John Kitchen (musician) explained

John Kitchen MBE
Birth Date:1950 10, df=y
Birth Place:United Kingdom
Occupation:Edinburgh City Organist, music scholar and educator
Nationality:Scottish
Alma Mater:Glasgow University, University of Cambridge

John Philip Kitchen MBE (born 27 October 1950) is a Scottish organist, harpsichordist, conductor, early music scholar, and music educator based in Edinburgh. He serves as the Edinburgh City Organist.[1] Kitchen is known for his extensive recording portfolio of organ music, and his research and demonstration of historical keyboard instruments.[2] [3] He made major contributions to the discography and scholarship on the organ works of William Russell,[4] [5] and Johann Ludwig Krebs.[6] [7]

Current positions

Kitchen is the Edinburgh City Organist, with related duties at Usher Hall.[8] He is the University Organist and an Honorary Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, and serves as Director of the Edinburgh University Singers[9] [10] He is also involved with the preservation, expansion and demonstration to the public of the collection of early keyboard instruments at St Cecilia's Hall in Edinburgh.[11] He is the Director of Music of Old Saint Paul's Episcopal Church.[12] [13] He teaches harpsichord at St Mary's Music School, Edinburgh.[14] He was appointed MBE in the 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours list.[15]

Education and professional history

Kitchen started teaching himself the organ at around the age of 6 and by 8 was accompanying his local Sunday School. He was in his 20s before he had formal lessons.[16] He earned the Master of Arts and Bachelor of Music degrees at Glasgow University, and earned a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree from the University of Cambridge where he researched 17th-century French harpsichord music. His doctoral thesis (approved 1980) was titled "Harpsichord music of seventeenth century France: the forms, their origins and developments, with particular emphasis on the work of Louis Couperin (1626–1661)".[17] While at Cambridge, he was organ scholar of Clare College, and studied the organ with Gillian Weir. From 1976 until 1988, he was a Lecturer in Music and University Organist at the University of St Andrews. From 1988 to 2014, he was Senior Lecturer in Music at the University of Edinburgh, teaching harmony, counterpoint, keyboard skills, history, and performance practice at all levels.[18] Kitchen has a Fellowship Diploma (FRCO) from the Royal College of Organists, and he is a Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music (LRAM).[19] He is a member of the Baroque ensemble Laudonia.[20] [21]

Scholarship

Kitchen has studied and recorded the complete Organ Voluntaries of the organist William Russell (1777–1813) on the Delphian Label. The recording took place in 2008 on the restored 1829 J.C. Bishop organ at St. James, Bermondsey.[22] As part of this project, Kitchen authored a detailed essay about Russell and his music, with information about every single Voluntary (including the disposition of the organ and the registration of the Voluntary)[23] [24]

Kitchen has studied and recorded the complete organ works of Baroque composer Johann Ludwig Krebs (1713–1780). These recordings (on the Priory Records label) were made in 2000–2001 on several different organs, including the two-manual Frobenius organ of Canongate Kirk, Edinburgh.

Kitchen has published multiple reviews of recordings, studies and organ manuals in the journals Early Music, Early Music Today, Choir & Organ, Organists' Review, and The Organ Yearbook,[25] [26]

Kitchen recorded recitals that introduce and explore different organs, including the organ at Usher Hall (Edinburgh); the organ at McEwan Hall (University of Edinburgh); the Reid Concert Hall (University of Edinburgh); the 1769 Pascal Taskin harpsichord; and instruments from the Rodger Mirrey[27] and Raymond Russell collections.[28]

Selected discography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Our team . Edinburghorganists.org . 12 March 2017 . 5 April 2017.
  2. Web site: John Kitchen . Delphian Records . 5 April 2017 . 15 August 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170815195515/http://delphianrecords.co.uk/person/john-kitchen/ . dead .
  3. Interpreting Historical Keyboard Music: Sources, Contexts and Performance. Ed. by Andrew Woolley and John Kitchen. D.. Chung. 1 February 2015. Music Lett. 96. 1. 121–123. 10.1093/ml/gcu113.
  4. Web site: An immaculate introduction to Russell . Classic FM . 5 April 2017.
  5. Kitchen . John . The Organ Music of William Russell . Nineteenth-Century Music Review . June 2015 . 12 . 1 . 9–25 . 10.1017/S1479409815000026 . 184586936 .
  6. Web site: Krebs Complete Organ Works, Vol 3 . Gramophone . 9 January 2013 . 5 April 2017.
  7. Web site: Krebs Organ Music Vol 6 [GH]: Classical CD Reviews- July 2003 MusicWeb(UK) |website=Musicweb-international.com |accessdate=5 April 2017].
  8. Web site: Usher Hall – Interview with organist John Kitchen. 21 February 2012. YouTube.
  9. Web site: Dr John Kitchen | Edinburgh College of Art . University of Edinburgh . 5 April 2017 . 6 April 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170406023645/http://www.eca.ed.ac.uk/reid-school-of-music/john-kitchen . dead .
  10. Web site: Edinburgh University Singers . Eusingers.co.uk . 5 April 2017.
  11. Web site: 2016-08-17 . At home with John Kitchen . 2024-06-05 . The Herald . en.
  12. Web site: Old Saint Paul's Scottish Episcopal Church ~ About Old Saint Paul's ~ Who's Who at Old Saint Paul's . Osp.org.uk . 5 April 2017 . 6 April 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170406022106/http://www.osp.org.uk/index.php/about/whos_who/category/non_vestry_officials/ . dead .
  13. Web site: Records . Delphian . John Kitchen . 2024-06-05 . Delphian Records . en.
  14. Web site: John Kitchen . 2024-06-05 . www.stmarysmusicschool.co.uk . en.
  15. Web site: John-bio.pdf . 5 June 2024 . Scottish Polish Cultural Association Edinburgh.
  16. Web site: Five questions for...John Kitchen . 2024-06-05 . The Lady Organist . en-US.
  17. Web site: Archived copy . 26 February 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180309120452/https://ulmss-newton.lib.cam.ac.uk/vwebv/search?searchType=7&searchId=39&maxResultsPerPage=25&recCount=25&recPointer=0&resultPointer=2&headingId=45830 . 9 March 2018 . dead .
  18. Web site: Edinburgh University Singers . Eusingers.co.uk . 5 April 2017.
  19. Web site: Archived copy . 26 February 2017 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20170406201130/https://www.coursera.org/instructor/johnk . 6 April 2017 .
  20. Web site: Laudonia Scotland's Dynamic Baroque Ensemble . 2024-06-05 . Laudonia . en.
  21. Web site: Laudonia: The Grand Tour . 2024-06-05 . Edinburgh Music Review . en-GB.
  22. Web site: St James, Bermondsey, South East London, Restoration of the 1829 Bishop Organ – Goetze & Gwynn . Goetzegwynn.co.uk . 5 April 2017.
  23. Web site: RUSSELL Organ Voluntaries Delphian DCD34062 [JV]: Classical Music Reviews – October 2009 MusicWeb-International |website=Musicweb-international.com |date=25 July 2008 |accessdate=5 April 2017].
  24. Web site: Recording William Rusell's Voluntaries at St. James's. Bermondsey, London | Open Music Library . 25 February 2017 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20170406111434/https://openmusiclibrary.org/article/599782/ . 6 April 2017 .
  25. Web site: Edinburgh, music author:"John Kitchen" . Google Scholar . 5 April 2017.
  26. http://openmusiclibrary.org/search/%2522John+Kitchen%2522/
  27. Web site: Rodger Mirrey Collection of Early Keyboard Instruments . University of Edinburgh . 5 April 2017.
  28. Web site: Raymond Russell Collection of Early Keyboard Instruments . University of Edinburgh . 27 May 1922 . 5 April 2017.

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