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Martin Cooke

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Everything posted by Martin Cooke

  1. Here's Walford Davies' Confortare, being sung at the Coronation of King George VI, for which it was composed. And the Abbey has published the music (arranged Rutter) for the new Vivats in I was glad.
  2. For a detailed comparison between 1953 and 2023, have a look here at Dr Francis Young's site.
  3. And you can see exactly why our friends at Nicholsons are sticking to this policy when you read all the bickering about the new Pershore Abbey instrument that scarcely anyone has heard a sound from yet, on the FB BPO site.
  4. It seems to me a mad old world when hundreds of thousands of pounds are spent installing a church, chapel or cathedral's principal musical instrument to then have to supplement it with another - even digital - instrument because the main one isn't really fit for its principal purpose for any number of reasons. But... it's not that simple, I know. (And many thanks to James Atherton for taking the time, trouble and interest, to come on to our site to provide what information he can for the moment - much appreciated by us all, I am certain.)
  5. Sorry, answering my own queries again... It's this - from a banner in Chepstow Priory... The heading was, Rules for visiting our church. I mis-remembered it. Not really sure what folk would have made of it!
  6. Slightly random this, but does anyone recall seeing a particular online post somewhere which was about a notice in the UK church which was addressed to visitors to encourage a quiet appraisal of various aspects of the building? Amongst other suggestions is said something like... "Listen to the organ... even if it isn't playing!" I'd love to re-read the whole thing if it were available anywhere. Does it ring a bell?
  7. We haven't given much attention to this either - now in final stages of installation, it seems. Another controversial instrument!
  8. From what I have read elsewhere, the Gloucester organ seems to be one of the most controversial instruments ever (re)-built. And, without, myself, knowing the instrument at all, I believe you have hit the nail on the head - at least, that appears to be the case. In terms of what there is to know, Nicholsons and the cathedral are keeping their cards close to their chest for the time being.
  9. Brilliant - I knew it was Claudia Grinnell - but couldn't place the CPE Bach at all. Thanks so much for the link, SlowOrg.
  10. Hello - please could someone identify the first piece of pre-service organ music here, by any chance? It's Evensong from Winchester today. Many thanks. Martin.
  11. I fear there is a certain inevitability about what Adnosad says here, but the trick, as it were, with pipe organs and preservation is surely to try to discourage everyone from wanting to preserve every last pipe organ regardless of inherent quality. In a way, organs like this one in Warrington Parr Hall are under threat because the sheep are in with the goats. Somehow or other, a way has to be found that preserves the finest instruments at the expense, if necessary of those of less satisfactory quality and provenance. To some extent this is happening and we quite frequently read of transplants - without thinking too deeply, I can think of the Nicholson job in York, we had Orford more recently, and St John's Cambridge is coming up. So that's great. But we must be prepared to acknowledge that not every pipe organ is equally worthy of more time, energy and money being spent on it.
  12. I thought I'd just mention, in case it's been missed by anyone here who perhaps doesn't keep an eye on the digital organ world, that Church Organ World are published an album to celebrate the coronation. I am not at all connected with COW and actually own a Viscount, but they are very good suppliers of organ sheet music and their own publications are worthing keeping abreast of. There are details of this new album on their website and they are also doing a special offer on their Organ Encores series which Ian Tracey edited. I only have two of these albums but have found useful and attractive material in both of them. There 6-volume set is currently available for £50 which represents very good value. It will be interesting to see when Iain Farrington's new organ piece for the coronation is published and whether Patrick Doyle's new Coronation March will ever be arranged for organ as the two Walton ones were.
  13. An excellent appointment announced today - Tom Daggett (OBE Outreach Fellow at St Paul's) to be new DoM etc at Sheffield Cathedral. He has done inspirational and massively valuable work in London since his appointment helping many young people to enjoy their singing and others to make a start on the organ, too.
  14. Hopefully I have updated this post from last October reasonably accurately. Happy to receive further updates. I am taking the liberty of posting a revised version of this with a few 'notes in the margin', as it were, and a couple of additions. Not quite sure how to keep this up to date but very happy to try from time to time! Do contribute! I was hoping to keep this to 'well known places' but realise that that may defy definition! Projects underway: Norwich Cathedral - well underway by H&H Brasenose College, Oxford - new instrument by Orgues de facto in advanced state of installation - have heard/seen nothing more - Anyone? Winchester Cathedral - (scheme is published - rebuild etc with Vox Humana to be added) - work now underway Bath Abbey - overhaul with tonal adjustments by Klais scheduled for start in January 2023 - this is underway Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks - digital organ installed - awaiting details of new pipe organ. Not sure if there are any details out there - there are now! Harrisons to build interesting new organ... and their website indicates that work is underway - lots of photos. Known imminent/future projects but no/sparse/basic details known: Bristol Cathedral - nothing new to report as at 25.10.22. Three manual viscount has been installed on a 'stand by' basis in case of breakdown. It is thought that Harrison and Harrison has been appointed. Wells Cathedral - nothing new to report Charterhouse School - nothing new - Nicholsons have announced new organ to replace H&H using minimal pipework from this instrument, but no actual scheme announced Gloucester Cathedral - things HAVE moved on. Organ has broken down and is out of use until Nicholsons can refurbish and renew. Snippets of news only - understood to be a 'new organ' in the planning. Light the blue touch paper when this scheme is promulgated! St Bartholomew, Smithfield, London - extant pipe organ declared no longer usable and installation of Viscount digital on temporary basis some time ago. Plans to install Schoenstein pipe organ Imminent conclusions of schemes: Bristol Beacon - H&H work ongoing Leeds Town Hall - Nicholson work ongoing Manchester Town Hall - combined project by Nicholsons and Flentrop - ongoing Projects (mostly) from original post now complete: St Mary, Portsea - now complete (Nicholsons) Wimborne Minster - now complete (Manders) - has anyone seen photos or comments about this? Postscript - there are now photos of the completed project on the Mander Facebook site. Shrewsbury Abbey - now complete (GO Organs) Magdalen College, Oxford - Eule instrument now complete Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral - H&H work ongoing - H&H website hasn't been updated re this instrument for quite a while, but organ back in use. Worcester Cathedral - not a 'scheme' as such, but repairs, cleaning and recommissioning following storm damage and several years of 'issues' - Nicholsons. Tickell organ back in use
  15. Thank you, Thierry, for posting these - I'd love to play them all - Nos 1 & 5 are, to my mind, especially attractive - and all would work so well on a small instrument. Can I persuade you to part with a score possibly?
  16. Yes, I think it's one thing for the DoM to be in the organ loft, accompanying the psalms, but it seems curious for the psalms to be unaccompanied and the DoM and the ADoM (or whatever their title) to not participate by playing or conducting, especially when the alernative is an almost absurd and distracting wagging of heads on either side. Why can't the 'leads' either side use a hand or a finger?
  17. Variations on this theme... Here is Robert Sharpe accompanying the first hymn at the Eucharist at York this morning.
  18. That's very interesting, Stephen - thank you. The other 'habit' that seems to have set in fairly recently, is for the DoM to leave the choir to 'get on with it' during the Psalms whilst not playing themselves. So, ADoM/Organ Scholar in the loft plays a chord, plays a chord, the DoM goes and sits down along with the congregation, and the choir sings with heads wagging... which looks awful and almost comic. Why they can't use a hand or even a finger, I can't understand.
  19. And, actually, this is what I meant. DoM leaves the chancel floor after the anthem or before the sermon, in order to play final hymn and voluntary. I don't know how much playing the DoM ever gets in some places. It must be quite a 'thing' to get promotion to a new post and end up largely conducting the choir. I wonder if some regret it.
  20. This has not been an unusual phenomenon in cathedrals over the last 50 years. You can see Robert Sharpe do it regularly if you watch York on Youtube, and I have seen Ben Nicholas do it at Merton, but at quite a number of other cathedrals/ college chapels that I have watched over the last two years, the DoM seems to stay 'downstairs' so I asm not sure it is commonplace anymore.
  21. It's all happening. https://www.pershoreabbey.org.uk/2023/01/03/pershore-abbey-closed-from-9-18-january/
  22. An interesting point. And for some reason, I have always associated the Rowley and the Stanford with the Canticle 'Benedictus' rather than the part of the Mass which, as you say, must be what, for example, Reger had in mind. Co-incidentally, I have just ordered a new copy of Stanford 3 (from Bardon), my old second hand copy having become a but awkward and tatty. The Stanford is different stylistically from the first Rowley which is really just a typical 'Bridge Adagio in E' type of typical organ adagio that grows slowly up to a climax and then diminishes back to nothing. The Stanford has that long sinuous opening them that it develops with interjections and then moves into a new faster moving idea in B flat minor which starts out with an air of foreboding which resolves into the fanfare motif in A flat. To what words in the 'Benedictus' does this section refer, one wonders. Does that refer to raising up 'a mighty foundation for us', perhaps? Moving on... It's easy to imagine that Stanford's long closing section starting in G flat major and corresponds with the closing verse: ' To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death; and to guide our feet into the way of peace.' But who knows,? I think Stanford has really just painted a picture of the whole canticle which to my mind is one of reassurance - indeed, of Blessedness. Apart from the two Rowleys, the Lloyd Webber and the Stanford, are there other Benedictus movements that are obviously not part of a 'Mass' like the Reger? Note to self: There probably are one or two in the Kevin Mayhew archive by folk like Stanley Vann, Richard Lloyd et al which are worth looking out. I'll see what I've got. Postscript: I see that Rowley sub-titles his first Benedictus with words from Christina Rosetti's Processional of Creation - (which to my mind is more of a Benedicite!) and his Second Benedictus with the words 'in quiet contemplation shall peace guide your way' which certain refers to the closing verse of the canticle. Postscript 2: Yes, there are Mayhew Benedicti (?) by Stanley Vann and by John Marsh. The Vann is in a large album of Communion Interludes. There are almost certainly others.
  23. It's the Queen's Hall, Langham Place. I wonder if it could be Sir Frederick Bridge and the Royal Choral Society.
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