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Improvisation John's musical activities continue to combine the recreation of works in the organ repertoire with the spontaneity of improvisation. Infact, he is the first Maltese organist to have given an entire recital of improvisations. Improvising on texts or musical themes is a tradition that goes back centuries, and it is fascinating to track its path from the early alternatim versets of the 15th and 16th century to the present day, when organists are increasingly expected to bring together the moods and themes of the Mass or service whenever the opportunity to extemporise presents itself. While also reflecting John Aquilina’s personal style, the sound world of his meditations and variations is influenced primarily by the French romantic (Vierne, Dupré) and modern organ schools (Tournemire, Duruflé, Alain, Langlais, Messiaen, Guillou, and Cochereau). The sound samples below were extracted from complete tracks which were recorded live during concerts held in 2006 in Malta. Each file is an 96kbps MP3Pro format. Download times vary according to Internet connection speeds. (c) 2006 John Aquilina.  Improvisations on the Copeman Hart Organ at Mdina Cathedral |
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