I think you could play just about any song on the organ, and it will sound more grandiose than the original. ‘Test Drive‘ from the Dreamworks film ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ is already a grand piece of music, but Anna Lapwood proves my point by performing it at the legendary Royal Albert Hall in London.
The piece is a workout with eighth notes and sixteenth notes throughout much of the song, giving it a sense of movement and excitement. Lapwood, who included it on her Midnight Sessions at the Royal Albert Hall EP, explains that the song is a great way to illustrate the differences between various organs. She posts short videos of the song from different venues to demonstrate how different one song can sound on different instruments. She also plays it because it’s incredibly satisfying.
‘For me, this piece feels like an instant serotonin boost,’ she says on her YouTube page. ‘There is a great crescendo where you get to take the organ from relatively quiet to earth-shatteringly loud over the course of about 30 seconds, and I always say that playing that part feels a bit like flying a dragon! It gives me head-to-toe goosebumps.’
Of course, you don’t have to be playing at Royal Albert Hall to feel like you’re flying a dragon. Get the piano arrangements below and hop on for a ride!
