DQB123

Thus far in this thread we have not mentioned THE DISH by Ted Alan Worth which of course tells the tale! I would say that it is a most enthralling book and if you don't have it, I heartily recommend that you get a copy from either the Fox website or OHS. I couldn't put the darned thing down, and have now read it twice! Apparently it was written down in one 300 page paragraph, so needed some judicious editing!

Talking of which --- horrendous Songs of Praise last night!!!

I sometimes think that the Liszt "Ad Nos" seems to meander around for ages going nowhere in particular.... (ducks for cover)

Improvising a set of variations is I guess one thing... but we don't always get that. Sometimes I have listened to the extemporaneous hullaballoo that goes on in some recitals in the name of improvisation and felt that it was all a big con-trick! I have an old cassette somewhere of Nigel Allcoat improvising a five or six movement Easter Mass (think it was on plainsong themes, but I'll have to go an hunt it out); and I have various Pierre Cochereau masterpieces too (again theme and variations play a large part). And at least there is structure. But there are other occasions where there appears to be no structure and perhaps this is the point where improvisation becauses aimless meandering?

Perhaps the question should be more "what" than "who"!

Of course that in-joke has been developed now... 'What is the difference between an organist and a terrorist?' Answer: ' With a terrorist it's nothing personal!'

Among my souvenirs I have a cassette of roll-recordings by Edwin Lemare. Among the tracks are a couple of improvisations, and basically they comprise a 5 note phrase which resembles more or less nothing. From that Lemare improvised a piece which ended finally in a fugue and grand finale. All from that 5 note phrase. I am sure that this is the real thing. Now to turn to a recital given in the Bridgewater Hall with Olivier Latry, which took place soon after its opening, and he finished his recital with an improvisation, based upon four well known songs of which the last was the French National anthem. Now is this really improvisation or doodling about on a well known theme? Wayne Marshall again "improvises" on well known songs or themes (notably Gershwin songs) and somehow people are greatly impressed, but it always leaves me with a question mark. Is it real or is it B.S. ??? (Pardon me!) Q

Yes .... but Cymbalsterns and tubular bells are one thing, but that is not really what I was asking. I was asking how many organ in the world are linked to the bells in the tower.... (or a Carillon...) Bit of a difference to what I had in mind .... etc.... I reckon that unless we hear to the contrary we are talking of two organs in the world. CC and the now defunct Marble Arch HNB. Q

So????

So are we saying that the RCO is a lost cause? Ach shame.... (as they say in SA)

I wonder why a reputable firm of organ builders would have any reservation in dealing with a cinema organ. HNB were pretty reputable so far as I know, and so was John Compton. So what happened. Is it that the necessary skills are now no longer available? If it is a question of snobbery versus dosh, I'd go for the dosh anytime!!

I guess that the cost of the Carillon far outweighed the cost of the organ at Marble Arch??

The burning question which remains is how much to restore a ruined 36 rank Christie pipe organ. Wonder if it's a task that Manders would take on..... Q

Hi I had the spec changed on mine. I shifted the Clarinet to the Positive, (lost the 1' Sifflote which I had really no use for). Also had a Clarion 4' added to the Great in place of the Clarinet. Wyvern were able to do that at the planning stage, and they were really very obliging and kind in every way. I have queried them on the Clarinet on the Great thing as I do think that it is a mistake on the Toccata, and it was interesting that at the time I made my order for the organ (earlier this year), they told me that someone else had just said the same thing. I also opted for the midi extra voice sounds so it can be very orchestral and theatrical! And I sold most of my CDs on Ebay in order to help with the purchase cost. I've just been beavering away at the Bach F minor P & F and it is such fun! (Would be even better fun if I could play all the right notes in the right order.)

Oopsie... This email refers to the instrument I found via a link on the Phoenix site to the new orgueaphone in Leeds RC Cathedral.... (will now run away and blush)

Aha an interesting mixture/mix-up of stop names. Some fairly standard British names and others from all over the place. So what is this organ? Seems to me that it could be neither one thing nor another. I once had an Electrophonic Organ built by Lewis York of Southampton in the 1970s and that was a real mish-mash of stop names.... still, I guess it's what ever lights yer fire!

Hi I have a Wyvern Toccata III smiling at me from the other end of my study and its a joy. I guess that I can see that a small tracker pipe organ would enable a disciplined approach to practice, but additional light and shade does make for a lot of enjoyment too... I don't own the house where we live so putting a pipe organ in is not really possible. I am inclined to think that one would have to go a long way to beat the Wyvern sound -- especially at the price!

Yeah... but how many actually connect to a Carillon -- ie bells in a tower ??

Thinking of the Regal Marble Arch and its Carillon, do we know of other organs linked to bells? I know that the Hazel Wright organ at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California is so linked. Are there (m)any more?

I think that it was in about 1966 that the Regal Marble Arch was demolished, and just prior to its demise the 36 rank Hill Norman & Beard "Christie" organ designed by Quentin Maclean was removed into storage. It has remained in that state in a trailer (I gather located in a barn) in Cornwall ever since. I am sure that this situation has just about driven a generation of theatre organ fans crazy ! Apparently its owner who never succeeded in doing anything with his container of bits was (probably for quite reasonable reasons) not keen to encourage all manner of theatre organ anoraks to his home, but now he has died and the Marble Arch organ has re-surfaced (as it were). Whilst it is restorable, its condition is far from good, and the photographs of it reveal that there is a considerable amount of restoration work required that would keep many organ builders busy for many months. There are a number of photographs of it in its present state - it will most certainly need its keyboards re-building! The organ apparently wasn't a great success in the cinema in spite of its great size, but it has recorded well - particularly by Sidney Torch. So far as the future is concerned, of course the issue with it its size. With organ preservation societies up and down the land struggling to find venues in which to re-install various Wurlitzers (and two homeless four manual instruments spring readily to mind), a 1920s orchestral pipe organ I guess will stand little chance short of a miracle and someone with a huge bank balance. (It included a 44 bell carillon in its spec which created such a noise that an injunction was issued forbidding or at least severely restricting its use!) The present state of the Marble Arch Christie can be seen via the yahoo group UKTheatreOrgans which is moderated by Peter Hammond. For those interested in such things I have definitely found this to be far and away the best theatre organ group on the net. Q - who along with many theatre organ nuts is hopeful of a miracle!

Don't know the answer to that one, but did note that Maestro Kelsall had complained to the tuner/technician that the depth of touch was insufficient. The tuner commented that the depth of touch before the note sounds should be about the same as the thickness of a key ivory. Of course with my glorious Wyvern and its plastic keys, I am none the wiser...

So to come back to topic, I wonder how long a set of Mander key contacts would last were they to be installed on the Wurlitzer!

The said grand piano (mothballed) makes an appearance in the same dvd whilst just above it on a shelf on the wall is a black box of about the same size as a dvd player which is the "new" piano. Can't help wondering why it was necessary to dispense with the original grand piano.... it always looked so impressive on the stage and gave the punters something else to look at!

There was nothing on telly tonight, in spite of there being about 100 channels of drivel on Sky, so I decided to make a dvd night of it. Half way through the evening the new dvd vcr died a death so I had to sort that out and revert to the former dvd player ... but enough of that... The dvd I was watching was one of Phil Kelsall at the Wurlitzer of the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool. Not my favourite player or organ, but couldn't resist the temptation of adding to the dvd library of organ stuff. Half way through the recording the Wurlitzer console is shown in a state of advance undress, sans keyboards, and the organ builder, talking to the good Mr Kelsall, happened to comment that the key contacts were being replaced. He mentioned that the last time they were replaced was "three years ago" and that they are completely worn out!! Now I know that organ gets plenty of use - more than most cathedral organs, (in fact I think it gets quite a hammering for a 70 year old organ); but three years of key contact life???? (remembering that the Ballroom is closed during the off season months). Three years could then perhaps be more accurately 20 months or so.... Could this be a world record????