6 Voluntaries

John Stanley’s 30 Voluntaries (translatable as preludes), published in three collections as opp. 5, 6 and 7, are among the best known organ works of the 18th century. These “free-style compositions” were received with great appreciation by his contemporaries; the first volume, published in 1748, immediately achieved canonical status and encouraged other composers to write similar collections.

The pieces, of easy to medium difficulty, are for manuals (alternatively, they can also be played on the harpsichord) and comprise two movements, slow and fast, many of which are characterized by a certain rhythmic energy and richness of color, expressed through the use of solo registers such as cornet and trumpet, with multiple echo effects, here adapted and transformed into piano, forte, and playing near the sound board effect, limiting, or rather modifying, their results.