Buxtehude
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Posts posted by Buxtehude
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Excuse me, but I feel as if I am being attacked for expressing a view! And it looks like I'm not on my own. :angry:
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.
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Add me to the list of those wondering why on earth a jolly good English Romantic organ couldn't be rescued and rebuilt....
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.
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I seem to remember sometime ago you could play on payment a 'fee' and would also have one of the music staff wiith you - 'not sure if it still applies though.
A
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.
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An unexpected acquisition of an Apollo reed organ has meant no contest
Are you really sure?! I had one of these for a few months once - it nearly put me off playing for life!
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I am looking for "The Hopkins album : consisting of thirteen voluntaries for the organ" / by Edward J. Hopkins.
Any ideas where I could find this out-of-print public domain book either in printed or in pdf file version? Google doesn't help much. Music from that period seems to be out of fashion and thus difficult to find.
Thank You in advance.
Marko Hakanpää
Finland
The British Library has this and might be able to supply a copy or digital scan. http://www.bl.uk/
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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?
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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!
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We're experimenting with "Congregational Evensong" once a month here in Kendal - at least to see whether or not it will up the numbers in the long run - using the following scheme:
Responses: Ferial
Psalm: Whatever (Choir only)
Canticles: to Anglican chant, or to Plainsong, or as metrical versions
Anthem: Whatever (Choir only)
plus our usual three hymns (Introit, Office and Final) and two organ voluntaries (Middle and Final).
Over to other members ... what might you do to make Evensong more "congregation friendly" if desired?
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
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One also wonders how much of the old Hill material survives at Keble and how much of this will be incorporated in the new Tickell instrument. If there's enough in a reasonably unmolested condition and they're going to include it, I wonder to what degree they will go to match the new material to the old material? It could be tremedously exciting, especially as the old Hill organ seems to have enjoyed a celebrated reputation.
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.
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Surfing through Musicroom today, I notice that there has been a significant increase in Leduc prices. Whereas I paid £13.99 at Christmas for the Dupre Cortege et Litanie I see it now comes in at £21.00! Messiaen's works are similarly inflated. I can understand a couple of quid here and there but almost double the price of less than 6 months ago....? Is this really justifiable?
Peter
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...
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Anyone hear the broadcast from Worcester last week, still availble on BBC I-Player http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00js8l4 for the next four days. The organ part to Stanford in B flat was unusual and I assume a realisation of the orchestral version of the setting. The broadcast gave a good hearing of the new Tickell organ.
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?
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I know it is frowned upon to do this sort of thing nowadays, but I would far rather hear a performance done with a GTB-style organ accompaniment, than with a second-rate and thinned-out orchestra, as so often happens with struggling choral societies.
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.
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Geoffrey Morgan
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.
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The idea that musicians of the past didn't study earlier music is bunk - Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, etc all had an enormous amount of knowledge of Bach's music - although Schumann didn't really play the organ, he had a greater knowledge and a larger collection of Bach's organ music than any organist of the time - even Mendelssohn referred to him. C H H Parry described the old Samuel Green organ in St Mary Redcliffe as the finest he'd ever heard, with the noblest diapasons. Who says a histological approach detracts from musicianship?
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.
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Can anyone suggest any commercial contenders, preferably with chants and psalms in the same book?
D
Lincoln cathedral have recently published their psalter - worth a look
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Attendance is a headache for many unpaid choirs. However this:
the attitude that the rehearsal is for them to attend only if they've nothing better to dostrikes 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.
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sorry, double post
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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.
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Although this is by no means definite yet - the Church Commissioners are taking a long time to make up their mind in this case - it is possible that St Peter's Brighton (the parish church with a tower in the middle of the two main rods into Brighto from the north) will be declared redundant. Four manual Father Willis, rebuilt H&B, similar specification to Truro Cathedral. At present the most likely future for the building seems to be a church plant by HTB. Watch this space!
Malcolm
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...
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Likewise at Peterborough, where they also have a 'French symphonic' channel.
The Lincoln Organist Laureate's regular channel for most repertoire used to be set up in this way (and probably still is).
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I know of one full time organist whose wedding fees are paid into church coffers on the grounds that he is paid for doing a full time job and it is up to his employer what they ask him to do and what they charge other for his services.
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.
Why Would You Need A Glockenspiel?
in General discussion
Posted
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?