Malcolm Farr

As an alternative, I was just thinking about an ACC-style French romantic scheme. Then it hit me that van den Heuvel installed a 24-stop IIP organ at the Royal Academy of Music in 1993. The stoplist is set out at their website http://vandenheuvel-orgelbouw.nl/. (Sorry, I'm very non-techie, and I still haven't worked out how to turn this into a hyperlink, or insert accents, or anything like that.) Maybe a cut-down version, with a few changes, along the following lines: Pedale (3): Soubasse 16', Violoncelle 8', Basson, 16' Grand-orgue (8): Bourdon, 16', Montre 8', Flute harmonique 8', Bourdon 8', Salicional 8', Prestant 4', Flute douce 4', Plein jeu V Recit expressif (9): Flute traversiere 8', Gambe 8', Voix celeste 8', Flute octaviante 4', Octavin 2', Cornet V, Trompette 8', Basson-hautbois 8', Voix humaine 8' Incidentally, I haven't heard the vdH at the Academy. What's it like? Rgds, MJF

Whoa!! And I thought I was doing well (if that's the right word, given the costs involved) with ~230 organ CDs. No LPs though. Rgds, MJF

Hi all I was just wondering what music is currently popular for those quiet interludes in weddings, when sheep might otherwise safely graze. For my part, I must confess that my pastures are totally grazed out, and the sheep are (probably rightly) fearing that I mean them mortal harm. I don't think I could bring myself to play a certain ovine piece (except under great duress) for quite a while. I'm going through something of a Widor phase at the moment, and was thinking of the Andante Cantabile from the 4th Symphonie or the Adagio from the 5th the next time something comes along (and nothing else is insisted upon). Rgds, MJF

Well, given the reversion from freedom to serfdom that marriage entails (my own marriage accepted, of course ...), can we at least agree that Saint Martin's Toccata de la Liberation would be entirely inappropriate? Rgds, MJF

I was reading through this thread and thinking that it can't be all that hard to cobble together a 20 stop organ. But, boy, was I wrong! I found that it's a seriously difficult job to balance both chorus and colour within a stoplist of this size. My hat is very truly doffed to those who can achieve it in the real world. For what it's worth, here's my 20 stop scheme: Great (8): Quintaton 16'; Open Diapason 8'; Claribel Flute 8'; Principal 4'; Nason Flute 4'; Fifteenth 2'; Mixture III or III-IV; Cremona, 8'. Swell to Great. Swell (9): Stopped Diapason 8'; Salicional 8'; Principal 4'; Rohrflote 4'; Nazard 2 2/3'; Cornet III; Mixture III; Bassoon 16'; Trumpet 8'. Tremulant. Pedal (3): Sub-Bass 16'; Violoncello 8'; Trombone 16'. Great to Pedal; Great to Pedal, Octave; Swell to Pedal; Swell to Pedal, Octave; Swell Reeds on Pedal; Swell Reeds on Pedal, Octave. I would envisage wind pressures of around 3 to 3 1/2" for the flues and Cremona, and perhaps a little higher for the Swell reeds and Trombone. The separate coupling of the Swell reeds to the Pedal, both at unison and octave level, should assist in creating a more versatile and independent division, which is otherwise very deficient. The Great to Pedal, Octave coupler would again give greater variety, and also permit solos eg. Cremona at 4' pitch (although such use would normally cripple the Great, and allow the hands only on the Swell manual). Rgds MJF

I don't know if the wedding of Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Mary Donaldson had much coverage in the UK, Europe (other than Denmark) or the US, but it certainly did here in Australia. Mary was a "local", and so there was a lot of interest here. The recessionals, played by domorganist Flemming Dreisig. started with the Toccata from Widor's 5th, continued with a Wagner transcription (the Overture to Act III, Lohengrin), the Finale from Vierne's 1st and the Carillon de Westminster, a couple of movements of an Alpine Suite by Danish composer Benna Moe (of whom I confess I'd never heard before), and finished with the last movement of Widor's 6th. I dare say the Moe pieces won't feature in big weddings to come over the next few years, and there was nothing really out of the ordinary in the rest, just I think fairly typical postlude fare (although, come to think of it, I'd never heard the Carillon de Westminster used in the context of a wedding postlude). Rgds, MJF

Or how about Jongen's Toccata? It has a driving rhythm and a theme that should be quite memorable to non-organists. Rgds, MJF

Do you mean DGW's newly released / to be released recording of Ives, Dandrieu et al? The good people at the Organ Hysterical - oops, Historical - Society haven't made searching for it easy, as they refer to it as being at the RAH ... Rgds, MJF

For those who are capable of pulling it off - and unfortunately that doesn't include me - I'd suggest Dupre's Prelude & Fugue in B major. Rgds, MJF

I have vague memories of the Widor being played at one or more of the royal weddings. Wasn't Bach's F major also played at Princess Margaret's wedding? And a transcription of Strauss Snr.'s Radetsky March at Princess Anne's? I have a feeling it was associated with Mark Phillips' regiment. Rgds, MJF

When I bought a copy of Kevin Bowyer's "A Late Twentieth Century Edwardian Bach Recital", I thought of it as very much a "naughty treat". I mean, Bach recordings just had to be made on fine period instruments, or better modern baroque-inspired organs, didn't they? KB's recording broke the rules, as I think he makes clear in his program notes. For my taste, his recording at St Mary Redcliffe, is a bit of a treasure: I listen to it as often as I do to Bach recorded on "appropriate" instruments. There's no doubt - for me at least - that the H&H at St Mary Redcliffe is one of the finest instruments going. But let's move to a different class of instrument. Have you ever had the experience, as I have, that Bach played well on an indifferent, or even very poor, instrument makes it sound far better? It's as if the quality of the music lifts it up to heights that one hasn't found in it before. Rgds, MJF

And then there's the story - possibly apocryphal, but one never knows - of the blind chap who had just a little difficulty with Compton's illuminated controls ... Rgds, MJF

Norman Cocker - the Manchester Cathedral organist of Tuba Tune fame - was rather before my time, but I recall reading somewhere that, with both hands otherwise engaged in playing, he managed to nudge a drawstop in with his nose, or chin, or some other facial appendage. Now that would have been a sight to behold! I defy anyone to equal that feat with tabs ... Rgds, MJF

Has anyone here played one of van den Heuvel's instruments? They've really specialised in Barker lever action, and I'm wondering how successful they've been in this. Rgds, MJF

Many moons ago, my then-bride - a militant non-organist - and I agreed to have the Widor Toccata played as the recessional to our wedding. Sure, we had some other, more intrinsically interesting music during the service, but wanted to leave to something a little spectacular, that everyone could "get into". I had all but settled on Mulet's Carillon-Sortie, but she-who-must-be-obeyed wanted something even more accessible to the masses. So we went with the Widor. After the service was over, and we were being congratulated and commiserated - I still hope the latter was tongue-in-cheek - a couple of organist friends came up to me and said, "How could you?!", while a few of the non-organists said, "Wow! What was that music at the end?". Widor's little party piece has certainly been done a lot, but I don't think it has yet been done to death. It's certainly accessible - a driving rhythm supporting the simplest of musical material. And, well played, I think it comes across as far more than the sum of its notes. So what's the verdict? When couples come to us for music to be played at their weddings, do we steer them away from THAT toccata? Or if they say, "Well we've heard this piece ..." do we say, "Good choice!" and go for it? Rgds MJF

I used to have the Gaston Litaize many moons ago, and I quite agree with you about his playing - it really was thrilling. For me, his interpretations were spot on. It would be great if it were to be re-issued as a CD. As to the Gonzalez re-build at St Francois Xavier ... I suppose it was very much a product of its time, but - for me - the less said, the better. Rgds, MJF

I'd just like to add that Jean Costa recorded at Perpignan cathedral, which ACC re-built in 1857 to a scheme of 58 stops over 4 manuals and pedals. It was enlarged by some 20 stops in the 1930s, but seems as far as possible to have been fully restored to its ACC condition by Renaud in 1993. The Perpignan organ is a somewhat larger cousin of the original Ste Clotilde instrument. The Pedale has the same stoplist, while the Recit is just 3 stops larger - Viole 4', Cornet V and Cor Anglais 8'. The Grand-Orgue and Positif are less developed than their equivalents at Ste. Clotilde, but the Bombarde division (manual 1) contains the resources they lack, eg. Bombarde 16', Flute Harmonique 8' and Flute Octaviante 4'. Yes, I may be indulging myself in a bit of fantasy, but I do like to think that the sound of the Perpignan organ perhaps gets a little closer to the original Ste Clotilde than any other. Rgds, MJF

I have the Demessieux, which I think is very good, and "almost there". I have half of the Costa, which is good, but not quite up to Demessieux. (The other half disappeared during my move interstate, along with various other recordings and belongings. Unfortunately, I think this recording is now long out of print.) I have the Guillou, which I bought expecting something of an eccentric performance - I certainly wasn't disappointed on that score - and as much as anything to hear what the (then fairly new) St Eustache van den Heuvel sounded like. And I have the Langlais, which I bought hoping to hear a pure Ste Clotilde tradition Franck. Oh well ... Rgds, MJF

I have a few Franck sets, but neither the Latry nor the Landale. I can't say that I find any of those I have quite "right". Is the Landale Franck currently available? What label is it on? Where was it recorded? Rgds, MJF

Has the Selby Abbey recording ever been re-issued on CD? I'd love to get my hands on a copy if it has. I couldn't agree more with MusingMuso: I'd never heard Reger played so well as Germani achieved in his recording of "Halleluja! Gott zu loben". For my taste, I still haven't heard anyone better it. MJF

Again, I think we must agree to disagree. I would only ask these questions: If we cannot do away with work that is, or at least the vast majority regard as, significantly inferior, does this mean that we must burden our own generation, and those to follow for generations to come, with instruments for which there is little or no legitimate musical purpose? And, quite frankly, little or no desire on the part of the vast majority (of church authorities, and of organists and organ-lovers, let alone the general population) to keep them, except it be for fear of bringing extinction to some tradition? (We should bear in mind, too, the cost of the instruments' upkeep and the space that they take.) Is not the absence of legitimate musical purpose the reverse of intrinsic merit, which necessarily involves a degree of contemporary relevance? Sure, musical fashions are like any other: they come; they go. But don't the instruments of the good builders tend to transcend musical tastes? Think of Bach played on a William Hill organ. No, it doesn't sound the same as Bach played on, say, a Hildebrandt or Silbermann. But it still sounds magnificent. Could we really say this if it were played on a Hope-Jones? Kind regards Malcolm F

Indeed, where do you stop? I think that's the real question here. In designing a (pure) pipe organ, or adding to one, there must necessarily be considerable discipline. The huge cost and large space required impose restraint. So too, the resonating space of the building must I think impose a limit on size - as a few have noted above, some venues simply won't bear 32' tones. On the other hand, these things - at least the first two of them, in any case - aren't nearly such overwhelming factors where electonics are concerned. As I mentioned above, I've moved to a place where the church I've joined has an ageing electronic instrument, and is looking in the same direction for its replacement. While I have as yet no great experience of electronic / digital instruments, I'm concerned that there is no over-riding need for discipline. I would like to think that whoever will ultimately be responsible for the new organ will be guided by a sense of what is appropriate for the building, and not be lured into something that would be entirely inappropriate if it were a pipe organ. However, this may not be the case - not when a large American manufacturer advertises on its website instruments of up to some 80 stops (including Solo Tubas at 16', 8' and 4', and two 32' reeds on the Pedal) apparently as a standard, off-the-shelf range. (On the other hand, my impression of Copeman Hart's installations, again taken from their website (as I have no direct knowledge of them) is one of more restraint, as the instruments seem relatively modest, and and at least provide the feeling of being rather more in keeping with their homes.) But how easy it would be to justify that Tuba, or that 32' Pedal reed! And here's a question: if a smallish church chooses a vast 80 stops digital, complete with 32' reeds and battery of Tubas, how are the dynamics treated? I assume the one would want - need - a Voix Céleste to sound no softer than if it were the "real thing". But surely the tutti would have to be scaled down to suit the building, so that the overall dynamic range would need to be compressed. How does this work in practice? Regards Malcolm F

I think we'll have to disagree here, Pierre. For me, Hope-Jones' work lacks any real intrinsic merit. It is not so much a question of taste, but rather one of musical use. An H-J organ was never properly capable of leading a congregation, nor was it able to provide a convincing performance of any music written for the instrument. The choruses, such as they were, were very tiring. On the other hand, there are many builders whose work simply does not appeal to me (as a matter of taste), but whose instruments I would nevertheless if possible want left for posterity - because they are fine organs that fulfil the musical function for which they were designed. In the best sense of the term, they are "musical" instruments. Kind regards Malcolm F

One thing the punters can relate to is a bit of oom-pah-pah. And L-W certainly gave them that. On the other hand, I've had people refer to Vierne's chromatic harmonies as "appalling stuff". I suppose it depends on how one views the organist's rôle. Is it to educate the members of the congregation (in a musical sense) as they exit the church? Is it to entertain them? Is it merely to send them away? Or is it perhaps for some higher purpose, to keep them in a reverential mood as they depart? Or, ultimately, do we play for our own benefit? Regards, Malcolm F

And a tongue-in-cheek response, but unfortunately one based in fact. For my part, I always thought of it as being voluntary for the congregation to stay to listen, and for the most part they don't ... And, if they do stay, they quite happily talk, and let their children run riot - a little freedom at the end of the service can be taken a long, long way. I've often thought of the concluding voluntary as being an organist's test of character. Regards, Malcolm F