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AJJ

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Everything posted by AJJ

  1. 'Was in touch with a contact at Schoenstein a while back about this - he said that they were not going to put info. out until the client was ready and work schedules were in place etc. A
  2. 'Got this down on manuscript - if anyone finds out a title do please post! A
  3. Having just revisited Ralph Downes' 'Baroque Tricks' it was interesting to read of the many tinkerings that went on at Buckfast over the years and how the pipework was always a bit of a 'mixed bag'. I also recall some nice quiet effects but the choruses etc. did not do too well under closer scrutiny and the best effect was seemingly the abbey acoustic! There were some quite exciting recordings of French music from there sometime back that seem to bare this out. We await future news with interest. A
  4. AJJ

    Swell pedals

    I used to have organ lessons here many years ago. The swell pedals took a bit of getting used to and I never could never really see the point of them as opposed to balanced ones. It always seemed a bit of the case of 'you love them or....' A
  5. There used to be an Asssociation Emile Bourdon but limited googling reveals very little. A very good friend in France might know more - I will check! A
  6. This all sounds very exciting - I for one look forward to hearing more anon. Thanks A
  7. Possibly the slightly eccentric stoplist dating from the HN&B work in the '60s is simply down to what HN&B were doing then. A trawl through some other of their jobs and indeed those by others will reveal decidedly top heavy choruses, stratospheric Cimbel mixtures, unsupported mutations, fractional reeds (does anyone still ask for a Rohr Schalmei 4' in their pedal division?) and other chiffing exotica. Rebuilds at Bath Abbey, Chelmsford Cathedral, St Mary's Cathedral Glasgow etc. come to mind - all changed now with hindsight but all very much signs of the times. Great fun to play though! A
  8. Gosh, I'd forgotten all about this one - I used to practice at St Michaels when I was at university in Southampton. The church was very generous and some of us were allowed much time there, especially as for my first year at least the Collins organ in the Turner Sims Concert Hall had yet to arrive. To be quite honest I never really liked it although it did work nicely as a liturgical backing machine. Perhaps I might think differently now - I can quite imagine also that I was possibly trying to play the wrong music on it! A
  9. I went to the opening recital at Lord Mayor's Chapel in Bristol at the end of last year, David Saint played and it all sounded and seemed to perform fine. Apparently wifi functions on a frequency unlikely to be inhabited by any other interference etc. for an ammount of time that would not cause worry. The only thing I wondered was why they needed wifi, the console is not mobile and as far as I know it is where it had been before the recent work. I could have understood more if it had been able to wander a bit! A
  10. I had an interesting conversation some years ago with the 'titulaire' at a major regional French cathedral (he is no longer in post there) who said that his salary was just enought to pay for the rail fare to and from his home near Paris every Sunday. He earned his main living from conservertoire teaching but the cudos attached to the cathedral post made it worthwhile - most of the time! A
  11. Oops - please excuse the typo! Geoffrey Marshall currently shares duties with Jean-René André and I believe also two other organists. Usually on a Sunday one plays the west end instrument and the other the choir organ behind the high altar. They also have a seemingly healthy choral set up there too. I was lucky enough to spend some time looking at the organs there last summer. A
  12. Geoffrey Marahall is from the UK and one of the organists at Rennes Cathedral. A
  13. The Op 8 set are not typical of her work - not difficult and also very effective on different shapes, sizes and types of instrument. They are a good set to have lurking 'just in case' - 12 preludes on Gregorian themes ranging from the quiet and rather lovely Atente Domine and Rorate Caeli to an accessible toccata on Veni Creator and a march on Tu es Petrus. A
  14. Ubi caritas from the Op 8 set by Demessieux possibly? A
  15. AJJ

    Saint Saens

    If anyone has a copy could they pm please. Thanks A
  16. There is a pedal 32' reed on possibly the C-C at Orleans which is actually 10-2/3 but functions similarly to a flue acoustic 32'. It figures on the C-C DVD set I seem to recall. Possibly H&H were trying for a similar effect at the RAH and a fiiling out of the Swell reeds at Ely. A
  17. The 32! based chorus here: http://www.musiqueorguequebec.ca/orgues/france/bordeauxsc.html Is amazingly effective and although geared towards a very specific repertoire exhibits a complexity and gravitas from the apprpriately centered mixture work. I have a recording of Marie-Claire Alain playing Couperin there and the effect is a logical sonic continuation of the 8, or 16' based GO choruses on smaller 'classical' instruments. There is also a 16' Bombarde for a 16/8/4 'Grands Jeux' effect if desired. The same could be assumed about S. Denis near Paris, Liverpool Cathedral, Donncaster PC etc. and it was interesting to read about how important this complexity of tone was in the last H&H rebuild at Ely with new tierce mixture work and the reintroduction of the 32' into choruses more akin to Hill than early 20th Century H&H. A
  18. Matthew Beetschen, previously at Dunblane now at St Martin's in Dorking. A
  19. Kevin Duggan will start at Dunblane Cathedral in March - currently DOM at S. Nicolai, Ronne, Bornholm, Denmark and formerly Keynsham and Warminster parish churches. An exciting player, choir trainer and composer. A
  20. Re the book - 'tried to get into it but eventually gave up. I would have probably have given up and moved somewhere more 'in sympathy' in the circumstances too! A
  21. 'Not read mine yet - nobody post too many giveaways please...! A
  22. From what I gathered before the info. above came out it seems as if the case is being retained. A
  23. Am I right in supposing that a new organ has been installed at the above by Peter Collins? 'Would be interested to know more if this is the case. A
  24. AJJ

    Joseph Clokey

    A pdf has now been sourced courtesy of Michael Johnston at Michael's Music Service in the USA. If you are interested in the backwaters of the US repertoire (especially 19th and early 20th Century gems) then do investigate further! http://michaelsmusicservice.com/ A
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