David Briggs
David Briggs is one of the world's foremost concert organists, with an unusual specialty in the French improvisatory tradition. He began his career in cathedral posts and then became mostly a concert organist.
Briggs was born on November 1, 1962, in Bromsgrove, near Birmingham, England. His grandfather, Lawrence Briggs, had been a longtime Birmingham church organist, and his parents met while playing in a Birmingham orchestra. David's first formal musical experiences came as a chorister at Birmingham Cathedral, and it was there that he first became interested in the organ; an assistant let him improvise on the organ when the regular organist was not present. In 1973, Briggs earned a full scholarship to the Solihull School, studying piano, violin, viola, counterpoint, harmony, and organ. He won many honors during this period and also traveled to London for lessons with David Popplewell. He also played the viola in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain from 1977 to 1981. From 1981 to 1984, Briggs studied organ at King's College, Cambridge. In 1982 and 1983, he performed in the annual Festival of Lessons and Carols before a worldwide audience of 35 million. Briggs also traveled to Paris for lessons in repertoire and improvisation with Jean Langlais, and there, he became interested in the organ improvisations of Pierre Cochereau. He transcribed Cochereau's improvisations from cassette recordings, a task that took 11 years.
From 1985 to 2002, Briggs held organist posts at Hereford, Truro, and Gloucester Cathedrals. At the latter two institutions, he served as a consultant for the refurbishing of the cathedral organs, and at Gloucester, he also served as conductor for the venerable Three Choirs Festival. In 1994, he made his recording debut on the Priory Records label with the album Improvisation, The Illusionist's Art. Since then, he has also recorded for Delos, Pro Organo, Analekta, and other labels. On Analekta, he recorded a complete cycle of his transcriptions of Mahler's symphonies for organ; he is prolific as an arranger, often of orchestral works. Briggs moved to the U.S. in 2003 and has stayed on in North America, living in New York, Ipswich, Massachusetts, and Toronto. He tours internationally, giving some 65 concerts annually. Since 2017, Briggs has been artist-in-residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York. By 2022, his recording catalog numbered some 30 items, and that year, he released the album Vaughan Williams: Transcriptions from Truro on the Albion label.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Transcriptions from Truro
David Briggs, Rupert Marshall-Luck
Classical - Released by Albion on 4 Mar 2022
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphony No. 5 in C-Sharp Minor (Arr. for Organ by David Briggs)
Classical - Released by Priory Records on 10 Feb 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Popular Organ Music, Vol. 2
Classical - Released by Priory Records on 1 Nov 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vierne & Langlais: Messe solennelle
Gloucester Cathedral Choir, Mark Lee, David Briggs
Classical - Released by Priory Records on 23 Mar 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Organ Recital: Briggs, David - BRIGGS, D. / WALTON, W. / FAURE, G. / NEVIN, G.B. / VIERNE, L. / REUBKE, J. (Organ Spectacular) (David Paul Briggs - William Walton - William Mackie)
Classical - Released by Delos on 1 Jan 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Sounds French - David Briggs Plays the Organ of Blackburn Cathedral
Classical - Released by Lammas on 1 Oct 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Complete New English Hymnal, Vol. 4
Gloucester Cathedral Choir, Ian Ball, David Briggs
Classical - Released by Priory Records on 30 Jun 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bursts of Acclamation
Classical - Released by Albion on 1 Jun 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The World of Organ Transcription
Classical - Released by Priory Records on 11 Apr 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Organ Kaleidoscope
Classical - Released by Priory Records on 13 Jun 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, Liszt & Others: Works & Transcriptions for Organ (Live)
Classical - Released by Pro Organo on 1 Jan 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Great European Organs, Vol. 57: Church of St. John the Evangelist, London
Classical - Released by Priory Records on 13 Jun 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Musique chorale
Vasari Singers, David Briggs, Jeremy Filsell, Jeremy Backhouse
Classical - Released by Naxos on 30 Sep 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Great European Organs, Vol. 16: St. George's Hall, Liverpool
Classical - Released by Priory Records on 12 Dec 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Great Cathedral Anthems, Vol. 5
Truro Cathedral Choir, David Briggs, Simon Morley
Classical - Released by Priory Records on 23 Nov 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Choral Evensong from Truro Cathedral
Henry Doughty, Truro Cathedral Choir, Priory Records, David Briggs, Unknown Aritst
Classical - Released by Priory Records on 29 Jun 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Improvisation: The Illusionist's Art
Classical - Released by Priory Records on 23 Nov 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cafe of the Cartoon Moon
Pop - Released by David Briggs on 15 May 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo