MusingMuso

======================== Well that's OK then! Blame it on the violinsts and Stokowski! Actually, if you listen to the old recording of Sidney Torch and Quentin Maclean, they didn't use the "trems" half-so-much as their American counterparts. One thing I do know, is that Tremulation can be far too heavy or rapid, but in the best theatre organ installations, it tends to be more subtle. Also, in the bigger instruments across the pond, the Tremulation is not uniform, but divided according to specific voices, and cosequently, they tend to be out-of-sync and less obvious. The nest result is a sort of oozing, seething, breathing wobble....a bit like a large jelly-fish rather than a pocket-size, supermarket souffle. The latter can be quite offensive to the ear. I speak of Simon Gledhill very highly, and in the opening of his CD recorded on the famous "Castro Wurlitzer" voiced and set-up with loving care by Ed Stout, it is the nearest thing organ-wise to experiencing a theatre show-band playing "California, here I come," which just happens to be the title of the CD. That is EXACTLY what the theatre organ was designed to do, but many fall short of that ideal when they are set-up badly. What's this got to do with classical music? Well, Wurlitzer had an interesting pedigree as makers of musical-instruments. They were also absolute authorities on violins, and their authentication mark is still honoured by auction houses around the world. More importantly, their history could be traced back to the 16th century (it may be the 17th?) as violin-makers in Germany, and it is not impossible that Bach may, indeed, have played a Wurlitzer. Another thought occurs.......on what organ, around 1930, was it possible to play French Baroque music "almost" convincingly? MM

Maybe this should be called: "to shot in his own foot". Many french, belgians and germans read this forum. The germans do the same with their own romantic organs, while the french praise their Cavaillé-Colls. Maybe it's not surprising the "neo-romantic" trend of today deals only with Cavaillé-Coll's style -like Schnitger was the sole "correct" style 30 years ago-. And round and round... ========================= Pierre is absolutely right! For sure, Fr.Willis was extremely good, but interestingly, his first really big project at Liverpool St.George's Hall, was not entirely successful. It improved over time, but Cavaille-Coll didn't like it. St.Mary, Redcliffe is peerless in later, heavy romantic style of Arthur Harrison/Col.Dixon. What I find interesting is this obsession with the Willis/Harrison legacy, as if UK organ-building followed exactly what they did. In point of fact (sticking to tonal rather than engineering qualities), these two organ-builders just happened become the most commercially successful of their day, but that doesn't mean the most successful musically. Personally, I agree with the respondent who finds Bach difficult to deliver on a Fr.Willis organ, and so far as Arthur Harrison is concerned, I soon tire of excessively loud Diapasons and Trombas. If we are to indulge in a little bit of national self-praise, why don't we look back with admiration at the work of T C Lewis? Southwark Cathedral, Ashton-under-Lynne Congregational Church and Kelvingrove (Glasgow) are still there, splendidly restored and an inspiration. However, whilst people ramble on about William Hill (a superb organ-builder), very few ever mention the influence of Thomas Hill or the peerless organ-cases of Arthur Hill. Beverly Minster is good enough, but at Sydney Town Hall, Thomas Hill and his staff created not just a good organ, but an organ which stands alongside the best in the world. Listen to the excellent Mark Quarmby playing Bruckner, listen to the clarity and nobility of the chorus-work, listen to the magnificent reeds, then delight in the wonderful photographs of the organ-case. This was British at its' very best! http://www.ohta.org.au/Sydney_conf/SYDNEYTOWNHALL.html MM

==================== Sorry, I should have stated that the Reger "Wachet Auf!" item from Altoona, commences at 33m 30sec into the programme. MM

============================ I absolutely agree with Nigel Allcoat on this, and I too have been wowed by Reger at St.Bavo, as if this was the type of organ Reger should really have been writing for. My words, they have to work at it though!! The Huddersfield organ has an interesting pedigree, in so much as it was an early attempt at building a tracker-action, eclectic/werkprinzip instrument. I might go so far as to suggest that the original builder was groping in the dark. The voicing was carried out by Booth of Leeds, I believe. When it was first heard, it was an odd collection of pipes; some of which seemed right and others which seemed wrong. Romantic-sounding flutes rubbed shoulders with some bright chorus-work, and the reeds were, if I recall, a bit rough and ready at the opening. As time has gone on, the organ has got better and better, and now, it is possibly a quite unique sound. It is perhaps this blend of romantic and neo-baroque which makes this instrument especially good for Reger, and places it in a sort of Anglo-Walcker category....maybe even Anglo-Hungarian. I quite like it after 30+ years of tonal evolution. MM

========================== Ah Pierre! You mean like those big Steinmeyer organs I've been trying to track down, and of which Reger approved and to which Straube attached his name in many instances. Straube approved of the neo-classical movement. My love of Reger was first sparked by the incredible sound of Reger's music played at the "Meistersangerhalle" Nuremburg. I've still got the BBC recording somewhere. MM

========================== If I play the Bach 48 on a piano, should I be put off by the fact that Elton John plays the same instrument? To us the word "unfortunate" is perhaps unfortunate, considering that some absolutely brilliant classical organists/pianists have also played theatre organs. Here are a few:- Charles Saxby (Bridlington Priory) Sidney Torch (BBC composer/arranger) Norman Cocker (Manchester Cathedral) Marcel Dupre Francis Jackson (when no-one is looking) Robinson Cleaver FRCO Reginald Foorte FRCO Osborne Peasgood (Acton cinema organist under a pseudonym) William Davis (Staff organist/pianist BBC) ----and so the list goes on, until you get the la creme de la creme:- Quentin Maclean Quentin Maclean not only gave the annual recital at the RCO, he was highly regarded by George Thalben-Ball. He was taught by Karl Straube (organ) and Max Reger (composition). Simon Gledhill, from Halifx, was hugely gifted at an ealry age. Grade 8 piano and an accordian-playing champion as a schoolboy, Simon took up the theatre organ at the age of 16 and within 12 months had cut his first LP, since which he has toured the world several times, appeared at Ally Pally with Carlo Curley and enjoyed an enthusiastic response wherever he has appeared. Now, unless one UNDERSTANDS what a theatre-organ is all about, and unless one is a very good arranger, there is little chance that one will ever be able to play a theatre-organ successfully. I would defy 99% of classical organists in this country to sit down and play one as it should be played. Unfortunate? Well, the above named organists laughed all the way to the bank!! I think I am right in saying that Reginal Dixon, in his heyday, earned the equivalent of about £250,000 per annum, and the current incumbent at the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool, has a Rolls-Royce and a private twin-engined plane. I suppose it was unfortunate that the theatre organ kept Compton, J W Walker, Nicholson, H N & B solvent in the depression years. Then, of course, there's Hector Olivera: possibly one of the most technically accomplished organists in the world, who can switch from light to classical music at the drop of a large, black, Argentinian hat. Anyway, he's cool, because he drives a Chev Corvette and has a huge model-railway at his home in the US. Don't knock the light musicians, who are often a lot more gifted than their classical counterparts. MM

=============================== We've all played big Reger works on Arthur Harrison organs....Big Trombas, Big Tuba, Big Open Diapason, Big Open Woods....octave couplers; the lot! As a friend pointed out as I hammered my way through "Hallelujah! Gott zu loben," the counterpoint just disappeared in a whelter of disagreeable mudiness. Pierre needs to know, that in England when people play Reger, they pull out more stops and play less notes. MM

On another thread, we were discussing organ being built to-day. Checking out a few URL's, I came across something quite interesting from Hungary. There was a composer by the name of Ferenc Kutor, who seems to have quite a large opus list, including Operas and things. However, he also wrote the sort of music we so readily dismiss to-day: music for organ or harmonium. Now unless the name happened to be Guilmant or Lemmens, most of this sort of music is rubbish, but not in this case. It seems to me that for anyone who wants to play "good" music which isn't too difficult or too long, Ferenc Kutor wrote some very worthy music. But don't take my word for it, because you can listen for yourselves and measure your response to it. There are many, many pieces to download, all of good recording quality on what seems to be a Hungarian romantic organ, with those bright flues and robust reeds I mentioned elsewhere. Organ-builder Josef Angster perhaps? The second URL is an improvisation on another Hungarian organo, for your delectation. http://www.artisjus.hu/kutorferenc/egyhazi.html www.vision.hu/LZ/mp3/my_music_hu.htm Improvisation - Hungarian organ MM

============= Nun Danket - Karg-Elert, if I recall correctly. You mean the Prof was faking it for the cameras? He should have been banished to Radio 1 and "Top of the pops." MM

Funny thing, but Fr.Willis started at the top almost, as did Cavaille-Coll. I seem to recall that H & H rise was also fairly meteoric, once they established themselves in Durham. In this day and age, were I to start an organ-building firm, (which I have absolutely no intentions of doing) I would co-operate with others (which I know goes on anyway) as associates, with pooled funding, risk, skills, manufacturing facilities and profits. After all, anything bought from outside suppliers, such as blowers, action components and manuals, are components purchased from outside firms. Didn't John Compton keep J WWalker & Sons in business by getting them to make cinema organ components during the depression years, as sub-contractors? I think the name Nicholson may have been similarly associated with Compton at the same time, but I could be wrong. MM

=============================== I used the trade of boat-building because I've been involved in the finances of it, working for a major engine manufacturer. There are many similarities between organ-building and boat-building.....exotic materials, expensive outside components, highly-skilled labour-intensive work, acceptance, stage-payments etc. The finished-product costs about the same too; especially with the custom-built 45ft + power-boats. Just to clarify a point, was Fr.Willis in debt personally, or were the debts restricted to the company? Does anyone know? I had to giggle at that priceless moment on "Howard Goodall's organ works," when Herny Willis IV spoke of Fr.Willis. "The usual trick was to have two benfactors each paying half, with the church paying the other half. This....made....certain organs.... quite profitable!" Of course the other gem was when Howard Goodall asked, "How many people worked for your Great Grandfather." With characteristic style, HW IV replied, "Ah! Now that's an interesting question....all of them, as opposed to almost none of them to-day!" They don't make characters like this anymore. MM

============================ As I have been studying the former Eastern Bloc organ-culture for about 18 months now, you'd think I would now be a master of it. Not a bit of it! However, in what has been a very complex and frustrating search, with some terrible computer links, disappearing souls, dreadful mp3's and less than well-organised information, I have, by a variety of cross-references, now got a working picture of what is taking place across Eastern Europe. CZECH REPUBLIC In broad terms, the Czech organ tradition is similar to that of Germany, but for reasons best known to themselves, most small to medium size instruments do not have reed stops, and the stop-lists of to-day's new organs are often unchanged from those of 250 years previous! However, Rieger-Kloss have done some extensive work in the Czech lands and even in the US, with some very substantial organs indeed; many in the big concert halls such as Prague, Krnov, Bruno etc. They also enjoyed a certain status in the entire former communist region, and therefore gained many contracts beyond the Czechoslovak state as it then was. The word is, that R-K instruments vary between being tonally "acceptable" to downright stupendous. They did the remarkable enlargement of the famous Olomouc organ in St.Moritz. Another interesting company, who have a splendid website with some superb mp3 samples, is that of Robert Ponca. They have built a number of new instruments. The following URL's will give some idea of the organ-building in the Czech Republic:- http://www.ponca-organs.com/new/index2.php?id=nase http://rieger-kloss.cz/home/home_en.htm http://www.grygar-organs.com/index.php POLAND Of all the Eastern European countrues, Poland seems to be the most chaotic in terms of business communications, and even finding URL's that actually respond the same day is a bonus. However, whilst Poland may be a poor country for the immediate future, the RC church is especially well supported and has money to spare by the looks of it. Some organ builders seem to have disappeared, and two of the most remarkable were those two firms involved in the enlargement and "restoration" of the famous 18th century Wolff organ of Oliwa Cathedral, Gdansk; namely Mollin and also Kaminskich. The leading organ-builders in Poland seem to be the Zych company, who have a fine web-site with details of some huge instruments constructed in recent years. http://www.zych.com/ The Polish organ-tradition covers just about everything, from really precious baroque organs, to a large number of German Romantic organs in the Walcker/Sauer tradition and to-day, to organs which include Swell divisions and even big Tubas! The biggest German organ of all after Passau, was the organ built by Sauer for the "100 year hall" in Breslau (Wroclaw) which was dismantled and installed in the cathedral in reduced form. It still has 5-manuals and a huge number of ranks, but curiously, the 32ft reed never went in! This was the first electric-action German organ, so far as I am aware. I am told that Polish organ-building can be a bit patchy in quality, like most things Polish. This was probably to do with the Russian master's lack of comercial awareness, and a lack of understanding for the traditions and quality required in organ-building. Some old organs, for example, which had been placed in storage at the start of WW2 were never put back.......some priceless ones. These were used as spare-part junk-yards by many of the organ-building concerns!!!!!!!!! The legacy whereby organ-builders were just state employees or part of collectives has now passed, and economic reality has set in. HUNGARY Hungary is strange. It has many baroque organs, which like those in the above two countries enjoy a degree of restoration which keeps people off the streets at night. However, the tradition includes the Angster/Cavaille-Coll legacy, which means that many organs are either beefed-up to include chamades and big swell divisions, or are very much in a sort of Magyar/French tradition all their own. If there is one thing which strikes me about modern Hungarian organ-building, it is the visual beauty of new organ-cases and consoles in contemporary style. They really are worth looking at! The following links will give some sort of clue as to the diversity and scale of Hungarian organ-building and its' history, as well as new organs being built there. http://www.aquincumorgan.com http://varga.orgona.org/referencia.htm Hungarian - (a number of small new organs) http://www.orgona.hu/index_e.html (Pecsi Organbuilding - Pecsi - Hungary - located in old Angster works, Pecs?) http://www.prestant.hu/fooldal.html (Very small contracts generally) http://www.varadi-orgona.hu/html_eng/about_eng.htm (Have done work on some large Hungarian organs, including Eger, Kolasco and St.Stephen's Basiliks) Hungary has a number of very, very large instruments, including several with over 100 stops (no extensions or duplexing Steve!) and often 4 or 5 manuals. Forgive me if I miss out Latvia, Estonia, Romania, Bulgaria and Azerbjhan for the moment.....I'm still trying to discover where they are on the map!! MM

======================= GREAT ORGAN Double Diapason 16 Open Diapason 8 Stopped Diapason 8 Octave Diapason 4 Quint Diapason 2.2/3 Super Octave Diapason 2 Broken Glass 3 rks (Miscella Triplex - get it?) New York Diapason 8 SWELL ORGAN Double Diapason 16 Open Diapason 8 Horn Diapason 8 Octave Diapason 4 Super Octave Diapason 2 Double Glazing 2 rks (Reduced from "Three sheets to the wind") Stinkens Diapason 8 Horn Diapason 8 CHOIR ORGAN Echo Diapason 8 Geigen Diapason 8 Stopped Diapason 8 Octave Diapason 4 (Wood) Harmonic Unstopped Diapason 4 (metal) SOLO ORGAN Diapason Phonon 8 (Muscular) Voce Umana 8 (Diapason scale) Diapason humana 8 Violin Diapason 8 Flatus Tremulus Let's not go there! PEDAL ORGAN Really, really Big Open Diapason 16 Stopped Diapason 16 Octave Geigen Octave 8 As the Cor Anglais said to the French Horn (figure that out!) "Sona si latine loqueris" MM PS: Pandering to the English love of Diapasons

I'll try and redo this so it makes sense. MM

====================== I'll give it a whirl! GREAT ORGAN GREAT ORGAN Tibia Pileata Gravis 16 Regula Primaria 8 Tibia Fistulata 8 Octava 4 Duodecima 3 Quintadecima 2 Miscella Triplex III Tuba Magna 8 SWELL ORGAN Tibia Pileata Gravis 16 Regula Primaria 8 Tibia Arundinacea 8 Octava 4 Quintadecima 2 Miscella Duplex II Calumus 8 Cornu 8 CHOIR ORGAN Tibia Dulcis 8 Tibia Salicionalis 8 Tibia Pileata Amabilis 8 Tibia Sylvestris 4 Tibia Harmonica 4 SOLO ORGAN Fidis Cruralis 8 Unda Maris 8 Vox humana 8 Cantus Cremonensis 8 Flatus Tremulus PEDAL ORGAN Tibia Aperta Magna 16 Tibia Pileata 16 Fidis Magna 8

Sorry about the duplex spec of the Albert Hall, Sheffield, but the original went a bit pear-shaped, and the dulpication should show the correct layout. MM

It's been quite interesting digging around looking for details of extant Steinmeyer organs on the internet, and finding very few references to them. I'm sure quite a lot exist, but the extraordinary thing is that almost no-one seems to be recording anything on them, whereas the name Walcker brings up any amount of material. I recall Martin Haselbock telling me that when Steinmeyer closed their doors, the factory was turned over to furniture-production. I have tracked one instrument down in American, at Altoona, and this can be heard for sure, but it doesn't solve the mystery as to why the German organists seem to completely overlook Steinmeyer, or seem to prefer modern instruments for Reger.....very odd. I shall post a few URL's when I've finished digging around, including a full-length mp3 file of the Walcker at Riga Dom, in Latvia, which Flentrop restored from Russian funding. What a wonderful leaving-present!! MM

===================== SPECIFICATION ALERT!!!! SHEFFIELD, ALBERT HALL Cavaille-Coll, Paris, France, 1873 I. GRANDE-ORGUE (61) IV. SOLO EXPRESSIF (61) 16 Montre 16 Bourdon 16 Bourdon 8 Diapason 16 Gambe 8 Flute harmonique 8 Montre 4 Flute octaviante 8 Diapason 2-2/3 Quinte 8 Flute harmonique 2 Doublette 8 Viole de gambe 1-3/5 Tierce 8 Bourdon 16 Tuba magna en chamade 4 Prestant 8 Trompette en chamade 4 Octave flute 8 Clarinette 2-2/3 Quinte 8 Musette V Fourniture 4 Clairon en chamade IV Cymbale 16 Bombarde 8 Trompette 4 Clarion II. POSITIF EXPRESSIF (61) PEDALE (30) 16 Quintaton 32 Principal basse 8 Principal 16 Contrebasse 8 Nachthorn 16 Soubasse 8 Unda Maris (tc) 10-2/3 Quinte 4 Prestant 8 Basse 4 Flute douce 8 Violoncelle 2-2/3 Quinte 4 Corno dolce 2 Doublette 32 Contre-bombarde 1 Piccolo 16 Bombarde 8 Cromorne 8 Trompette 8 Basson-hautbois 4 Clairon 8 Voix Humana III. RECIT (61) PEDALES DE COMBINAISON 16 Bourdon Orage 8 Diapason Tirasses: Grand-Orgue 8 Flute traversiere Tirasses: Positif 8 Viole de gambe Tirasses: Recit 8 Voix celeste (tc) Tirasses: Solo 4 Flute octaviante Anches: Pedal 4 Viol d'amour Anches: Grand-Orgue 2 Doublette Anches: Positif II-IV Cornet Anches: Recit 16 Cor anglais Anches: Solo 8 Trompette Accouplements au G-O: Octaves graves 4 Clarion harmonique Accouplements au G-O: Positif Accouplements au G-O: Recit Accouplements au G-O: Solo Grand-Orgue sur Machine Recit au Positiv Expression: Positiv Expression: Recit Expression: Solo Tremblant Positif Tremblant Recit This instrument was played by Saint-Saens in the Cavaille-Coll workshop on May 7, 1873. It was destroyed by fire on July 14, 1937. I think this organ was a twin to the one in Monmatre. The instrument was human powered, and the story is that locals were bribed onto a treadmill by the prospect of free-ale afterwards!! MM

================ Phew! What a relief! For one awful moment, I thought I had helped remove a Cavaille-Coll! MM