AJJ

Thanks for this - 'error spotted later - I had meant to edit but not got round to it! A

Has anyone experienced Cheltenham Town Hall organ recently? A

Another Hollins design here and this one looks interesting too. A

I have recently become aquainted with this organ through getting hold of a copy of this CD. As might be expected - Roger Fisher's playing is superb and the music played suites the instrument like a glove. But, despite having used a similar age instrument from this firm to practice on at one time (and one which at the time I disliked intensely) I am very much persuaded as to the merits of R & D in this context. The organ was designed by Alfred Hollins and indeed he was organist for a good many years. I realise that for example the performance of the JSB BWV 582 will not be to everyone's taste but having heard (for instance) Harold Darke play Bach in my youth I can fully cope with this way of playing on this sort of instrument. Interestingly, the 'sound world' of the above is not a million miles from current work in the US by Schoenstein and others and the playing of the likes of Ken Cowen or Thomas Murray show that instrument and repertoire are very much in harmony such cases. A

I don't think so - somewhere I've read the details - maybe when we were there last year - 'will search. A

'Got locked in there once! A

I wonder what will happen to the little Nigel Church organ? A

I really dislike this piece! A

GREAT Open Diapason 8 Claribel Flute 8 Principal 4 Octave Swell to Great Swell to Great Suboctave SWELL Stopped Diapason 8 Viola da Gamba 8 Vox Angelica 8 Gemshorn 4 Fifteenth 2 Cornopean 8 PEDAL Sub Bass 16 Open Bass Gt Flute Bass Gt Octave Bass 4 Gt Swell to Pedal If I had something like this to play at 'work' I'd be quite happy - ok it's 9 stops plus a 16' but I'm using only what my 1 man has - but re distributed and still on a decent mechanical action. However - we could never do this because 'upstairs' thinks it should stay as it is - if you get my drift! You can tell it's my afternoon off! A

It was ok - a bit 'of it's time' (1930s) so the upperwork and mutations on the stopknobs did not quite have the impact 'in the flesh' - unlike Kilkhampton etc. When I played it things were a bit unreliable but all the same it made a fair 'continental' roar with all the octave coupers on etc. There were also some quite nice quiet and mid level effects. The organ was at the west end of the north aisle with the console behind the north choir stalls in the chancel so there was a bit of a time lag. There was also a strange Glockenspiel like contraption near the console operated from the keys which seemingly had nothing to do with the main instrument at the other end of the building. A

I wrote a quite detailed article on RY for Organists' Review back in 1993 so was involved in a large amount of research and tried a number of his instruments still in their 'Yates' states. The rebuilt organs at St. John's Bishop's Hull, Taunton and Kilkhampton show off his work well and are well worth a visit. Likewise Stogursey which was completed by William Drake after Yates' death. Ulcombe is nice too - this is an 'all Yates' creation with some extension. The Nicholson organ at Newquay which was voiced by Yates was destroyed by fire in 1993. If anyone would like a copy of the article please PM. A

The Choir Lieblich Gedeckt at Lincoln Cathedral. A

...and also congrats. to one of our number who has recently left Kendal and is now Assistant DOM at St Mary's Warwick. A

..and this was interesting too, from the organbuilder's details about the Rijssen organ. The words of a former minister in 1937. The service of the Word and of the sacraments must remain the only reason why one goes to church, and to which everything else is subservient. Together we go forward in love. Listen to the sermon more than to the organ.' Now there's food for thought! A

Amazing! A

The article in the most recent Organists' Review about this builders very new organ in Holy Trinity Crosshaven in S. Ireland and how it has altered ways of performing music in the liturgy is fascinating too. A

'No time to check but didn't he start with Bevington and go off to Australia sometime in the 1850s. I seem to think the firm flourished there after that. A

Check out the Priory CD from there - Complete works of Percy Whitlock - Vol. 1 - Graham Barber. You get them all - in the best possible taste though! A

Interestingly - at Yale there is a Tuba and a big Trumpet to use together or as a contrast - both bright (so none of the oppressiveness - perhaps -that you get with an Arthur Harrison specimen) - yet both different enough to be of use in the right context. H & H seem to be doing this in many of their current schemes (Cirencester, St Edmundsbury, Lichfield etc.). 'Repertoire wise' Prof. Murray never over uses such stops - they are evident but only when appropriate. I have too often heard (more often) visiting recitalists at large and well endowed instruments using far too much far too often! A

There is some good artillery here too of a very tasteful and artistic weight. If you can't get there in person try the JAV CD set also with Thomas Murray - demonstrating much of the instrument's resources in his own inimitable way. (There is also - on a Priory CD I think - a recording by Murray playing the Elgar Larghetto from Serenade for Strings - ok, not Tubas but just as exciting with all those strings!) This is an organ I'd really like to visit though am unlikely to get to - in the near future at least - more's the shame. A

It's head down time here too I think........! A

.......ditto here though I'd take The News Quiz! A

Nice little piece - I tried it a bit faster than the suggested speed - 'came out a bit like the start of the first movement of Widor 5 - 'also bunged in the pedals in the loud bits! There is some more Rousseau organ music published here. A

This would seem to be backed up by the piece of music linked to another current discussion on here. A

I sight read through this the other week and was quite surprised as I had previously associated L-W with all those rather dinky Sorties that used to be trundled out perhaps more than they are these days. I personally think however that this is actually quite a fine piece - does anyone else play it? There is a rather stunning performance here. The player is Dr David Adams who teaches at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin - a player equally at home with 'the classics' and the avant garde and someone maybe we should hear more of over here. Incidentally - has anyone else come across Soundcloud before? A