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AJJ

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Everything posted by AJJ

  1. AJJ

    Appointments

    'Could be interesting though...! http://www.organizedcrimeduo.com/ ...it should be added that both are very fine musicians. A
  2. AJJ

    RFH Organ

    ......but isn't that actually what it does? Somewhere I have a photo. A
  3. AJJ

    RFH Organ

    This seemed to be what he was saying - though he (and Mme L.) were able to play the piece (actually Ravel's 4 hand piano version - note for note - no changes) in the USA where apparently the publisher is not able to challenge. It is also on youtube I understand. A
  4. AJJ

    RFH Organ

    The last time I heard the organ in situ - quite a few years back now - I was decidedly unimpressed. It was almost like a caricature - very up front in a decidedly nasty acoustic with a noisy action and some decidedly unpleasant sounds.* Last night could not have been different - the acoustic is warm and broad, the previously unfettered Frenchness of the main reed choruses still exciting but now very civilized and the fonds actually that. The strings I have mentioned above but the quieter flutes (including the banks of Quintadenas) sound very good, the 16 and 32 flue basses 'work' right down to their bass octaves, and the smaller reeds (the Hautboy on the Swell was lovely in the Widor) characterful but again civilized. All in all there are now shades of the recently rebuilt St. Albans organ (also tidied up, rounded out and given more 'beef') and Coventry - though with less acoustic. The action is now pretty much silent, fast and efficient. Latry was brilliantly in control and the effectiveness of the whole event was of course due to him but the organ is certainly sounding much happier, much more musical and in my opinion acquitted itself amazingly well. A * I do however have a recording of a fantastically played performance of the Stanford Fantasia & Toccata op. 57 made before the changes and this is amazing - every note as clear as a bell and registration seemingly held back so as not to sound completely daft. Not the repertoire one would immediately expect but a real surprise. I seem to think it is on a set of discs entitled Grand Chorus.
  5. AJJ

    RFH Organ

    I quite liked them - especially when the Swell and Choir sets were used together at the end of the penultimate movement of the Widor. Considering where we were the overall impression was just about verging on the lush! A
  6. AJJ

    RFH Organ

    I was at the Olivier Latry concert last night and the whole experience was really rather fine. The acoustic is now nicely accommodating, the instrument sounded very 'polished' (with moments of great excitement and 'non chiffing' peace) and in marvellous form and of course the playing was first rate. A
  7. Jean Baptiste Dupont is Titulaire at the Cathedral in Bordeaux and but I believe is based in Toulouse. A
  8. AJJ

    RFH Organ

    I tend to agree with wolsey on this. As I have to journey from nether regions to the RFH I booked the Latry concert to experience the new ambiance etc. and to hear him play. I've not yet experienced the opening 'do' on iPlayer and most likely will not as there's not much on it I am really anxious to hear. I will however look at who's playing what in the future and decide when to plan a further trip. A
  9. AJJ

    RFH Organ

    'Looking forward to Latry next week! A
  10. I am trying to get hold of a copy of the above - long out of print but rather good pieces. I have tried a couple of my Netherlands contacts without success but was wondering if anyone over here or elsewhere might have a copy. Please PM. Thanks A
  11. There is a Rev. Errol Williams who is/was vicar of Bibury near Cirencester - not sure whether this is relevant or not though. A
  12. I played the last piece from this earlier in the year - it has been mentioned on here before recently in another post. Not difficult and goes down well with members of choir and congregation. A
  13. I unashamedly play very few of the 'greats' from the organ repertoire mostly because a lot of other organists play these pieces far more effectively than I could ever hope to do. But, I do have a large-ish repertoire of worthwhile pieces that I enjoy playing, which may not necessarily all be of top musical content but which I can play quite well and which people seem interested in hearing. I can put a reasonably well balanced recital together - though I don't enjoy doing this very much - and have enough pieces readily available for service use - or alternatively will improvise. I agree with much that Vox H writes above - there is nothing worse than listening to music badly prepared - someone - 'can't remember who - once wrote that there should be fewer organists and more musicians playing the organ. If we stick to what we are able to play there is still much that can be played even for those of modest technique. A
  14. Try the Orgue or Harmonium pieces by Langlais, Litaize etc. for interesting pieces with optional pedal parts. From the USA the music of Craig Phillips (Selah) and Daniel Gawthrop (Dunstan House) is contemporary but not threatening and from Scandinavia the hymn based music of composers such as Egil Hovland is quite refreshingly different. Likewise a great deal of similar music from the Netherlands (Monnikendam, Strategier and contemporary composers such as Sietze de Vries - more usually known for his improvisations). From Canada there are the volumes of approachable music from Rachel Laurin (Wayne Leupold) and the Swedish composer Fredrik Sixten is also producing some good pieces though more often for those of quite advanced technique. All the collections edited by Anne Marsden - Thomas are excellent as are the new anthologies edited by David Patrick from OUP. There is a lot of good new music on the books of Animus, fagus-music.com and Encore Music I also keep an eye on reviews in Choir & Organ and Organist's Review. A browse of the website of AFNOM (Annual Festival of New Organ Music) can reveal some interesting repertoire from composers such as Huw Morgan. A
  15. AJJ

    Leon Cathedral

    This looks interesting but can anyone shine a light on the possible rationale behind the rather eccentric stoplist. Jean Guillou seems to have been a big influence so one should expect some of his ideas but all the same some elements seem decidedly strange. A
  16. Not much changed fees - wise then! A
  17. AJJ

    William Drake

    Bill will also be remembered for the pioneering work he did along with John Wellingham at the John Loosemore Centre in Buckfastleigh when one could experience some superb instruments (both old and new) along with highly appropriate tuition and amazingly varied performance opportunities. There was always a warm welcome and I also received a great deal of assistance when researching the organ builder Roger Yates with whom Bill had worked. Bill's legacy is both large and varied and many will have been affected by his work. A
  18. AJJ

    Set Free

    Thanks for your confidence CEP and your sympathy Vox - I suppose it's just that I am not against electronic combination systems themselves - rather I am in favour of those that are there to aid sensible music making....which it seems you both are too! A
  19. AJJ

    Set Free

    I find all this discussion amazingly stimulating - but a million miles away from my current experiences where even on medium sized three manual instruments there are very few registrational aids at all. Consequently my default position is hand registration first then use of whatever mechanical combination pedals are available together with judicious alterations to whatever is preset on these. The original builders often set these up with an eye to this sort of technique so that whatever is set can be changed with only a few added stop movements. It is interesting to note that even on smaller instruments where an electronic stop/combination action is introduced vast numbers of pistons and choices of their allocation are introduced. There is one particular instrument near here where a Victorian two manual was recently 'electrified' and has more pistons and pedals per division than actual stops not including a set of generals etc. along with their associated plethora of memories. I feel sometimes that solely hand registration rather than being a handicap is a good discipline and that if perhaps some kaleidoscopic change is not possible then perhaps it shouldn't be considered from a musical point of view. I certainly feel that complex electronic systems on smaller instruments sometimes are there just for the sake of having them. ...or maybe I'm a just luddite! A
  20. AJJ

    Set Free

    Lincoln Cathedral has Pedal to Great Pistons and Pedal to Swell Pistons which those who played when I was there seemed to find useful. I can't remember though whether these worked both ways so to speak - in the manner of a Great & Pedal Combs. Coupled or also whether a different set of combinations was available for each of the two manuals. A
  21. Interesting stoplist for 1973 - check out NPOR date.... A
  22. It looks to be similar to the 1 manual at St Matthew Otterbourne in Hampshire - slightly later and without the Swell but a real gem and lovely to play for services etc. 8 Open, 8 Lieblich, 8 Salicional, 4, 4 Flute, 2 Flautino on the manual with a pedal 16 Sub Bass - all unenclosed. A
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