Malcolm Kemp
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Posts posted by Malcolm Kemp
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Some of the comments on this topic are becoming as tedious and boring as they are unprofessional.
Malcolm
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Something very similar happened to us on Maundy Thursday: in our case, the Wardens were switching off the lights whilst the Altar was stripped and we sang a psalm. Unfortunately, they switched off the lights in the Chancel - and since we have no candle sticks on our stalls, that meant we couldn't see and had to grind to a halt. Rather embarrassing... next year, I shall be putting red tape over certain light switches, that's for sure!
I thought that was supposed to happen. The choir then symbolically shambles out in a deliberate state of chaos, perhaps taking their robes off as they leave the chancel. Symbolic of the disciples fleeing the garden of Gethsemane in terror and confusion. And before anyone asks, yes I am being serious. I have always encouaged choirs to do exactly what I have just described. I have seen very similar things done at All Saints Margaret Street and you can't get much more liturgically correct than that!
Malcolm
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Re. Walter Vale I suggest trying All Saints' Margaret Street who seem from an early time to have taken archives very seriously. Mhari Ellis seems genterally to be regarded as the fount of all knowledge on musical archives there.
I am sure I have seen a group picture somewhere in a book (although I can't rmember which book) which includes Francis Burgess. I have a short article about him in the current issue of "Laudate", the quarterly magazine of the GCM, in which I say that, despite all the means available for research these days, I have been able to find out virtually nothing about him.
J Gilbert Curtis - possibly the IAO archives as he was very active in that and (if memory serves me correctly) the Organists' Benevolent League.
I speak regularly with someone who knew Percy Saunders fairly well so will see whether he has any suggestions. I can't believe that Wakefiled Cathedral hasn't got one; the present Dean is a super bloke and I'm sure he would be very helpful. There is no photo of Saunders in Enid Bird's excellent book of biographies of 20th century English cathedral organists.
Malcolm
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What a wonderful posting. Many thanks, Nigel, for your insight and good sense.
Malcolm
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This work seems to be in the current repertoire of sverals cathedral &c., and has been recorded by at least one. Does anyone know who publishes it and whether there are any other settings by him? Where woudl one get copies?
Thanks
Malcolm
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Barry's reply to Jonathan's question herewith:
The thresholds are set by Parliament. Turnover is usually the same as sales. VAT is charged on a supply, which may not be the same as turnover. Supplies are slightly wider than sales by contract. Complicated! Yours as ever, Barry
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Was the organ at the organists' ball used to accompany the singing of that well known trio Benny Dictus, Agnes Day and their friend Gloria Inexcelsis?
Malcolm
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Barry Williams has suggested that this message below, penned by Himself, may be of interest to Board members. I'm only the messenger but most of you will be aware that he is as expert as anyone in these matters.
Malcolm
Installation and Supply of Organs from Abroad
The rules for ‘installed goods’ are established law and are as follows.
For Value Added Tax purposes the ‘place of supply’ of installed goods is the place where they are physically installed. This means the goods installed in the United Kingdom are liable to Value Added Tax in the United Kingdom in the normal way.
Suppliers of installed goods who are registered for VAT in the UK are required to account for VAT on their supply here, whether or not the customer is VAT registered.
Un-registered UK suppliers, or suppliers from countries outside the UK, will not be required to account for UK VAT unless the value of their supplies in a year exceeds the UK VAT threshold for registration. Once they exceed the registration threshold they will need to register for VAT here and account for the tax due in the usual way.
Suppliers who import goods from outside the European Community which are to be installed in the United Kingdom are required to pay Import VAT and Duty on those goods. No Import VAT or Duty is payable on goods moved to the United Kingdom from other European Union countries.
All of this is very dependent upon the UK VAT threshold. The result is that for installed goods only, if the European Union supplier makes supplies under the VAT threshold in the UK, he or she does not have to account for VAT at all, unless or until their total UK sales in that year exceed the VAT registration threshold. This is on a par with any UK supplier. For supply only, he would have to account for his own (i.e. non-UK) VAT for the sale of goods alone wherever they were sold. The same rules apply to a UK supplier installing goods elsewhere in the European Union. It follows that there could be an advantage to using a European Union organ builder to supply and install the organ, although the threshold rules would deter the EU Company from wanting to make too many supplies here in any one year.
Similar threshold rules apply to the installation of non-EU organs, but in these cases VAT and Import Duty are charged on the goods at the time of importation.
The threshold rules do not, in the case of ‘installed goods’, work to the United Kingdom suppliers’ advantage. The threshold is deliberately kept high to help smaller businesses. This is a benefit not available in the rest of the European Union, where VAT thresholds are generally much lower.
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That is the unanswerable question
Malcolm
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Stanley - On a totally different matter - nothing to do with music - I thought your letter in Church Times yesterday was excellent.
Malcolm
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As one might expect from Nigel, first rate advice borne from years of experience. About three months ago I took delivery of a custom made, superb four manual console which operates on the Haupwerk system. Currently it uses the Mount Carmel (three manual) download and eventually I hope to change that for the Salisbury download, once it becomes available.
Just occasionally, and ever bearing in mind neighbours in a terrace, I really let rip and enjoy myself. For probably 95% of the time, when really learning pieces - whether by Bach, Lanqeutuit or Rheinberger - I use just clear 8 and 4 foot stops, even on the pedals. I agree totally with Nigel that this does help to make it more exciting when you add the "proper" performance registration and even more exciting if you end up performing the peice on a really superb pipe organ. More importantly it enables you to hear and analyse precisely what you are doing.
Malcolm
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And Brewer in D Mangificat......
Malcolm
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It is in an article posted on Sunday 14th June entitled "The age of new music for Mass" by Jeffrey Tucker. Worth reading anyway. Find that and click on "Choral Gradual by Richard Rice". Alternatively go direct to
www.musicasacra.com/books/simplechoralgradual.pdf
Malcolm
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From my own stance as a rather "extreme" Anglo Catholic layman I (humbly, I hope, in view of his considerable expertise in these matters) tend to agree with Patrick. I have said the (RC) Divine Office or Liturgy of the Hours daily in English in its entirity for a number of years now and find it to be by far the best version of the daily office currently on offer anywhere although I agree with well-known Anglican blogger Fr John Hunwicke that the intercessions are beginning to feel a bit dated. The other advantage is that you only need one book! (The disadvantage is an annual dose, in September of St Augustine to the shepherds!) I also happen to think that the Common Worship series of publications contains the finest liturgy that the C-of-E has ever produced; my only problem is that, compared with the RC rites, it is so complicated because there are so many alternatives all the time. Many have cottoned on to the fact that one can make the CW Mass almost identical to the RC Ordinary Form.
On the website of the New Liturgical Movement there is a link (published on the site yesterday) of new, simple and effective chants for choirs of the propers of the Mass which can be downloaded, printed and used by church choirs gratis, free and without charge (as they say). They look rather better musically than the utterly horrendous books of responsorial psalms that Anglicans and Roman Catholics have been largely dependant on for a number of years now, especially those from one publisher in particular. They are well worth downloading and investigating.
Malcolm
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Absolutely priceless!!
Malcolm
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Whilst it is choral and not organ music in this instance, I hope nobody will mind too much if I use this forum to enquire whether anyone can nudge me in the direction of a copy of the rather fine motet "Domine, non sum dignus" by G Aichinger. There are a few motets by him I print and the Regina Caeli is particularly well known but I can't find this one anywhere. Surprisingly not even Mapa Mundi do it.
Thanks
Malcolm
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I was singing in an ad-hoc choir in Worthing last Thursday evening for a big Corpus Christi do. The choir was not allowed to process out of the choirstalls until the final voluntary had finished. And there was wine waiting for us in the vestry.............
To get back to the original question of this topic I suggest that the size of one's feet can make a difference to how one pedals this - or any other - piece. What works well for one person may be physically impossible for another. Ultimately it must, to a certain extent, come down to what works comfortably and securely for you If you try a pedalling that doesn't fit your own physique it will cause unnecessary muscular tension which is the last thing you want when playing this particular piece. My exerience has been that this piece works best if you practice it very slowly and only bring it up to speed near to its first public outing.
Malcolm
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En route yesterday to my annual attendance at the (Anglican) Sunday evening Corpus Christi liturgical extravaganza at St Mary's Bourne Street (where they prove that religion can be deeply moving and devotional in a very spiritual way whilst also being enormous fun) I was diverted via the 11 am High Mass and 3 pm Solemn Vespers, Procession of the Host and Solemn Benediction at Brompton Oratory (they only had priests - the Anglicans in the evening had Pontifical Benediction!!!). Both places were packed with very large congregations and, not surprisingly, both produced music and liturgy of an exceptionally high standard. I suspect that many Anglicans and Roman Catholics (although my no means all) are just beginning to regret throwing out baby with the bathwater and are trying to rectify the situation. One of the things I particularly liked about High Mass at the Oratory (all in Latin, although using the Ordinary Form) was the total lack of those nasty, divisive things that impede the flow of decent liturgy. I think they are called hymns.
Why do so many churches say "Ite Missa Est" or one of its various English translations and then stand there for 4 or 5 minutes singing a hymn? What a nonsense!
Malcolm
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Thanks, Tiratutti. Richard Barnes of Cathedral Music is ordering a copy for me from Carus at this very moment.
Malcolm
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Per Henderson, these nine toccatas and fugues were published by Belwin Mills. Does anyone have any suggestions about where I might get this publication, please? The usual on-line catalogues don't mention it.
Thanks
Malcolm
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Thank you. That is exactly what I needed to know.
Malcolm
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Perhaps Mr Mander himself would be the most expert person to comment on this but I should be grateful for informed comments from anyone.
I gather (from John Norman's book - if I am reading it correctly) that precisely regulated manual keys should have a weight resistance of about four ounces. Also on precisely regulated manuals would be the ideal point of key depression for the actual sound to be initiated, please?
Thanks
Malcolm
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I strongly suspect that one of the reason organists and clergy don't get on well is that very often they don't talk to each other on a regular basis - sometimes not even saying hello to each other on a Sunday morning. That is not a good basis for a working relationship is any area of life and I am sure that organists and clergy are equally to blame. If I am playing for a service anywhere I make a point of saying at least something to the person taking the service before it is due to start, even if it just "hello".
Malcolm
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My first confessor, in the 1960s, (trained for six years at Kelham under the famous Father Kelly) used to say of doubt that everybody has it from time to time and that each time faith replaces the doubt the faith is stronger than it was before. Perhaps it's what John of the Cross called the "dark night of the soul" (which I found to be a very difficult book to read and understand - far easier are the books of Martin Israel and Harry Williams). I am sure that a good, pastorally aware, incumbent would employ an unbelieving organist, meet him/her where they are and try to gently lead them towards faith by word, deed and example.
Through the night of dout and sorrow............
Malcolm
PS - I've been to the Baroque exhibition at the V&A today. Marvellous; almost as good as the real thing next door!
Loudest Tubas
in Nuts and bolts
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I think the nicest stop on any pipe organ in the Brighton area is the 8' Wald Flute on the Great of the 1901/1906 Walker organ in St Bartholomew's Brighton. To my ears Walker Wald Flutes of that vintage always have a beautiful tone and, mercifully, the St Bartholomew's one was left untouched when some very ill-conceived changes were made to the organ in the late 1970s by Wood Brown. However, the Vox Humana on the Choir department of that organ was aptly described once by a former organist (George Austin) as sounding like a constipated goat.
Why are so many organists obsessed with Tubas?
Malcolm