David Briggs has a few surprises up his sleeve for his organ recital at Christ Church on Saturday night. In a programme dominated by Bach, he will be slipping in a few improvisations as well, writes Nicola Lisle.

“It’s a fairly rare thing that organists improvise in concerts, certainly in England,” he told me. “I’m going to be doing some improvisations in 17th-century French style, and improvising a sonata in the style of Mendelssohn, so it’s going to be a mixture of Bach and improvisation.”

The concert is the latest in the series created to commemorate Christ Church graduate Andrew Chamblin, who died suddenly in 2006, aged 36.

For such a poignant occasion, David feels that Bach is the perfect choice of composer.

“There’s a theory that humanity really needs Bach,” he says. “There’s something very transcendental about Bach — with a lot of his compositions two plus two equals five, and it’s very often the case that it adds up to something that is far greater than the sum of its components, maybe because he had that rather special, unique link to his creator.

“Also, of course, Bach was one of the greatest organists that ever existed. He could really do things that absolutely nobody else could get near to. He had the most phenomenal technique, as well as this incredible facility for improvisation and of course composition.

“So it’s always good to have Bach, especially with an organ like the one at Christ Church, which is absolutely the sort of instrument that Bach sounds fantastic on. It’s a very clear, classical and bright sound, so I’m looking forward to reacquainting myself with that instrument.”

David is based in America these days, but has been a regular visitor to Oxford over the years, both as a performer and teacher.

“The first time I remember very clearly was with King’s College Cambridge Choir, and we came to do a recital in the Oxford Festival in 1982. Since then I’ve played probably two or three solo recitals on that organ.”

David’s interest in the organ started during his childhood in Birmingham, where his grandfather was an organist.

“As a six-year-old I used to go and sit with him on the organ bench,” he recalls. “I just to marvel at the huge variety of sound — the power, the colour of the instrument. To this day, one of the things I love to do most is introduce children to the instrument, because it’s like a complete orchestra — so much colour at the fingertips of one person. It’s absolutely fantastic.”

After studying at Cambridge and in Paris, David spent many years as organist and music director at cathedrals such as Hereford, Truro and Gloucester, before becoming a full-time freelance organist and composer.

His recital on Saturday is part of a tour of Southern England, and he is delighted to be back. “I’m looking forward a lot to being in Oxford again, and playing on this great organ. It’s such an inspirational sound.”

David Briggs is at Christ Church on Saturday, March 19, at 7.30pm. Entrance is free. For more information about the Andrew Chamblin Memorial Fund, visit andrewchamblin.org