Martin Cooke

Was anybody able to get to hear her at St Paul's? I'd love to hear more about it if possible.

Thanks for this tip, Hector5 and the ones that preceded the quote above. It's the second volume of Twelve Short Pieces Op53?? to which I think I saw the much larger price attached. When you get your copy of Op43, could we have a nice detailed report, please, of what they're like 'in the flesh' so to speak?

Try IKEA.

There are a few demos of this stop on You Tube - try the one by Philip Stopford - and if you're in NY, they do a demo of the organ at lunch time on a Monday - great fun - I went to Bruce Neswick doing this a couple of years ago - fabulous improvisation - and then he let everyone up to the loft and somebody (by prior arrangement) played the Elgar Sonata. I got the impression that they would be pretty welcoming of visiting organists having a go if by prior arrangement, probably. The trumpet is astonishing!

I must say that a little look at the programme for her recitals is worthwhile as is some quick follow-up research. The music I have consequently discovered by Rachel Laurin sounds worth pursuing though it is prohibitively expensive. I downloaded her Symphony No 1 and the Op43 Twelve Short pieces into itunes yesterday and these are worth a listen - the Toccata from Symphony 1 is terrific and I am sure many members would enjoy it and feel that the 79p cost of the download was worth it. A quick enquiry to Richard Priest at Allegro Music suggests that one of the volumes of the Twelve Short Pieces, published by Leupold, would be in excess of £40, unfortunately. Yikes!

Yes, and I hoped we might start in January 2012 rather than go back to 2010!!

I'm not sure that organ builders see it as a priority to update their websites all that frequently and I wondered if we might take stock of what new organs are being built either in the UK for UK or world consumption, or in other countries for installation in the UK. We might go back to the beginning of 2012, I suppose... So, we've got... the Drake instrument in St Paul's crypt; St George's, Hanover Square; If you add something - could you try to add a website link?

I found a site called 'classicscore' - all very interesting and lots of stuff I'd not seen in IMSLP, but it doesn't work any more! It appears to be hosted by a Russian web-hosting company and wither something has gone wrong, or, as the error message says, classicscore has violated the rules - whatever that might mean! I paid £30+ for my second hand copy of Thee Elizabeths on ebay - I must be insane - especially as I saw that it was available on classicscore - not that I can reach it there now.

Ugh! I CAN tell the difference between the sound of a brass group and a chamade stop! If you watched the service (regardless of provider) you should have detected the deployment of the brass group in Old Hundredth and in Cwm Rhondda. My post concerned the voluntary - Ord and Sceptre - played on the organ alone - and which of the fanfare reeds was used for the repeated B motif at the start. It was either (a) the Trompette Militaire or ( the Royal Trumpet - presumably 8', but I doubt the latter.

What 'favourites' do members have, or what have we discovered? I've just discovered a Toccata and Fugue by EH Thorne which I think I'm going to have have to get my hands around as he was born a few miles from here (in Dorset). Does anyone play anything by Spark, Faulkes, Edmonstoune Duncan, Smart, Hollins (other than the obvious ones), Wolstenholme, et al? Good to share thoughts! I am fascinated by it, because there is SO much - but very nearly always disappointed in the reality when I try something. I sometimes play the last movement of the Sonata in D by A.L. Peace which I recommend - I think it's on IMSLP (or whatever the initials are), I play a whole Sonata in G minor by Cyril Jenkins (Augener), and there's a Grand Choeur in D by William Spence that I've known congregation members hang about to discover more about. I imagine that much of the stuff that Kevin Mayhew has published over the years (with some excellent exceptions - Archer, Nixon, Fletcher, Tambling etc) will become the 'new' Hollins, Smart, etc in 100 years' time. I can't imagine that 50% of it ever gets played or has ever BEEN played even now! Does anyone know if Mayhew is still producing new organ music? It seems to have dried up and all one has got recently has been reissues in different colours or combinations. Is that right?

Does anyone play Eric Coates' piano arrangements on the organ? The new Priory DVD from Salisbury includes Dance in the Twilight which is rather fun - it's in the anniversary album published last year (?). Thomas Trotter plays Youth of Britain on his DVD from Birmingham Town Hall. Both work well - the former, surprisingly well. I've played Dambusters, of course, and I have just downloaded soem freebies - Flying High, Over to You, etc, to have a go at.

Certainly not, but the nub of this reviewer's pretty crass assessment lies in his statement that the piece is unfamiliar. Surely, anyone who knows anything about church/cathedral music is knows Central Orb. As I said earlier, I think it was a most apt choice. I know anthems are sung to the glory of God, but the words reflect very beautifully on HM as well - she has been been a 'central orb of righteous love' all this time, after all. Harris's 'Faire is the Heaven' would have another option, I would have thought. It was good not to have I was Glad this time, I think - other blockbuster anthems could have been Let the bright seraphim + Let their celestial, but that would have had sad connotations with Charles and Diana's wedding, and also Achieved is the Glorious Work from the Creation - always a good piece for a special service. I have found the Todd quite memorable largely because of the repeated words - I am with you, etc - it is quite unlike the other music of his that I have heard. I am looking forward to getting to know his music - just ordered the new CD with the SATB version on it.

Why are you so sure? I know it was the TM or the RTs but my only real reason for thinking it was probably the TM is because of HM the Queen complaining about the royal trumpets on a previous occasion when John Scott played her out to the Grand Choeur Dialogue.

I thought that yesterday's service from St Paul's was magnificently well done. Many congratulations to all the musicians involved - (including the trumpeters). I thought the choice of music was spot on - O Thou the Central Orb was a lovely and most fitting inclusion. I felt that the Will Todd piece had much more to say than the Rutter piece at the wedding last year, not that I would wish in any sense to jump any any 'let's bash Rutter' bandwagon. After the dismal commentary on the river pageant from the BBC it was good to hear (for a change) the splendour of the St Paul's organ referred to more than once. The brief snippet we heard of the Bach Toccata in F beforehand sounded electrifying, and I greatly enjoyed and appreciated Simon Johnson's performance of the Walton at the end. So, was that the Trompette Militaire or the 8' Royal Trumpet at its opening?! (Put me out of my misery, Simon!) (I am assuming the former on account of Her Majesty's alleged disapproval of the west reeds on an earlier occasion.) I have to say that I also enjoyed the fanfare at the west door and SJ's fanfare and last verse arrangement of Cwm Rhondda. Any chance of seeing a score?! I'd love to get my head around the harmonic build up to the last line.

David is absolutely correct about Harry Gabb and his Full Solo 'habit.' Given the current specification of the St Paul's organ, however, readers unfamiliar with the organ in its previous incarnation may not fully appreciate how powerful an effect this was. Pre-1972, there was (on the Solo) a Trumpet 8 and a 16ft Contra Posaune (which went up to the dome in the 72-77 rebuild and have subsequently been replaced) and a 16ft Contra Fagotto which was discarded as well as a III-rank Mixture. Octave and Sub-Octave couplers were also available, of course, and this produced a most exciting effect - a great wall of sound coming from the Solo area which is east of the main case on the north side. Think of the opening of Stainer's 'I saw the Lord' and the fanfare bits in the magnificat of Murrill in E. Very interested in David's observations regarding use of the swell octave on the pistons - I have felt sure this was happening in one or two St Paul's organ recordings and it had never really occurred to me that on a large organ such devices would be used very much. I have always rather eschewed them except for special effects or with 8ft strings, or a single 8ft stop - lieblich, tuba, etc... but are they used in a regular way by organists playing large instruments? On our (excellent) digital instrument, I have enjoyed experimenting with them to good effect lately.

There is still the chance to catch up with an outstanding evensong from Truro if you missed it last week. New and very striking canticles by Philip Stopford (a super and very accomplished composer) an anthem that bears a couple of listenings, and delightful extra anthem by Macmillan - Ave Maris Stella. Every musical component is stunningly done - exciting new organ voluntary, too. Proud to be Cornish!

Thanks, Wolsey, for finessing the scheme. I've taken advantage of pcnd's offer, too. Martin.

Sorry, can't get the quote to work properly but, originally, I said this... "Following up on my post regarding the Schubert Mass in G, I have ordered a score with 3 stave organ accompaniment from this company in Stuttgart - www.carus-verlag.com." This has arrived today and is beautifully done - thoroughly recommended and very reasonable price.

I don't think it is written down anywhere but I do have this 'sorted' in my mind. If you listen to it (great recording of Coronation Music from St Paul's on itunes) to get the rhythm and the top line it goes like this - all chords are in root position - it's very straightforward... Unison Bs G major triads E major B major B flat F major C major G major Repeated unison Ds B flat triplets F major triplets B major B major Ab major Triplets based on E flat major Dominant 7th on A major resolving to A major D major organ then leads from unison D in contrary motion to G major for start of Nat Anthem. Is that OK? It wouldn't take long to transcribe it - I've just committed it to memory and can manage. The other good one is the David Willcocks' fanfare for the Nat Anthem from the Prince of Wales, Lady Diana wedding in St Paul's. Martin.

Well, I am sure that the old Novello ones would be in English - you know the old Novello scores in buff with the ornate brown graphics and writing, so if you can pin one down in a library, second hand shop or whatever, that's what you want, I am sure. I certainly used to sing it from such a score in English in the late sixties. Good luck!

Following up on my post regarding the Schubert Mass in G, I have ordered a score with 3 stave organ accompaniment from this company in Stuttgart - www.carus-verlag.com. Their website has an English (and French) translation option and once you've found the solo organ music section in search it seems to me that there is a host of interesting stuff that would repay a little examination. I'm sure it's ignorant of me, but I don't believe I have come across this publisher before. Is it just me, or have our posts got a little bit dull lately? I'm so tired of seeing that "Leather or Talc" (or whatever it is) coming up on the discussion home screen every time I look. I think we all need to try a bit harder for a while to bring up a few new topics. For example - I'd love to hear more about recitals and new organs that people have heard, new discoveries in terms of music, comments or articles in things like Choir and Organ, etc. Have we all just got too busy? Do let's try a bit harder!

Thank you so much for this pointer - exactly what I was hoping for. I have contacted Carus to find out costs etc. It does look much more digestible in this format in, for example the Benedictus, than the way it is set out in the Novello vocal score, though I have almost got my hands round it now. Thanks again; Martin.

You may well be right, Malcolm, in saying that Barenreiter is best but are you saying this having looked at or evaluated the Pawel Jura as I mentioned earlier?

This is a long shot, I know. I am accompanying this is a couple of weeks' time and have settled down to working it out at the organ this weekend. Would anyone know where I can get access to a proper organ arrangement of the accompaniment instead of trying to make sense of the reduction in the vocal score. I see that Elmer Thomas has made an arrangement and that it is available in the States - I have written to see how long it might take to be delivered, but in the meantime am wondering about what might be available over here. Any thoughts? I might just try Salisbury Cathedral. Incidentally, I had to play the Faure Requiem last term and was wondering quite how to handle the 'Sanctus' which takes a bit of working out. In the IMSLP library, there is a complete organ arrangement by someone called Pawel Jura which might repay a visit for anyone needing a Faure reduction. I used this for 'Sanctus' and 'In paradisum' and played the rest from Rutter.

Any chance of a bit more commentary on the recital itself and S-V C-C's playing and use of the St Paul's instrument? I presume she used the dome console.