MichaelDavidson

Another video of Hakim improvising at La Trinite in 2005 just showed up.

This excerpt from John Eliot Gardiner's "Bach Cantata Pilgrimage" shows him visiting the Thomaskirche and discussing the new organ with Ullrich Bohme. Unfortunately for those of us who are linguistically challenged it turns out that Sir John speaks what sounds (to me, at least) like very fluent German ...

The 1879 Willis in St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh acquired 'second touch' in 1897 thanks to Hope Jones. See E01407 for details. Not sure how long it lasted - NPOR doesn't list any work between a 1901 "cleaning" by Norman & Beard and the 1929 Arthur Harrison rebuild, but I seem to remember having been told that the Hope Jones action didn't last that long ...

Someone has uploaded more than 50 versions of BWV 578 (the "little" fugue in g minor) (and, no, I haven't listened to all of them ...)

Dupre playing the F major toccata at St Sulpice in 1961 and I just listened to this for the first time and, to be honest, I don't quite know what to make of it. It is just so different from what I am used to.

Here is his contact information

One some instruments even this isn't possible. I can think of at least one electro-pneumatic instrument which had horizontal swell shutters that were not balanced and which closed whenever the instrument was turned off. If you left the swell pedals in the "open" position when turning the instrument off all that happened was that you were rewarded with an almighty crashing sound as all three swell boxes slammed shut ...

The young American organist Joseph Ripka at St Sulpice:

Played at a speed that would leave even Ton Koopman out of breath, but without any of Koopman's flair ...

Here is the first part of a documentary about organ building including brief remarks from several organ builders - I recognised Sebastian Gluck of New York and, of course, John Mander - not sure who the others were.

On some instruments another "unintended consequence" of having the great reeds available on the choir is the opportunity (an opportunity which, I hasten to add, I would never take ...) to use the choir octave and sub-octave couplers with the great reeds and then couple the result back to the great ... (OK, I admit it - I did do it - once - just once ...)

BWV 545 on the Aubertin at Saessolsheim

There was an article in Choir and Organ a few years ago in which John Kitchen mentioned having learned one of the big Dupre works (can't remember with certainty which one, but I *think* it may have been the Symphonie Passion) on just such an instrument.

I think that it would probably have to be the Prelude & Fugue in A minor BWV 543, although the C minor Passacaglia and several of the Trio Sonatas would also be very close to the top of the list.