wolsey

Quite right. Organists who studied both organ and piano while at conservatoire include Jeremy Filsell; Wayne Marshall; Jane Parker-Smith; George Thalben-Ball; Gillian Weir. There are others...

You need to be very proficient indeed to tackle the pieces you mention, and you should possess an assured technique. At the time of their composition (1912), Dupré's contemporaries pronounced the Op. 7 pieces "unplayable". Times change, though. The first piece by Dupré that my teacher gave me to learn was the fugue from Prelude and Fugue in F Minor, Op. 7 no. 2, but it was hard to resist dipping into the pieces on either side. For what it's worth, pieces he specifically wrote for didactic purposes include the 79 Chorales, Op. 28 "to prepare ...[the student] the better for the study of the Bach Chorales, which are too difficult for beginners."; and Le Tombeau de Titelouze, Op. 38 "...destined for those who are beginning the study of the organ...", the last piece of which is the dazzling toccata Placare Christe Servulis for the Feast of All Saints. My favourite 'easy' Dupré pieces are some of the beautiful versets from 15 Antiphons, Op. 18 (Vêpres du Commun des Fêtes de la Sainte Vierge).

So the Dupré G minor Prelude's a no-no then...

Having retired after twenty-five years at York, and having composed a vast amount of church music, I agree that Philip Moore should be honoured by the Archbishop of Canterbury, or nationally.

"Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding." Proverbs 4:7

I'm sorry I missed this thread when it started last year. There is no ambiguity; the middle section has a 'cut C' (i.e. 2/2 or alla breve) time signature, therefore it does proceed with a minim pulse.

The final bar comprises a semibreve chord (tied in the manual part from the penultimate bar) - with fermata sign - marked Lent. For those with eyes to see and an understanding of Messiaen's intentions, the slow-down begins in the fourth bar from the end - marked Plus lent. There is also a r a l l m o l t o in the antepultimate bar, the the first half of which comprises semiquavers, and the second half, quavers. I also agree with Heva: relate the length of the final chord to the speed at which one plays the descending pedal motif in the previous bar.

Another pupil of 'Harvey' here. I didn't learn Transports with him, but it appears to work!

It is rather tiresome to find a thread enquiring about a recording of the RFH Compton turning into another round of ritual criticism on this forum of the H&H organ and its designer. I am of the same vintage as bombarde32 and Adrian, and the Wednesday 5.55 recitals were an important part of my musical development when, as a sixth former at school, I would rush to the tube station on the 4pm bell, to arrive at Waterloo in time for the recitals. Would that some of my own school pupils studying Music GCSE or A level took the initiative to go to live concerts or a Prom or two, but that is another subject. With all respect to an earlier poster on this thread, I am dismayed by his vehement criticism of the RFH organ when he hasn't actually heard it live, and as for the comment, "it was a misguided instrument for Ralph Downes to experiment with his mainly unsupported and ill-informed ideas.", was it made before or after reading Downes's autobiography Baroque Tricks (Positif Press, 1993)?

The piece you may be referring to is Fantasia on the Christmas Light. Vox Dicentis (published by Novello) is based on E W Naylor's anthem of the same name, and therefore appropriate for the season of Advent.

Grieves and Hawkes? Tut, tut! *Sits down down to allow sartorial sensibilities to recover*

There is understandable uncertainty. According to a footnote in the New Oxford Easy Anthem Book (anthem 57), "the original hymn-tune is available from Cathedral Music...", while the extended Bevan arrangement shown there bears "© OUP 1999 and 2002" at the bottom of the page. NEP 700 - also the extended Bevan arrangement, simply says "Music © Cathedral Music Ltd".

Performing rights are separate to copyright. I hope that Barry Williams will see this thread and provide legal chapter and verse. A possible response of his would be to consult his book Everything Else An Organist Should Know, co-written with Robert Leach. In the meantime, my understanding of performing rights as covered by the Copyright, Designs & Patents Act 1988 is that someone may record your performance (though you have the right to forbid it) if the recording is for "private and domestic use". Placing a recording of a performance, made without the performer's/performers' consent, on a site such as YouTube, surely, is illegal.

I've seen copies available on the American Amazon web site.

The Swell Hautboy at St Paul's Cathedral is unique in its sound, and I remember it appearing early in the crescendo sequence of the Swell pistons. I tried to copy the piston settings on another instrument, and it just didn't work; the timbre of the Hautboy in the tonal ensemble of the St Paul's Swell cannot be equalled.

In which case, yes. John's/George Guest should certainly be there...

To the best of my knowledge, George Guest didn't record Vierne's Messe Solennelle. He did though record Langlais' Messe Solennelle in 1969, with Stephen Cleobury at the organ.

I have to confess I've always thought that Francis Jackson would make a good 'Q' in a Bond film. Imagine the scene in York this September, "Now pay attention, Sharpe! This is no ordinary Tuba Mirabilis. Turn the stop knob like so, and ..."

I also remember reading something on this subject, and wonder if it was an article in the Church & Organ Music section of Musical Times very many years ago...

I respectfully disagree. Jeremy Thurlow's task was not to provide a discourse on the structure of the cycle, but to choose - in 50 minutes - the best of the available recordings. Regular listeners to Building a Library will know that much has to be covered in a short space of time. In some weeks, the best of at least a dozen recordings has to be chosen, so there's hardly time to digress from the task in hand.

Available here as a RealPlayer file.

I've been very happy with the Westminster Cathedral recording. So much so, it's been one of the CDs I've taken with me when trying new speakers before purchasing them. The opening bottom C sharp is the true test...

Looking at the typeface, my guess is that it could be Seiffert's 1903 revision and enlargement of Spitta's 19th century edition. It might also explain why it's also now in the public domain. With many modern, more authoritative editions available though, I would not recommend it. If you're playing Buxtehude's organ music, Hedar's 1952 edition (Hansen) has done sterling service, but has been superseded by the two editions by Beckmann (Breitkopf & Härtel); Albrecht (Bärenreiter); and Belotti mentioned above. Keller's edition (Peters) is simply not highly regarded by organists with authority in musical scholarship.

Simon Preston - Westminster Abbey 1960s and 1985 (Reubke) Celebrating his 70th birthday this August with two Proms appearances...

Indeed, and not to be confused with the 'younger' Sir George Martin who produced Beatles' records...