Malcolm Kemp

A contemporary of Quentin at Cuddesdon has told me on more than one occasion that when they were students there the students were considerably better qualified academically than the tutorial staff, so why worry! Malcolm

I can sympathise with Quentin over typing - on another post just now I realised I had typed "font door" instead of "front door". I have to admit that I did join a couple of very dodgy music organisations - just for fun - which I now keep very quiet about. The embarrassing problem can come when people ask you what the letters mean or what the hood is for. Like other people on this Board, I have several hoods for valid qualifications for which I worked long and hard and these days I don't often need to wear one anyway. There is a firm regularly selling things on E-bay which appears to sell hoods of their own invention which don't relate to any qualification - genuine or bogus. A little research - notably in the Burgon Society booklet on musical hoods - reveals that, as has already been commented on, there are vast numbers of music colleges, associations &c., that most people have never heard of, all with very ornate hoods (some very similar in design to those of reputable qualifications) and the same "officers" seem to keep cropping up in all of them. This would not happen - or be tolerated - in any field of life other than church music and it denigrates genuine qualifications. It is time this kind of unprofessional nonsense was stopped. It turns us into a laughing stock. A friend, acting with the best of intentions, asked the GCM to put my additional "qualifications" (see above) on my entry in the GCM yearbook and I have now asked that they be removed. The ISM only shows "genuine"/reputable qualifications and I have asked that my GCM yearbook entry should in future tally with my entry in the ISM yearbook. Malcolm

I play regularly at two crematoria - both ten minutes walk from my front door. The one owned by the City Council has two chapels, each with a decent enough Allen organ. CDs are operated in the vestry by the very efficient and sympathetic staff and the organists are treated extremely well, valued and frequently thanked by officiants and mourners for our contribution to a good service. The other one is owned be Destiny. They cannot get a regular organist - or apparently keep other staff very long either - because the working conditions are so bad and word has got around. Organists will only play there if asked direct by the FD and a number of local FDs regularly approach me and pay me whatever I ask. They now have a Wesley system which might work well if the people in charge of setting it up remained in employment there long enough to become proficient at it. Last week the opening music played over the Wesleyt system was the wrong track and they had to stop it and start again. I think it is agreed that frequently the music chosen is pretty inappropriate and appalling but, as Patrick rightly says, there are pastoral considerations and some of it is no worse than the Clapping Gloria or the music of Paul Inwood beloved of some churches. Whilst I find the most of the music I am asked to play very undemanding musically and technically I am very mindful of the fact that with funerals the congregation is going to be upset and emotional anyway and you only have one chance to get it right. Because of this I take as much care as I would playing Liszt in a recital and I am sure all the other organists who play our our crematoir do also. Rather like Patrick obviously, and rightly, takes great care over the funerals that he conducts. It is a pastoral duty. A closing anecdote. A few months ago I was playing for a funeral when the CD of "Stranger on the shore" wouldn't work. The officiant - a priest well known to Quentin and myself - readily said "Oh, I'm sure Malcolm can play it on the organ". Luckily they got the CD working in time! Malcolm

Any thoughts I may have on this topic are probably - yea, almost certainly - unsuitable for voicing in public. Malcolm

I believe there is someone who, a year of so ago, was cataloguing every known psalter and chant book in this country and it seems likely that if anyone knows the answer to this question he will. I don't know his name or how to contact him but if you ring Cathedral Music (01243 379968) Richard Barnes may be able to put you in contact with this person. Malcolm

Referring to Douglas Corr's more recent comments yesterday, Gordon Stewart did say in his talk (to the GMS in April) that the speaker originally "booked" for that occasion was John Bertolot and that JB was far more "into" the symolism thing than he. If anyone could let me have copies of the Bertalot articles that Douglas refers to I should be most grateful. I agree that such considerations don't greatly affect how the music sounds but they may influence the way one learns and prepares a piece for performance. Malcolm

This was one of the first "big" organ works of Bach that I learned over 40 years ago. I have played it many times at recitals and after services and, as one might expect, my way of playing it has changed over the years although not, perhaps, as much as one might have expected or as much as my interpretation of some other Bach works has changed. This morning my breakfast and Suduko solving were rudely upset by Radio 3 playing a performance of this work by Ton Koopman. I have to admit that I don't hold Koopman up as being one of the great interpreters of JSB organ music but his performance of the B minor disturbed me greatly. I haven't had time yet to analyse precisely what I didn't like about it apart from it sounding disjointed, shapeless and lacking any sense of flow. However, it did remind me of a talk I heard recently by Gordon Stewart when he mentioned, among many other fascinating things, JSB's key associations. He claimed that B minor was, for JSB a sad, melancholy key, giving "Erbame dich" from the Matthew Passion (that aria being IMHO the finest piece JSB ever wrote in any genre) as his prime example. He suggested - perhaps provocatively - that the P&F in B minor should be played quietly although I have never heard anyone do this. Where, I wondered at the time, does this leave the B minor Mass? I have head Gordon Stewart talk about Bach before and on both occasions he has referred to the falling semitone as the "suspirans tristis" which is entirely logical and yet I've never come across it being so called anywhere else either in books or on-line. NEither Williams nor Wolfe refer to it in this way. Any comments from our more erudite Board members, please? Malcolm

I have known Fr Philip at St Magnus since he was first ordained Deacon in the parish in which I live about 25 years ago. He is a very good and pastorally sensitive priest, as well as being an accomplished organist himself. Do go and talk to him and, if you like, mention my name by way of introduction. Peter Wright at Southwark cathedral is one of the nicest and most caring people I have ever met in the organ world as well as being a superb teacher and performer. Even if he doesn't have any vacancies for students himself at the moment he may well be able to offer advice and point you in the right direction. I think I have written before, somewhere on this Board, how important it is to find a teacher with whom you can quickly form a good raport with mutual respect & understanding I have the greatest admiration for anyone who can overcome difficulties in order to achieve their ambitions and I wish you all the best. Malcolm

I became aware of this problem (although, mercifully I didn't buy any of it) a few months back when I was trying to buy organ music by Mulder. Both I and my regular supplier (Richard Barnes of Cathedral Music) found the website and we quickly established that this is the only type of music they publish. Basically, it is printed horizontally rather than vertically so that it looks the same as on the keyboard so I suppose there is a sort of logic to it! I think it's aimed mainly at children. Whether it is "new" is another matter. I recall practicing on the organ in one Brighton church circa 1963-64 and another, older, person who practiced on the same organ used to play Durufle which was notated and printed in this way. I've never come across it apart from then, though. Malcolm

If nobody else give a positive reply try Richard Barnes on 01243 379968 from the middle of next week onwards. If anyone has it he will have a copy. I have single copies of a lot of anthems like this but not this particular one. Malcolm

I sometimes find that DVDs that have problems playing on the DVD player linked to my television work perfectly when played via my computer system. The James Lancelot Elgar Sonata DVD is a prime example; it plays perfectly on my computer system but will not play at all via my television/DVD set-up. Perhaps I need a new DVD player although mine is only about 9 years old and plays multi-Region (including USA imports) alright. Malcolm

IMHO the Grand Piece Symphonique is well worth every second devoted to learning it. I have been a great fan of it since the mid 1960s and have played it several times. French organ music at its finest. Malcolm

At risk of telling many great, great grandmothers how to suck eggs I would add that it is rare that a whole passage is difficult. Usually, in my experience, the real difficulty is restricted to just one bar, or even just two chords. The art is to pinpoint exactly what and where the difficulty is, precisely, isolate it and practice it very slowy until it is secure and you can put it back into context. That way you will save time and learn the piece more thoroughly and more quickly. As I have probably got the smallest hands in the entire universe I have no qualms about helping out the bass part by using the pedals with no stops drawn. The opening to the Franck First Chorale is an ideal and obvious example. Malcolm

I agree. I thought it was beautifully played even though I've never been a great fan of Schumann's organ music. Incidentally, I am finding this website incredibly slow this evening. Is this just me or does everyone else have the same problem? Malcolm

I've only started taking the magazine within the past twelve months and have greatly enjoyed reading the issues I've received since then. This is the first I have heard of it. I've just checked and the website is still live and makes no mention of the demise. Malcolm

Neither of my copies of Widor 6 makes it clear what exactly Widor intended in terms of manuals/couplers/registration in the F sharp minor (2 against 3) section in the middle of the first movement. Especially I am thinking of the section between bars 16 and 25 of that section. Any erudite suggestions, please? Malcolm

Many hundreds of years ago, in my early teens, when I first became heavily involved (as teenaged boys tend to do) with religion and church of the kind where I feel most comfortable, I was primarily a server and at one stage I was serving virtually every day - frequently at 7 am. It was only after that when I gradually drifted into being a church director of music. If I am totally honest I have always found being a member of the church as a Christian in a worshipping, sacramental context difficult to reconcile with my life as a musician cosntantly striving for high standards. I also have the problem of always being able to see both sides of an argument although I have not always found it prudent to reveal this. When, at the beginning of June, I am no longer a church director of music I suspect - and indeed hope - that I shall be able to enjoy, gain benefit from myself and give more benefit to others, from both because they will no longer be in any sense in conflict with each other. I get the distinct impression that there are others on this Board who feel likewise. Malcolm

See relevant sections in "Everything Else An Organist Should Know" by Robert Leach and Barry Williams. (Obtainable from Organist Publications Ltd.) Malcolm (recently woken up from a long sleep after the wine mentioned on another topic!)

Something very similar once happened to me, almost ten years ago now. Charles MacDonald (former organ scholar of York Minster and organist of Sussex University, raconteur, wit, superb musician, music retailer, good friend to many, described to me on one occasion by John Scott Whitely as the best accompanist he had ever heard, humble and sincere Christian with a deep knowledge of his own weakness and sinfulness) was sitting there listening to the voluntary. It was the last time he ever went to church or heard an organ; very shortly after that he died of the cancer which he knew was killing him. I was asked by a server to stop playing because the people having refreshments at the back of the church wanted to sing "Happy birthday" to a small child. Underneath, in the crypt, was a state of the art cafe, empty and shut where they could have had their refreshments and sung "Happy Birthday". I just felt sorry for poor Charles. They knew not what they did. Malcolm

The simple answer is no unless any other publishers eventally bring out their own edition. All the time music from French publishers such as Hammelle, Leduc &c., have to be bought via UMP they will be expensive. This is a nonsense which I have mentioned before. Malcolm

Finale to Vierne 1 - always popular with the punters. Now for some well deserved wine and relaxation. Malcolm

And a Happy Easter (preceded by a Meaningful or even Inspiring - insert whatever adjective you wish -Triduum) to everyone on the Board from me. I think one of my sopranos is going to try to sing Durufle and have her right foot washed at the same time this evening. Nothing surprises me any more. Malcolm

Indeed, and having just got the system to which you refer (using the Illinois organ downlaod at the moment), I have a fourth manual (with the appropriate number of pistons) in readinesss. Can't wait - with any luck it should make a marvellous Christmas present from me to me! Malcolm

There is also a whisper going around that a 4-manual Willis/rebuilt HN&B, currently in a church which is almost certain to be declared redundant, may find its way into an Oxbridge college chapel which currently doesn't have a pipe organ. Better not say any more at present so please don't ask! Mlcolm

From where I was standing it looked like a loaf of bread atop the right side of the console. Any why not!!! Malcolm