Tony Newnham

================ OK...I'll re-phrase it. Bradford is a blighted area due to the collapse of the former textile and engineering industries. Many of the traditional British-born workers in those industries moved away, leaving behind a large second and third generation population derived from the immigrant workers who came from areas of the former British commonwealth; many of whom do not attend catholic mass on a Sunday. Bradford is now the heroin-trade capital of Northern England and is famous for the variety of fast-food emporia serving exotic cuisine. There you are! I didn't mention the "A" word once!! MM <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hi Thanks for the clarification. Historically, Bradford has always welcomed immigrants (not just Asians) - Westgate Baptist Church moved out to the then upper-class suburb of Manningham in the early 1900's because they found the previous church surrounded by Irish immigrants! There's also quite an Eastern European contingent going back at least a generation. Yes, like much of the industrial North, the city has suffered through the decline of the textile industry, but Bradford tends to get a "bad press" - overall it's a pretty good place to live and things are in general improving all the time. There are problems - but there are problems everywhere! Every Blessing Tony (Minister Heaton (Bradford) Baptist Church)

Hi Why do you say that the area is "blighted" just because there's a large Asain population? That's the sort of attitude that those of us in the churches in Bradford are fighting against. Sadly, the demographics of the area, coupled with the general shrinking of congregations, means that a significant number of churches have closed, and others are threatened. That's how it is - we have to live here, and try to fulfil the mission of the church, even if that means breaking with tradition - for example, I will be attending an Asian Christian service tomorrow. I suspect the closest thing to an organ that will be used is an Indian table Harmonium, but that's what's culturally appropriate. Every Blessing Tony

Hi NPOIR to the resue again - DBOB - Henry Booth Gay Lane Otley between 1881 & 1889. It appears from DBOB that there are a number of Booths known of in this area (Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield). Every Blessing Tony

Hi I heard the version of Jane Seymour that you mentioned in a recent concert (taken from a DVD) on SOund TV. The samples were reasonable - but no manageable electronic system is ever going to beat the real thing - speakers just aren't up to the job. I've e-mailed Rick's site to ask about the source of the organ samples, but haven't had a reply yet. I've been a fan of his music since a colleague at work played me the quadraphonic mix of "6 Wives" back in the 1970's, but lack of funds & a large family has meant that my collection of recordings is rather thin - although I'm now slowly rectifying the situation. Every Blessing Tony

Hi Then the preacher should have an "eject organist" button as well - I've heard plenty of organists who are not up to scratch - and of course, my sermons are never boring!!! (I hope) Every Blessing Tony

Hi All very interesting - but in reference to church acoustics, we perhaps need to keep in mind that listening to the organ is not the primary function of the building! Every Blessing Tony

Hi FIne if you can plan exactly what registration yu want when - recitals, etc. But relying on the sequencer would, I think, be very limiting for improvisations, and I would find it impossible for service playing, as I like to be able to respond to the way the congregation is singing. No matter how many pistons, etc there are, I think an organ console should make hand registration as simple as possible. Every Blessing Tony

Hi I too would add my condolances. Tony Newnham

Hi Rick Wakeman used pipe organs on other recordings - "The Gospels" and "The New Gospels" are ones that I've got - and don't forget that Mander's built a "portable" pipe organ for him - I'm trying to find some details (Do Mander's have anything in their archives?) I've used electronic keyboards with a small pipe organ at times - mainly to get solo reed sounds that the organ lacks. Incidentally, for the record, "6 Wives" was produced in 1973. Nigel Ogden broadcast part of Jane Seymore on "The Organist Entertains" last Tuesday. The recording is available on CD (American import). Every Blessing Tony

Hi It looks nice, but isn't very practical - it's a long stretch to the outside stop knobs, judging by the picture. Soem of us like to hand register! Quadrant jambs would be better. Every Blessing Tony

Hi And may I add a plea to let NPOR know of any errors/changes in details! (E-mail to the new address on the web site) Every Blessing Tony

Hi Not really true - some churches are actually growing - although mainly in third-world countries. In my reading of church history, the rot really set in in the late Victorian era, when "church" became an institution, and rules and regulations became more important than following Jesus' example. Also, if you look at the statistics, most of the churches that are showing any growth in this country are those who are adopting new patterns of worship - althoguh adly sometimes (frequently?) they've gone too far - it's interesting that some of the charismatic church streams are "re-discovering" the very hymns they decried until a very few years ago! Every Blessing Tony

Hi For most of its history, the Hristian church had no use whatsoever for pipe organs! Every Blessing Tony

Hi If you look at the criteria for an HOC (on the BIOS website www.bios.org.uk) you'll find that Worcester is FAR from historic! Indeed, the much less changed chamber organ in my church has been refused because of sundry alterations. I don't think any Cathedral organ would qualify. EVery Blessing Tony

Hi Yes - I definitely agree with you - the scripture says "I will never leave you ..". It seems to me that there's been a trend inrecent years for choirs and soloists to concentrate on the sound rather than communicating the words they're singing. Anyone care to comment? Every Blessing Tony

Hi I'm not so sure - I'm not really a fan of "modern" classical music - and I don't have a lot to spend on recordings, so I tend to play safe. Maybe if there's anything on Radio 3 I might have a listen (yes - I knw it's unlikely!) Every Blessing Tony

Hi Glad to help. Just be wary of the search results - the builder search will throw up everything by all the Willis's - and if you're thinking of visiting, check the survey dates, some might well have been altered or removed since (if there's no survey date, then it's probably c.1930-1950!) The Fr Willis at Brede is a real gem - litterally any 2 stops could be used together and sound musical. I used to practice on it occaisionally when we lived in the village. Every Blessing Tony

Hi Do a builder search on NPOR (probably worth limiting to a county at a time though). There are 2-3 in the Hastings area - a couple of 3 manuals in the town, and a small 2 manual in the village of Brede. Every Blessing Tony

Hi The big Holt has been sold on recently, so is no longer at Saltaire (which is a shame - it's a nice instrument). The collection does change, as some instruments are sold and others obtained - although the basic collection remains "not for sale". I'm a regular visitor, and will be playing there for an event in September. Maybe I'll meet you at the Bradford Organists' Association event - it's in the diary, but I'm not sure if I can get there yet. I would be interested in details and pictures of the hybrid reef/pipe organ you mention - sounds fascinating. Do the pipes actually stay in tune with the reeds? Every Blessing Tony

Hi Info. on 2 forthcoming concerts that I'm giving:- Victorian Reed Organ Museum, Victoria Road, Saltaire, W. Yorkshire - Saturday 17th & Sunday 18th. Short demonstration recitals at 12:00 & 2:00 each day. Free admission (donations welcome). This event is part of Saltaire Festival. I will be playing a selection of organs from the collection, including a Debain harmonium, Estey American organ and a Mustel "art-harmonium" - as well as the Mustel Harmonium/Celeste. Heaton Baptist Church, Leylands Lane, Heaton, Bradford BD9. "Music for a Summer's Evening". Saturday August 24th. 6:30 p.m. Featuring a Manborg American organ, the churches' chamber organ, recorders, etc. A variety of music for all tastes. Free admission, collection for Baptist Home Mission and Baptist Missionary Society. Hope I might see some of you at one or other (or both!) events. Every Blessing Tony

Hi I know it well! See my post re. concerts. Every Blessing Tony

Hi I do! Off to see the hybrid pipe/digital organ at Addingham parish church on Saturday! Every Blessing Tony

Hi I doubt that a paid-for archive would work. We looked at the option of charging a nominal fee for access to NPOR, but research showed that very few people would be willing to pay! It might be worth enquiry what the National Sound Archive actually does have in it's collection, though. An ongoing project on NPOR is the Historic Organ Sound Archive - recordings of some the historic organs (currently in East Anglia) - warts and all. There are 4 organs "on-line" at present, with another batch due to be added at any time. Go to the "new" NPOR web-site and click on the HOSA link. The organist is Anne Page, recording engineer Peter Harrison - and despite the mpeg coding, they are an interestuing listen. Every Blessing Tony

Hi Richard I don't know enough about pneumatic actions to comment - probably something out of adjustment, or a leak - althoguh why it should work with wind "off" initially is a bit of a puzzle. Organs in poor condition can be a nightmare. Iplayed for a wedding last year at an Anglican church across the city. Binns organ moved to the church some 25 years ago, and has had some work since because of a water leak - but VERY rarely played these days. I actually went in with the tuner to check it out - a real nightmare. The swell was unusable from it's own manual - too many missing notes (I was able to leave it coupled to the choir, which, as it happened was just as well). We could hear water bubling in the pneumatic action tubes - and all the off-note chests on the Great basses (i.e. all except a rather quiet flute) were off. The builder managed to get the 2 Open Diaps back in commission. There were also a couple of intermittant cyphers - and the Great Trumpet was unusable. All went well until the first hymn, when I thought the organ was sounding a bit "weak" and lacking depth - I had lost the great Open Diap. basses again! O happy days! With every blessing Tony

Hi I'm well aware of the differences between CD & CD-R - One of my "part-time" occupations is doing a bit of recording, including one Christian conference where last year we sold more CD-R's than Cassettes. I also agree that there are some reservations regarding the structure of CD-R's - but there can also be problems with pressed CD's if the sealing isn't perfect, allowing the reflective layer to become damaged. I can't see, though, that there is any difference in the amount of information on discs - it's a digital signal that has to conform to "Red Book" standards - 16 bit 44.1kHz sampling, same for CD & CD-R. Assuming the mastering process doesn't lose anything, there should be no difference. My comments on price were refring to the blanks/raw material - I should have made that clear. Retail pricing is another can of worms! The fact remains, however, that for many low-budget, small-run recordings, pressed CD's are uneconomic because of the minimum run requirements. Another possible advantage with CD-R's is speed of turnover - I can have live recordings on sale within minutes of a concert finishing, assuning that there's no editting required (and there are companies that specialise in this sort of thing). Have a good Sunday Every Blessing Tony