wolsey

Southwark: Ian Keatley.

He actually said, "I will never thank you enough for that."

First of all, you have to be a member of the RCO in order to enter their diploma examinations. The RCO of 2019 is an up-to-date organisation, and I see from their website that the course Preparing for CRCO, ARCO and FRCO on 22 June includes "Thirty-minute aural lessons for CRCO and ARCO will be available with Simon Williams at 10:00, 10:30, 11:00 and 11:30 at a cost of £12 pounds each, payable on the day. These will be allocated in order of receipt of booking." I suggest you join and take full advantage of the resources which the College now offers.

Pedant alert: as mentioned by David above, γλῶττα really means 'tongue', hence polyglot. φωνή means 'voice', and its use as a suffix in many words can easily be recognised. Chrysoglott transliterated means 'golden tongue'.

Try this link.

Does removing the 'e' from 'Forsyth' produce more results?

https://youtu.be/yMEri5WhquE?t=221

Catherine Ennis presented Peter with the RCO Medal in March 2013. This is the late Patricia Hurford’s acceptance speech at the RCO Presentation at Southwark Cathedral: It is sad that Peter is unable to be here to receive his medal in person; but he is comfortable and calm in a Home that is able to look after him properly. There are two things that I would like to say on his behalf, especially to all of you who have just received your ARCO or FRCO. He would want to congratulate you most warmly, and would be delighted that your musicianship and hard work have brought you thus far on the complex instrument that was foremost in his life and work. Secondly, he would want to say ‘Thank You’ for the honour of being awarded the medal by his colleagues, and how pleased he is to be in company with John Butt and Mark Venning. To these two points I want to add one of my own. You will all have become such proficient organists for a variety of good reasons. To these I am going to add a further reason that you may not know about: Music, and organ playing in particular, are extremely good for your health, especially in later stages of life. Peter had a minor stroke when he was 67, and could not even lift his left hand onto the keyboard unaided immediately after it. The physiotherapist who came to treat him at our home said, "There is no exercise that I can give you that will help you nearly as much as playing the organ". Peter was giving concerts again within 7 months of his stroke. The blind French organist Jean Langlais recovered even faster, and gave a recital just 3 months after his stroke. Peter was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease – already quite advanced – early in 2008, but his playing was still superb. He gave his last public performance in 2009. By the end of 2011 his illness was much worse and there were all sorts of ordinary things he could no longer do; but he could still play Bach. For 18 months of the last two years Peter and I have been to weekly gatherings organised by the Alzheimer's Society called 'Singing for the Brain'. Everybody there joined in with the singing, including some people who could no longer talk, yet they could sing words set to music. Thus music, and organ playing in particular, can make all sorts of otherwise unattainable things possible. So if you ever have a difficult or dreary practice session, as you come down from the organ loft you could mutter to yourself, "Well, at least it did my brain some good"!

I'll repeat here what I posted a little earlier on Facebook, that I am devastated to hear of his death. I have such happy memories of my two years of lessons with him during my second and final years at Cambridge, and I remain eternally grateful for the way he opened my ears and eyes to the playing of JS Bach (and others). He strove to ensure that musical line was at the heart of his students’ organ-playing - and, indeed, music-making in all its forms. I shall take down his boxed set of Bach Organ Works from the CD shelf (there's also the Franck, Hindemith and a more recent Bach recording), and relive his art. RIP Peter. Your influence on my musical development was immeasurable.

Hampton Court Chapel's website is being overhauled, and details of services have not been updated. Current information is available here though. Information about the establishment at St James's is here; HM Tower of London; The Queen's Chapel of the Savoy.

It has been a busy day, Rowland! The choirs of the Chapels Royal were not 'divided' as the OP suggests. The Chapel Royal today is still a body of priest and singers that attends on the sovereign. It’s based at St James’s Palace, and comprises the Dean of the Chapels Royal (Lord Chartres), and the Sub Dean who is assisted by three Priests-in-Ordinary. The clergy and the choir of ten boys and six Gentlemen attend the Sovereign privately at such ceremonies as baptisms in Buckingham Palace, and publicly, such as the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. They also attend the sovereign at the annual Cenotaph Service (which is why this service is conducted - until last year, exceptionally - by the Dean of the Chapels Royal) and at the Royal Maundy service. The Chapel Royal has three other daughter establishments at HM Tower of London, Hampton Court, and more recently, the Queen’s Chapel of the Savoy (a royal peculiar, but inaugurated as a Chapel Royal in November 2016), each with its own Chaplain and choir. The Chaplains of these three places, incidentally, have been appointed to the three Canonries of the Chapel Royal, ancient offices instituted by Edward IV in 1483 and revived by the Queen in 2010. Hampton Court Palace was part of the royal circuit until the reign of George III. Until then, services were regularly sung by the itinerant Chapel Royal whenever the monarch was in residence. With the departure of the court from Hampton Court in 1737, there was a hiatus of 130 years before a permanent choir was established there in 1868. The 150th anniversary of this choir was celebrated in April 2018. The choirs of Hampton Court and the Savoy have a presence on social media, and a quick search on Facebook will keep one abreast of what is happening in the two locations. The information about John Blow (mentioned earlier) needs to be clarified. The Master of the Children of the Chapel Royal was not 'de facto Director of Music' in his time. Blow was sworn a gentleman of the Chapel Royal in March 1673/4, appointed Master of the Children (in succession to Pelham Humfrey) in July 1674, and succeeded Christopher Gibbons as one of the three organists of the Chapel Royal in October 1676. He was appointed Composer for the Chapel Royal (a newly created post) in 1699. The title of Master of the Children, according to the personnel list in David Baldwin's book The Chapel Royal Ancient and Modern (1990) is last used for Stanley Roper (Organist and Composer) who served from 1919-1953, and is shown as Master of the Children from 1923-1953.

For many years, both King's and John's choirs have been known to occasionally include graduate singers who are not necessarily members of the two respective colleges. They are termed Lay Clerks.

I've used Noel Rawsthorne's Hornpipe Humoresque when demonstrating to school pupils, as well as Bach's Toccata in D minor BWV565i. Leroy Anderson's Sleigh Ride (arr. Thomas Trotter) could work, but it needs practice. There's also Mons Leidvin Takle whose music is available in electronic format and can be purchased online.

From my days at another college in Cambridge, I had always understood the back row, then under Philip Ledger, to comprise fourteen choral scholars (4A, 4T, 6B). Looking at material on YouTube - some of which has I suspect has been placed there without permission, the back row has apparently varied between 15 and 16 from 2008 to 2018.

The Cranmer Award for Worship appears to be the new way of the Archbishop recognising distinguished church musicians, but I suspect there are a good many who have yet to be convinced by this. Church musicians honoured in this way include: James Lancelot and Philip Moore (2016), and Ralph Allwood and Paul Hale (2017). There are clear, strict criteria for nominating someone for a Cambridge honorary degree (the process and documents are online). Length of service alone is not sufficient evidence to award an honorary Cambridge MusD, and an honorary degree cannot be conferred on an employee of the University or one of its Colleges while they are in post.

I don't have a copy to hand, but I'm sure it was Howells' anthem Behold, O God, our Defender...

Mathias: Let all the world in every corner sing

I think there have been crossed wires - apologies. My reply was addressed to Quentin Bellamy. I have been unable to trace Simon Preston's New College TV appearance in the Radio Times archive, but Organ Gallery is certainly there. The archive is a truly fascinating resource.

I remember the programme. It was called A Thousand Instruments, and a search of the Radio Times database shows that it was first broadcast in 1975, and repeated in June 1976. As I write this, I feel saddened that both Simon Preston and Peter Hurford (my teacher) are shadows of their former selves, both being cared for in nursing homes where they are suffering from the effects of dementia.

This is more or less the position as far as organ scholarships are concerned. Notable omissions are St Mary's Warwick; St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle and the London Oratory.

It can be difficult to keep up with changes. The 'Royal Scottish' was renamed the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2011, and both the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance appear to have been overlooked - as has the Leeds College of Music. Entry to all eight institutions is now through UCAS Conservatoires. Having retired from school-teaching in the summer, I can recall highly talented pupils choosing a conservatoire because it possessed a renowned faculty/professor for their instrument/voice. As far as conservatoire organ tuition is concerned, only five of the eight now offer this - and three of the five are in London.

I suspect that the growth of Facebook and the increased use of its discussion groups is the reason.

I'm surprised that you had a fruitless search. My quick bit of Googling resulted in this snippet on the BBC website, and it's on this recording of his music (still available in various formats) which I bought some years ago for the Tu es Petrus.

As Harrison's website explains, the pedal reeds were relocated from the south to the north triforium behind the Bombarde section to enable work in the south triforium. To my ears, they now have less impact from their new position if you're hearing the organ from the choir, but for those sitting west of the screen...⚠️

You may want get in touch with such foundations listed here.