DaveHarries
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Posts posted by DaveHarries
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Apologies for this very funny (in my opinion) but slightly rude and certainly non-musical joke but here is one gem which someone told me in the pub on Wednesday evening:
Q: What is the difference between a magician's wand and a police truncheon?
A: One is for cunning stunts......
(Sorry: I will get my coat now. If yu want this reply deleted then please ask and I shall oblige).
Dave
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According to this, an 1892 Willis in almost original condition has been purchased for the Hooglandse Kerk in Leiden. The church already has an absolutely stunning organ by de Swart and Hagerbeer (restored, inevitably, by Flentrop).
I've just looked at that site. Some interesting points from the photos on that site.
Firstly, why does this organ remind me of the organ at Hereford Cathedral?
http://www.cathedralorgan.nl/images/gallery/orgel5_gr.jpg
This one reminds me of Durham:
http://www.cathedralorgan.nl/images/gallery/orgel2_gr.jpg
Dave
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Because Noel Gallagher acheived fame and fortune first... Bedders will catch him up (or Richard Strauss at least).
But you're right, I'm earning more in my second year as a lawyer than in my last as a professional musician
Change of career then, Ian? I am suprised as you were always a good organist. Anyway:
1. Have you been playing at Stoke Bishop then?
2. If you think you have seen my name before, you have: you used to teach me the organ on the 1973 Rieger at Clifton Cathedral.....
Dave
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Hi all,
Sometime back there was a thread in which the name of David Bednall as sub-organist of Bristol Cathedral came up.
It may be of interest to know that, following a search by my local church - that of St. Mary's, Stoke Bishop, Bristol - to replace the previous organist (John Gadsden, who died in October 2005 IIRC), David Bednall has got the job as Organist and Director of Music at St. Mary's. I believe he has had the job just over 2 weeks.
Dave
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Ha! Cute. Did the lady in question have grey hair in a bun and round-rimmed specs?
Hi mate,
Not sure. Also, see PM I sent you in respect of the Wills organ.
Dave
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Hi,
When leaving my German language class this evening (Tuesday 28th November) I came across this most interestingly decorated vehicle in the car park.
I got my camera out and used the headlights of my Dad's car to provide extra lighting when taking these shots. Just as I was finishing, the vehicle's owner turned up. She informed me that because of the vehicle she gets stopped quite often and gets quite a few people photographing it. She got it in 1990 opn the cheap and enjoys having it.
The man featured on the side of the vehicle was also in attendance but he had obviously had a day off as he was not in uniform.........
The lady told me she uses the vehicle to get to work and the vehicle gets a lot of attention whilst she is at work. Her job? Primary school teacher! Good choice of vehicle livery.
Only around 12,000 of these particular vehicles were ever made but this is the only one in the UK with the featured character on the sides and back of it. Made me laugh when I saw it though. More pictures:
View of vehicle interior: http://davespix.fotopic.net/p46929350.html
Overall view of driver side: http://davespix.fotopic.net/p46929349.html
Enjoy.
Dave
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Not quite: in Rotterdam the Laurenskerk went down (not a Cathedral) - but it did loose the biggest organ in Holland...
A pity. A glance on the webpage http://www.orgels-en-kerken.nl/index/rotte...urens-hoofd.htm gives pictures of the main organ as it is now (a nice looking piece by Marcussen & Sons - 4 manuals, 85 stops (not including 3 tremulants) 5575 pipes - which dates from 1973) as well as the organ as it was in around 1645 - 1792 and also a picture of the organ that was lost in 1940.
There are also links to parts about the church's choir organ (case of 1725 - wonder where that came from if the church was lost in the war? Organ in 1725 case is by Marcussen), the transept organ (3 manuals, 31 stops and some large mixtures!) and, last but not least, the small positive organ (van Vulpen, 1963. Moved to Laurenskirk in 1990).
Nice looking church: next time I go to Amsterdam I shall take time to go and visit Rotterdam. I shall include that church in my itinery.
Dave
Edit: I looked up the church on Google Earth. The newer version of this remarkable piece of software contains three good pictures of the Laurenskerk in Rotterdam as it was left after the bombs of 1940:
1: http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/1258743.jpg
2: http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/1258742.jpg
3: http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/1258723.jpg
If you want to try and look at the church on Google Earth, the best thing to type in is "Grotekerkplein Rotteram NL" (without the speech marks) and it should go straight in on the church. But if you want access to the pictures, you will need the latest version of GE.
Dave
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We do a fully choral Eucharist on the first Sunday evening of each month (we do a choral Mattins that morning), plus specials such as Ash Wednesday.
Current repertoire includes:
Darke in E
Heard this at Bristol Cathedral this morning. First time I ever heard it: sounded fantastic.
Dave
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Probably the one idea, but how about Speller - "Mass of St. Louis"?
Dave
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An update on the Wills Hall situation.
1. Installation was to have taken place in the summer of 2007: I understand that this has had to be delayed as alterations are required to the gallery (or more specifically, I believe, to the structure thereof) so I don't now know when installation will happen.
2. There will be three new stops added to the organ: a tierce, a mixture (not sure as to composition of it) and, I think, a Saliconal. I am not suprised about the addition of the mixture.
3. The work is being done by Peter Collins, who built the instrument in 1983 in the First Church of Christ Scientist, Clifton. However a new case is to be built for the instrument.
IIRC, I was told that the organ, plus removal and re-installation costs, come to about £12,000.
Dave
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That's a good list. I've done some of them: Darke in F, Jackson in G, Oldroyd "Quiet Hour", Wood in the Fridge. I've played a few more for others. I've also done Willian in G and Ireland in C in my time - quite regularly according to my old music lists - but I can't recall a note of either of them!
Of course all the best mass settings were written prior to 1700
, but, within the period you appear to have in mind, Stanford in G communion is well worth doing. I do commend Wills's Missa Eliensis too - good fun, but not easy (and probably out of print these days).The Oldroyd setting was used at Bristol Cathedral on 28th October: pity I missed it as I had never heard this one.
Dave
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Just posted this on the reed organ list
Tony
Thanks Tony,
Just out of interest, what is the address of that site?
Dave
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Hi Dave
I would suggest trying the Reed Organ List online (let me know if you want me to forward this). I wouldn't hold out too much hope though - American organs are relatively common still.
Every Blessing
Tony
Yes, please.
Dave
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Yes, IIRC the cathedral at Cologne has two tubas above the west door. Not heard them but I should think they are very effective.
Dave
Why come all the way to England? Visit Cologne! -
Hi all,
Went to church at Cloford (between Nunney and Bruton, Somerset) on 14th October for the morning service and noticed a quaint reed organ in the church there. However, the reed organ is for sale as it has been superceeded by an electronic.
The instrument was built by Burdett of Chicago, USA in 1860 but their operation was destroyed in the Great Fire of Chicago in 1871.
The vicar accepted my offer to advertise this organ online and I have done so. Details can be found at this address, along with a photo:
http://www.btinternet.com/~dcharries/clofordorgan.htm
Lovely looking instrument: would suit small chapel or perhaps a house with enough space. The parish want it to go to a good home though.
Dave
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Good idea, Dave,
About the history of the organs there is a summary available here (2 pages):
http://z11.invisionfree.com/The_romantic_o...p?showtopic=104
Pierre
Thanks Pierre. Merci beaucoup!
If the info on the NPOR is anything to go by, Worcester Cathedral must, at one time, have had three organs. Sounds difficult to imagine but the NPOR says that, in 1550, the Dean took down the "organ in chapel of St. Edmund and ‘great pair’ in chapel of St. George" and then the organ in the choir was taken down in 1551. A new pair of organs was set up on the north side of the Choir in 1556. Dallam's organ of 1613 presumably superceeded the organ of 1556.
But the location of the organs taken down in 1550/51 gives no clue as to the age of those instruments but we know that, in 1503, one Robert Alchurch was given 6s 8d for buying organs for the cathedral.
The last thing we don't know is wether Dallam's organ of 1613 survived the troubles of 1642-1660. We can onnly assume it must have done: in 1666 an Open Diapason of wood was added to the chaire division.
Dave
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An addtiional idea for you, Adrian,
Have you thought of starting a 'blog' which records the progression of the construction of the organs. 'Blogger.com' is a good one which is simple to set up and has easy templates. By adding your entries as you go along it keeps readers informed with what is going on.
In addition it allows you to add photographs, audio files and embed videos (via You Tube) very easily. And you can add a link for people to make donations.
Two good ideas there. I have an additional one, which would be to set up a website dedicated either:
i) solely to the construction of the new organs
or
ii) the history of Wrocester Cathedral's organs, plus the new ones.
I can design websites and it would be great fun for me. If Adrian took the photos and put them on the site he currently uses (I live in Bristol so getting to Worcester ain't easy) then I shall incorporate them by linking in to them. I can also construct the site. The blog, plus a donation facility, could also be included. There you go: a joint effort!
Dave
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Muso,
Thanks for that Dracula story: almost cried with laughgter upon reading it.
Dave
Another funny story came to mind which I had forgotten about until this last week, and which should delight Jenny Setchell.An organist was invited to a fancy-dress party organised by parish-members as a fund-raising exercise. Children went as ghouls and witches, Little Red Riding Hood, princesses, scary animals and, in one case, as a little red-devil complete with pointed-tail and horns. The adults, less successfully, went variously as 'Farmer Giles,' monks, nuns, the Grim Reaper and other well hackneyed objects of curiosity.
One of the adults arrived dressed (very convincingly), as Count Dracula; having gone to great lengths to do justice to his role. He had obtained plastic fangs from Woolworths, a black cape hired from a theatrical shop, smeared fake-blood around his mouth, and even gone to the discomfort of obtaining clear-red contact lenses. The whole thing was terribly realistic, and quite alarming; some children bursting into tears as he bared his teeth at them and breathed huskily.
It wasn't so much human-blood on which he imbibed; more "Bull's Blood", but it was red-enough, and alcoholic enough, which was all that mattered.
By the end of the evening, many people were a little worse for wear, as they departed in taxis, but Count Dracula was only a student at the time, and therefore queued for the last bus into town; rather drunk, swaying perilously and with the cape drawn tightly around his body against the cold.
With now blurred vision from the powerful effects of the Bull's Blood, "Count Dracula" almost missed his stop, and with an inebriate lunge, launched himself towards the steps of the open-platform, double-deck bus; immediately tripping on his black-cape and plunging headlong down them. Barely touching the rear-platform of the old bus, Count Dracula bounced onto the pavement in a crumpled heap. Quite unconcerned, the bus-conductor rang the bell and the bus set-off, leaving the unfortunate Count Dracula lying dazed on the pavement.
A few moments later, the living-dead was discovered by a policemen on the beat, but at the same time, a passing taxi came to a halt, and various princes, potentates and one Tom Thumb leapt out; having recognised Count Dracula lying there semi-concious.
The policeman didn't do much to assist the afflicted.....they never do.....but as he grasped for his radio, he looked upwards; his eyes searching for the name of the street. Instead, they fell upon the brass plate on the door, announcing that the building outside that of which Count Dracula lay slumped and dazed, was used as the offices and collection clinic of the local Blood Transfusion Service.
The unfortunate policeman's face turned a slightly whiter shade of pale than normal at this point, but the fellow fancy-dress party-goers tried to re-assure him.
"It's all right," said one, "it's just our church organist.He's had a bit to drink."
Count Dracula, with almost full conscience regained, fixed his red eyes upon the constable, opened his mouth, bared his fangs and confirmed his identity with a husky, "Aye!"
MM
PS: This is a true story, and if the initials DHB mean anything to anyone in the Halifax area, they will know who it was!
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Thank you, Dave - but why does Bristol Cathedral need what amounts to two assistants?
Good question. To be fair, the organists have time off each year and have to deputise for each other. Mark Lee is the main organist and so Paul Walton is usually in the organ loft during the Sunday Eucharist. So I suppose that D.B would stand in for P.W if P.W wasn't around to play during the Sunday services, for example.
Dave
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Strange - I had thought that someone had posted to the effect that David Bednall is the new Assistant Organist at Bristol Cathedral? (If this is the case, it is still slightly odd, since I had understood that he left Wells Cathedral in order to return to academia - and study composition.)
Does anyone know exactly what is correct here, please?
David Bednall's title is Sub organist, and Paul Walton is Assistant Organist. Slightly confusing, I agree.
Dave
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According to the leaflet about the organ dating from 1990 ..
"All of the soundboards and internal mechanism were new - as was more than half of the pipework. All that was retained from the old organ was the best of the pipework and the 1685 case-fronts, now arranged side by side in the two adjoining bays of the North Choir aisle. The Gothic Choir 'case' of 1860 was removed, but stored in the hope that it might one day screen a remote Echo or Nave section. It remains in the bottom of the organ today"
Later in the same document (written by Ian Bell, but incorporating information from previous publications by Hubert Hunt, Clifford Harker and Malcolm Archer) we are told that "pipework by Renatus Harris survives only in the display pipes, which form the bases (sic) of the two smaller Great Diapasons and the small Principal; parts of the Great and Choir Stopped Diapasons are probably by Seede. All other pipework is Vowles or later".
The writers also suggest that one of the reasons that the organ is "tonally quite superb" arises from the need to "balance the new work to (sic) the more restrained old pipework, retained from the earlier organs.."
This confirms the comment, but doesn't really add much detail ........
After the Eucharist at Bristol Cathedral last Sunday (not the Sunday just gone, but the one before) I had a conversation with Paul Walton who is the cathedral's assistant organist. I gather that the cathedral's website is currently being redone (long overdue, IMO) and there will be some more detail on the organ when the new site is up.
Paul told me he is aware of this thread and the new site will, I gather, give details as to the age of the pipework in the organ.
HTH,
Dave
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Hi all,
Please can I take this opportunity to draw attention to the next recital in Bristol Cathedral's lunchtime series? Details as follows:
The Date: Tuesday 25th September 2007
The Time: 1:15pm, lasting about 40-45 minutes
The Organist: Paul Walton (Assistant Organist, Bristol Cathedral)
I've heard him play nuerous times and I think this will certainly be one not to miss.
Dave
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Hi,
I went to the lunchtime recital in Bristol Cathedral yesterday (18th September). The recitalist was the new sub-organist, David Bednall.
The program was this:
1. Suite Médévale en forme de Messe Basse (Jean Langlais, 1907 - 1991)
i. Prélude (Entrée)
ii. Tiento (Offertoire)
iii. Improvisation (Elévation)
iv. Méditation (Communion)
v. Acclamations (sur le texte des Acclamations Carolingiennes)
2. Cathédrales (Louis Vierne, 1870 - 1937)
"Pièces de Fantasie IV
3. Te Deum (Naji Hakim, 1955 -)
The first piece was quite a mix. Sadly I missed the first movement (I arrived late as I had trouble parking). Movements 2, 3 and 4 were quiet and included plenty of use of the strings. I have nothing against the use of those strings but he was using another stop as well (I don't know which one) which gave quite an odd sound to the music. On the other hand, the Acclamations were played loudly so as to sound almost apocalyptic with plenty of reeds. The organ sounded in fine form there.
The Vierne was a nice piece. Also quite a bit of volume on this one but not as loud as the Acclamations from the Langlais.
The Te Deum was superb. First time I have heard Hakim's arrangement of this piece anywhere but I sure can't wait to hear it again. Again plenty of reeds and plenty of volume!
Overall score: 4.5 out of 5. Pity about the registration in the 2nd, 3rd & 4th movements of the Langlais else it would have been 5 out of 5. The preformance was very well received by the audience who had gathered.
Dave
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Further to this, here below I give the specification of the organ in Weimar Castle, as it was at around the time* of Bach's tenure there.....
An interesting post. A book I have here - "Making Music on the Organ" (by Peter Williams, pub. Oxford University Press, 1994) gives an almost identical specification for Weimar Castle Chapel to the one you give but with a couple of alterations. I have put the specification again below but the alterations which make up the specification as my book gives it are in bold type:
PEDAL ORGAN
Gross-Untersatz 32
Sub-Bass 16
Violon-Bass 16
Principal-Bass 8
Posaun-Bass 16
Trompetten-Bass 8
Cornett-Bass 4
Hauptwerk - Pedal
HAUPTWERK ('Upper clavier')
Quintathön 16
Principal 8
Gemshorn 8
Gedackt 8
Octava 4
Quintathön 4
Mixtur VI
Cymbel III
Glockenspiel
Positiv - Hauptwerk
Positiv
Principal 8
Viol di Gamba 8
Gedackt 8
Octava 4
Klein Gedackt 4
Waldflöt 2
Sesquialtera II
Trompette 8
Tremulant
Cymbelstern
According to the book, "The organ was situated in the highest gallery of this very tall chapel. The entire castle was burned down in the nineteenth century."
HTIOI,
Dave
, but, within the period you appear to have in mind, Stanford in G communion is well worth doing. I do commend Wills's Missa Eliensis too - good fun, but not easy (and probably out of print these days).
Youtube
in General discussion
Posted
Came across this set by chance whilst browsing the website of the church in question. History of the organ:
St. Laurenskerk, Rotterdam, NL
There are pictures of this organ as early as 1645 when an organ was in situ. This had been built by Hans Goltfusz. This lasted until around 1790 when a new organ was built by Wolfferts: this was worked on by Meere in 1828.
The Wolfferts / Mere organ was lost, along with almost all of the rest of the cathedral on 14th May 1940 when Rotterdam was heavily bombed by the Germans.
The current organ contains 4 manuals, 84 stops, 150 ranks and around 7600 pipes: it was built by Marcussen of Denmark in 1973.
There are several clips on YouTube and it sounds fantastic:
Firstly, someone trying to play Handel's "Water Music" on the instrument. Sounds OK.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNJy1KJLOXg
Next up is an improvisation on Psalm 54. Anyone know the composer?
And another improvisation on 'Holy Holy Holy':
Lastly, this piece makes great use of the organ's chamade ranks. Anyone know the title & composer of the piece?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmPYSlolSVw
Anyway, sounds fantastic: I shall make every effort to hear this organ next time I find myself in Holland.
As an aside, this church has three other organs:
Transept organ:
Marcussen of Denmark, 1959. 3 manuals, 31 stops, 52 ranks
Choir Organ:
Unknown builder, 1725. Came from a catholic church in Amsterdam. Moved to Bunschoten but was later moved to Rotterdam by Marcussen of Denmark.
1 manual, 8 stops, 12 ranks and a tremulant. Borrowed pedals with no independant stops. Manual - Pedal coupler.
Positive Organ:
Built for a church in Rotterdam, 1963. Moved to St. Laurenskerk in 1990.
Dave