Buxtehude
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Posts posted by Buxtehude
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It's a great shame that the recent Schott volume has so many misprints and errors. It's otherwise a really good book with a variety of styles and levels of difficulty.
https://en.schott-music.com/shop/frauen-komponieren-no175469.html
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I was thinking that 3 months notice (quite common) happens to play out as half a term at this time of year.
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If they get on with it after Easter, a September start is viable, so only half a term really. Churches can sometimes find it harder to move swiftly, depending on their management structure and if the PCC need to agree a changed job specification.I wonder what's going on in Warwick. Mr Corns' appointment to Sheffield was announced in February, with effect from June, but no signs of advertisement as yet. A long interregnum seems inevitable!
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I think the New Novello edition of this has rather more in the way of pedal markings than the old Novello. I don't have a copy to hand to check, but I suspect that many of them are editorial suggestions. If they are (perhaps indicated by square brackets), then feel free to disregard according to preference...
NB Bravo to Novello for retaining the old pagination so that the new and old scores can be used together.
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There used to be ms photocopies copies of his M&N in E minor in the cathedral library.
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The above information is only partially correct. Stephen Bullamore is indeed moving to Ipswich in September. Jonathan Lilley (Ely Cathedral) moves to Waltham Abbey from September.
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I've seen one of these. You have to take care not to detach the bass more than the other parts, otherwise the tenor part gains 16' blobs!
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The organist you refer to is remarkably good at this skill - I might add Tomkins to the list of styles heard springing from his fingers and planet sized brain. Also an improvisation on "Give me oil in my lamp" that was recognisable as such only to those who had set the challenge, but presented a more recognisable, respectable, theme to those who were not "in on it"; alas, I remember not what.
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I'm sorry to act or to appear dim on this subject. What is wrong at Belfast ? What has happened ? In the states, we're often the last to learn of particular problems or challenges.
Please inform.
This should give you a flavoursome starting point:
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David Stevens from Newcastle Cathedral has been appointed as Master of the Choristers of Belfast Cathedral
http://www.belfastcathedral.org/news/item/...of-choirmaster/
Brave...
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I am neither a lawyer nor an accountant, but my understanding is that it depends on whether you are required to live there or not as part of your contract.
If your contract requires you to live in a particular house then this should not be a taxable benefit, as long as it can be demonstrated that this is necessary for the proper execution of duties.
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Accompanying Balfour Gardiner's Evening Hymn, there are chords marked to be played with "rich tone". Enjoying the large instrument with all sort of soft reeds, strings and sub/super couplers, in rehearsal I became aware of the choir giggling below me. Conductor commented:
It was more opulent than foie gras!
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I've seen and played a 2 manual house organ by Skrabl, that looked similar to those being advertised in the Early Music Shop, though I know it wasn't acquired that way. I was extemely impressed by the quality of the action and it made a beautiful sound as well.
I've also had a look at the Lyme Regis organ. Again, the mechanics were first rate: absolutely stunning. It was perhaps less convincing tonally, I felt there was too much organ for the building, which had then been quietened down to make it work. It all sounded a bit restrained, and possibly a little confused in conception. Of course, this might not all be the fault of the builder.
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A way of avoiding VAT?? I'd bet that price was a factor...
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This is a great shame. My church bought a chamber organ "ex-display" (sort-of) from this exhibition. It was a great opportunity to compare organs side by side rather than having (mis)remembered details from visits several days apart.
I believe it was a good opportunity for builders to inspect each other's work and learn from each other - perhaps a healthy element of competition crept in as well!
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Does anyone here know of a UK-based manufacturer who may be able to help with practical storage solutions for a large archive of sheet music sets? Or has anyone any useful suggestions as to how best to approach the 'problem'?
Many thanks in advance for any useful thoughts that might help resolve a rather nice problem to have!
Tony
Have you tried these:
https://www.rscmshop.com/index.php/music-storage/boxes.html
This might be useful if you haven't already done the big bit:
http://www.blackcatmusic.co.uk/products/st...t-music-storage
I think I've seen these somewhere:
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There was rumour of it going to a cathedral.
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I am, as many know, the sort of chap who foams at the mouth at the sight of a Pozidrive screw. However, I cannot seriously advocate a tenor F Swell, FF/GG Gt and Ch and no pedals as the prime instrument for a city centre church. The choir sings Rutter, the congregation sing Shine Jesus Shine and the organist plays Eric Thiman. I will not win that battle, much as I would love to; they'll get a new ****** instead and chuck it in a skip, which is what has been seriously proposed.
So, while it probably is a new situation, it's better than no situation at all to sometimes accept that the best on offer is to freeze the old pipework/soundboards in time and re-use the Victorian mechanical underpinnings, adding a new take on a pedal organ which is a logical downward continuation of the manuals and doesn't need its own transept. Little will be gained, but nothing will be lost - for now - and others in the future will be able to see all that we can about what has happened to the pipework (which I actually don't think has been significantly revoiced, in the most part - an esteemed historic organ specialist in the south of England has used at least one stop from it as a model in a reconstruction elsewhere).
To link to the topic - this is what I would deem to be 'the purist approach' and I don't think it's hard to see how this will cost less than new soundboards, new case, new pipes and new mechanics!
Whilst it sounds to me that the appoach you outline has considerable merit musically as a rebuild and certainly sounds "conservationist" and economical, I quite like the approach taken at St Botolph's Aldgate. Although this is an earlier instrument, it was restored to three independent manuals (inc short swell) and a small independent pedal section added.
I realise I'm probably in a minority, but I'd live with such an instrument and accept its limitations.
Equally I recognise the limitations in a typical Willis instrument.
We seem to be very accepting of playing earlier repertoire on later instruments, and less accepting of playing later repertoire on earlier instruments; this seems to me to be an odd state of affairs. A busy city centre church will hopefully be exploring a wide repertoire, so the organ of whatever ilk will always be asked to do incongrous things. Howells on a Grant, Degens and Bradbeer? Blow on a Harrison? Which is worse?
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'We've been told to throw it away, but we like the sounds it makes...'
In which case I hope they've had a second opinion or advice on how to save that sound, because ultimately someone needs to like the thing!
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a return to the situation prevailing in about 1877, except with the present compass,
So actually, a new situation?
And I expect none of the pipework has been revoiced in any way, or had the pitch changed?
And why 1877 rather than 1790s?
[exit devil's advocate...]
This may be a national tragedy, or the tragedy may have happened years ago, but not everything old/by a particular maker is wonderful, especially if it has been "got at".
A bit difficult for the rest of us to judge I think to be honest.
If enough evidence survives and the pipework hasn't been "given the treatment" then my instinct would be a return to the 1790s instrument...why not?
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In connection with a couple of matters here - just last year, a substantial two-manual Willis of 1892, pneumaticised in the mid 1920's has been "restored" with substantial lottery assistance. Mechanical key action has been re-introduced. The original Great Dulciana has given way to a new quint (1892 Willis?) Mixture, and a Trombone (never envisaged in the original scheme) has been added to the Pedal. The stop action is solenoid-driven, controlled by state-of-art piston gadgetry and the swell pedal is balanced. Clearly not an "historic" approach, but one which the decision-makers within the lottery fund must be comfortable with.
The criteria for grants above £50,000 are more stingent than those below. This might have a bearing in this case?
Restoration is about doing the least amount of work necessary to render an instrument in as-new condition.I think Restoration is about restoring the instrument to its original condition, which in many circumstances means undoing later changes (often major). It can often mean considerable research expense into what the original condition most likely was.
I would consider what you outline here to come under the heading of Conservation.
Of course in an unadulterated instrument they may become the same thing, but this is rare.
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Interesting. Does being a purist necessarily mean being more expensive? As far as I know I have never been involved in the most expensive tender for any project, but invariably the work done is as respectful of original techniques as it's possible to be.
It seems to me that often the purist way is more expensive, yes. However this approach can work out cheaper for the organisation as it increases the likelihood of grant aid being available. However the larger grants often come with strings attached (e.g. turn off the heating, conditions of access, etc.) which some organisations are unable/unprepared to agree with. Without grants the purist way becomes expensive, the incompetents are still incompetent and the middle ground is still a lot of money to raise (more than the purist project with the big grants)!!
Broad brush approach in paragraph above, individual projects may vary etc...
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The situation is going to get worse.. so far I have not seen many thoroughly good organs scrapped, but this is going to happen more and more. On e-bay at the moment is one of the best organs that the Midlands firm of Taylors of Leicester ever built. Their magnum opus, the De Montford Hall has been saved, but their largest (and finest) surviving church organ at Emmanuel Church Loughborough is so much in danger that it has ended up on e-bay. Rather curiously the text given includes requirements made to any possible purchaser that it would have to be respected, kept complete etc. etc. when the church that owns it is no longer prepared to do this themselves!! I may be being uncharitable, maybe their church is closing and there is nothing else they can do.
Their website gives no indication that they are closing - I would rather suspect that they want rid of the organ and that any faculty will have made suitable disposal of the instrument a condition of the faculty (slightly clumsy wording, but you get my drift...) i.e. the DAC is trying to protect this organ. I've seen this happen elsewhere.
Repertoire requiring a 32-note pedal board??
in General discussion
Posted
Is the action such that you could borrow the notes in question (which are into 8' territory) from, say, a swell oboe and a great/swell trumpet/horn?