Tony Newnham

Hi Does anyone here know of anything written by S.S. Wesley for Harmonium? I know about the Samuel Wesleys "5 pieces for the Royal Seraphim" - it's S.S. that I'm interested in. Every Blessing Tony

Hi IIRC there's an account of Compton's Italian sojourn in "The Organ" magazine just after the war. I know I've read something about it, and I've probably got a copy - but without knowing what no. it was in, it'll take a while to find. Every Blessing Tony

Hi The NPOR entries are the only information that we have! Maybe when you've finished your research you'd like to e-mail a copy of your findings, with documentary sources noted, to the NPOR office so that we can add the relevant information. The dates would be on NPOR if someone had bothered to tell us them - likewise building designations, etc. Every Blessing Rev Tony Newnham NPOR Editor (one of a small team of volunteers)

Hi We had a rather disappointing turnout, but still raised over £300 plus some gift aided contributions - not bad for such a small church. Every Blessing Tony

Congratulations - even if it does mean more work! Every Blessing Tony

Hi Not a conventional recital - Saturday 14th August, Haton Baptist Church, Bradford. Words and Music to raise funds for the current crisis in Pakistan. Among other things, I shall be playing some Cesar Frank on Harmonium in honour of the centenary of his death. Also possibly some Karg-Elart (if I can get it up to scratch in time!). The church's chamber organ will be heard in S.S. Wesley's Choral Song. The Harmonium will (hopefully) be an early Debain from the Saltaire collection (thanks to Phil Fluke). Every Blessing Tony

Hi The deleted NPOR survey would not have been of the previous organ - if you look at organs that have had a significant rebuild, you'll find a comment in the list of builders to refer back to the previous state (and likewise, a forward link towards the end of a survey on those organs where the stop list has significantly changed). The deleted survey would have been a duplicate to the current one - and additional info in the one being deleted having first been transferred to the current survey. (Duplications do happen sometimes, either due to mis-identification of buildings, or more than one editor working, etc.) Every Blessing Tony

Hi The Lemare transcriptions from the Proms weren't too bad - although I was doing something else at the same time and not listening critically. My first thought was that he'd slowed down somewhat! The improvisations didn't really register - I had to deal with a phone call! Every Blessing Tony

Hi Not specifically dealing with only French organs, but the entire range, there's the relatively new "Organ Matters" forum (the site is down at present due to server problems, but should be back within a few days at most I'm told). Every Blessing Tony

Hi You can't blame Compton (and certain other firms) for seeing and responding to the ever-present market for budget price organs. I suspect that's why Compton developed their electronic add-ons as a stand-alone instrument. The market still exists - these days it's, in the main, filled by the cheaper end of the digital organ spectrum. Prioer to WW2 it was often populated with larger 2mp reed organs. Every Blessing Tony

Hi I don't know how much has survived. The destruction of records is an ongoing problem - and not just in the field of organ building. Every Blessing Tony

Hi The British Organ Archive hold Gray & Davison records - an e-mail to them might find the info that you want. See the BIOS web site for contact details. Every Blessing Tony

Hi Like any other rank, it depends how it's voiced. If it blends with the rest of the stops, then there's no problem, except possibly the "out of tune" effect caused by equal temperament tuning when used in chords. Every Blessing Tony

Hi I do't know how much of a Yorkshire connection there is, but Tom Winpenny's grandfather is amemer of the Badford organists' assoc. Every Blessing Tony

Hi If you're going to use NPOR info, perhaps you'd at least credit the source. Thanks. Every Blessing Tony

Hi Brindley started in business in 1854, the B&F name dates from 1870 - see http://www.npor.org.uk/cgi-bin/ESearch.cgi? Every Blessing Tony

Hi It depends on the tone of the service - if the deceased was a believer,then I often use a version of "I Know that my Redeemer Liveth" - or even the Karg-Elart "Nun Danket Alle Gott" (but that was exceptional). I try not to do "funereal" funerals - especially for Christians, for whom after all death is just the "end of part one". Every Blessing Tony

Hi The link appears to be wrong. Every Blessing Tony

Hi Leeds Parish Church & Makin have done this for the last couple of years (at least) - although under the less than helpful title of "battle of the Organs". I've not yet got to one - maybe one day. I can't get to Liverpool for this one either. Every Blessing Tony

Hi See http://www.npor.org.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi...ec_index=N01340 - I don't know if there have been any changes since the survey was done. Every Blessing Tony

Hi I can vouch for the effectiveness of the RCO library - they got me a copy of the Holst Duo for Trombone & organ for a concert in January. Every Blessing Tony

Hi Pity Oxford is so far away - and, for obvious reasons, Sundays are difficult! You could try contacting Phil Fluke at the Reed Organ Museum in Saltaire - PM me if you need his phone number. Since he runs a Harmonium hire business, he'll probably know who might be available. Every Blessing Tony

Hi Keyboards for micro-tonal instruments have been aroung for at least a century! The reed organ museum at Saltaire has a couple of organs with reeds tuned to give microtones - one is now playable - the "keyboard" has, IIRC, 7 levels of finger-sized levers, each laid out in conventional pattern, but controlling reeds of slightly differing pitches on each level. I understand that some music was written especially for it, although the primary purpose was to demonstrate various temperaments. Every Blessing Tony

Hi For the record, I think the organ is an early Copeman-Hart - I've got some details of it somewhere. I don't know if there have been any changes since it was installed. Every Blessing Tony

Hi We don't have a choir, so I can't comment on that aspect, but there are a fair number of hymns & reasonable worship songs appropriate for Pentecost. For what it's worth, this is what we're using this morning:- Come, O Holy Spirit, Come (Nigerian traditional) O God of Burning, Cleansing Flame ("Modern" variant of a Salvation Army hymn by Booth) A couple of worship songs: May the Fragrance of Jesus fill this place Light of God, Come Dwell within Your people (this one is really a hymn in disguise) Born by the Holy Spirit's Breath (Words Timothy Dudley-Smith, Tune Fulda) Communion song: Oh to see the Dawn (a recent worship song by Keith Ketty & Stuart Townend with very thought-provoking words) Great is the Darkness - a worship song looking at the need for evangelism - and the chorus is the prayer "Come, Lord Jesus, Pour out Your Spirit on us today" As to "O Thou who Camest from above" - the tune "Wilton" is worth a look. It transform what is a quiet, meditative prayer when sung to Hereford (and there's nothing wrong with that) into something much stronger and a good closing hymn, particularly fitting for the words. Have a blessed Pentecost Tony