wolsey

Would the lowest voice really be played on the pedals when the instruction is to have both hands on the Voix humaine? I would use only a manual to pedal coupler in order to negotiate the stretches, and would play as much of the section as possible on the manuals (Voix humaine) - including, of course, the tremblement.

Only those with poor musical taste?

Pedant that I am: Dr Gerre Hancock was John Scott's predecessor as Director of Music at St Thomas, Fifth Avenue. His wife, Judith, was his assistant.

Dear, dear! How little you know of some of the unsung legends of early-20th century British music education. The website of the Old Cliftonian Society says: "But the figure who, above all, dominated Clifton music was Douglas Fox, the first boy to be elected to a music scholarship at Clifton. He was denied the chance of a career as a recitalist, or cathedral organist, when he lost his right arm in action while serving with the Gloucesters. He nevertheless taught himself to play the organ with left hand and pedals and, after some years as director of music at Bradfield, came back to Clifton in 1931. He was described by one of his Clifton colleagues as having "the mind of a scholar and something of the waywardness of genius". His greatest contribution was inspiring the music scholars, while demanding of all boys the very highest standards. In his 27 years at Clifton, more than 50 boys were elected to music scholarships at Oxford or Cambridge. Among them was David Willcocks (now Sir David Willcocks), who succeeded another Cliftonian, Boris Ord, as Director of Music at King's College, Cambridge." John Pryer, currently Titular Organist of Alexandra Palace and whose improvisations are nothing short of stunning (at Birmingham Cathedral, a young chorister called David Briggs would often run to the organ console after services to watch and take in what John - who was the Assistant then - was doing) is another of Fox's pupils.

It's passed many people by, but I would like to wish Peter Hurford many happy returns on his 80th birthday today, St Cecilia's Day. I remember him with much fondness as an inspirational teacher and a consummate performer. His insistence on musical line remains forever in my memory when playing or directing a choir.

Well, it's not unusual...

Report from Local TV news channel . May be time-sensitive.

Listening once again to the 1984 BBC recording of Langlais at Salisbury, he retains the Anches R at bar 7, and it is clear that the Anches G have been removed at this point, in addition to the groups of stops you've mentioned. Heaven alone knows what is meant by GPR Anches, but my guess is that the word 'Anches' shouldn't be there at all. Another gem to mark into your scores: in the antepenultimate bar, Langlais observes his Lento, and in the RH, he plays a 'B' a third below the semiquaver D sharp tied to a minim. In the LH, he does not tie the lowest two notes of the chord leading into the antepenultimate bar, but makes a clear break (both hands) before this bar.

Because his privacy settings permit friends of his friends to see his profile?

Leaving aside impressions gained from photographs, one poster on Stephen Best's Facebook wall writes, "Six organ companies were consulted - including Andover in Methuen, MA. where I apprenticed. Five of them had positive things to say about the organ. It was ONLY [builder named] who used such glaring words of disapproval over the status and construction of the organ. According to David Vredenburg [organ consultant for the Albany Roman Catholic Diocese Architecture and Building Commission] in my phone conversation with him yesterday, Fr. Busch accused all the other builders of "being in-bed together". Sounds more like Busch and [builder named] were the bed-fellows." There have also been recent Facebook posts highlighting errors in the photograph captions.

There are six photographs to be seen in the local newspaper, the Queensbury Post-Star, if you make a search there. A careful study of all the posts and comments on Stephen Best's Facebook page will yield a good deal of additional information to that posted above. It is perfectly evident that the Pastor arranged for an organ-building firm (it is named several times in the Facebook posts) to remove the organ in some sort of undercover operation. The pipework appears to have been salvaged, but much of the mechanism was discarded in the skip, as the newspaper's photographs attest all too clearly.

Thanks, DHM; you beat me to it. There you are, HarmonicsV. The dreadful tale has been truly verified.

The Facebook link is correct; check the 'Wall' carefully. Searching 'The Post-Star' there will also yield more.

The deed has been done, sadly. From what I've read, it appears that the church's Pastor, thinks he can get away with it. I sense that this is where all of us need to use the power of the Internet to spread the word about this shocking piece of destruction, and to make our disgust known. The Pastor's contact details may be found here, but this may prove fruitless. His Bishop is the Very Revd Howard Hubbard who can be contacted here. I wonder what will be the reaction of the 300 or so donors who helped to raise funds the instrument?

It was certainly a fascinating and ground-breaking series for its time, and thanks to my local record library, I remember working my way through much of EMI's GCOS when I was of school age. I am sure that many will be aware that selections from the series have been remastered and are available on four CDs (Amphion Recordings). Of all the players heard in the series, Francis Jackson alone is notable for having an entire CD devoted to him comprising pieces from his 1964 GCOS recording and from a 1973 recording for another label.

It is indeed a fine acoustic, as the Windsor choir's Tomkins and Parry recordings for Hyperion attest. Are you able to confirm its current condition though? It seemed somewhat precarious when I and others went to assess it for a recording some years and I went upstairs to play it. A possible venue is Eton College Chapel...

I was Assistant at the first two churches mentioned. The Rushworth & Dreaper rebuild at Prince Consort Road has a Posaune on the Great (also available on the Choir) but it is not a solo reed.

They were indeed written for didactic purposes.

A cursory 'google' suggests that there doesn't appear to be such a list. It's also somewhat unlikely in view of the new Carus and Bärenreiter editions (a thread about which appeared here two years ago) which attempt to draw together so many lists of variants.

Is an Organ Adviser - either Diocesan or Independent - being approached?

Are not the people above who have written positively about Mr Laube's playing those who have heard him in person? And for the record, I have not colluded with anyone else who has commented on here in support of his playing.

Leaving aside choir schools which were not mentioned earlier when this was raised, I would suggest that a fair number of organists come from public schools which have a chapel with an organ and (sometimes) a choral set-up, and in which communal worship takes place almost daily. Some (e.g. Eton, Lancing, Clifton, Rugby, Ampleforth and Downside et al.) have buildings and/or instruments which are identical in scale to some of the largest university collegiate chapels; others are of near cathedral-like proportions. It is not surprising then that young people spending the waking hours of their formative years in such an environment could become organists. That being said, it's not the type of school but the presence of an instrument there which is the catalyst. I was the product of a state grammar school which had a two-manual Rothwell in its school Hall.

Last summer, I drove from London to Christchurch Priory to hear Nathan Laube's recital there, and taking technical facility as a given, I was immediately drawn by his ability to make and communicate music on the organ. I have no time for showmanship and lack of musical depth which is found in certain virtuosi today, and Mr Laube's playing sets him apart from these prestidigital performers. From my experience at Christchurch, Mr Laube's performance of a transcription of Rossini's William Tell Overture provided ample evidence that he has already discovered "how to handle a good tune".

Surely that preposition was unnecessary. You've just used it with the relative pronoun. *Teacher mode off having just come in from school*

Is there not information on the address cover sheet for CMQ to clarify this? In my case, the address sheet of one copy of CMQ which I receive has 'Individual Member of the RSCM' above my name and address. The address cover sheet of the other copy I receive has 'CORRESPONDENT 1: [Church]' above my name and address. As I understand it, the RSCM has the names and addresses of two 'correspondents' of all affiliated organisations in its database. Correspondence etc., however, is only sent to the first of them.