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john carter

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Everything posted by john carter

  1. But does it become clearer every day that he actually liked them or used them? JC
  2. I think the Walcha recordings are a repackaged version of a set I have had for a few years. They are from the original "Archiv" recordings issued in the 1950s on LP which were responsible for teaching me a great deal about the music when I was in my teens. They are very scholarly and precise and I still find them a good point of reference. The recording quality is fine on my copies, and stand the test of time very well considering that they are 60 years old. I am glad you raised the point about the short pauses, or hesitations, which equally make me feel uncomfortable.
  3. Not too fast for me! Just right and a very pleasing sound. The lack of continuity in the video editing was strange, but that isn't what matters here. JC
  4. Congregational Praise lists three alternative tunes: Wilmington (Erik Routley), Liverpool (John Roberts) and Horbury (J B Dykes). Please let me have your e-mail address if you would like a scan of the relevant pages. JC
  5. Next time you speak to David, you can say that I still listen to that recording and it gives me much pleasure 28 years on, not least because of my links with the Katarina Church. However, I would be interested to learn whether he would approach it in the same way today. But much as I admire David's recording, I still go back to Fernando Germani, who first introduced me to Franck, as my point of reference.
  6. Would you expect Marks and Spencer to pay for an advertisement by Waitrose?
  7. If money and space are limited, why not go for a decent piano, as we have in my own Church. Low running costs, low energy, total reliability and, hopefully, extremely long life.
  8. I know, I know! I'm not a Polish plumber, but I am capable of working it out. It doesn't stop me thinking it is pretentious. Even though I happen to use the Korean language sometimes doesn't mean I would ever expect a car or TV from that country to have controls labelled in Korean script. Now then, an organ with Korean stop names, that would be a challenge for you... 존카터
  9. Why on earth do we need to have unrecognisable stop names on an organ in the UK, especially somewhere as down to earth as Huddersfield? I thought Konicasta Flavta was one of the professionals in "Strictly Come Dancing". Perhaps it is just a case of my Pozavna is louder than yours? JC
  10. Thanks, Pierre. I am familiar with that recording and it is always a pleasure to hear the distinctive tones of the Anneessens organ. It is many years since I was last at Ieper Cathedral and I would love to hear some Howells on it. JC
  11. Or, perhaps, The Queen of all drawstops! JC
  12. Oh Yes! I'm sure Howells would sound good at Ieper. If you have any links to recordings, I would be interested to hear them. JC
  13. Having been away from the forum over the summer, it is a delight to come back and find pcnd5584 at his most incisive, MM back with us and already arguing with Vox and Pierre about Howells. It's a nice feeling to be back home! JC
  14. If DaXXX WaXXX is reading this, I would refer him/her to the first five verses of Matthew 7. I am appalled. JC
  15. Index number N11998 worked when I looked earlier today. JC
  16. I have never commissioned an organ, but prior to retirement I was responsible for some very large projects using public funds. I think Colin has hit the nail on the head here; the relationship with the contractor is the most important factor - more important even than cost. To be able to work with someone over a period of months it is important that each party trusts the other's judgment and that they share common objectives. I always preferred the contractor who took the trouble to listen to me, understand my requirements and share my enthusiasm for the project, rather than one who just wished to make his life easy and offer a standard solution. JC
  17. I completely agree with you, Paul. You have expressed it much better than I did in the heat of the moment. I believe strong, sometimes opposing, views and witty banter are part of the success of this forum, but not personal animosity. JC
  18. Am I the only one here who is sick and tired of this bickering? It is most discourteous to Manders who so generously host this forum. Kindly settle your differences elswhere rather than making the rest of us feel uncomfortable. JC
  19. Now why didn't I think of that...? Another guilty admission, yes I am an addict. I wonder if there is a César Franck Anonymous group somewhere! JC
  20. I'm afraid you have lost this old codger there. Cold Fusion? Cystic Fibrosis? I hope it isn't too unkind! JC
  21. Just to stoke up the controversy, I would also mention the last section of Grand Pièce Symphonique as a piece that can outstay its welcome, though I love the remainder of the work. I rather wish I hadn't read the recommended tempi for Pastorale and Prélude, Fugue and Variation. I will guiltily admit that I prefer the outer sections of both works to be gentle, contrasting a more energetic approach to the quasi allegretto and fugue respectively. JC
  22. Further amendments: I have listened to Marchal, Langlais, M-C Alain, Sanger, Pincemaille and Lebrun. All the players take the last few pages faster than the opening. Having re-read Paul Walton's quote from Rollin Smith, three short passages starting at bar 306 are indeed taken at 160 by Langlais and 180 by Marchal, easing back slightly at bar 336. David Sanger makes quite a brisk 134-ish start increasing to 144-ish at the end, a speed at which Pierre Pincemaille starts! My favourite remains Langlais, but then his was the first performance of this work that I ever heard, so it made quite an impression. JC
  23. I have just tried it and the link from NPOR definitely isn't working. JC
  24. To me, the sound is reminiscent of the 1898 C-C organ at Sta. Maria, Azkoitia in Spain. JC
  25. According to the website it was changed to EP in 1955 and updated again in 1983. JC
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