Buxtehude

I've just noticed that Bath Abbey had a Glockenspeil installed last year: "Glockenspiel added, mounted out of sight at the top of the case, on electric action with a compass from tenor C to top D, playable either on the Solo, or on the Pedals via Solo to Pedal coupler, albeit an octave higher - i.e. 4' pitch covering the whole pedal compass;" What's it for? Do I need one? What repertoire that deserves a hearing needs it?

It looked to me as though the view was being attacked, not you. Isn't that the way discussion works? And no, you might not be on your own, but equally there may be others who hold conflicting views and express them.

How many of you have actually tried to do this? I (with much assistance) have been looking for the past couple of years for a jolly good English Romantic organ to rescue and rebuild. Looking for c.3manuals/35-45 stops. Money largely in place. Reasons for rejecting various options: Too much mucked around by builders tryign to neo-classicise it Scaling too small Scaling too big Badly stored - 90% pipes out of shape, leading to uncertainty of budget and a high risk project I'm know that there examples of where this has been done successfully, but it isn't as easy as it sounds.

From Lincoln Cathedral Website: The Cathedral is offering amateur organists the chance to play the 'Father Willis' organ on Monday and Thursday evenings in half term after Evensong. The cost is £50 for half an hour's playing. Players will be supervised by one of the organists, but will be able to play whatever they choose. Anyone interested should apply in writing to Cathedral Fundraising, 4 Priorygate, Lincoln LN2 1PL, telephone 01522 561614 or e-mail fundraising@lincolncathedral.com and we will contact you. This used to be once a week but a waiting list of several months started to build. It would seem it is now twice a week.

Are you really sure?! I had one of these for a few months once - it nearly put me off playing for life!

The British Library has this and might be able to supply a copy or digital scan. http://www.bl.uk/

Thanks, I strongly suspect that the listeners will be mostly the group I am with so I think Spanish best (mid-week Mass, not on a feast day, with group of 60 singers). The Guridi suggestions look interesting. The British Library has a copy of the Final and I'm in there quite a lot so will have a glance at this - maybe it's time for a challenge! Does anyone have this book? http://www.musicroom.com/imagezoom.aspx?product_id=24520 Might the Offertorio appear?

I am going with a group to Seville in October and will be playing an exit voluntary after Mass at Santo Angel. I anticipate having very little rehearsal time to set up any complex registration schemes. The spec can be found here: http://iof.pipechat.org/ldshow.php?file=03404100207 Any bright ideas? I'd like to give the group I'm with something reasonably showy. Thanks in advance!

This is something which we used to do in alternation with Choral Evensong (for some reason it was billed as "Sung Evensong") with Mag and Nunc to anglican chant. It became the service that nobody liked, with numbers falling off, so we had a rethink. We now use Compline in the modern form (slightly adapted): Choir introit Opening prayers concluding with sung Alleluia (with congregation) Office Hymn (one of a selection of four plainsong hymns printed in the service book)(with congregation) Scriptural sentence Psalm (Responsorial)(with congregation) Reading Homily Sung responses (quasi-plainsong) "Into your hands O Lord I commend..." Nunc dimittis (to a setting), preceded and succeeded by "Save us O Lord" (said) Prayers; Lord's Prayer Hymn Final sung responses (quasi-plainsong) "In peace we will lie down and sleep" Voluntary This alternates with Choral Evensong (with too many hymns for my taste...) and has been successful and popular

I've been in the organ loft at Keble - there is almost no pipework left. Rumour has it that most of it was shipped off to a church in Bristol, but I know no further details. I think this has the potential to be a fantastic instrument from Tickell.

Frustrating yes, but I can't help noting that this isn't actually double (which would be £27.98...), but a rather similar proportion to that which the pound has slid against the euro... Add in a small % for an annual increase and it shouldn't really be a surprise for goods coming out of the Eurozone. No doubt organists in Europe are taking advantage by buying cut-price Howells etc...

I missed it, but I do usually cue in the opening theme of the Magnificat at the end of the Gloria on some sort of party horn... Is this what you were referring to or is there more?

Hear, hear, (crumbs, I must be softening in my old age - I would never have agreed with this 10 years ago) BUT it takes a really special accompanist to pull this off (and there aren't as many of you around for this sort of thing as there used to be Geoffrey!) I would regard a sound knowledge of the full score as more crucial to successful accompaniment of this repertoire rather than worrying too much about what arrangement is in front of you. Just use the dots on the page as an aide memoire. ...and while we're at it, how many of us really know what the harp plays on the opening page of "The Apostles", or how the woodwind is scored at the start of Brahms "Wie Lieblich"/"How lovely"? Geoffrey does - he not only told me, he showed me and showed me various ways to translate that onto the organ.

This man has such an incredible understanding of how to illustrate words! I remember his "His chariots of wrath the deep thunder-clouds form" inspiring such awe that the entire choir amost gave up singing and gazed up at the organ-loft in terror... ...and a puddle emerged beneath one smaller, less experienced member who had failed to empty his bladder before the service.

Not sure about the others but I don't believe Mozart was familiar with much of his forbears' music (Handel and Bach mostly) until well after his adolescence. He learnt more from those just one generation above him. Although Mendelssohn is, of course, famous for his championing of Bach's music (possibly Mendelssohn's greater contribution to the organ repertoire, was his edition of Orgelbuchlein, rather than his own writing...IMHO). I believe more musicians today are more interested in the music of the past than has previously been the case. Cue chorus of: "The Enlightenment project has come to an end, nobody is writing decent music any more, so we have to look to music of the past", which I don't entirely believe.

Lincoln cathedral have recently published their psalter - worth a look

Attendance is a headache for many unpaid choirs. However this: strikes me as the major problem. Are the "better things to do" professional commitments, or are their professional commitments such that they are trying to juggle a limited amount of free time? I endeavour to know my choir not just as a group but as individuals. In time one can win a personal loyalty, not just a group loyalty. In my group several members are trying to juggle a limited amount of free time. A teacher trying to balance many commitments might tell me that they can sing one service on the Sunday but not both, which would I prefer? Often I will get a couple approaching me and saying that they can't both be in attendance at a particular service due to child care issues - which part do I need covered more? Better still, they approach others on their parts to check on their availability and then propose a solution to me for approval. Clearly the above approach is not perfect (and not all choir members are in full agreement to it, though they have accepted it) but it enables us as a group to sing decent repertoire to a good standard all year, and on the occasions when the full choir is in attendance it can be quite spectacular! In terms of managing this element of unpredictability in terms of our midweek rehearsals I think it important to get away from the idea that a given rehearsal is specifically for the next Sunday's service(s). Any music which is on the fringe of the repertoire (i.e. sung once a year or less) will be rehearsed at least twice on consecutive weeks. The problems thrown up in rehearsal are usually sufficiently different that those who are able to be at both rehearsals are still kept interested. New music is usally rehearsed between two and four times depending on difficult. If the music for a Sunday morning is especially well known, I might even grab a few minutes to check a psalm chant for the evening. I view our rehearsal time as a web, into which are woven services. When individuals know that they have missed a lot of rehearsal they will usually check on what music is to be sung and approach me for advice. This may well include a few minutes one-on-one preparation time. This I also offer to less experience members of the choir whose idea of "core repertoire" falls short of the group's concept. Not sure there is any concrete advice in the above, but there may be a few ideas to draw upon, as I have drawn on ideas from others here.

sorry, double post

I've always played this one from NBA so what I saw in your link looked/sounded wrong to me! You can probably get hold of a facsimile of the autograph (if there is one) to look at if interested - I once did some work on some Orgelbuchlein chorales in this way.

I think you'd have to join the back of a long queue to get a look in with this instrument if it becomes available...

The Lincoln Organist Laureate's regular channel for most repertoire used to be set up in this way (and probably still is).

I realise that the above was written a while ago, but given recent discussion I felt the urge to crawl out of the woodwork... My church employs me on a part time basis (nominally 3/4 time). This includes fees for weddings and funerals (but not for any other "extras" as might arise - but there are very few of these). There is a budget to provide for a deputy in the event that I am on holiday or other booked leave. I was given the choice of salary+fees or a larger salary when I was offered the post. I have the option to change this arrangement annually. I have worked out that I am generally better off with this arrangement; the church/clergy are also happy that they are deally with the same person on a regular basis (especially thinking about funerals midweek). It makes "fees meetings" remarkably easy - the church treasurer is keep to recoup some of his "investment"! This arrangement has much to commend it - we all know where we stand.