pcnd5584

To quote 'Jazz Man' (The Fast Show): "Nice." What is the acoustic like? (I am thinking of the Howells, in particular.)

I would concur entirely with the views of both Tony and innate, as above. Indeed there are a number of clearly documented instances of well-known organ writers reviewing the Pedal Bourdon ranks on older instruments by FHW, for example. In these, one often finds the criticism that, in addition to a transient 'cough' the third harmonic is present to an unduly prominent degree - thus mitigating against good, clear speech. One commentator then went on to state that he felt that such Pedal Bourdons were inferior to the magnificent new Sub Basses being currently built at Durham (at that time).

Ha! So did the congregation manage the last verse without tears of effort streaming down their faces?

I did once transpose the last verse of Amazing Grace up a perfect fourth - but only because I wished to kill it stone dead. It worked - we have never had to sing it since. (Whilst I would not normally resort to such an extreme course of action, I detest this hymn absolutely.)

I hope that it goes well for you. Thank you for your comments. Blair - would that be Hugh Blair's setting of the Evening Canticles, in B minor? If so, this is indeed a good setting. I have to agree regarding the Britten Jubilate. I have often wished that HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh had been doing something else on that day.... I also once had to play it without pistons - on the old four-clavier toaster at Christchurch Priory. There were pistons - lots of them. However, the previous night, some workmen from Makin Organs had been doing something to it and had accidentally dropped a screw or something metal down inside the console and somehow, this managed to fuse the entire combination system.

Since you did not specify the pitch of the quint, actually - no. I can see even less point in having an octave quint pitch sounding. We have such an effect here (although in this case the is stop derived from the Bourdon). Even allowing for separate pipes and different voicing, the effect here is utterly pointless. All one gets is a Bourdon with a parallel octave quint. There is no resultant with the combination of these two pitches. Neither does it enhance the 16ft. register. I have never encountered this marriage between two such pitches before - other than on my own church instrument. If the 5 1/3ft. quint is subsumed so successfully into the fundamental pitch, this begs the question as to whether it was necessary in the first place; a well-voiced Sub Bass (if there is insufficient height for a full-length stop) is surely entirely adequate. I am reasonably familiar with resultant 32ft. effects - such as the mutations at Nôtre-Dame de Paris, S. Sulpice, Gloucester Cathedral (Briggs/Nicholson, 2000) and Belmont Abbey (Briggs/Nicholson, 2010) †. in addition, there are a number of instruments either by Compton, or with additions by Compton, which possess various 32ft. effects, or 'Harmonics' stops. There is a recent reconstructed example near here at Christchurch Priory - although in this case, the stop has been re-constituted by Nicholsons. It involves a number of pitches being tapped off the Bourdon. Another example is the former Compton instrument in Saint Peter's, Parkstone, Here, in 1982/3, the consultant Roger Fisher retained the two Compton 'Harmonics' stops - of 32ft. and 16ft. However, as I stated, I have never encountered a 16ft. metal flue stop which peters out into a stopped bass - but with a parallel 5 1./3ft. quint inseparably linked to each of the lowest five notes.* As the only 16ft. flue stop, it would be interesting to learn of the rationale for this. † Interestingly, in both of the English instruments cited, Briggs omitted the 5 1/3ft. register, instead providing a Quint at 10 2/3ft., a [Grosse] Tierce at 6 2/5ft. and a [Grosse] Septième at 4 4/7ft. * Out of interest, what happens on low F? The stop-list, as sprondel points out, states that the Principal runs only to F#.

Fascinating, David - thank you. I can understand and appreciate your comments regarding Peter Grimes - I have tried with this, as I did with Billy Budd a few nights ago. Unfortunately, I just do not like Britten's harmonic language - nor, often, his construction. For me, the achievements of Gerontius and Belshazzar are such that it does not really matter if either composer never reached such sublime heights again - if indeed this is true. However, I can happily respect your enjoyment of Britten. After all, I am well aware that many found Cochereau to be unconventional and even bizarre - particularly when playing repertoire (where his record is, it must be admitted, uneven). This said, I simply do not regard Britten as a great composer.

Indeed - in fact, I found it to be quite depressing in several ways. Regarding the Wells edition, I have not seen it yet. I might watch it tonight. However, apparently at one point an interviewee states that the cathedral staff were very friendly - which I found odd. I found the vergers (on the two occasions that I had to play for visiting choirs) to be the least friendly and helpful I have ever encountered. The last time I played there was at short notice. No-one had tried to book me any practice - and if they had, they would have been thwarted, since there was an evening concert and the building was in use for another rehearsal for most of the afternoon. When I got there, I was met by the organist for the evening event who said rather brusquely: 'You can't have any channels, I've used the last spare one.' Okay, I thought, you have a concert to play for. However, this was not particularly helpful. At this point, the choir was filling the stalls, and the director was about to begin the rehearsal. I had time to try the Swell pistons, then simply had to get on with it, hoping that the resident assistant's settings were 1) in crescendo order and 2) conventional for a four-clavier Harrison with some upper-work grafted on. No, I realise that this was not the vergers' fault - but they were still both unhelpful and unconcerned. Since we were providing the cathedral and its visitors with a free Choral Evensong, with good quality music sung well, I found this attitude to be rather unfortunate. On the previous occasion, I had more practice time - but apparently only if I played at an almost inaudible volume. At one point (within a few minutes of the start of the full practice), I simply had to get some idea of balance, at least on the Swell, so I tried a few chords; almost instantly a verger bounded up the stairs and said loudly 'I told you yo play QUIETLY!'. Since he and his colleague had apparently been throwing pews around the Nave all afternoon, creating a huge din, I found this to be objectionable,. However, since I was a visitor, I held my peace, and merely wished that the wheels of his car would simultaneously work loose at an inconvenient moment (when no-one else was on the road, naturally). This was quite a contrast to the resident staff of Chester Cathedral this summer - who could not have been more welcoming and helpful if I had announced my intention to donate a six-figure sum to the cathedral's coffers. For the record, I still did all my practice quietly there - on the Swell Stopped Diapason with the box closed, coupled to everything apart from the Solo clavier.

As you say - each to his own. (Although I am afraid that I regard Britten as greatly over-rated. Give me Howells, or Elgar any day. I am not sure how one could state that Britten was 'Britain's greatest composer' * when compared with The Dream of Gerontius, or even certain works by Bax, or Walton. For me, Belshazzar's Feast towers over anything Britten wrote - including the War Requiem - which frankly leaves me cold.) I should rather play Stanford, in A any day. I have never found the first page to be particularly troublesome. The clavier change to the Choir Organ at the end of the top line of the second page I regard as more awkward to pull off cleanly - particularly since it happens from one swiftly moving quaver to another - and one also has to remember either to play the pedals up an octave for a few bars, or to find time to cancel the Pedal 16ft. stop(s). I would agree with you regarding Kelly, in C - although I view this setting with distaste, in any case. I once had to play it at Christ Church, Oxford - having learned it that morning. I thought that the effort involved greatly outweighed the end result. The Britten Jubilate central crescendo: I am not sure this works. it really needs to be kept quiet (and more foundational) at first. In any case, since our third division here is a superb (but unenclosed) Positive Organ, one has to rely on pistons and, as you say, a few quick pokes at the Swell pedal. The problem with that here is that (thankfully) the connection is mechanical - but, as a result, heavy; so if the foot movement is too quick, or not quite forceful enough, nothing happens at all - or the shutters open fully, bounce back on the 'stop', then partly close again. Again, it is, as you imply, a matter of taste, but I found playing the accompaniment to Bernstein's Chichester Psalms considerably more satisfying than accompanying Saint Nicolas, for example. * I believe this was the BBC Music magazine - but it might have been an announcer on Radio Three or Four.

Forgive me - but do you mean the lowest six notes? In addition, do you mean that there is a stopped 16ft. sounding for the lowest six notes - but with a 10 2/3ft. quint in addition? In which case, I wonder why. Would not a stopped 16ft. rank be better, if there was insufficient room in the case for a full length metal bass? Why the 'fake' 32ft. effect, when all that is needed is to complete the compass of the 16ft. rank? I could understand an quiet, slightly stringy 8ft. metal 'helper' for the lowest six notes, but I would not wish for a 16ft. metal stop suddenly to become an acoustic 32ft. effect for the lowest six notes.

I am not sure about this. I find the organ accompaniments to the hymn God moves in a mysterious way in Saint Nicolas to be aurally awkward, perhaps even indicating that he was unaware of the ability of the organ to supply gravitas through sub-unison clavier tone. Furthermore, I also dislike the accompaniment to his Jubilate Deo, in C major. Aside from the fact that the middle crescendo is difficult to pull off either smoothly or convincingly*, I find some of the figuration sounds unconvincing. Neither am I particularly happy with the organ part of Rejoice in the Lamb (which I find to be a strange piece). Parts of it seem unnecessarily fiddly for the end result. I would question that it is entirely idiomatic - original, yes. * I have heard it said that he simply wished to push the technique of the player to the limit. However, I remain unconvinced that this is the case here. Compare this accompaniment to Mulet's Tu es petra, to see how carefully someone who actually played the organ wrote. It falls brilliantly under the fingers. Note how, consistently, each time a hand has to change position, either a lower or upper note (depending on the direction in which the hand has to travel) is omitted, to enable a fluent, accurate transition to be made, without blurring the sound, or clipping notes.

From the photograph (and instances of this type of thing in other instruments), I would guess that the lowest six notes are stopped wood - and inside the cases. Although it is difficult to say conclusively from the photograph, the Pedal towers do not look to be approaching eighteen feet in height - particularly since they are surmounted by pavilions or whatever is the correct term.

Ah - so that is where it was from. I listened until part-way through the Nunc Dimittis, so I did not hear much of the organ. The acoustic sounded more dry than I would have expected from this chapel.

Now that is just greedy....

MM - do you have any photographs of organ consoles, please (at least three-quarter, if not full view - or even of each stop-jamb)? If so, I should be very interested to see them, if this were possible, please. Thank you.

Reubke's Sonata on the 94th Psalm, perhaps - or is this too 'dark'?

Not too difficult really, is it.... The only pause for thought might be at the stage of the fifth clavier - should it be a Bombarde Organ, or perhaps an Echo Organ - or even a Celestial Organ....? It will be interesting to see what the scheme looks like when it is published.

It could, although this would be rather expensive - even by Harrisons' standards.

I was thinking in terms of the necessary mental agility of having to keep playing this fairly demanding piece, and think about from which keyboard various divisions were currently residing - not in terms of whether this would be a suitable way of registering this movement.

For one thing, this will place a greater burden on the memory of the player. ('Now where did I transfer the Secondary G.O.?') This may be manageable when one is simply sitting at the console, perhaps during a sermon - but it is not something I should want to have to worry about whilst playing the last movement of Vierne's Sixième Symphonie, for example. In addition, if (for example) you were thinking of only having a three-clavier console, controlling five manual divisions, this could both complicate registration and restrict the ability to produce contrasting effects, again for example. In any case, I have encountered more faulty steppers * and sequencers on cathedral organs in this country, than any other faulty console or action component . They can also take a very long time to set up - and again, the possibility of making an error is increased. * I cite but three examples as an illustration.: 1) York Minster (c.1995). It has in all probability been fixed now - but it was exceedingly unreliable when I played there during that summer - when the system was fairly new. 2) Gloucester Cathedral (At the opening recital, January 2000). I know this was faulty - I was turning pages for DJB. Again, it was a new system. During Franck's Deuxième Choral, the stepper decided (unbidden) to return to an earlier channel (or level). DJB managed superbly to play from memory, whilst riffling back through the score, in order to ascertain on which level he had set this piece. 3) Chester Cathedral. This summer (2013). Apparently, this sequencer is so unreliable, those of us playing this otherwise wonderful instrument were advised strongly to leave it well alone. (In any case, it is not as if this instrument is under-supplied with divisional or general pistons.)

.... And the year. (Many Biblical authorities state that Christ was born during 4 BC - although again this may be wrong, since Herod ordered the deaths of every male child aged two and under, after talking with the Magi. Therefore Christ may have been born up to two years before this date.)

Indeed - I too recall reading something to this effect. With reference to Alastair's comment regarding the Choir Organ at King's: this was of course unique amongst instruments by Arthur Harrison. Whilst the Choir Organ at Westminster Abbey gained a Twelfth, Gemshorn Fifteenth*, a Tierce and a Dulciana Mixture (19-22) at the time of the 1937 rebuild, King's, with its Nazard, Dulcet (2ft.), Tierce, Larigot and Twenty Second had the most complete upper-work out of all of Arthur Harrison's Choir organs - even if he was unable to appreciate the value of the stops which he provided. In so far as the 32ft. Double Ophicleide is concerned, personally, I am glad that its use appears to be limited to the last chord of a loud piece. Given that it is voiced to speak on a wind pressure greater than many cathedral organ Tuba ranks (approximately 450mm - the same as the G.O. reeds on this instrument), it is extremely powerful - and rather too fundamental, with little harmonic development. For versatility and musicality, in my view one would have to travel a great distance in order to better the superb Hill Contra Trombone at Chester Cathedral. Incidentally, may I offer a plea to Tony Newnham: please could you consider undoing the latest software upgrade of the NPOR. My reasons for this request are two-fold. Firstly, it appears that it is no longer possible to use the 'back' button on either IE or Firefox, in order to return to the 'Search by address' box - it simply returns me to my homepage. (Neither is it possible to 'bookmark' this search page - only the NPOR home page; the search facility requires another step of the browser.) Secondly, having the successive surveys listed chronologically from bottom to top - which is the opposite of that which obtained formerly - is a little like trying to read one of Noel Mander's 'upside-down' stop-lists, as published in one of his old advertisements in back-issues of The Organ. In addition, personally, I preferred the former type-face. The present version (which gives the stop names in bold characters) appears unnecessary and 'clunky'. * Although this rank may simply have been the former Harmonic Gemshorn (2ft.) revoiced.

Succinctly put, Vox.

And mine, too. I have no idea why I should have originally typed 'nephew'. I have now corrected this error.

Thank you, Innate - at least this gives me something to work with.