"In this book, Barbara Owen has created a rich resource of historical information coupled with strategies for interpreting that information on today's instruments." —Journal of the American Musical Instrument Society". . . Barbara Owen has succeeded admirably in distilling three centuries of organ registration practice into a volume less than three hundred pages long. . . . Anyone with an interest in the history of the organ and its music . . . will not want to ignore this book." —Sixteenth Century Journal"It is rare to find a book that combines such careful scholarship with a practical focus that makes it accessible to performing musicians as well as research specialists." —Notes"An excellent volume from historical, musical style and interpretive standpoints. Highly recommended for all large academic and professional music collections." Choice" . . . recommend this book to all serious organists." —The American Organist MagazineBarbara Owen has prepared the first work to present in a single book the registrational practices of organists from c.1550 to 1800. The four parts of the book move from the Renaissance through the Early, High, and Late Baroque. Each part starts with a brief description of the political and religious climate of the period and the way such factors affected the compositions and the organ-building of the time.