MusingMuso

The history of organ-building, as with the history of anything worthwhile, abounds with a number of strong-minded individuals; perhaps the most celebrated being Fr Henry Willis. Having rceently obtained a re-print of the book "Brindley & Foster Organ Builders," by J R Knott, I reached a letter sent by Brindley & Foster to the magazine, "Organist & Choirmaster," which saw me spluttering a mouthful of tea down my shirt. Things don't get much bitchier or poiinted than this:- Dear Sirs, Mr Robert Hope-Jones in his letter in your March issue seems to be under the impression that our Flute Fundamentale is intended to be of his Tibia Clausa class.As this statement, if uncontradicted, may do us harm, we wish to say that the Flute Fundementale as designed, scaled and voiced by us, is not intended to produce "powerful foundation tone to balance powerful reeds." It is a stop of the true organ variety, designed to replace stops of the Clarabella variety where this is desirable. We hold and always have held the views at variance with those of Mr Robert Hope-Jones on the subject of organ-tone; and our opinions are based on experience extending beyond the time when Mr Robert Hope-Jones transferred his genius from the telephone to the diaphone: our ideals have met with the entire approval of all our clients and received the approbation of many prominent musicians, and are thereby justified. There is always room for difference of opinion, and if Mr Robert Hope-Jones has succeeded in his threefold duty, in pleasing himself, gratifying his clients and satisying his shareholders, we shall be the last to withold our mede of praise. In the meantime, we would assure our friends that we have no intention of trespassing on the unique preserves of Mr Robert Hope-Jones. Should we ever change our opinion, we will let our first "tonal invention" bear such a name as "Tibia Dementia" or "Tuba Plausa." Yours faithfully, B & F Miaow! Are there any other such "acid drops" I wonder? MM

====================== Quite probably, but then, it would limit the field a bit. I could live with it as it is now! MM

=========================== Francis Jackson said something similar when the RCO appeal was underway in, I think, the 1970's. I think I can recall his words exactly:- Holding the FRCO demonstrates that an organist is, (or at least once was),on the right lines. Love it! MM

Some organists are so feather-brained. Angry birds rap MM

============================ I cannot add anything concrete to what John states, because the Weimar instrument was destroyed in a fire C.1770. However, there is an intruiging possibility that Bach, (and possibly Wather), were influenced by Johann Ernst, who had completed a bit of a grand tour, during which he came into contact with other styles of German/Netherlands organs well away from the Thuringian region. Both Bach and Walther taught Prince Johann Ernst, and it may well be that "foreign" ideas of terz-choruses/mixtures were tried out when the Weimar Castle organ was re-built by Trebs. Whatever the truth of the matter, Bach certainly seems to have been quite an enthusiast for tierce mixtures thereafter, and possibly explains why an organ as remote from Thuringia as that at the Bavo-kerk, Haarlem, is so absolutely right for the music of Bach.....colour, richness and vibrancy of tone as well as vivid tonal contrasts. MM

======================= I dumoxed myself! (Now there's a good word which isn't in the dictionary). I think I knew that it should have been advice, but I write so quickly One of the great problems of having had an American partner, and then having spent time in America, is that I really have to stop and think how interchangeable are the endings -ice -ise -ize. This reminds me of the poor Yorkshireman who lost his wife, and went along to the monumental mason to arrange a headstone. Having been advised that the headstone was finished and in place, the man went to inspect the finished article. To his horror, the wording on the headstone read:- SHE WAS THIN Outraged, the poor man went to the monumental-mason and said, "You left an E out of the script on my wife's headstone." The monumental-mason apologised and said he would rectify the matter. The next time the poor man went to pay his respects, the headstone read:- E SHE WAS THIN MM

====================== Absurder and absurder. That stated, it does tend to be a very exclusive club, where decisions occur behind closed doors. I have heard tell of representations being made to specific people, usually through a third-party. It's exactly the same in higher academic circles. MM

=========================== How amusing that the shorter is in conflict with the larger! I must admit that I've always tended to use both spellings but in different ways. I tend to think, (whether rightly or wrongly), that an adviser is someone who gives an opinion, and an advisor is someone from whom opinion is sought. That 'formal' designation of advisor seems to be compatible with this. Fascintaing! Complettely off-topic, the full Oxford still doesn't know the origin of the war-time term, "Boffin." I asked a farily dismally educated squaddie what he thought. Without hesitation he replied, "Easy mate! We call a coffin a box in the army. A box contains something, so we have brain-boxes; meaning someone who has a lot of brains in their head. So if you convert box to coffin, you get a brain-coffin.....a boffin for short." I have the funny feeling that he was absolutely right. Should we tell the OED or keep it to ourselves? MM

================================ Two interesting factoids; both of which might benefit from a little scrutiny. With regard to cathedral organists, I would have thought that this criterion is really just a matter of wording. Surely it is the case that almost all, if not all cathedral appointments, are filled from the ranks of O&MC's and cathedral Assistants. Assistants themselves are often plucked from the ranks of Organ Scholars, and although I would neither defend nor criticise cathedral music as it is, the fact that it is as it is does tend to require those who have gone throguh a full process of apprenticeship. In some ways, it is one of the last vestiges of an older system, based on practical experience and that of learning from a recognised master as right-hand man. Some, including myself, would regard this as a Rolls-Royce system of education and practical learning which, were it to be generally adopted across all professions, would cost a fortune. The legal profession used to work in this way once upon a time. I don't know the facts and figures, but I would wager that virtually 100% of cathedral organists were once assistant cathedral organists, and I would further wager that they came through the ranks as organ scholars within a collegiate or cathedral setting. Of course, the down side of this is a certain encrusted attitude, where little changes and where the spirit of adventure is seen as the anti-Christ...but hey-ho...that's tradition, I suppose. Now with regard to Diocesan Organ Advisors "rocking the boat," I find this hard to fathom. The task of an advisor is to assess projects and to advise, but that advise carries no legal weight whatsoever, and the individual places of worship are free to ignore it should they so wish. Quite how this works in relation to the granting of faculties, I cannot answer. Others will know more, I feel sure. If I want to be a diocesan organ-advisor, do I first need to be an assistant diocesan organ-advisor, and before that, an organ-advisory scholar? MM PS: After 60+ years, I have just realised that there are advisers and advisors. Would someone please advise as to which spelling is correct in the advisory/advisery capacity? I hate the English language sometimes, but not at all times..

=========================== If the original ministry of the "Crystal Cathedral" and "The hour of power" were scrutinised as if they were businesses, I think I would have to conclude that they were in danger from the outset. Some of the most unstable business situations occur when they are "sales and marketing driven" and chase after "market share." Many businesses grow rapidly and then go pop, as costs and borrowing rise. In a way, the management of the ministry followed this pattern, with mega projects, international outreach, international broadcasting, a large and expensive staff and an infrastructure which required considerable outlays in maintenance. There is an old saying in business. "Market share is vanity: balance sheets are sanity." In a way, it was all sadly inevitable; especially when subscriptions fell following the credit crunch and the retirement of Dr Schuller (Snr). MM

I hope Barry Jordan has already posted this clip under the "You Tube" topic, but if not, I would be astonished. If he did, then it is worth repeating, because I was totally ignorant of the composer Augustus Gottfried Ritter, who after being organist of Mersberg Cathedral, moved on to the Magdeburger Dom, from where we hear this work, played on the magnificent new Schuke orgel. I can't help but think that this is a rather special instrument, even though I am only able to judge from the recording. MM

======================= No irony intended! I wasn'r thinking of the usual, "Left a bit! Right a bit! Watch the woodwork!" That's always a kind of organised anarchy. No, as someone who spends at least some of my time transporting things around, I am genuinely impressed. It's no easy matter to pack containers securely, which I would assume, travelled by container-vessel. (Heavy air-freight would be just too expensive, I would have thought). Once packed, it has to be lifted off the truck at the docks, piled onto the ship, fastened down, taken across a big ocean, uplifted again at the docks, moved onto a container-truck, driven to London and, using exactly the right equipment, side-lifting it onto the street. The logistics of it are quite something, and not only involve a lot of paper-work, but careful attention to detail with such things as parking restrictions, special permits and even a special order to suspend street parking while the containers are dropped and unloaded at the church. The easy part is actually moving the containers, which will be second-nature to the shipping and haulage people. The last thing you need in this sort of situation, is for someone to unload the last box, and hear someone ask, "Where's the 32ft Open Wood?" No, I'm quite impressed. MM

========================= They're very well organised aren't they? MM

==================== I think we've visited the mysterious world of the Bayern Accordian previously, and somewhere, there is a performance/transcription of the Reger Toccata & Fugue in D minor, which is just magnificent. I think it may be the same performer. It looks like a terrifyingly difficult instrument to play, and I would love to hear one live in a good, resonant room. Russia is a big place, and the Ukraine is not exaclty small. I wonder if this marvellous tradition is very localised, like Tuvan throat-singing, which is different..... to say the least. MM

Here's something to contemplate:- MM

There ya go! You can't hide from Google Earth, which I checked to see how far St. John's sticks out into the Atlantic........quite a long way it would seem! Canada is quite different to Russia I suspect, which has a more or less uniform climate across 4,300 miles of East-West terrain north of the high mountain ranges. MM

Now some people play the Durufle Toccata and the Germani Toccata, and even very fast versions of the Widor Toccata, but for sheer accuracy and dexterity, I reckon this to be one of the most amazing things I've ever heard. Moto Perpetuo by Niccolo Paganini, Organ Transcription played by the Hungarian organist Szilárd Kovács I love the video, which reminds me of those "London to Brighton in 5 minutes" railway films in black & white. MM

========================= Ah yes! I'd forgotten that you were in Newfoundland, which is over Greenland and left a bit. I recall flying over it and thinking how big it was, because I started to eat a meal on board a 747 as we started to fly over land, and when I finished it, nothing much seemed to have changed down below. Had it been the UK, we'd have flown over two countries and be half way across the English Channel in the same sort of time. Well, I'm sorry you get wet snow, but at least if it snows heavily while you're at the cathedral, you could probably dig your way to Duckworth Street to enjoy a nice, warming Indian curry. MM

============================== I'd have thrown up. I can't stand red: reminds me of the bike I had when I was twelve, which I rode over the edge of a quarry. The bike was yellow: I was the one covered in red by the time I staggered indoors. Don't like purple for the same reason: jumped off a church roof....poorly feet for three weeks. MM

======================== I've heard that this is a good Wurlitzer, and at 16 ranks, man enough to have an impact in the museum, but what a sad yet heart-warming story. I think it's wonderful that a dedicated American GI could spend his own money and a lot of time repairing the damage to the organ, and it's rather sad that no one should feel that he should re-imbursed for the materials and parts. I suppose that's where enthusiasm and personal dedication are beyond price when it comes to restoring things which deserve to be restored. In a way, it reminds me of Geraint Jones and his love of Steinkerken. He and his wife loved the place, and of course, he adored the lovely Schnitger organ there; performing on it many times as part of the British Council effort to build-bridges and renew friendships between nations. He broadcast on BBC Radio 3 from Steinkerken, and I recall my absolute delight in heairng its clear, fresh tones for the very first time, along with those of Rot-en-der-Rot, Otterbouren, Weingarten, Innsbruck and numerous other instruments heard in the series, during which he talked about the instruments and performed music of the period rather well. These were the English equivalent to what E Power-Biggs was doing in America and on record. Great memories from someone who, at the time, was a young and impressionable teenager. There was such quality on the BBC in those days, and of course, it all co-incided with the programme, "Britain's cathedrals and their music" with Sir John Bejamin. It's almost inconceivable to-day, but at the tender age of 14, I had become aware of all this and more; even to the extent that we heard recitals from far flung places such as Sydney, (with Peter Hurford) and even Prague, with Jiri Ropek performing. What went wrong? MM

============================ CRASH! (i just fainted) MM

=-=============================== Now don't get me started about snow......it's all to do with groupels and dendrites and snow temperature.....just ask a friendly Olympic downhill skier. All you need to know, is that the colder snow gets, the better it is to drive upon, because the extreme cold removes most of the water content....I know this from spending time in Finland. Canada "enjoys" about the same winter temparatures. Powder snow is about 3% water by volume.....fluffy is the word we're looking for. Over here, snow is wet and slippery by and large, but last year was an exception; as was 1982/3. I'll have a dig around for the "Nocturne l'orange," but I'm not over optimistic. A pithy little work. Did you know that the viscosity of marmalade varies, according to the relative density of the pith which forms part of the mulch....there are good years and bad years in the mysterious world of the Seville orange. Why is marmalade a good winter food? It gets rid of the Chivers! (Boom Boom) MM

========================= Pah! You'll be telling us next that they don't use dead sheep to make organs. MM

Now moving on, have you ever wondered why the State Trumpet at St John-the-Divine, New York is known as the "Horn of the Apocalypse?" Well, it seems capable of waking the dead, so why not? This is from the Halloween Spectacular they hold each year in the cathedral. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE9-hduODcE&feature=related I love the improvisation on "When the saints go marching in." MM

================================ I'm not a violinist I'm afraid.....do they still use dead cats for the strings? However, it looks and sounds highly virtuosic, to say the least. With regard to Cameron Carpenter, I just wonder if he can't make his eyes revolve separately like a chameleon. There's just seems to be something totally different about the whole brain activity thing, and I cannot think of another single example of an organist who can play in six or seven parts at once, using a divided pedal with thumbs and fingers crawling around or stabbing at notes like a spider. The only other organist who could do similar, but much less complicated things, was Reginald Porter-Brown, who used to play at the Southpton Guildhall. He was known as the organist with three hands, but his techique probably didn't come close to what C-C is doing. I don't think it's even a question of practice, because I feel sure that 99% of organists would find the whole thing inconceivable. I suppose Paganini and Liszt were the forerunners of this sort of virtuosity, but did they ever do anything this complicated, I wonder? To astound and amaze is possibly a good way to earn a living, but I think I would prefer a little less virtuosity and a bit more musical intergity, which is why I would prefer to hear someone like Hector Olivera, who is firstly a musician and, in the virtuosity stakes, only a little less amazing, astounding and wide-ranging. I bought a haggis to-day, which I'm going to microwave for a few hours. An orange and tracker action do not sound at all compatible to me, and the last thing we want to hear are pip-squeaks when the orange disintegrates. MM