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Vierne Finale Symphony No.1


Guest Lee Blick

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Guest Lee Blick
if he is labouring under a handicap of some sort, then I believe he would attempt to harness our emotions

 

But what if he did not want to draw attention to it? There are many people who would not want to draw attention to a handicap lest people would take pity or at worst, patronise them.

 

I would like to know who is responsible for the presentation of his website. It staggers me anyone would make such ridiculous claims. I can only think our 'Arty' is unbelievably 'full of it', or he did not have an awful lot of control over the content of the website.

 

By starting this thread, I thought it would be a little bit of light humour but now I feel just a little bit sorry for Mr Nobile. Maybe his website is a poor reflection of his playing. Maybe in real life he is actually quite a good organist.

 

stevebournias and now Arthur Nobile, these American organists are wierd! :o

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But what if he did not want to draw attention to it?  There are many people who would not want to draw attention to a handicap lest people would take pity or at worst, patronise them.

 

 

For my part, I am convinced that we are not dealing with such a situation, here.

 

I see no evidence of a handicap.

 

I think that it is safe to say that he is unlikely to be deaf. Whilst I know of a number of blind organists and one or two organists with varying degrees of impaired sight (Louis Vierne, for example), I have never heard of a deaf organist - I would have thought that this would be impossible.

 

If he did not wish to draw attention to a handicap, then allowing himself to be filmed playing the organ and subsequently, to permit sound and video files to be made freely available through the 'net, is hardly the best way if achieving this.

 

In these days of easy litigation, I would say that to believe that Arthur Nobile had little or no control over the contents of the various websites in which he is featured, is stretching the bounds of credibility to an unreasonable degree.

 

If he were based in the UK, it is even possible that he could be sued under the Trade Descriptions Act, 1968, for misleading 'information' on the websites - Brian Childs may know more about this.

 

I am just glad that my school has had the sense to filter his site, so that all of the sound files are unavailable....

 

However, Lee - insofar as your final sentence is concerned - oh yes! Truly so.

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I think that it is safe to say that he is unlikely to be deaf. Whilst I know of a number of blind organists and one or two organists with varying degrees of impaired sight (Louis Vierne, for example), I have never heard of a deaf organist -

 

I would have thought that this would be impossible.

 

 

==========================

 

 

It's a dangerous world!

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england...don/4377428.stm

 

From the following site is the wording below:-

 

http://www.batod.org.uk/index.php?id=/publ...r-04/nov-04.htm

 

Paul Whittaker is profoundly deaf and for the past sixteen years has been running 'Music and the Deaf'; a charity that helps deaf people, and those who live and work with them, to access music and the performing arts. Music has always played a huge part in his life: he plays the piano and the organ, have trained choirs (quite an interesting challenge for singers when they realise you can't actually hear them!) and also sign for major musical productions both in London and on tour. Paul encourages everyone to expand the amount of music work that they do with deaf pupils.

 

---------------------------------------

 

http://www.hud.ac.uk/registry/awards/honorary/

 

On a personal note, when Paul was very young, I struggled to find an accompanist for a Choral Evensong at York Minster. Paul stepped into the breach, complete with microphone, transmitter and head-sets. I conducted the choir and he played, and he was absolutely faultless throughout. The only concession to his deafness was a pre-arranged signal if he was just a little too loud or soft.

 

It seems strange that he was barred from the RCO examinations for a long-time, because he couldn't hear the aural tests!!

 

Ah well! I suppose a D.Litt makes up for it, although I believe he is at least ARCO. He studied at Wadham College, Oxford.

 

MM

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==========================

It's a dangerous world!

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england...don/4377428.stm

 

From the following site is the wording below:-

 

http://www.batod.org.uk/index.php?id=/publ...r-04/nov-04.htm

 

Paul Whittaker is profoundly deaf and for the past sixteen years has been running 'Music and the Deaf'; a charity that helps deaf people, and those who live and work with them, to access music and the performing arts. Music has always played a huge part in his life: he plays the piano and the organ, have trained choirs (quite an interesting challenge for singers when they realise you can't actually hear them!) and also sign for major musical productions both in London and on tour. Paul encourages everyone to expand the amount of music work that they do with deaf pupils.

 

---------------------------------------

 

http://www.hud.ac.uk/registry/awards/honorary/

 

On a personal note, when Paul was very young, I struggled to find an accompanist for a Choral Evensong at York Minster. Paul stepped into the breach, complete with microphone, transmitter and head-sets. I conducted the choir and he played, and he was absolutely faultless throughout. The only concession to his deafness was a pre-arranged signal if he was just a little too loud or soft.

 

It seems strange that he was barred from the RCO examinations for a long-time, because he couldn't hear the aural tests!!

 

Ah well! I suppose a D.Litt makes up for it, although I believe he is at least ARCO. He studied at Wadham College, Oxford.

 

MM

 

 

Quite amazing - I had no idea that this was possible!

 

I cannot begin to imagine how he could train choirs which he was unable to hear - how did he achieve this remarkable feat? Surely, he would be unable to know if the tuning was accurate, for example? In addition, it must be very difficult to know how to give shape to a piece of music - particularly if all he had to guide him was the extent to which veins and tendons became prominent in the necks of the singers.

 

I am confused as to the function of a microphone, a transmitter and head-sets, if Paul is profoundly deaf - how did these help him? I am not being cynical, or disbelieving; just amazed - and puzzled.

 

I am aware that there is a well-known percussionist who is deaf - but I understand that in her case, she feels the vibrations of her playing. Even so, this cannot be particularly easy in that case of a vibraphone, a glockenspiel or a xylophone.

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Quite amazing - I had no idea that this was possible!

 

I cannot begin to imagine how he could train choirs which he was unable to hear - how did he achieve this remarkable feat?

 

I am confused as to the function of a microphone, a transmitter and head-sets, if Paul is profoundly deaf - how did these help him? I am not being cynical, or dis-believing; just amazed - and puzzled.

 

I am aware that there is a well-known percussionist who is deaf - but I understand that in her case, she feels the vibrations of her playing. Even so, this cannot be particularly easy in that case of a vibraphone, a glockenspiel or a xylophone.

 

----------------------------------------------

 

 

Paul Whittaker has always been profoundly deaf, as has Evelyn Glennie (Sp?) the percussionist.

 

The use of a head-set, microphone and transmitter had to do with vibrations. I forgot to say that, as I flapped my arms, I sang the bass part, the sound of which was then transmitted from the clip-on lavalier-microphone to the organ-loft, where Paul wore the headphones.

 

Both Evelyn Glennie and Paul Whittaker obviously derive enormous pleasure from music, whereas Beethoven was tormented by his deafness, but I personally puzzle at the psychology of it......like licking paintings.

 

Still, it's been quite a success story for Paul, who originally had lessons from Jonatahan Bielby at Wakefield. He is quite energetic and inspirational I understand, and a great communicator in spite of the disability.

 

I checked the details, Paul graduated from Oxford and is holder of the ARCO diploma.

 

MM

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=====================

“Art is the emotion in which several double-meausures are expressed” - MusingMuso 21/2/06  (with apologoies to Nadia Boulanger)

In his case Wild Turkey, I guess.

 

ARTHUR NOBILE, JR. is a postmodern musician and pioneer in the American School of Improvisation and Harmonic Design.
Yep, there's certainly a lot of pioneering improvisation and harmonic design in this performance.

 

Arthur Nobile is not an organist. He plays something called an “organ,” but this is where the similarity ends.
Yep, can't argue with that either.
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Funnily enough, when I was a sixth-former (that dates me!) a student joined our year who quite fancied himself as an organist and whose standard of performance was not so very dissimilar to Mr Nobile's. He had very facile fingers and wrist movements, but very little sense of aim. And he only ever seemed to play flashy pieces; I don't recall ever hearing him play a gentle one. In short, his playing was all thud and blunder.

 

You couldn't get this through to him, of course. I genuinely think he had no concept of how bad his playing really was. He admitted to having had some mental problems a few years earlier, which may go some way towards explaining things. It was all very sad; he could have made a really good organist if he'd kept within his capabilities. I do hope he learned better as he matured.

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I think Christchurch, Oxford, would be a much better bet than Romsey. Romsey has a fabulous acoustic and is quite a forgiving instrument, really. Christchurch is as intimate as a small practice organ and is very demanding to play well. Also, I found the pedalboard and unusally placed swell pedal a bit off-putting, too....

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I'm pretty sure it was straight but it might be concave.

 

It's a shame it's not a radiating flat one, which are absolute b45T$Rds to play.

It's a straight concave if I remember correctly Colin (it's about 10 years since I played it), which is slightly to left of normal positioning - so things don't align between manuals and pedals quite as you expect. Once you're used to it it's fine and really very comfortable but until you are used to it...hmm. Added to the hairtrigger swell touch and the total absence of acoustic in the building it made for some nervous moments at 3.55 pm on a Wednesday when the BBC were in town...

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It's a straight concave if I remember correctly Colin (it's about 10 years since I played it),  which is slightly to left of normal positioning - so things don't align between manuals and pedals quite as you expect. Once you're used to it it's fine and really very comfortable but until you are used to it...hmm. Added to the hairtrigger swell touch and the total absence of acoustic in the building it made for some nervous moments at 3.55 pm on a Wednesday when the BBC were in town...

 

I agree with you, Stephen - it is a fantastic instrument. I normally get to play it for a week in August with a regular visiting choir.

 

I personally find the pedal-board very comfortable - much better than my own R-Co one.

 

I do agree that it can be unforgiving, though. I have to say that I would not wish to play Stanford, in A, with James Whitbourn sitting downstairs with headphones and a mixing-desk!

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