Artist picture of Simon Preston

Simon Preston

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Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565 : J.S. Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565 - II. Fugue Simon Preston, Johann Sebastian Bach 05:54
Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565 : J.S. Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565 - I. Toccata Simon Preston, Johann Sebastian Bach 02:33
Suite in D : Clarke: Suite in D - 4. Rondeau (The Prince of Denmark's March) Håkan Hardenberger, Simon Preston 01:09
Mass in D Minor - Missa in angustiis ("Nelson Mass"), Hob. XXII:11 : Haydn: Mass in D Minor - Missa in angustiis ("Nelson Mass"), Hob. XXII:11 - Credo: Credo in unum Deum Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Simon Preston, London Symphony Orchestra, Sir David Willcocks 01:52
Israel in Egypt, HWV 54 / Pt. 1: Exodus : Handel: Israel in Egypt, HWV 54 / Pt. 1: Exodus - 15. "And Israel saw" 16. "And believed the Lord" Christ Church Cathedral Choir, Oxford, English Chamber Orchestra, Simon Preston 04:26
Salve Regina, HWV 241 : Handel: Salve Regina, HWV 241 - Salve Regina Arleen Augér, Orchestra of Westminster Abbey, Simon Preston 02:38
Nisi Dominus, Psalm 126 (127) HWV 238 : Handel: Nisi Dominus, Psalm 126 (127) HWV 238 - 5. Beatus vir John Mark Ainsley, Orchestra of Westminster Abbey, Simon Preston 02:25
Allegri: Miserere The Choir of Westminster Abbey, Simon Preston 11:48
Prelude And Fugue In E Flat, BWV 552 : J.S. Bach: Prelude And Fugue In E Flat, BWV 552 - 2. Fugue Simon Preston, Johann Sebastian Bach 06:10
Mass in D Minor - Missa in angustiis ("Nelson Mass"), Hob. XXII:11 : Haydn: Mass in D Minor - Missa in angustiis ("Nelson Mass"), Hob. XXII:11 - Kyrie Sylvia Stahlman, Helen Watts, Wilfred Brown, Tom Krause 05:03

Latest release

Album cover of Christmas Music From Westminster Abbey

Christmas Music From Westminster Abbey

by Westminster Abbey Choir, Douglas Guest, Simon Preston

28/11/2022

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Biography

Born on August 4, 1938, in Bournemouth, Dorset, England, Simon Preston CBE was an organist, composer and conductor. He was the most recorded organist of all time with over 100 releases in his catalog. His musical journey began as a member of the King’s College Choir in Cambridge, he became interested in learning the organ and studied under Hugh McLean and C. H. Trevor. From 1962 until 1967, Simon Preston was the sub-organist at Westminster Abbey before becoming the organist at Christ Church, Oxford in 1970. He returned to Westminster Abbey in 1981 as organist and Master of the Choristers, a position he relinquished in 1988 in order to focus on work as a concert organist. Simon Preston toured internationally as an organist, preforming in the US, Canada, Australia, Europe, Asia, and Africa. As a composer, he began performing his own works in the mid-to-late 1960s and later including his best-known composition, “Alleluyas”. He also composed works that were performed at the Edington Music Festival in 1967 and 1968. As the most recorded organist of all time, his catalog is quite extensive and includes Motet: Jesu, Priceless Treasure And Sacred Part-Songs (1960), Britten: War Requiem (1963), Purcell: Choral Works (1981), Early English Organ Music (1986), Bach: Famous Organ Works (1989), French Organ Concertos (1991), Haydn: Four Masses (1997), and Franck: Pièce Héroïque (2013). There have been many compilations released over the years that gathered the best of his recordings including the 14 CD box set Bach: The Organ Works (2010). In 2000, Simon Preston was awarded an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) and was upgraded to CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 2009. Simon Preston died on May 13, 2022, at the age of 83.