Saturday Concert: James Johnstone
James Johnstone (London) performs at St Peter’s Church
St Peter’s Street, St Albans AL1 3HG
Johannes Lorentz Praeludium in D minor
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck Fantasia II; Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr
Heinrich Scheidemann Toccata in G WV 43
Dieterich Buxtehude Passacaglia in D minor, BuxWV 161; Praeludium in C major, BuxWV 137; Ach Herr, mit armen Sünder, BuxWV 178
Georg Böhm Christ lag in Todesbanden
Gottfried August Homilius Herr Jesu Christ du höchstes, HoWV VIII.8; Christ lag in Todesbanden, HoWV VIII.6
Johann Sebastian Bach Prelude and Fugue in C minor, BWV 546
James Johnstone studied in London and The Hague with Jill Severs and Ton Koopman respectively. He has forged a career as a recitalist, continuo player and teacher.
As a recitalist he has performed throughout Europe as well as Israel, Colombia, Ecuador and the United States. Recitals in Europe include the important historical organs of Freiberg, Roskilde, Grauhof, Weingarten, Ottobeuren, Groningen, Haarlem, Lerma and Basel.
As a principal keyboard player for the Gabrieli Consort and Players for 17 years, he took part in some 22 landmark recordings for Deutsche Grammophon. As a member of the chamber ensemble Florilegium for 10 years he performed throughout Europe and North and South America (and was the first European to record on an 18th-century organ built by the indigenous Indians in Santa Ana, Bolivia). He recorded eight solo discs of works by Blow, Gibbons, E Pasquini, Cornet, Elizabethan Virginalists and a Bach recital (on the Waalse Kerk organ, Amsterdam). He is currently principal keyboardist with Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s Monteverdi Choir.
In 2016 he undertook a series of critically acclaimed Bach recordings for Metronome Recordings: Clavierübung Part III (1739 Wagner organ, Trondheim), Fantasias and Fugues (Raphaelis organ, Roskilde) which received a Diapason d’Or, the 18 Chorales and Canonic Variations (Treutmann organ, Grauhof). The complete organ works of François Couperin and d’Anglebert (Tribuot, Seurre) was released in 2020. Current new releases include Bach’s Art of Fugue on harpsichord, the six violin and obbligato harpsichord sonatas with Rodolfo Richter and Volume 4 of the Bach series (Bader organ, Zutphen).
James teaches early keyboards at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and the Royal Academy of Music London.
The St Albans International Organ Festival presents monthly Saturday concerts around the year.
Admission and programme are free.