group of dancers from Edinburgh's Theatre School of Dance.

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