William Russell (1777–1813) came from a London family of organists and organ builders. He published two sets of voluntaries: in 1804 and 1812. As well as his liturgical duties at St Anne's Limehouse, and in the Foundling Hospital Chapel, Russell worked as pianist and composer at the Sadler's Wells Theatre; the influence of opera and theatrical music can be strongly felt in some of the voluntaries. He was also particularly interested in the development of the organ itself, and had ‘progressive’ ideas regarding early nineteenth-century organ design.

Russell's music fascinatingly blends, or sometimes simply juxtaposes, several disparate musical influences. He therefore sits at an interesting point in English organ music. This article investigates Russell's own music – its forms, styles and genres – and his use of the instruments available to him. In addition, I will consider the extent to which his style was of the nineteenth century, and looked forward to future developments, of which his pioneering use of the pedals is one significant aspect.

The coming about of a ‘college of organists’ in 1864 reflected a growing desire on the part of a small, but quickly expanding, cohort of organists to be viewed collectively as one of the ‘respectable professions’ such as law or medicine and thereby enjoy the social and material benefits normally accorded to such professional groups. Writing around 1910, Charles W. Pearce captured the dynamic of the 1860s when he observed that the foundation of an association for organists was a manifestation of the ‘desire on the part of the musical profession for some self-established, self-supporting system of self-organization, self-government, and self-examination’. Underlying – and stimulating – the College's search for identity and mission in its early years was a complex and dynamic environment in which new national consensuses were emerging with respect to professional standing, academic status, churchmanship, innovation in organ-building and, more generally, with respect to standards in music making.Following comments on British organists and the environment in which they were working by the 1860s (often characterized by poor pay, insecurity and the perception of low status), this article draws on (1) archival records that have been little scrutinized and (2) relevant periodical literature – in particular The Musical Standard, a newly founded journal edited by figures intimately associated with the fledgling College – to establish the schedule and mechanism of the College's formation and how the institution attempted to organize itself and gain patronage. The article also casts contextual light on this project of professionalization by considering the individuals involved – their backgrounds, connections and motivations – and some of the early activities and the reasons behind them.

The article describes the evolution of the English organ under the influence of changes in musical style and liturgical practice between 1830 and 1870. A preliminary discussion of the Georgian organ and the performance conventions of its players provides a benchmark against which to measure the ensuing changes. S.S. Wesley is taken as a case study with reference to changes made to the Hereford Cathedral organ in 1832; it is argued that these reflect Wesley's musical priorities, a point that is further illustrated by a consideration of the registration markings found in the original manuscripts of ‘The Wilderness’ (1832) and ‘Blessed be the God and Father’ (1834). They also demonstrate an innovative use of the pedals.In the following section the influence of Mendelssohn is discussed. His performances of Bach in England during the 1830s and 1840s promoted a radical change is organ design and performance practice; the C-compass organs with German pedal divisions built by (among others) William Hill were ideal instruments both for Bach's organ music and for Mendelssohn's own organ sonatas which combined classical form with a romantic sensibility.The concluding section reviews developments in the years 1850–70. It considers changes in console design and the growing taste for orchestral registers, even in church organs. Choral accompaniments also became more orchestral in character, and a number of representative examples from Ouseley's Special Anthems (1861, 1866) are discussed. Liturgical changes after 1850 are also considered, together with their impact on the role of the organ in worship.

In the English mid-nineteenth century, organist-composers sought an idealistic course that created an alliance between the unimpeachable musical language of the Classical era and the much celebrated ‘Victorian’ organ. As a result, we witness the birth of a new musical genre with the ‘English organ sonata’ that was to provide a model for organ composition into the twentieth century. However, the works in question were not merely pastiche compositions, despite some bold illusions, but rather pieces based on revered models, restyled for an age that was familiar with transcriptions of orchestral repertoire on the organ. Further, the English organist-composers adhered to both an old model in a continuance of the ‘lesson-sonata’ tradition as well as developing a new one, here styled the ‘portfolio sonata’ whereby the purpose of the sonata would serve multiple ends. In an age of prestige and betterment, the sonatas that emerged were a testament to a profession that was determined to be seen anew.

While organs had been built in the United States since the eighteenth century, until the middle of the nineteenth century what passed as an ‘organ concert’ consisted of a mélange of transcriptions from choral music and simple improvisations, interspersed with choral music and vocal solos. As larger organs began to appear by the middle of the nineteenth century, solo organ recitals by players such as George W. Morgan were occasionally performed. In the 1850s Americans such as Dudley Buck and John K. Paine travelled to Germany to study organ performance and composition, and others followed. The opening of a large organ in Boston's Music Hall in 1863 and the building of large churches in the post-war period gave impetus to public organ recitals, which along with compositions by Bach, Mendelssohn, Rinck and Batiste etc. usually included transcriptions from operas and orchestral works, and compositions by the performers. At first, the emphasis was on Germanic music, but as the second half of the century progressed and more organists were studying abroad, works by British and French composers began to appear. By the end of the century the emphasis had become strongly French, particularly after the concert tours of Parisian virtuoso Alexandre Guilmant, and America's first true concert organist, Clarence Eddy, began making tours to European countries. By this time many large organs had been built for concert halls, cathedrals, colleges, and urban churches, providing excellent venues for solo organ recitals as the twentieth century opened.