MusingMuso

Mmmmmm!! I can think of any number of truly awful organs, but perhaps the one which most un-impressed me was that in the Methodist Church, Otley, Nr.Leeds; originally built, and not changed (so far as I am aware) by Laycock & Bannister (now defunct). Sadly, the organ has quite a large specification....flues, reeds, a bit of upperwork....the usual sort of thing. It has ONE nice rank, but I forget what it is. The rest is just a scratchy mess of a sound, with coarse reeds, indistinct diapasons, pointless flutes and upperwork which appears to not make the slightest difference when added. It is an object-lesson in where romanticism eventually took us, but sadly, even transcriptions would be wasted on this utterly awful instrument. MM

Hopefully, gone are the days when the Council for the Care of Churches could take a PCC and their organist to Consistory Court to back up the Diocesan Organs Adviser who wanted the whole of a large (unique) romantic organ thrown out - this happened at Bridlington Priory 1966. Fortunately, the PCC won! =================== I'm not sure that there were any winners! I feel sure that the work Laycock & Bannister did at the time was well intentioned, and they didn't skimp on the quality of the mechanical work done, but tonally, the new material stood out like a sore ear (It couldn't be a thumb, could it?) Frank Bannister didn't have much idea about anything tonally. Due to the merciful release of toxic elements from the heating-system, Dennis Thurlow (who took over Laycock & Bannister) was able to improve things in the subsequent partial re-build, but back in 1966, the organ was a bit of a pig's ear tonally; though capable of many fine sounds if used with care. I seem to recall that a certain Mr.Brown (as consultant or advisor) and a very wealthy widow were instrumental in having the work at Bridlington done back in the 1960's. MM

In a recent post, I mentioned some unknown music or little heard music, and supplied a URL for your listening pleasure. What I have discovered, in my seemingly endless research into Czech music, has absolutely stunned me. The composer Zelenka, although working in Dresden, was Czech by birth and therefore qualifies as a Czech composer. In fact, he returned to Prague in his later professional life. Much of the music has lay dormant for centuries, and to this day, only a fraction of his works have been recorded. However, the choral music is regarded as equal to that of Bach and Handel, and certainly, the superlative Kyrie from the Thanksgiving Mass is nothing short of spectacular. Here are a few URL's for your listening pleasure:- http://misek.sbor.cz/detail_clanek.php?id=...2617e91595a2d51 http://www.jdzelenka.net/Suscepit_Israel.mp3 http://www.baroquecds.com/31Web.html http://wpool.com/move/snd/dixit.mp3 http://wpool.com/move/snd/euge.mp3 http://www.concilium.at/emaincd.htm Of great interest to me is the fact that among the known works are 3 organ concerti, of which I know absolutely nothing, but quite clearly, with a composer of such calibre, they may be as equally important as those of Handel. Once more, I am fascinated by what I have stumbled across in my research of Czech music. MM

I don't come across much organ music by living composers, even at the sort of events I go to. The Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival seems to completely ignore the instrument. Pity, because the HCMF is probably the only event that would have the guts to put on programmes of contemporary organ music. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> ===================== I guess that's why Huddersfield gets what it thinks is good, and Manchester gets the best! It's not long since Petr Eben graced Manchester....probably one of the most gifted and prolific composers of recent times. MM

Further to my screed about the organ at Montjuich Palace, Barcelona, Spain, the following URL has the photographs:- http://www.magicspain.com/michael/composer.htm#seccion=fotos MM

The history of the organ is marked by specific requirements; the jolly piping of a portative street organ in Roman times, the delicate accompaniment of singers in the pre-reformation period, the discreet accompaniment of 18th century English Choral Music, the rendition of bold Toccatas and Fugues in Northern Europe, the spectacular tonal brush-strokes of French impressionism and Cavaille-Coll, the big sound required of massed choirs and congregations etc etc. In other words, we are almost into a game of prediction as to the next fashion or musical "movement," to which organists, organ consultants and organ-builders will, without doubt, respond appropriately as time unfolds. Considering the near death of religion and the financial constraints this imposes, perhaps I might cynically suggest that the future is cheap, small and even digital. Perhaps organs will become hybrid instruments utilising digital voices which are not necessarily copies of pipe-organ sounds, but new and individual electronic tones which are compatible with pipes. Maybe I am expressing a certain ignorance of world-music, but it seems to me that for the forseeable future, we are stuck with music which is essentially harmonic rather than contrapuntal; organists being rather out-of-sync with this predelection, with their fugues and trio-sonatas. Perhaps this is the reason why organ-design appears relatively static at the present time, because nothing much seems to be going anywhere in the organ-world; save for some of the more robust music of Eastern Europe, which certainly captivates my own imagination. However, I was slightly uplifted this very day, when I looked at some compositions by young, budding composers. Much of it was immature, but some of it was fascinatingly contrapuntal in style; perhaps re-commencing what Paul Hindemith first started...modern contrapuntal style. There are so many "possibles" and so few "definites," I wouldn't dare to predict the outcome as the 21st century unfolds. However, of one thing I am certain, and that is, that the musical sensibilities and advances of the day will dictate the type of musical instruments which will find favour with composers and the general fashions enjoyed by future generations of music lovers. Actually, what we have now is not to be sneezed at, because many organs are being re-built with respect to their history, such as the RAH organ. Others are built new, and fulfill a particular purpose, such as Chelmsford Cathedral, and still olthers are out-and-out concert instruments with a spectacular sound. Boring is certainly not a word I would apply to organ-building to-day, but I would concede that there is little desire or impetus towards creating something fresh and vital which fits a new musical world-order. Let's perhaps encourage young composers to write music for the organ, and then, if organ-builders have to build harmoniums with built-in digital Japanese temple-drums, they'll at least stay in business! MM

Quite by accident, I came across two fascinating pieces of music; the first from the pen of Antonin Wiedermann, the Czech composer (which I was looking for), and another piece which totally took me by surprise. The 'Impetuoso' by Wiedermann sounds highly viurtuosic; barely pausing for breath as befits the title. The second is a Fuga Sopra on a certain well-known theme, by Guy Bovet. It needs no introduction whatsoever! You can listen to both at the following link:- http://theatreorgans.com/giwro/ra/ Don't be put off by theatre organ title, because in addition to the Wiedermann and the Bovet, there are files of the rarely heard Schroder Sonata for organ. MM

======================== It hasn't a lot to do with heating, but the fact that the old girl hasn't had much done to her since Arthur Harrison re-built it; save for attention to the primaries using synthetic pneumatic material and that awful Great Mixture, added at the same time. In fact, it is probably a miracle as close to the ressurection as it possible to get, that the old girl functions at all! Worry not, when things slowly dry out, the slides will stop sticking (as they are prone to do in wet weather) and the flutes will become stable once more. The organ at Halifax has needed a dceent re-build most of my life, and I'm sure Mr Mander would be happy to oblige! MM

===================== Diaphones are almost impossible to regulate with any degree of accuracy from one note to the next, but each to his own I suppose. We seem to be forgetting that the 32ft reed at York Minster is called Sackbut, and revived (in the 60's?) a much earlier use of the stop-name at the same place. It is not a NEW name by any means. Anyway, it's a whole lot more gentile than the title Virgil Fox gave to the 32ft reed at Riverside Church, New York. Due to the fact that the resonators were split, and joined by rubber sleeves to get around some awkward corner or other, he used to refer to them as the....wait for it....Contraceptive 32ft. MM

Just a brief footnote to the music of Josef Seger, Czechoslovakia. He was born in 1716, which means that he was not playing Bach's music as a contemporary, but actually continuing the baroque tradition well into the next era; the baroque style a late finisher in Czech musical history. MM

I came across an interesting fact some time ago, and have wondered ever since if anyone is aware of Bach re-arrangements contemporary to Bach himself, by the Czech composer Seger. Apparently, some of the big works were re-arranged to suit short-octave pedal boards and presumably, would require some re-working of the manual notes also. As I understand it, some of the old Czech pedal-boards consisted of the following notes:- C (pedal) F (in the place of D pedal) D (where F# would normally be) G (in normal position) E (where G# would normally be) A (in normal position) then A#, B, C, C#,D,D#,E, F, F#,G, G# and finally A. Other pedal-boards of the period apparently had some sort of short-octave pedal, but were fitted with chromatic "buttons" rather than toe-pedals. It's all a bit confusing, and my knowledge of old-pedal-boards and short-octaves is a bit....actually quite a lot....limited. Two questions arise from this. a) Has anyone ever dabbled with short-octave pedal-boards? Has anyone ever come across the Seger re-arrangements, or know if they are published? I know it's a bit of a long-shot to expect anyone to know in detail, but I have really struggled to find what must be fascinating re-workings of Bach's organ-works. It's also interesting to think that Bach's music was played, in his own time, in Czechoslovakia. MM