wolsey

I played one when at school, as mentioned here. It had no Mixture on the Swell, and a rather strident 2-rank (19 22) one on the Great. St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle had two Rothwell consoles on the screen, if I remember correctly.

I honestly don't know; I am guessing that there are different circumstances relating to the sources and the degree of editorial intervention as far as Bach is concerned. In Advice for Organ Teachers, Margaret Phillips recommended Peters as "still a useful edition", but that was seventeen years ago. It was also the edition used by my teacher, Peter Hurford. While it appears to have been superseded in recent times by Lohmann's Breitkopf edition, I believe Peters is still regarded as being reliable for Bach.

Probably not. The question of 'correct' editions of Buxtehude's organ music has come up on here before. Organists and organ teachers who are musicologically minded will look askance at anyone who today uses Peters edition when playing Buxtehude. I started off on Hedar's 1952 edition and then bought Albrecht's of 1998. Current thought is that these editions - as well as those by Beckmann and Belotti (both post-1950) are 'recommended'. Peters is not recommended at all.

Huh! I had switched off the broadcast before stepping in to my shower. Another G.O.O.

These recommendations are all fine; however, the trouble with the music of 'the French folk' is that it's so expensive that you'll need to feel fully justified in having a splash-out on these works. Having downloaded an organ catalogue from UMP, I see that Dubois' 12 Pièces will set you back £45.99; Gigout's 10 Pièces, £39.99; and the two books comprising Vierne's 24 Pièces en style libre (ed. D.Sanger & J.Laukvik), £57.98. Langlais' 24 Pièces (in two books) seem the best value at £32.98. Those contemplating Mulet's Tu es Petra at £20.99 would be better off buying the complete book of ten Esquisses Byzantines costing £37.99.

Before this seasonal topic hibernates completely, here is an informative link for those who have been unable to distinguish between the live radio relay of A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols and the television recording of Carols from King's.

Dr Vann celebrates his 99th birthday on Sunday. I'm sure all here will want to wish him many happy returns, and continued good health in the coming year.

For those who have a proficient keyboard technique, I use The Organists' Manual: Technical Studies and Selected Compositions for the Organ by Roger E Davis (Norton 1985)

Indeed. Some of his more awkward pieces certainly demand that the player is (literally) all thumbs in technique...

75 this coming May, and still going strong...

I'm trying so hard not to put on my teacher's hat, but I'm sure you know that (say) Bach's use of the term organo pleno bears no relation to that of Reger.

There may be some useful ideas in the exam syllabuses for the Associated Board and the RCO's CertRCO. Both are, of course, available on-line. Books 4 and 5 of Anne Marsden Thomas's series A Graded Anthology for Organ (Cramer 1997) also have a few pieces which may be suitable for your requirements. I would also support Nick Bennet's suggestion of Leighton's Fanfare rather than the Paean, and you may want to get stuck in to Langlais' Hymne d'Actione de Grâce - Te Deum. Also:- Gigout: Toccata Hollins A Trumpet Minuet Johnson: Some of the Trumpet Tunes

I'm slightly surprised by the mistaken assumption that a choir would sing a 90-minute live radio broadcast (preceded in the morning by balance and rehearsal for them and the readers) and follow it - with barely time for a breather, TV rehearsal and refreshments - by a live 75-minute TV broadcast with choreography. As mentioned earlier, BBC2 and the College have neither advertised Carols from King's as a live transmission on any occasion, nor have they sought to create that impression.

Having myself given recitals and accompanied services both before and after the Bath rebuild, all that needs to be said is that the organ sounded - and still sounds exciting. But why is the 1997 work being questioned after so many years: the reasons were well-documented at the time. Mechanically, it was in such a dire state that remedial work was essential. There were also structural changes and repositioning of many departments - all for the better, I might add. It requires more care though to accompany a choir on the rebuilt organ, as the balance between the manual departments can be disconcerting. The sound can seem 'aggressive' at the console, but from the choirstalls - and also from the nave, the ensemble blends extremely well. I attended the day of events and services which marked its inauguration one Saturday in 1997, and the consensus was (and is) that the rebuild is a resounding success. To get back on topic, does anyone know if there are plans to bring back a 32' flue in any projected work at Canterbury?

A bit of Internet research and mental arithmetic easily provides the answer for those who look carefully. Sir David Willcocks was at Worcester from 1950-1957; Douglas Guest from 1957-1963; and Christopher Robinson from 1963-1974. With Stephen being born in 1948 and Nicholas two years later, a logical assumption is that they were both under Douglas Guest. Stephen says in the new Willcocks biography that he first met Willcocks in Cambridge in 1967.

Neither the BBC nor King's College has ever advertised Carols from King's as a live broadcast. The Order of Service for the annual Festival of Lessons & Carols (available online) states in the introduction, "In recent years it has become the practice to broadcast a recording of the service on Christmas Day on Radio Three, and since 1963 a shorter service has been filmed [my italics] periodically for television."

The Shepherd's Carol (OUP) was performed in Carol's from Kings on BBC2 last Christmas Eve.

Oh dear! Here we go again. What seems to be misunderstood is that, at present, anything written on the Internet is, in law, published; our contributions to this and any one of thousands of Internet newsgroups, forums, etc are - in law - published. It is irrelevant that an Internet forum is 'public' or 'private'. Anything may be published, provided it does not break the laws concerning published material. It would be useful to bear this in mind, and not confuse it with the erosion of the right to free speech - which is 'free' as long as it isn't defamatory...

Quite so: it was recorded in Trinity College Chapel

To me, it seems better than its predecessor: the Listen Again player.

As must surely be well known, you can catch it at any time for seven days after broadcast with BBC iPlayer

This is also in the 'St Cecilia Organ Series' published by H W Gray. If my memory serves me correctly, 'Justadad' was enquiring on this board about this piece two years ago - and a Google of 'Fete Langlais' will yield that thread. It's available from http://www.crescendomusicpubs.com.au and from another dealer online.

Langlais' Incantation pour un jour Saint uses six different plainsong fragments from the Litany of the Saints, used in the Holy Saturday liturgy. I'm not totally convinced by the link with the Dupré, and Sue Kirkland argues in Organists' Review (May 2005) that there is a link between Langlais' Incantation and Alain's Litanies. If anything, one could put forward a case for *Litanies* being influenced by the [Cortège et] Litanie.

I suspect that it wouldn't get as far as that and that our hosts would have removed the item once alerted to it. It's in their interest because, as I understand it, both author and publisher, i.e. the hosts, would be liable.

I made a point and followed it with a supposition, neither of which was a snipe at you. You are of course correct, but my point - which I repeat as politely as I did earlier - is that while understanding that a fellow organist may be moved to 'sound off' on this forum (and, heaven knows, there is much I would like to get off my chest myself), an internet messageboard is not a closed club, and anything written here is available to the general public - even if it is not explicitly addressed to them. The moral of the Church Times saga is that one should think twice before pressing 'Send'. Anyone might be reading...