The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM), the UK-based charity for church music, invites organists around the world, professional and amateur, to get ‘Hands on with Handel’ in a mass organ ‘play along’ of the Largo (Ombra mai fu) from Handel’s Xerxes at 14:00 GMT on St Cecilia’s Day (Saturday 22nd November 2025).
HANDEL – LARGO – ORGAN OF ALBION CHURCH – JONATHAN SCOTT
The aim of this initiative is to introduce more people to the organ and to inspire people around the world, whether amateur or professional, beginner or advanced, to play the organ. Churches, music schools, stately homes, theatres, museums and other venues are encouraged to host “open console” sessions to give people a chance to get their hands on the organ and find out more about this magnificent instrument and its repertoire.
A child playing the organ
The music for the mass play along on 22nd November is available from the RSCM website in easy, intermediate, and full arrangements to suit organists of all abilities, together with additional free resources like session plans and practice tips.
Participants are encouraged to share their performances and events on social media using the hashtags #handsonwithhandel and #playtheorganyear
Benjamin Britten: Hymn to St. Cecilia, Op. 27 (Jonathan Bungard, tenor; Benedict Giles, treble; Ben Harrison, treble; Richard Moore, alto; Reuben Thomas, bass; Cambridge St. John’s College Choir; Christopher Robinson, cond.)
This mass play-along is part of a wider initiative, the ‘Director’s Challenge’, when RSCM Director Hugh Morris is set to undertake a monumental organ playing challenge, ’25 hours in 2025′, on Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd November 2025. This ‘organ marathon’ takes place in the studio of Viscount Organs in Bicester, Oxfordshire, and is a significant part of the Royal College of Organists’ Play the Organ Year, of which the RSCM is a partner organisation.
Hugh Morris © Joseph Casey
This endurance challenge aims to develop messaging around playing and learning the organ, highlight its vital role in supporting worship and communities, and serve as a catalyst for significant fundraising efforts to support the RSCM’s ongoing mission to enable the flourishing of church music.
The RSCM invites individuals, churches, and organisations to support Hugh Morris’s challenge through sponsorship and donations. Organists are particularly encouraged to ‘Join In’ by participating in the mass play-along and by organising local ‘open console’ events to mark this unique occasion.
Hugh Morris says, ‘I like all sorts of church music, but I remain a practising organist. So I wanted to do something to bring Play the Organ Year to life. There is a great shortage of people coming forward to play the organs which are in our churches across the country – and indeed, worldwide. So, I wanted to do something to raise the profile of the organ”.
Maurice Duruflé: Suite, Op. 5 – II. Sicilienne (Henry Fairs, organ)
Great organ of the Saint-Ouen abbey – Rouen, Seine-Maritime
The organ marathon will begin at 17:00 on Friday, 21st November 2025, and conclude at 18:00 on Saturday, 22nd November, St Cecilia’s Day. The core of the event will be a continuous performance of hymns. In addition, each hour on the hour, Hugh Morris will play one ‘real’ organ piece, and guest performers will join Hugh during the event, both to perform and to talk about playing the organ. During the course of the event, audience can donate to request a specific hymn, and local choirs will join Hugh to sing some of the hymns. The entire event will be streamed live on the RSCM YouTube channel.
Find out more/get involved here: https://www.rscm.org.uk/whats-on/directors-challenge/
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