MusingMuso
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Selby needs a good restoration and reversal of all that needless tinkering, a glance at the before and after specs will reveal some right mistakes. I would LOVE to be the consultant!!
Still a lovely job though.
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Mistakes or not, I recall this organ as it was before. Reversing everything would result in the previous mistakes.
Always a glorious sound, it nevertheless suffered (and still suffers) from bad siting, "the distant rumble of thunder" from the triforium and possibly the most ineffective Hill Tuba in history.
This was always an organ less than pure in it's origins, and it would be a brave consultant who decided upon an ideal restoration rather than an attempt to improve what is there. The problem will always be the siting of the instrument I'm afraid, because the side aisles are quite small and the nave isn't terribly wide.
Of course, a new free standing Mander at the crossing would be nice, but I feel sure that someone would say it spoiled the view!
MM
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Yes I too have a lot of tapes, largely off BBC but not exclusively, as one of my childhood hobbies was recording anything and everything. I think I knew even then it would never last. When do we get BBC recitals now? .
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Well of course, there is "Organs & Organists online" which could serve as an archive, should people wish to transfer their tape recordings into digital format, and with due regard to copyrights etc.
Interestingly, as I work most nights through the night, I sometimes get to hear organ-recitals on the "beeb." No sooner had I been rambling on about organs in the Czech Republic, than they broadcast a recital this last week from Olomouc, but unfortunately, the organ in the cathedral there, rather than the superlative instrument of St.Maurice, which has the 5-manual, enlarged Michael Engler masterpiece.
The cathedral organ of Olomouc is a very tiercey sounding Rieger from circa.1890, but the programme was excellently performed, and to hear a romantic Czech organ of the period was certainly interesting.
MM
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polite Anglican answer
(Quote)
Is that Understatment or british humor? It may be I'm a provincial here in the
middle-of-nowhere southern Belgium, but I feel Howell's music as rooted
in a tragical life.
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Rooted say you?
I've been searching for years.
MM
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You are right about a CD that was made of Howells organ music on the Harrison organ at Charterhouse Chapel. It is on the Herald label and the performer was Philip Kenyon who was organist at the school at the time. I briefly worked in the same offices as Philip at Boosey & Hawkes in 1990 but I am not sure what he is doing now.
Jeremy Jones
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I've always regarded the music of Howells as the polite Anglican answer to the atheistic harmonic ramblings of Frederick Delius.
Still, I've heard Howells played very successfully on the organ of St.Lauren's, Rotterdam, which has some rather gorgeous mild strings and a Celeste, some nice Flutes and enough 8ft stops to provide body if they are all coupled together at the same time! Big acoustic.....
However, it will delight Pierre to know that Howell's music sounds perfectly acceptable on the big Anneessens/Compton/Laycock&Bannister/Nicholson (what a pedigree!) organ of Bridlington Priory.
For my choice, it just has to be Liverpool Anglican, which is near perfect. With all that acoustic, it's impossible to tell whether it's Delius or Howells, but the sound it makes is gorgeous.
If it is truly time for Howell's music to make a return, how often are the flights to Amsterdam by "Easy Jet?"
MM
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The central Hall in Liverpool still exists as a matter of interest, 3 decker Norman and Beard of 1906, the building much like Kingsway, galleries and dome etc. The hall is in private hands now though. At least they have kept, and want, the organ.
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There is a large, redundant organ in Manchester, above Weatherspoon's public-house, which used to be a chapel.
Perhaps the binge-drinking culture brings blessings as well as evils.
MM
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I do not buy as many cd's as I used to do, but this last few months I have had my ears opened, A very good friend of mine Mr David Rogers of Doncaster ( a friend of Paul Derretts also I believe) Has an Unbelievable collection of old spool tapes recorded by many organists over the years 1950something to the early 70's on hundreds of organs from all over europe as well as here (festival hall included ) some of these recordings are from the bbc and will never see the lazer of a cd player.
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I think I've got quite a lot of old reel-to-reel tapes from the 1960's, including the series by Geraint Jones on historic European organs, many of the John Betjamin "Britain's cathedrals and their music," recitals by Francis Jackson, including the opening of the Blackburn Cathedral organ, when he IMPROVISED much of the final movement of his Sonata written for the occasion. I have recordings by Flor Peeters, Dupre, Nicholas Kynaston pushing the technical limits and others too numerous to mention. I seem to recall that I've got Lady Susi Jeans on tape from the Merchant Taylor's Hall, London, playing music by Schmidt, among others. I've also got a number of Cinema Organ broadcasts from places which no longer exist or which went to the rubbish skips.
I even have a live recording of Francis Jackson playing his own T, C & F at a local PC.
Some day I'll dig them out and persuade my old Ferrograph to join the living once more. It certainly is quite possible to transfer them to CD.
MM
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Well,
To summarize Belgium with "Chocolate, Boucles de Spa, Antwerps Cath. Organ
and an Anneessens", could be compared with summarizing England
with Mint sauce, St Paul's Cath Organ plus a H&H I don't remember where...
No, we need to realize how little "europeans" we (all) still are.
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Well at least Belgium isn't just Garlic and Accordians like France!
By the way Pierre, you forgot the beer!
MM
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It seems to me that too much empahasis is placed on a CD selling well. My own personal view is that those that do sell well should finance overall lesser known or recordings that do not sell as well.
When one considers the wealth of material Decca have, not to mention EMI, it becomes a travesty. It took Amphion to see virtue in reissuing much of the GCOS EMI records. These days it all comes down to money, and that is sad.
As to access to cathedral organs, these instruments belong to the diocese, and are often paid for by people within them. Organists are merely custodians, and do NOT own their organs. There is not enough interest now in the instrument, so any interest should be firmly encouraged. Any recordings by anyone should not present obstacles, and the word "No" you can't record or play Upminster Cathedral is narrow, selfish, and forms no outreach whatever.
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It is a fact of financial life that the big record companies have been forced to drop a lot of classical issues due to the illegal pirating of pop records in mp3 format on the internet. The big name record companies have long subsidised the production and distribution of classical recordings, and with a very substantial drop in CD sales across the globe, they have been forced into an awkward position.
The companies still want the prestige of having classical music listed on their labels, but now, they have been forced to drop things which do not make money or perhaps even cover costs. (If there is someone closely connected with the recording industry, I'm sure they could fill in the details for us).
However, the next time you go to BUY a CD, rather than download something ilegally or make copies of things, just tip a wink at Robbie Williams, Blur, Charlotte Church and the Scissors Sisters!! (I love the Scissors Sisters!!)
I must admit that the recording companies are a bit dim, because in classical music, archives are everything for the serious student. Someone mentioned Germani at Selby Abbey....absolutely stupendous Reger right there in the HMV/EMI archives. This is just one example. If they were REALLY commercially bright (which they don't seem to be) they would open up an internet archive facility and charge an annual fee to download or listen to things, just as Naxos do.
No fees, no contracts.....just pure profit after expenses.
Organists could then be Harrisoned to death on a daily basis!!
Hyperion were/are embroiled in a big litigation case, and have stated that it will effect their operations for the future without "help" from the likes of us in the form of donations. Their recordings of Petr Eben are very significant, and of course, they are the company responsible for the Christopher Herrick "fireworks" series.
As for "cathedral organs" being made available, I think that would be a recipe for chaos. I recall an old gentleman who played something vaguely in the style of Handel's "Largo" everywhere he went....sometimes in G, sometimes in F#, often in Db and a very creative version in 12-tone, which had us all running for the pub!
Perhaps a couple of "open days" such as they have in Holland, with careful management, would be a far better way. That said, I am often appalled that cathedrals don't have "minor celebrity" lunch-time recitals....local organists who know what they are doing, on a no-fee basis. I can think of no better public-relations exercise.
MM
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I am a native of a lilliputian country
with four languages, crammed between Germany, Holland, England and France,
often dealing as a battlefield between these. (I forgot Luxembourg, which is not fair
so good is the organ life there).
So here we know what international is about. I read one day The Times, the
next the Frankfurter allgemeine Zeitung,the next Le Monde....etc. Quite normal
for "old belgians" like me.
I mean this: European countries were no more islands in 1910.
Thereafter, the WW and WW once more were the disasters we know, plus another one
we still need to understand: all european countries are still islands now, with every
one ignoring largely what happens in the others.
-Cite me three preserved baroque flemish organs. Could you?
-Ask any belgian organist for three fairly preserved Willis organs. Any hope?
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Belgium? I'll just get the map out....yes....there it is.
I've been there!
I once transported a Formula One racing car to Spa, and once watched the Boucles de Spa car-rally around the Ardennes....they drive on the right you know.
Nice chocolates.
I know a bit about the organ at Antwerp Cathedral, I know the name Aneesens because there were two of their organs near to me (sadly no more save for a row of 16ft case pipes and the case itself).
Sorry....I can't mention a single baroque organ in Belgium, but I do know of an old baroque instrument by Picardy in Holland, which I think must be French.
However, I DID meet Flor Peeters and heard him play live, so I'm not completely ignorant.
Nevertheless, I probably know more about Lilliput and Poland coming to think of it.
MM
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I guess that's the joy of werkprinzip... it all works downstairs but not up. Agree ref the action - this is easily adjustable by providing a good bit of lost motion at the top of the key to control the pluck. That's probably the largest instrument to which one can profitably apply tracker. It does seem the organ world swings constantly from one extreme to the other.
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St Laurens, Rotterdam is a lot bigger, and that works with a crash gearbox.
MM
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If you have music that should be exported, then this one is a fine example.
But the very people who recorded it told me "We shall never make it
again because it did not sell" (In England, of course. The thing never was
to be find elsewhere).
So a bit of marketing would help. Need a sales representative? I'm free
(but expansive)
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Take two modern organ works....the Toccata, Chorale & Fugue and the Diversion for Mixtures by Francis Jackson; both fine pieces which compare very well with almost anything else written after 1960 or so.
Who has ever recorded them other than the composer? I'm glad to say, Simon Nieminski has produced an excellent CD of Francis Jackson's music from Edinburgh.
Then there is the Healey-Willan "biggie"....the Intro, Passacaglia, Choral & Fugue, which I think is one of the greatest romantic organ works.
Are they known in mainland Europe?
I somehow doubt that they are well known outside England (and Canada in the case of the Willan).
Maybe it is a fact of organ-life, that organists play in "schools of thought"....Bach and Reger in Holland, Vierne and Dupre (etc) in France and Howells in England.
Maybe insularity is not just an English disease after all.
Brian, I loved the bit about paper rolls and water-power.....that was really very funny.
Pierre, I think you may be EXPENSIVE rather expansive, but you could of course be both!!
As for Dupre at Wanamaker (now Lord & Taylor department store), well I seem to recall that he performed there and gave his "Passion Symphony" the first (improvised) rendering in the States...possibly on the Wanamaker organ.
MM
MM
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Is that the same David M Patrick s who used to be assistant at St Michael's , Cornhill?
I am grateful to those to those who have shared their thoughts so far but somewhat depressed , though not surprised, to discover that the explanations put forward are the ones I considered most likely myself. Depressed because those explanation seem to owe more to human failings than human virtues -
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I think it must be the same David M Patrick, who now lives in Norway very sensibly.
The business of recording organs commercially MUST take into account sales beyond the UK, and perhaps this is part of the reason why many fine organs in the UK are not recorded often, or at all.
The marketing game is such, that sales people have to tap into the x-factor of celebrity and the world awareness of a particular instrument. As regards instruments, Liverpool Cathedral is certainly in a class of its own and enjoys world-status. Both Doncaster pc and Armley enjoy a similar world status, and Blackburn Cathedral has proved its' worth as an instrument which records especially well. In absolute terms, I doubt that there are others instruments which do not either fall into a similar mould as these, or which are unique in the way that the Schulze organs are; no matter how good or original they may be.
As regards the choice of performer, it is surely the case, that in a very discerningworld, only the very best, outright concert organists have the necessary x-factor and international reputation....people such as David Briggs, for example.
Anything less than this, really does have to compete with other offerings from ouside the UK, and in this respect, there are far more appropriate instruments for the purposes of recording the music of the French Baroque, the French Romantic, the German Baroque, the German Romantic etc etc. By and large, there is not a great corpus of internationally respected UK music which can be exported; which is not the same as saying that UK music is rubbish, which it is not. Whilst many on this discussion board might rate Howells highly, his name would barely be known in areas outside the late romantic tradition, and the same goes for almost all other UK composers of whatever era. (That stated, I've heard Frank Bridge played on the Bavokerk organ!!)
Ask yourselves a question. Do you want to hear Vierne performed on a "Bogbush & Scraper" or on the Cavaille-Coll at Tolouse? Do you want to hear Reger from Norwich Cathedral, or performed on a great Walcker or Sauer of the era? Above all, do you want to hear Bach played on the organ of St.George's Hall, Liverpool, or on the organs at Zwolle, Naumberg, Haarlem or Groningen.
The days when any Tom Armstrong, Dick Popelwell or Harry Britten could record on almost any worthy organ, and sell recordings in a thriving domestic market, are long gone.....and THAT'S THE PROBLEM.
MM
PS: I forgot to include the URL for Organs&Organists on-line, which is:-
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Some famous organs over-recorded, some seriously under-recorded:
(snip)
In an ideal world every decent organ would get recorded at least once every ten years in decent quality audio with a programme of interest and notes/photos to match. However, in the real world...........
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I quite agree, but of course, that would be commerical suicide for any recording company.
However, there is an alternative; especially in this day and age of computers and mini-disc recorders, DAT, DVD writers etc.
With a half decent stereo microphone, it is possible for almost anyone to make a successful recording of virtually any instrument, without recourse to huge amounts of equipment.
The web site "Organs & Organists On-line" features many instruments; some famous and others not so famous. If an instrument is threatened by closure of a building, this is the perfect place to archive a recording. It is also the site where
many young organists have posted samples of their abilities (some as young as 13). The performances by David M.Patrick from Gloucester are esepcially fine.
This site is almost unique in being open to all, anywhere in the world, and for anyone who wants to record an organ in Azerbijan (I'm not sure how that is spelled, but there IS a new organ there) and inform the world about it, this is the site to do it.
MM
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Has someone messed around with the voicing of the Abbey Organ recently ? I was at evensong last Saturday and it sounded bloody awful. I don't know if this might have been the Organist playing with his registration setting. But what I was hearing was gritty mixtures with a cornet combinations in nearly every musical item. The Pedal is far too booming as well. I know it's a difficult organ to play given that the Swell and part of the Pedal is located in the South Triforium. I gather when Neary was Organist there he had one or two things tweaked and added .
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I've always felt that the abbey organ is most definitely a "Royal Peculiar."
It sounded awful forty years ago, and sounds awful to this day in spite of all efforts to improve it over the years. It's also far too big and quite badly sited.
Instead of "tweaking and adding" things, they should have got rid of some things.....but then, they did, didn't they?
MM
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Elements of both!!
When I got there, the queue for tickets stretched right across the south transept to the doors.
His pedalling in BWV 540 was a bit ropy - to the extent that, in the second pedal solo, he went completely astray, stopped, shouted "Sorry" and carried on.
There was another little incident in the Bairstow sonata, when the swell reeds suddenly came on in a quiet passage and he stopped to sort it out. Did I hear him say "blast"? I think so. In spite of that little difficulty, it was a sublime performance. At the end there was a profound silence: everyone was aware of the significance of the moment.
He ended with a magnificent performance of Guilmant's first sonata, and got an instant standing ovation that went on and on.
It's a recital I will never forget.
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That really is quite moving.
Those of us who grew up in awe of Dr.Francis Jackson, and who almost followed him from venue to venue like modern-day pop fans, know only too well the power of the performances, the virtuosity, the quiet charm of his personality and the strength of his musical compositions....he somehow encapsulated an era of excellence. More than that, he never failed to encourage people, and he could be very kind.
How many organists could attempt Ravel on the piano, in concert?
How many organists would have been devoted enough to their art, that they entered into correspondence with Maurice Ravel?
Now in his twilight years, perhaps some of the youthful powers which Francis Jackson had, may now have gone, but it is wonderful to note the kindness which those present at the recital accorded him.
I wish I had been there, if only to get to my feet and applaude someone very special indeed.
MM
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The ECHO website has full details (and excellent photographs) at www.echo-organs.org
Some cities are represented by a single instrument (e.g. Roskilde), others, such as Toulouse, by as many as half a dozen notable instruments.
Great Britain, you will note, is conspicuous by its absence. One may speculate why this should be. Lack of interest or typical British insularity perhaps? Or maybe it's simply that we feel there is no British city that qualifies?
Whatever the reason, our apparent reluctance to become more involved with the European organ scene seems to me a pity.
How about possible nominations? Why not Oxford or Cambridge, say, for a start?
John Sayer
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It's interesting, that in researching Eastern Europe, and discovering many exciting things there, almost no-one has made comment about it, shown the slightest interest in sharing information about it or even expressed the view that there might be something "out there" which is better/different/more historic or just plain fascinating.
It seems to me that most Brit organists are quite happy to paddle along in still waters, trotting out the romantic repertoire so beloved of old men in grey suits, and performing Bach, because someone says they ought to do.
As for a UK city, London is not over-exciting for a city of the size of it, Cambridge has its' moments and Oxford is fairly cosmopolitan.
For me, there is but one great "organ city," which has to be Liverpool; not only for the very famous instruments there, but for quite a variety of other instruments in more or less original condition, including instruments by Fr.Willis etc.
The other candidate would have to be Leeds, with the splendid Harrison at the PC, the Town Hall, St.Bart's Armley (of world significance) and a fair sprinkling of notable instruments in the surrounding area.
Birmingham is another possibility, but as the place is a bit of a dump, I guess it wouldn't attract people beyond the organs there.
Then, of course, there is Bristol, with the big three instruments, plus All Saint's and the Cathedral at Clifton. It's also quite a nice city.
MM
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Are you a civil servant Brian?
I had to read this five times before it made sense!
No I wish: I would have had a much bigger pension! I am merely a humble lawyer (retired). I left out all the "herein before mentioned"s, the "whereas these presents testify" and various other catchphrases, but I grant you its not that easy to understand.MM
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Aha! THAT'S why I didn't understand the foregoing, hereinafter referred to as "your post."
MM
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5. a point at which we are exchanging views on just where the balance is to be struck between supportive encouragement on the one hand and a gentle reminder that "and they all lived happily ever after" is a feature of fairy stories, not real life, on the other. Or, if you like, the correlation, if any, between the money expended and the achievement of the outcome which was the reason for its expenditure. It is the clearly implied view of some contributors that that correlation is going to be either slight or even non-existent : indeed it could even possibly be negative. At least this warns X that it is not safe to assume that a positive correlation is guaranteed and that it is wise to keep an eye on the situation.
All that said, perhaps one should not stray further down this road.
Brian Childs
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Are you a civil servant Brian?
I had to read this five times before it made sense!
MM
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And what is wrong with this?
I have driven a steam-train, I have steam-trains chugging along close to where I live and there is nothing quite so charming, quite so noisy and quite so polluting.
Give me the smell of hot-oil, the acrid stench of burning coal and the distant sound of a whistle and I'll show you heaven. Oh dear! That was a Wurlitzer theatre organ, Mancini's theme from the "Pink Panther" and a warm pizza wasn't it?
I'm a lost cause....ignore me!
MM
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May I ask some quite silly questions?
-How old is Ronald's accountant?
-Why are we 214 here?
-How is it that there are more than 2000 postings since 2004, August?
(Had we had such results on our Website at S...Ltd !)
Maybe this dead was a false one, trying to break down that coffin while we
are still singing the In Paradisio (sorry, belgian humor!).
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It means Piere, that 214 people have written 9.3457943 topics or replies to topics since August 2004.
If 214 attend 10 organ-recitals per year, and donate £10 to each, the total budget before expenses, would amount to £21,400. In reality, it would be half that at best.
So, even 214 people could not support ONE professional organist for a year.
If we see music-making in business terms, it is obvious that in order to cover professional fees, costs (possibly hire) of instrument and venue, advertising, printing, telephone calls, postage, performing rights (etc etc), then one needs about £2,000 per event income...in other words, an audience of 200 paying £10 per ticket. Obviously, in a church, that cost could be reduced substantially, but it is still a lot of money if a sensible professional fee has to be paid.
Even amateur events which involve orchestras or other ensembles, can have costs well over £1,000. I know, because I've done it.
When the average audience is now 50 or less, even with top performers, (I have played to 12 people!), it is simply a non-starter.
There needs to be a huge diplomatic effort on the part of organists and those who like organ-music, because people no longer go to church and never hear an organ except on radio, or incidentally as part of a choral event or an organ concerto etc.
I once organised a fairly ambitious event, in which I hired an amateur orchestra, and themed the event as "pipes & strings." A Handel Organ Concerto, THE Albinoni, one or two substantial orchestral works and solo organ items based on strings...T & F in D minor, the Schumann no2. BACH Fugue (which I played very fiery and very fast, as it shoud be) a transcription of CP E Bach's "Solfeggio" etc etc.
400 people turned up, and we lost about £300....not a disaster, but a loss nevertheless. However, as a piece of diplomacy and musical education, it was good, and possibly opened up "hearts and minds" to the fact that the organ was still around and to be taken seriously.
Twenty year earlier, a similar sort of event got an audience of 800, and it covered costs and made a slight profit.
Of course, I commend Pierre's enthusiasm (perhaps optimism), but it is important to realise the scale of the mountain to be climbed, and to keep one's financial feet firmly on terra firma at all times.
I couldn't possibly comment about breaking open the coffin during the "In Paradisum," but I would certainly advise against leaving a tremulant on during the quiter moments of funerals!!!!!!
MM
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Obviously you have spent a lot of time and money in promoting yourself on a website. But you might be making the same mistake a lot of student's do after spending 3 or 4 years in a redbrick University. As my Accountant once told me web sites and advertising yourself on those silly little cards are nothing more then tombstones !
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I would suggest that Ronald writes the polite version of the point I was making. I think I was fortunate in realising early on, that climbing a cliff is one thing, but when there are clergymen quite happy to kick one off the summit, the risks are far too great and the rewards inadeqaute.......I turned to finance and legal matters.
The organ "market" is dead in the water in this country, and our finest organists are heard more abroad than they are at home. The remainder struggle on in the church establishment as best they can, but for how long?
The churches are heading for financial bankruptcy, but they have been intellectually bankrupt for a long time, and few listen.
If that sounds negative (maybe even cynical), then it is.
Of one thing I am sure; the organ will survive, great music written for it will survive and there will be a few brave souls who carry it forward into the future in spite of the obstacles. The rest of us have to fit the organ into the gaps left when everything else has taken priority.
THAT Richard, is the real world of popularism, binge drinking, tasteless extravegances and endless musical bon-bons on Classic FM.
Welcome to the 21st century!
MM
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My ONLY foray into the Polish language left me scarred for life. I had some Polish work colleagues, and when I asked them to teach me something in Polish, they tutored me for hours....well...days actually.
Armed with my friendly Polish greeting, they suggested I try it out on a student worker, which I did. The young man looked quite stunned for a moment, but seeing his fellow Poles grinning, realised that I had been set-up.
Apparently, I had told him that he had beautiful blond hair and that I wanted to sleep with him!
As I say...scarred for life!
MM
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I have heard there are some really fine organs in and around Gdansk, a friend of mine Proff. Roman Perucki, is in charge of the "filharmonia" and is, or was organist at the Oliva cathedral. I suppose a lot of the good organs in that part of europe will have been lost during the war. There are probably some recordings of them hiding away somewhere.
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Yes indeed, and beyond Gdansk also. There are at least 20 notable organs in Warsaw, including the new Eule at St.Jan's Katedral, the huge (and I mean HUGE) 5-manual instrument at Breslau (now Wraclaw) formed from the Sauer which once graced the 100-year-hall. Sadly, whilst the great 5-manual instrument at St.Mary's,Gdansk (not the other 5-manual at Oliwa Katedral on the outskirts) somehow survived the extensive bombing of the city, it is ironic that this historic instrument was destroyed as recently as 1976. This was the one which contained the original Michael Engler pipework. Fortunately, they've got another one in the country, but it badly needs restoration.
The interesting thing is, that to the NW of Poland, the Romantic German influence is strong, and many instruments were re-built beyond recognition. This was the German "owned" part of Poland, of which Gdansk was the prize port the Germans so badly needed.
Go to the South (that was the Hungarian bit), and in other cities, such as Ludlow, Warsaw, Lodz, Krakow and many others (I can't remember the names, let alone spell them), there are some very substantial old and new instruments.
However, from a purely visual point of view, the organ cases are nothing short of fabulous throughout the country, with the exception of the utilitarian "communist" era cases and rows of zinc chimmney cans, with their cheap consoles.
With so many people going to church in Poland, there seems to be money enough to build new buildings and install organs, and to this end, organ-building seems to be thriving to a large extent. I am informed however, that during the war, great organs were hurriedly taken down and placed in storage often, and when the communists arrived, they were used as a depository of spare-parts and never put back. How's that for a post-war crime?
Nevertheless, it's quite a revelation, because the country which gave us cheap shoes and Polski Fiats, has also preserved a great deal of heritage; including many organs with those annoying short-octaves.
This is repeated throughout the Czech Republic, whilst some of the more notable organs in Hungary are truly monumental..... the organ of Eger Cathedral is about the same size as Liverpool, and sounds glorious. The organ-factory of Josef Angster in Pecs, (now re-opened as the Pecsi organ-building firm) dominated the town, and it says something about the communists, that poor old Angster ended up in prison simply for being a businessman. (I'm not sure if it wasn't his son, actually) Angster had studied with Cavaille-Coll, and took the French style back home to Hungary. With the communist take-over, it is easy to understand why Glatter-Glotz fled Czechoslovakia for Austria, and re-established the Rieger name there. The Rieger company in the Czech Republic, became Rieger-Kloss, who still exist, but now thankfully back in private hands, and apparently doing quite well for themselves.
MM
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SURELY THE SITUATION IS NOT QUITE THAT BLEAK? GIVEN ALL THE EFFORT THAT CERTAIN PEOPLE HAVE PUT IN RECENTLY TO LEARN THE WHITLOCK SONATA THAT MUST TURN UP FROM TIME TO TIME ? SURELY SOMEONE MUST BE PROGRAMMING MOZART, ALAIN, FRANCK, AND MESSIAEN ? AND WHAT ABOUT BOELLMAN , GUILMANT AND RHEINBERGER. BUT I BEING HERE AM IN NO POSITION TO CHALLENGE THE ACCURACY OF YOUR ASSERTIONS, THOUGH I AM SUSPICIOUS YOU ARE EXAGGERATING A LITTLE FOR THE SAKE OF EFFECT.
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Perhaps I was being economical with the truth, but my point was simply that the standard recital fayre is predictable. The Mozart K608 is certainly one which I have played a fair few times in recital.
However, all the above composers are still dead!
How many people ever include modern or contemporary works?
It isn't all cacophony by any means, and I think I have heard the Francis Jackson "Diversion for Mixtures" performed once (by Francis Jackson and by request) and the Fricker "Pastoral" once. I'm sure some people do play it, but I've never once heard a recitalist give an organ-work by Petr Eben an airing, and I don't think I would ever have heard the "Victime Pascale" by Jiri Ropek, but for the fact that he played it at one of his recitals in the UK, many years ago.
MM
Still a lovely job though. 
Who Decides Who Gets To Play What Organs And Why?
in General discussion
Posted
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Re: Selby Abbey.
On reflection, I used the wrong words in suggesting "previous mistakes."
What I really meant was "previous inevitabilities" due to the siting of the instrument in the side aisle of the choir. I remember how muddy the organ could sound down the nave, and yet sounded absolutely wonderful at the console. This was AFTER the H,N & B re-build.
The Choir was so far distant from the nave, it truly was a Choir organ only, and even the Solo registers struggled to be heard. I believe they turned the Solo around to face West, (perhaps it was just the Tuba?) and of course, the brighter stops added in the 1970's are actually quite good, and make a difference to the overall balance and effectiveness of the instrument.
It IS a wonderful instrument to be sure, but the best place to hear it remains at fairly close quarters....it's a strange building acoustically.
MM