john carter

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all and may I join in the thanks to John Mander and Rachel Mawhood for providing a forum that gives great pleasure throughout the year. JC

You haven't mentioned the dreaded infinite speed and gradation pedal, which I first encountered in the mid sixties. I think it is the only device that ever caused me to storm out in a fit of temper when a senior colleague said, at absolutely the wrong moment, "I can't see why you are finding it a problem - it's so simple!" Fortunately I got back to the console just in time for my next cue. I suppose, with the TV remote control being a major part of daily life it would seem logical now - but it was certainly unfamiliar then. JC

There is a young man, name of Mander Who builds organs that couldn’t be grander I’d say that St. Paul’s Outdoes Albert Hall’s

Oops! Sorry for the misunderstanding. An historic restoration in the City of London perhaps? JC

Pierre, I don't understand your comment. Are you referring to the pieces for which you gave the links? They are being played by an active member of this forum who can surely give us full information. JC

Ah! at last I see what you are on about. I had not understood because Rejoice and Sing, which we use in my Church, does have the version of the words that you prefer and accordingly we use the two different versions of Slane depending on whether the hymn is "Be thou my vision" or "Lord of all hopefulness". JC

Hang on a mo! I might only be a part-time amateur hymn player, but has anybody thought to ask the composer or arranger before changing things? When so often in these pages we are encouraged to respect the composer's intentions, why is this different? JC

This was pointed out to me today by a colleague. Apparently this gentleman was a publican and organist. Quite a way to be remembered! JC

Oops. Sorry! JC

Sorry, but I don't think you have quite followed what I'm saying! I also had the problem this morning - but only with the Mander Board. Pierre's French language "Organographia", also an Invision Power Board, behaves promptly at all times, as do all other websites. Re-setting my router and changing my IP address will do nothing to increase my connection speed. Indeed it will do the opposite as BT's system optimises the speed of the connection over a period of 72 hours after any interruption. This is most definitely a fault condition. Nevertheless, I'm grateful for you taking the trouble to offer advice. JC

This morning at 11.05, it took one minute for the grey background to appear, headline text appeared after four and a half minutes and five more minutes before the front page was fully loaded. Organographia, on the other hand, had downloaded almost before I took my hand from the mouse, as did organrecitals.com and organstops.org, that happen to be in the same favourites folder. My connection speed, when checked is sitting at a pretty healthy 5Mb/s. JC

Recently, in the late evening, I have sometimes found the board extremely slow or, in the case yesterday, inaccessible. Is anybody else experiencing this? I have no difficulty with any other websites, so I do not think the problem is local to my machine or ISP. Is there a limit to the maximum number that can view the board simultaneously? JC

I wonder if chamade is one of those words!

I hadn't realised that re-evangelising the nations and transforming society involved disposing of your heritage. JC

Well I'm glad you didn't wonder about posting it for too long, Nigel. Truly exquisite. Please Sir, may we have some more? JC

Our fellow contributor Cynic has much more knowledge of the Downside organ than I do, but as I understand it there is an enclosed Tuba on the Solo, but also an unenclosed Tuba on the Bombarde division. It would be interesting if Paul can tell us something about the character of and differences between these two stops. JC

I'm afraid my taste differs. I think a flue chorus with mixtures is one of the most glorious, noble sounds our instrument can produce. JC

Pcnd, it would be most interesting to know the exact composition of the Wimborne GO mixture, with its break points, if you happen to get a chance to look inside? JC

But not many lives are risked if an organist misses a signal or hits the wrong key - unless you know otherwise?

Thank you for posting your opinion. From someone as eminent as yourself, it is pleasing to read such a positive recommendation. It just goes to show that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover! JC

There was a W.E. Hill and Sons, a very high class violin maker, at 38 Bond Street in London, who repaired a cello for me in the 1960s, but they are no longer in the premises they then occupied. I'm sorry I have no further information to hand, but will PM you if I find anything in my papers. JC

Yes, I know that Pierre, it was meant to be a joke, but was obviously not very amusing. However, the Wanamaker organ does have Dulcianas in its string division and the 4' examples are called Octave Dulciana, not Dulcet. JC

Would Sir prefer them Grilled or Meunière? PS You are spared! The children have decided it isn't such a fun game after all.

All that and not a Dulcet to be seen! (see nuts and bolts correspondence) My goodness that was quick, especially on an unfamiliar instrument. JC

I remember attending a Messiaen recital on a very similar instrument some years ago - I cannot find words to tell you how light, delicate and colourful it was. It was just amazing how many pages there seemed to be in the score. JC PS Sorry Pierre!