AJJ

Sorry - 'not sure - I was never up to Oundle. AJJ

I remember one recitalist who I had to 'mind' insisted on watching the rugby highlights on TV in the time between rehearsal and recital. He got so engrossed we nearly didn't get to the venue in time. Another had to pop out for a quick smoke between items - he is very well know! AJJ

What a great read Paul - you should write a book - or one of those 1/4 hour slots on radio 4!! Thanks AJJ PS We really will try and get to the Bordeaux recital in the summer!

To avoid the storm - I don't do entertainment - well not at weddings anyway!! AJJ

As bad perhaps - at a small village church where I had to play a for a wedding a year or so ago all went well till the end. I finished the 'out music', turned everything off etc. but found that nobody (bride and groom included) had left the building. It turned out there was a full blown thunder storm going on outside complete with near horizontal rain and as the church was a couple of hundred yards up an unsheltered path everyone decided to stay - for about 3/4 hour - me included. I never thought of asking for overtime and mercifully they were all quite a civilised lot! AJJ

'Just happened to be on it this pm - is this what you wanted Paul? http://www.twyford-organ.com/ AJJ

QUOTE(nfortin @ Jun 24 2006, 11:43 PM) As Roffensis has been so bold as to nail his colours to the mast, I must say, that whilst it would be an exageration to call it the worst organ in the world, I thought Sherborne Abbey was pretty foul when I accompanied the RSCM cathedral singers there last November. Trying to play Howells Coll. Reg sympathetically on this awful box of f*rts was no joke I turned pages for a friend playing for a visiting choir at Sherborne Abbey not long ago and the whole service including piece after was Howells - it seemed to cope OK to me at least. The instrument doesn't have a lot of 'awe and wonder' about it but it seems to me that it never intended to have. Once that is taken as read the sounds were as good as those from other similar instruments and certainly much better than Howells on the Von Beckerath at Clare College Cambridge the other day on Choral Evensong. This latter experience reminded me of someone ('can't remember who) writing about the Marcussen at St Mary's Nottingham when it first went in - saying that the 8' Gedeckt had the same presence in the building as the Tuba on the old organ. AJJ

And almost string like when coupled to the pedals or as in the small CCs when the 8' stop is duplexed to the pedals. AJJ

As the Great 4' flute so you could do both or use it with the larger flutes there. AJJ

Oops - wrong button!!

As an aside to this - does anyone know who looks after this machine? We spotted what we thought was a rather cheaper looking 'extra' added foot piston when we visited with the local organists and they would not say who had put it there or who tunes etc. I wonder why. AJJ

Oh dear......but is it perhaps tuned to some obscure temperament? AJJ

The organ above looks like one of the things that the later Willises called (for some reason) 'Junior Development Plan' or something similar. There are a few around still - seemingly a small and inexpensive way of getting an organ. They seem to have been simply a stoptab console etc. with functional pipework planted on top on electric action. The 16,8,4,2, Gedackt arrangement was characteristic on the pedals as was the lack of a reasonable Diapason chorus elsewhere. Smaller one manual versions were also built. The 1-3/5 and 2-2/3 stop was often called 'Sext'. AJJ By the way - whatever happened to Coulson?

Sorry - I missed the posts on P2 so there was no point to this!!

Interestingly - having spent a happy half day on the Colston organ not so long ago - I found that in the flesh the voicing in places is quite 'fresh' and that with a bit of thought a great sense of vitality can be extracted from what on paper looks as if it could be decidedly 'four square'. The concerts mentioned above have a reasonable sized and dedicated following and the local organists' association is much involved in the organ's welfare to its credit. The city authorities also seem quite on board too which is healthy. AJJ

It is. AJJ

An interesting experiment - it didn't do much for me though and I quite like trad. jazz. OK maybe we do need to try different things but....perhaps this was trying to be a bit too clever for it's own good. AJJ PS What other styles could be used next? Some of the 'contemporary' stuff that my students bring in might be a starting point!

...............not forgetting the Chamade!! AJJ

Try the USA and/or subscribe to 'The American Organist' where you can find monthly page loads of instruments split all points of the compass - 'not quite sure of the repertoire though! AJJ

He's ordered a one manual instrument from Aubertin also which will reside in the chapel till he retires. AJJ

Seemingly not - though 'could be a typo in my source. AJJ

I hear from a reliable source that Bernard Aubertin is to build a new organ for St John's College, Oxford - 'picture of case to follow when I can work out how to get it onto here (can anyone help please? - I have a pdf. version) 'Should be good - and nice to have one a bit closer than Aberdeen or Paris! AJJ I Positive Bourdon (Wood) 8 Flûte Allemande 8 Principal 4 Flûte à cheminée 4 Nazard 2-2/3 Flageolet 2 Tierce 1-3/5 Mixture III Voix humaine 8 II Great Portunal 16 Montre 8 Gambe 8 Bourdon (Metal) 8 Principal 4 Octave 2 Mixture IV-VI Trompette 8 III Récit Flûte Traversiére 8 Flûte 4 Cornet III Quint 1-1/3 Enclosed Dulciana 8 Unda maris 8 Salicet 4 Chalumeau B/T8 Pedale Bourdon 16 Principal 8 Bourdon 8 Principal 4 Mixture III Buzéne 16 Sacqueboute 8 I/II III/II II/III Tremblant Appel Buzène 16’

I may be wrong over this but wasn't the Lammermuir recently up for sale? AJJ

I quite like this one - 'probably shouldn't when one considers what was done to a Father Willis but all the same it is quite exciting to play!! http://npor.emma.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch...ec_index=N06876 AJJ

Yes and wasn't also the difference between the dynamic level of the chorus with and without those reeds quite marked. I had forgotten how relatively p to mf the flue work actually is. Or maybe it was just that I was nearly under one of the side balconies so heard things from a strange perspective. AJJ