David Drinkell

St. Paul's

Salhouse - I've played it, but many years ago. Solid Bishop & Son, not very exciting tonally but nice soft stops. If it was restored in 1970, it's probably due for another going over and the touch might be a bit heavy, but it shouldn't be unduly awkward.

This one is fun, especially for those of us who were hooked on David Munrow recordings and other rude renaissance raspberries.

Yes, you're quite right, it's my fault! There must be scope for a whole thread about what people have said about them. I have heard the one at St. James Cathedral, Toronto referred to as 'that kazoo at the west end', which is a little unfair because it's a reasonable example of its type, but a little incongruous on an instrument that really needs a Tuba in the main organ.

Yes - I was in the Essex Man Organ Gala at St. Paul's to help raise money for that. I was avoiding roses called by other names - the old organ had a Tuba, although it was missed off at least two printed specifications. I should imagine that there might be a drawstop or two engraved 'Tuba' as one gets into the London outskirts. Rutt-land, if you see what I mean.

I've seen that one. The organist at Lisburn Cathedral, Co. Antrim, where they go in for that sort of thing, once left a set of hand-written parts on the console of a setting of the word 'Amen'. Underneath, she had written 'Learn the lyrics!'.

Good job my sister didn't hear you say that..... There are sundry Trombas scattered around, and the firing squad at Saffron Walden. With regard to the latter, an old Rector of mine who had previously been curate at Walden said that they materialised because a bride asked for a certain piece of music and the organist said he couldn't play it because the organ didn't have a Tuba, whereupon the bride's father produced a cheque-book. They cheated somewhat by having a Trompeta Real instead.

He was right, though (although there are arguably more useful ways to enhance an 1890 10 stop Henry Jones), because there weren't many Tubas in Essex and I can't think of any now, apart from theatre organs. Even Suffolk has at least 4.

There was an organist back home in Essex (he was a Yorkshireman) whose usual comment after trying an organ was: 'It could do with a couple of things, like a mixture and a tuba' Or a hypothesis by an adopted Yorkshireman: 'It's not a proper organ if it hasn't got an Open Wood on the Pedal'

I'll join! I reckon a Vox is one of most useful stops you can have. Great for roughing up other sounds (Oboe becomes Hautboy, Clarinet becomes Cromorne, strings become sexier). I'm very fond of my Vox.

"Expensive draught" has been used to decribe 32' flues, but I don't know who first thought of it. Was it Leslie Barnard who referred to a certain type of big solo reed as a "Mukkinese Battle Horn"? I'd like to see that on a draw-stop.

There was a two-part article about him in 'The Organ' back in (I think) the thirties, but it was largely anecdotal and did not go very deeply into the way he played. On Bach, he was unwilling to teach the big works to pupils, saying that if they wished to hear how they should be played, they should attend his recitals. If a pupil had the temerity to turn up with a big Bach work, Pyne would pace about the hall groaning to himself and probably disappear downstairs for a cigar.

George didn't have much time for modern speech rhythm, where the first bar-line comes fairly early, and his pointing might be considered old-fashioned, but the way the choir sang for hymn was absolute magic. He said himself that a good choir-trainer could make any sort of pointing sound effective. I've done the Cambridge Sprint (King's at 5:30, John's at 6:30) many times - still do if I'm that side of the Atlantic in term-time - but I am a bit too young to have heard the Guest/Scott combination. What always stood out for me was the tremendous regard - love is not too strong a term - which radiated from the choir when George was carving, and which showed in the music.

It was maliciously suggested that J. Kendrick Pyne would engage French organists (eg Guilmant) to play at Manchester University (on the Willis) and English organists (eg Parratt) to play at the Town Hall (on the Cavaille-Coll), so that neither breed would sound their best and his own reputation would be safe.

Dyson wouldn't have had any more registrational aids than would be available on a CC, although they would work rather differently. If they're still thinking about Sheffield, I guess the big problem is not playing the thing, but where it would go. Is there somewhere where an organ of that size and shape could be erected, close to the singers it will accompany? If there is, I hope they go for it.

I'm not sure whether this is strictly within the scope of this thread, but I picked up a CD on a second-hand shelf a few years ago called 'The World of Psalms'. The first track is King's (Willcocks), the second Westminster Abbey (McKie, Preston at the organ) and the remaining fifteen St. John's College, Cambridge (Guest, Bielby and Scott at the organ). It's interesting to compare the St. John's interpretations with those on the first two tracks, but to my mind this is psalm singing to absolute perfection. Apart from that, the rich subtlety of the accompaniments is stunning, particularly John Scott's on the later tracks. In particular, the added intensity of an extra pedal stop makes so much difference at certain points. This is just a cheap compilation (I think it cost me five bucks secondhand) from original recordings made in 1963, 1966 and 1977, but I'm hooked on it and still find I learn by listening to it. The old St. John's organ sounds mightily impressive - it seems to me that the new one is a similar conception but 'made fully perfect' without having to coax old pipes into making new noises. There are some wonderful chants by Hylton Stewart, too - something of a George Guest speciality. A composer who, in his own small way, might reward some re-evaluation.

I'm still puzzled as to why a Cavaille-Coll organ shouldn't be suitable for an Anglican cathedral. The required sounds are there to perfection - after all, if the resident players can produce convincing sounds at Gloucester or Oxford (take your pick of which or all three), there should be no problem with the ex-Warrington CC. The challenge would be to feel at home with the CC style of ventil stop-control. But surely all these stunningly talented young organists, with reams of Vierne and Widor under their belts, should know how to play a CC already. If not, they should welcome the challenge of learning. Can it be that modern control systems, with their multiple channels, steppers and whatever are making us lazy? My Casavant console here has five pistons to the Great (13ss), five to the Swell (15ss), three to the Choir (8ss), three to the Solo (6ss) and three to the Pedal (10ss), plus five generals. All adjustable by a capture system patented in something like 1907 and installed in 1928 - one or two little kinks, but basically reliable - but not a huge complement by modern standards. The organ has 34 couplers, too, and I use them all frequently (but not all at the same time!). I don't feel the need for anything more, and the only piece I can think of that needs all the generals is the Willan Intro, Passacaglia and Fugue (and it might only need four out of the five). During this month, it will have piloted its way through quite a wide range of stuff, including Darke in E, Murrill in E, Purcell in G minor, Mozart's Coronation Mass, This is the record of John, The Spirit of the Lord, Howells Coll Reg Jubilate, Jackson in G, voluntaries by Alain, Elgar, Langlais, Bach, Guilain, Susato and Stanford, five lunch-time concerts and The Last Night of the Proms (inc. Pomp & Circumstance, Henry Wood's Sea Songs and Rule Britannia, The Land of the Mountain and the Flood, On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring....and the Dorian). I don't expect any trouble registering all this, but I do expect to do a lot of hand registration. You take what you have, and you learn to do the best you can with it. That's part of the fun, isn't it?

I've always thought of the Walker at St. John the Evangelist, Islington as one of the best jobs of its period. Long, long after I played it, they added a 32' reed called 'Oliphant', which I think is rather jolly. The 32' reed at St. Asaph Cathedral is called 'Sarff', which is Welsh for 'Serpent'. I rather like 'Sackbut' meself....

I once heard David Briggs say 'Every organ should have a Vox Humana'. How true, how true.....

Getting back on track.... I had forgotten- 'Post Office pen nib' A. Langmead Robinson referring to the Swell Oboe at Bury St. Edmunds Congregational Church.

The Guildford quote was E.H. Gallagher (if I've got his initials right) and I think it was exotic seaweed floating in green champagne. C.S. Lang wrote in the next number to complain about such fanciful language, to which Gallagher replied that he thought of Lang as an expert on Tubae rather than blockfloten. I've seen several opinions - including Sumner and Bernard Edmonds - of Leicester Cathedral organ to the effect that it was never a particularly good example of a Harrison, but then I gave a recital on it and it seemed to me that it did what it was meant to do in highly distinguished style. The Taylor at the De Montfort Hall is often quoted as being better, but I don't know that one.

I agree with everything you're saying. I am, perhaps, thinking on a relatively small scale. A lot of churches - being places with organs in them - would be more viable if their attendance was boosted a little. We've found that doing what we feel we can do well and being confident in it has yielded results along those lines. The same can be said for a number of the smaller UK cathedrals. Those who decided to 'be the Cathedral' have had more success than those who diversify and, for example, try to to things in a 'parish church' way. A good example is St. David's in Wales, where a determination to 'be the cathedral' has bucked things up no end. Look at Bradford - almost destroyed by introducing non-'cathedral' practices and only recently turned the corner with the appointment of a dean and organist who knew what a cathedral was about. Each to their own - different places will do different things well. Each doing a little can add up to a lot.

Congratulations to Jonathan Bielby on being awarded the MBE in the Birthday Honours List. Isn't it time Francis got a knighthood though?

There are a few YouTube which at least appear to be the original Barton, including one made before a game in 1994 and three detailing the dismantling of the instrument. Or am I getting that wrong? There are others featuring the present instrument connected to the old console.

Blimey - yes! I had forgotten about that one! That was on the Great Irish Cathedral Organ Marathon in 1992 which involved giving a recital in each of the 31 cathedrals of the Church of Ireland in the space of a week. I did the playing, my wife Elspeth turned the pages and Mark Larmour and Sean Grear acted as 'roadies'. At Down Cathedral, the pedal reed, added in 1966, is in a little enclosure of its own at the side of the gallery. It was said that it was originally meant for the Royal Festival Hall but never got there. It is, at close quarters, something of a snorter. Sean was leaning against it at the beginning of the last piece (I think, God forgive me, it was Scotson Clark's 'Marche aux Flambeaux') and got the fright of his life. 'Wow!' he said, 'Bullfrogs from Hell!'.