Brian Childs
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Posts posted by Brian Childs
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I would score Howells at 100 on the right organ, and Bach at 5 on the wrong organ, but there you go.
If there is a "wrong" organ for Bach then presumably there has to be a right one as well. But if so, what is it ? It seems to me that opinions on this have changed radically in my lifetime and were hardly settled before that. Did not Widor express an opinion along the lines that it was only after Cavaille-Coll that the proper playing of Bach became possible. Presumably Schweitzer did not agree and I can remember when his style was regarded as the way to do it "authentically". One assumes that Ralph Downes thought the RFH organ was suitable (and I have some stunning Bach performances by Germani on that organ) and yet it has also been described as suitable for playing little more than "the town hall transcription" which it was a reaction against. In my youth the neo-baroque instruments inspired by the organ reform movement were thought to be just the ticket and lots of 8+ 2+ 1 1/3 registrations were to be heard. Yet I seem to recall reading somewhere that Peter Hurford is no longer convinced that the style he used in his complete Bach recordings for Decca was right ( I like these recordings a lot whatever he now thinks) ! Meanwhile Naumburg is now an instrument which seems to be being touted as the most appropriate style of instrument: and Ton Koopman has actually used Weingarten for one CD in a series devoted to the organ music of Bach. And then there are those like a gentleman whom I think was mentioned by MM in a fairly recent post (but memory may be playing tricks) who was quite happy to play Bach on an Arthur Harrison , Trombas, Tuba et al and express the view that Bach would have loved such an organ. And Kevin Bowyer, no less, recorded a Bach programme for Priory played in that style at St Mary Redcliffe!! Is it now certain that we have provided the definitive answer to a question that our forebears found peculiarly troubling ? Or is the jury still out ?
Heathen!
Now with this view I can identify. I do not think I would choose the word dull to describe Arthur Wills's playing of the Final in B flat at Ely nor that of Nicolas Kynaston playing the A minor Choral at Westminster Cathedral but perhaps I am easily amused.
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I seem to remember that Davier wasn't his real name - he did appear and disappear somewhat didn't he!
AJJ
Is this not the guy who produced a set of three LPs on the RAH organ ? Was he not Swedish with a real name something like Ake Leven (apologies for missing accents) who was credited with the design of some enormous concert hall organ in Stockholm ?
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I don't recall too much about William Matthias, but the University of Abersywyth seems to come to mind, where I seem to think that he may have been head of music.
MM
University College, Bangor, I think.
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I agree there's a need - for specially chosen stuff produced as Paul described - but it needs approaching with care (and thoughtful discussion). I'd hate the idea of a commercial CD of "20 Greatest Exit Tunes Ever" which slowly but surely drives everything else out.
I played for the funeral of a much loved member of our church earlier today. The nave was full (circa 350) and almost the whole choir (kids and adults) managed to get there. The deceased had specified exactly what he wanted (including something we hadn't sung for over ten years). I don't think we've ever done the Nunc of Stanford in C quite so slowly or with such passion (as the coffin was taken out) and we all felt we'd been able to say 'goodbye' properly. Playing a CD wouldn't have been the same (even though it would have been rather more accurate here and there and much less stress all round). It would have been an intrusion by strangers into 'our' service. Knowing it was a live 'one off' was important.
It would be easy to dismiss this as a (very) unusual occurrence, but I've has the same sensation when playing for very simple occasions - the fact that it is being done live makes it something dedicated to that person. The funeral of my uncle with piped music (including 'heavenly choir') and a (standard)address by someone who'd never met him was the most soulless funeral I've ever attended - everyone couldn't wait to get out because it had nothing to do with the person we knew.
If this all seems a long way from the original topic I should say that some of our funerals are accompanied on a Gulbransem whilst the mighty FW slumbers opposite!
I completely agree that a committed live performance is invariably preferable to a CD though a quality CD performance would certainly have been preferable to one deplorable instance of incompetence and bad manners it was my misfortune to witness which commenced with the player turning up late - since he had the keys nobody else could stand in - and proceeded downhill as it became obvious that if he had ever seen the chosen music before it was a long time ago...Such behaviour is discourteous to the memory of the deceased and unlikely to bring the solace of music to the bereaved!!!
That said when I buried (consigned to the flames ?? but could that not be misinterpreted ?) my mother there were 12 people in the crematorium chapel, eight of whom were comprised by my brother and myself, our wives and our 4 children. The officiating minister had never met her, and though he did the best he could, errors of recollection or notetaking were inevitable and the address was by definition impersonal. As more people live alone , this situation is likely to be repeated with increasing frequency. Moreover, crematoria operate to an increasingly tight timetable as becomes obvious when you leave to see the next party already assembled , and possibly even the one after that already starting to form up in the distance. In such situations it may bring peace of mind to some people to be able to pre-plan not only the cost but also the format of their memorial service and to have confidence that they can have the music of their choice competently performed. A CD of appropriate music might be helpful to such people. And whilst I fully accept that made- to- measure is best, ready- to- wear or off- the- peg is what most people have to make do with most of the time.
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I have just provided a friend with a CD of organ music, custom played and recorded by me, the CD to be played at her (imminent) funeral. It's the way she wants it; and she's found it a consolation to have been able to hear it in advance...
Paul
While Paul's kind and thoughtful gesture has provided for this particular lady, I rather doubt she is the only person confronting this problem, whether the funeral being planned is for oneself or another. Yet to the best of my knowledge CDs of music suitable for a funeral or memorial service are almost as rare as hen's teeth: the only ones of which I am aware are the Priory Compilation CD and one by the theatre organist John Mann entitled "Music for a Solemn Occasion". By contrast bridal couples are quite generously provided for, including CDs performed on significant organs by players of the calibre of Kevin Bowyer. Yet fewer people are opting to get married while everyone (apart from those lost at sea , obliterated by high explosive or incinerated) will require some kind of funeral service. One would have thought there was a gap in the market here since almost all crematoria and a significant number of churches have sound sytems installed either as an alternative to, or as a substitute for, an actual musician in attendance. I appreciate some members of this board earn fees from playing on such occasions and I have no wish to mount an attack on anyone's livelihood but I am quite sure there must be other individuals out there who would like to be reassured that their final journey will not be made to the strains of "My Way" (unless of course that was their express wish). Perhaps Paul should enquire into the possibility of a commercial release ??
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For some reason best known to the Internet I'm unable to press reply on Brian's message.
Hourly rate - given as an example. You could up it to £10 or £15 if you want, but it still doesn't equate to the £40 + VAT the firm is going to earn in the same time for non-productive work if it charges full workshop rates for travel, and misses the point completely. I know of an apprentice earning significantly less than the figure I used first, who will (I suspect) be sent out tuning before very long. For that matter, I also know of many firms charging very considerably more than £40 an hour.
Tools - there are no formal organbuilding qualifications in this country. There are plenty of clubs you can join if you pay them the right amount of money. For qualifications you must go to Germany, and I know of only two in the UK who have. There are many industries where you are expected to obtain your own tools as an apprentice - glazing is certainly another, and in my previous life (which, I should say, only ended two years ago) I and all the other firms I knew well in the area required just that. Again, this misses the point that was being made - which is that for routine tuning and maintenance, you need a can of oil, a reed knife and perhaps some screwdrivers to get in (to the organ, that is - not the church...) Possibly some cones, but not very often. No company worth dealing with is going to struggle through lack of such very basic equipment, so "tying up plant and equiment" is not a valid objection.
Carrying on a tradition of apprenticeship does not equate to being stuck in the dark ages; government has moved to encourage apprenticeships in recent years, and since no alternative currently exists and blackboard learning cannot fully match the requirements, what better way to do it is there?
It is perfectly possible I am missing your point David : an alternative explanation is that I am just not looking at the scene from the same viewpoint as you are. My understanding of your basic point is that it amounts to a rip-off to be charged workshop rates / skilled work rates for travelling time. My point is that this is not the correct viewpoint from which to look at the situation since viewing the situation from this standpoint is virtually guaranteed to produce the conclusion that fleecing is in progress.
I am suggesting that even if the charge is expressed in terms of hourly rates, this is not the best way to view the situation ( a proposition you are perfectly entitled to refuse to accept). A guy whom I know very well occasionally does the odd conference presentation . His fee would be £250 plus his travelling and accommodation expenses as well. For this sum he would deliver a paper - 35/45 minutes, field any questions and be available to chat at the coffee break. £250 for a morning's work looks expensive; but if the payment is viewed not as for a morning's work but a lifetime's knowledge and experience, (plus several hours preparing the paper), then, seen from that angle, the charge appears less exhorbitant. Could not the same be true of the services of an experienced tuner ? The "plant and equipment" = asset tied up could be the skilled workman : it is not necessary for it to be hard plant.
From posts on other threads I think it ought to be clear that I am all in favour of apprenticeships where people receive training in an actual job as opposed to signing up for "university" courses which they then do not attend because they are too busy stacking shelves in supermarkets or serving behind a bar. Also 1907 (100 years ago) is not the period of history conventionally labelled the "dark ages" . Edwardian is the usual label I think.
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Not wishing to be argumentative either, but I don't see the problem as being one of terminology, only of attitude.
1) If you think it's reasonable to pay workshop rates for a man to drive a car, then feel free. I don't. Assuming a distance of 40 miles @ 20p a mile operating cost, and 1 hour's salary at £8 an hour or so, that represents a cost to the firm of £16. Is £40+ a reasonable charge to make for that non-productive time?
I am sure you know more about tuners hourly rates than I do but if your figure of £8.00 an hour is meant seriously for what I assume to be skilled craft work then I am astounded any builder/tuner has any craftsmen left in his employ or is still carrying on this type of work on a self employed basis charging that much per hour for the "labour cost" element. Such individuals must me extremely loyal, devoid of domestic responsibilities and quite unaware of what can be got working as a chippy on a building site. An hourly rate of £8.00 equates to an annual salary of £16,640 for a 40 hour week assuming for paid holidays at the same rate. Given that the minimum wage in this country is £5.35 per hour a differential of only £2.65 from a supermarket shelf stacker does not look plausible to me. I know a number of plumbers, kitchen fitters etc ie those with analogous skills. Admittedly they are self employed but their annual gross earnings exceed £50,000 in every case and the self employed have far greater opportunities to avoid tax on their earnings than do mere paye wage earners. I would have expected the "real"hourly rate to be around the £20 mark and that makes your calculations appear in rather a different light. I say "real" hourly rate because the construction industry and its associated trades have long been extremely innovative in keeping money from flowing through the books on its way to the pocket so that it escapes the attention of the taxman.
2) Equipment - a can of oil for the blower and a selection of hand tools are most likely going to belong to (or at least be unique to) the individual, rather than the firm. It's extremely unlikely that any firm wishing to be taken seriously is going to be held up in its work because the company reed knife is on another job.
A craftsman with his own toolbox the contents of which are his personal possessions? This is the journeyman carpenter of my grandfather's youth, ie 100 years ago. If this really is an accurate picture of Mr Organ Tuner 2007 then it is no wonder that many think the trade is stuck in a time warp.
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Churches are always trying to get something for nothing, and when they do actually have to pay for something, they expect to get what they pay for. Anyone who wants to do work in a church, and expects to get paid for work they're NOT doing, really needs to wake up.
Whilst it may be true that "free" is almost everyone's favourite four-letter-word, there certainly used to be a widespread view in the legal profession that free advice was normally worth precisely what you paid for it. I suspect that would have been true of many other occupations as well. Whilst it is indisputable that Churches (as buildings/individual congregations) have always welcomed benefactions and a number have virtually owed their existence to the generosity of one or more wealthy patrons, in the 21st century with falling attendances , why should any church/congregation even begin to think it has some sort of entitlement to professional services at free or subsidsed rates ? If someone is prepared to provide them, that is wonderful but it is surely a bonus: not a right or legitimate expectation? I do not see why a church has any more reason to expect subsidised or preferential rates for work on the organ than for work on the roof.
Not wishing to be argumentative it does seem to me that we are back to problems of terminology here: wages for work done is what an employer pays to his employee or in the older terminology a master to his servant. This will rarely be the situation between a church and someone doing work for it: the relationship in legal terminology will almost always be a contract for services and the church will be paying not "wages for work done" but a "charge for services provided". A part of that charge will be for the cost of providing those services at the time and place they are provided, or quite simply the cost of travelling time which has to be met by someone. And the cost of travelling time involves more than the actual expense of getting to A from B: certainly more than the cost of the fuel used. There is the profit element, the charge to reflect the fact that equipment en route from A to B is not available for work at C and so on and so forth. So if there is any "waking up" to be done it is perhaps more on the part of those church officers/ officials whose view of the way the economy works seems more rooted in the assumptions of the 19th century than those of the 21st.
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I understand where you're coming from, Frank, but I really don't see that this area is problematic at all - it's a practice that's stuck in Victorian times.
Churches usually pay for a day's work - that should mean a day's work. Why should we pay for 2-4 hours of work that aren't actually being done? I can understand paying mileage or such like, but not an actual working rate. The cardinal sin, if the tuner is starting their "day's work" from the minute they get in the car, is to say in the tuning book "Unable to deal with due to lack of time" - if they arrive at 11 and leave at 3, this makes me *very* angry.
While I can understand the feelings of AJT, it does look as if the real cause of the problem is the charging formula employed by tuners which makes it transparent that travelling time is charged to the Church : a different formula might successfully obscure this fact, though it would be unlikely to alter the identity of who actually ended up paying. Would ajt be happier if it was not quite so "in your face" that travelling time is charged to the customer ? After all the "call out charges" levied by plumbers, appliance repairmen and the like are basically a means of getting the customer to pay for travelling time: these tend to be flat rate and ,since the radius of action of the typical plumber is unlikely to be larger than that of the typical tuner, but rather smaller in fact, would be likely to be seen as even more expensive if expressed in terms of a common denominator. In fact the charging basis for many fees for professional services bears only the most tenuous of connections to the difficulty of the work or the time taken to do it. Thus a typical formula if you engage the services of a solicitor to sell your house for you will be a percentage of the consideration (price) you get for it (typically .75%) plus outgoings plus VAT. Estate agents often adopt a similar practice. There is very little evidence which tends to show that there is any kind of direct relationship between the price of a house and the difficultyof/ time required to do the work required to sell it.
Perhaps tuners might simultaneously be able to soothe the feelings of clients like ajt and increase their remuneration if they changed the formula used to present the final account to the customer ?
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Noel Rawsthorne did a fine recording of lighter music at Coventry. He showed the remarkable versatility of the instrument in Schubert's Marche Militaire, a delicious arrangment of Londonderry Air, Trumpet Voluntary and similar things - very 'unpurist' but great fun. It is a pity that this CD is now deleted.
Barry Williams
Noel Rawsthorne: "Hallelujah" Great Organ Arrangements
Amount of these items currently in your Basket: None
Code: RRC1241
Postage Weight: 1.00 units (1 CD/DVD = 1.00 unit)
ORGAN1st Price: £6.95
I think you will find that it has, as is appropriate for this season, just been resurrected. Front cover however seems to feature a cavalry charge, presumably an allusion to one of the pieces included.
BAC
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I see Priory have just redesigned their website. Navigation is easier now. I see they have a few of the Great European Organs series remaindered at £4.99, plus a new CD of warhorses from York Minster at the same price (but who's playing - JSW?)
And before you leap on me, no, I don't have any connection with them!
I am a sucker for this type of collection and must have acquired about 30 + of these programmes over the years but I am afraid this one leaves me cold. The playing seems uninvolved and in my opinion the new position found for the microphone(s) - suspended from the central tower above the pipework - does the sound no favours. Even the Tuba Mirabilis in the Cocker lacks impact, and I much prefer the 60s sound of FJ to the 90s sound of JSW : by contrast what I take to be the new Bombarde ( a stop I have never heard in the building) makes quite a splash in the Purcell, though hardly authentic. Has anyone else heard it and what do they think ?
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All of them....excellent....more, please!!
R
I concur and I own all of them. I also find myself in agreement with Cynic's remarks and would echo the sentiments expressed. Perhaps the initial lack of answers was caused by the lack of specificity in the question ? Interesting to whom and on what basis ? This may well not have been intended but it seems to me that a question posed in these words is not asking for the same information as is required to answer "Which ones do you like most and why ?" The latter is clearly a question about personal preferences: they may be shared or not but they cannot be wrong. "Interesting" seems to me to imply a greater degree of detachment, but this may well not have been intended.
For information, the ones I play most often are Norwich and Ripon. I do not share the reservations of another contributor about Ely and prefer the organ as it is now to what its state was for the generation preceding the recent rebuild. Tending in the other direction, I can admire the technical skill shown at Coventry but I will never derive pleasure from listening to organ music in this style.
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However, I have no expectations that, even if I did try, I would make any sense of them - so it's likely that I would produce an even more execrable sound than they are normally capable of emitting.
Surely any organ is capable of emitting "execrable sound" in the "right" hands ? A lot of people who attended the opening recitals at the RFH thought that was what it did. (Darling, its boiling..."). Do I detect that you consider Wurlitzers, Hammonds et al are only capable of emitting "execrable sound" ? If so, I would recommend you to listen to some of the big installations in the USA , like San Filippo with 80 ranks of pipes, including 3 chamades, playing real organ music (Bach, Mulet, Widor and so on). It might cause you to revise your opinion. At any rate a fair trial would have been held.
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I suspect the Wakefield Cathedral Compton is not regarded as being an instrument of note. However, a few years ago the then sub, Louise Marsh, recorded a disc of Messiaen
I have Ms Marsh's CD (La Nativite du Seigneur but I was hoping for something that played to the strengths of the instrument rather than tending to expose its weaknesses. I do not know Wakefield Cathedral at all really but I suspect that it may be a difficult building for the organ builder, as indeed have proved to be a number of the promoted parish church cathedrals, including my own, Chelmsford. The reason seems to be that the new status leads to the need to find more space to fulfil cathedral type functions than was previously necessary when the building was merely a parish church, and in doing this the organ tends to be crammed away in a side chapel under a low side roof where it experiences considerable difficulty in making any kind of impact in the building. I vaguely remember reading somewhere that such was the problem at Wakefield and that would certainly explain why Comptons were the preferred builder since their experience as cinema organ builders made them expert in fitting pipework into cramped and awkward locations and voicing it to overcome the effects of its unfavourable location in so far as possible. Perhaps someone with much greater knowledge of this particular organ could enlighten us ?
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You mean appraisal systems in your experience? "Appraisal system" is just two words, not a set in stone process the same the world over - it can be whatever you make it, good or bad.
Yes |I do mean in my experience but not simply as experienced by me. My personal experience was basically innocuous if entirely lacking in utility. I never met any university teacher of my generation who thought they had derived any benefit at all from the process. Obviously I have not met every university teacher of my generation. But I should ,of course, have introduced my remarks with "A great many apraisal systems..." rather than appearing to claim that all were identical.
I am delighted for those whose experience has been more positive : it may well be helpful to those whose concern is career development rather than intellectual satisfaction, the motivation for my becoming an academic. What one perceives as, and indeed what actually is, the objective of a particular appraisal process will undoubtedly influence the reaction to it However "it can be whatever you make it" surely can only be an accurate description if the you is plural and applies to both appraiser and appraisee . I cannot understand how the appraisee on his/her own can create an objectively good experience out of a flawed process whose stated and real objectives are entirely different, although it can, I suppose, be made to serve the function of personal character development.
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But surely there must be some feedback system, otherwise we will never grow in our roles?
But an appraisal system is not primarily intended to produce feedback, helpful or otherwise. It is one more consequence of the deliberate killing off of the ethos of professionalism, as a consequence of the actions of all those politicians who actually believed that "game theory" really did reflect real life, specifically Margaret Thatcher but not only her. It used to be possible to say to those one was teaching words to the effect that "You should always do the best you can: you cannot do more, you should not do less." For those who aspire to implement this approach much of the rigmarole associated with appraisal systems (which presupposes you will identify and plan to address weaknesses in a systematic and organized fashion ) is totally meaningless, BECAUSE as soon as you identify a weakness or have an idea for how to improve your performance you implement it at once - you do not wait for the next annual meeting !!! That certainly does not mean that there is no scope for improvement or helpful and constructive criticism. But what it most emphatically does mean is that the individual being appraised is in no position to identify weaknesses and/or solutions since if he or she could do so then by definition that individual would not be doing his or her best!
Appraisal systems are part of a business culture where jargon rules OK, people seek to be rewarded for reinventing the wheel (and are offended when they are not) , and where "targets" rule everything else to the extent that it is often now considered far better practice to do x amount of work in a particular time even if it includes a number of botched or inadequately performed tasks than it is to do x-y amount all of which is perfectly properly done so that nothing needs to be done again!! There are undoubtedly business consultants around today who would have advised Michael Angelo that a couple of coats of brilliant white emulsion applied with a roller would be a far quicker job and produce a perfectly acceptable finish!
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I know that both Jonathan Bielby and Philip Tordoff (Wakefield Cathedral and Halifax PC respectively) have been at the same posts for about 40 years, which must deserve either a medal or a pint of "Bishop's Finger."
MM
I do not know about Mr Tordoff but Jonathan Bielby was born, I believe, in 1945 and 22 is surely a little young to be DoM in a Cathedral even if it is one of the parish church cathedrals. If memory serves me right he was appointed in 1970, and became Kirklees Borough Organist in 1974, so he was hardly in his dotage even then. I was very fond of the LPs he made for Priory both at the Cathedral and Huddersfield Town Hall. Does anyone know why he has never, to my knowledge, produced a CD of the Cathedral organ ?
BAC
Dr Alan Spedding appointed in 1967.I wonder what he was driving in those days?
A
Possibly a push bike ? In fact he hardly needed a car then since both the minster and the grammar school were but an easy stroll away from his house.
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Does anyone remember her Messiaen recorded at the Royal Festival Hall? Hardly the most favourable acoustic
for this music. I think I have got some copies of the discs somewhere. I suppose they might have some value
for a student of how to surmount obstacles or,perhaps,as a sonic guide to the RFH instrument.
Well I remember it. I have the LP , in fact both it and its companion release of Ralph Downes at Brompton Oratory, seemingly the only two releases that the company - Radnor - ever put out. I have n't played it for years but I think I might dig it out and see what it sounds like.
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What about the Duchess of Kent ? Or does she not qualify as a celebrity ?
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Alwyn Surplice was one of my predecessors at my current church (between the wars). .... As one of my choir members points out - I'm the last qualified organist to ever have held the post. Somehow I don't think it's meant as a compliment...
Dear AJT
Could you perhaps explain this in rather more detail , since I cannot grasp the meaning from the words written. Whilst leastqualified would make sense , I am sure it is not true. I suppose "last qualified" could mean youngest. If it simply means that you are the most recently qualified, then it is hardly surprising for the current incumbent to be younger than his predeccesors, but how could that carry an uncomplimentary meaning ?
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I - perhaps just a little pedal-light in the thickest sections.
I have often played the Prelude and Fugue, in C minor (BWV 546) - this to me has just the right 'feel' (although purists are unlikely to warm to the way in which I perform the Fugue).
The 'Dorian' (BWV 538) is good - I particularly like the Fugue.
Just out of curiosity how are the purists (no apostrophe!) likely to react to the way you play the 'Dorian' fugue ? Fortunately I entirely fail to qualify as a purist since my favourite recorded performance of this work - well the one I listen to most frequently - is that of Heathcote Statham at Norwich on Great Cathedral Organ Series 12. Inauthentic it may be but it certainly works for me !
BAC
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I stand corrected. In fact, I was hoping to rush back during the wee small hours and correct the mistake; knowing that someone would spot it.
David Jenkins it was, of course, but I'm not so sure that his views were especially controversial, considering that they had been around for the better part of a century before he uttered them.
MM
Fair point but what made Jenkins controversial was he took them out of the academic cloister and published them to what we would now term John Major's "spinsters cycling through the mist..." many of whom were quite unaware that "the dear vicar" might be entertaining views along these lines, if only because in the C of E, at any rate, the opinions that clergy hold on such matters are not necessarily the views they expound in the pulpit. Or it might be more accurate to say that back then, almost a generation ago, that was the case whatever may be the current position. The C of E is after all the state church, and sets (used to set ?) quite a lot of store by being a broad church which could accomodate both the Anglo-Catholic and the person more attuned to an Ebenezer Chapel in its ranks. To do that you need to make quite extensive use of constructive ambiguity and certainly not go out of your way to start raising awkward questions, after all you may find the long promissed legacy you have earmarked to repair the roof (or the organ, for the benfit of those here) is suddenly destined for the cats home if you spend Advent declaiming that the Christmas story is largely bunk, that the evidence in the Imperial records for the "decree of Caesar Augustus by which the world should be taxed" is rather thin, to say the least, and that many of the traditions of Christmas are unequivocally derived from pagan traditions etc etc.
I believe it is also a principle of the newspaper industry that when faced with a choice between the truth and a good story you always go with the good story !!
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I always remember the story told by a well known organist who had to accompany a Mothers' Union Diocesan service on the Wurlitzer then in the Free Trade Hall in Manchester. The Bishop was to make a grand entrance, so the organist in question decided to use the snare drum followed by a big fanfare. The organist in question then erroneously missed the snare drum piston and the said Bishop made his grand entrance to "cuckoo - cuckoo - cuckoo" etc.
NS
I seem to remember that Jonathan Rennert's biography of Thalben-Ball contains a somewhat similar story about him, as well as one where his efforts with an oil can to lubricate the action of a harmonium he had been asked to play in a church somewhere in Wales proved so effective that pedalling made it mobile and sent him on a journey round the chancel ...
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.....the dedication and enthronement of one Dr Ian Ramsey as Bishop of Durham.....
David Jenkins, surely?
I rather think so. Ian Ramsay was appointed Bishop of Durham in 1966 and died in 1972: David Jenkins became Bishop of Durham in 1984 and held notoriously controversial views on the Virgin Birth and the Resurrection.
Percy Fletcher - Festival Toccata
in The Organ
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