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Paul Morley

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Posts posted by Paul Morley

    Irreverent Improvisations

    in General discussion

    Posted

    In a previous thread I made mention of a mediaeval-themed wedding at which I played during my time at Nantwich:

     

    High points included:

     

    § Man in suit of armour, who could not sit and had to prop himself up against the font.

     

    § ‘Leper’ in rags with grotesque make-up (at least, I hope it was make-up).

     

    § ‘Jester’ with Blackadderesque comedy cod-piece.

     

    § Our rector realising, far, far too late, that he had made a terrible mistake in allowing the couple and their friends free-reign, and rather embarrassedly announcing, ‘Friends, before we start, please let us all try to be mindful of the fact that this is a serious occasion and not a theatrical event.’

     

    § The ceremony took place in December. A home-produced, inadequately proof-read service sheet included such gems as, ‘…to save us all from Santa’s power’ and ‘…they found him in a manager where oxen feed on hay’, to say nothing of ‘Hornpipe – Handle’.

     

    § The entire choir (adults and children alike) getting the giggles during ‘God rest ye merry, gentlemen’ for fairly obvious reasons, while I tried (with only partial success) to drown them out with large amounts of organ.

     

    The guests were treated to a set of variations on the 'Blackadder' theme tune before the service. Although I fully accept the principle that, as liturgical musicians, we are there to serve, I'm afraid that I don't see why one should be expected to take a wedding ceremony more seriously than do the bride and groom themselves.

     

    I have also improvised toccatas on 'You'll never walk alone' and the theme from 'Star Trek - Voyager' after the last services of departing curates (both undertaken with the approval of the incumbent, it should be added).

    King George's Hall Blackburn

    in General discussion

    Posted

    !The Lancaster Organ Building Company were responsible for all manner of acts of organ vandalism in Lancashire by undercutting the established builders

    Fair enough...mind you, I imagine that on our various travels, most of us have encountered good work undertaken by enthusiasts and acts of catastrophic incompetence/bare-faced dishonesty perpetrated by so-called professionals.

     

    I'm very sad to learn of the death of Prof(?) Chadwick. I heard him play many times, and deputised for him at St Luke's, Weaste on a few occasions. An utterly charming man, and as you say, a superb musician.

    Reeds In The Higher Registers

    in Nuts and bolts

    Posted

    Wow! Even in rebuilt/updated state, that second instrument would still interest me very much. If anyone knows more about the instrument at St.Michael's Ashton-under-Lyne, please post it here.

     

    P.

    Here goes:-

     

    St Michael & All Angels, Ashton under Lyne.

    1845, William Hill

    http://npor.emma.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch...ec_index=N10992

     

    1894, Norman & Beard

    http://npor.emma.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch...ec_index=N10993

     

    1964, JW Walker

    http://npor.emma.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch...ec_index=N10971

     

    I played this organ quite a bit in the 80s, and last played it in 1990. Information given herewith is based on observation and/or conversations with the late organist.

     

    The organ stands in the west gallery, extending back into the tower. Much of the superstructure survives from 1845. On entering the church by the west door, the very large swell box is visible above one’s head, cantilevered out over the porch. The effect is not dissimilar to the rear of the case at Chester Cathedral, minus the dummy display pipes.

     

    The organ is housed within a fine Gothic case in oak. There is a central flat of diapason pipes. Side towers contain narrower scale pipes on two levels. The case pipes are painted gold, but I believe that they were once decorated in the Gothic style with geometric designs/heraldic devices.

     

    The organ had fallen into a fairly parlous state by the 60s, and considerable remedial action was needed to return it to full working order. The action was changed from TP to EP and a new console was supplied. This console is in Walker’s house style of the time, and very well constructed. However, it was placed directly under the case (the N&B and presumably also the Hill consoles had been slightly detached from and a few feet below the organ, directly behind the gallery rail), resulting in the central flat of case pipes being raised a by couple of feet. This alteration sounds far worse than it actually looks, and the organ still appears very elegant when viewed from either the gallery or the nave floor.

     

    The 1964 work, for which Francis Jackson was consultant, was carried out to a very high standard. Whilst is perhaps unlikely that such a comprehensive tonal re-structuring would be considered today, what is beyond question is the fact that that the instrument 'works'. There are some very useful and musical sounds available, and full organ is (or perhaps was) magnificent, despite a dead acoustic. A very large amount of Hill pipework remains, and I would suggest that the reeds in particular benefit(ed) from having been returned to something like their original wind pressures and voicing. In drawing up the 1964 spec, I imagine that Dr Jackson was influenced by his experience with the rebuild of the Minster organ a few years previously, and doubtless the success of this project determined the choice of builder for the work at Ashton. Apparently, it had been intended to retain a few more romantic voices (there are vacant slides on all three manual soundboards), but the money ran out. It is certainly rather a shame that two relatively inexpensive additions - installing the lowest octave of the Sw 16' reed (there has been soundboard provision for this since 1845) and enabling the Gt reeds to draw on the Ch (they sit on their own HP chest) - failed to materialise through lack of funds.

     

    Two years ago, I played for an RSCM event at Nantwich. A couple of singers/organists from Tameside were present. We got talking afterwards, and the St Michael’s organ came up in conversation. They informed me that not only was the organ now in a very poor state of repair, but that the church building itself had developed structural problems. Perhaps board members living/working in the Manchester area could shed some light on the instrument’s present condition.

    Reeds In The Higher Registers

    in Nuts and bolts

    Posted

    Does anyone know if there are any surviving examples of the 2' Gt reeds that William Hill sometimes placed in his larger schemes?

    The specs below will, no doubt be familar to many:

     

    http://npor.emma.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch...ec_index=N10865

     

    (lost)

     

    http://npor.emma.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch...ec_index=N10992

     

    (radically rebuilt 1894 and 1964, on each occasion in conformity to the orthodoxy of the time. Sadly, now reported to be in poor condition and under threat).

    King George's Hall Blackburn

    in General discussion

    Posted

    ..but sadly it was rebuilt by the Lancaster Organ Building Company (a group of school teachers...

    Hang on a sec! JS Bach was a school teacher - it didn't stop him being knowledgeable about organ building. :blink:

    Cheers,

    Paul (ex. school teacher.....hooray!)

     

    The version of the various urban myths that surround the old KJH organ that was passed on to me is as follows:

     

    The fire caused only slight and superficial damage to the organ, but the council seized upon the fact that some damage had been sustained as an excuse to have it removed.

     

    What I do know to be fact is that the late Russell Harty made a very public fuss (on a BBC R4 broadcast no less) about the organ's destuction, as he considered it to be a most significamt part of the city's cultural heritage.

    Congregational Mass Settings

    in The Organ

    Posted

    I've just been commissioned to write two, both for the same church in Cheshire. One is to be unison with organ + optional SATB, for use at the morning Eucharist. The other is to be more 'rocky', with optional guitar, etc., for use at the family HC. They should be surfacing some time in the new year. Anyone wishing to try either of them out and then give them a savaging, I mean, give me some feedback, please PM me.

    Cheers,

    Paul

    Manchester Town Hall

    in General discussion

    Posted

    The console. Extremely uncomfortable, the pedals are too far under the keyboards.

    I'm pretty sure that the console is by Jardine, but that it was introduced rather earlier than 1970 (the only date NPOR records them as having worked on this organ). Apart from anything else, I'm pretty sure that by 1970 the Jardine firm had scaled-down far beyond the point where they could have supplied and fitted a new V+P console.

    Manchester Town Hall

    in General discussion

    Posted

    I have read somewhere (possibly on another thread on the board) that part of Lewis' brief was to 'remove all trace of gamba tone from the diapasons', or words to that effect. I think that it's probably fair to say that the ranks in question now sound rather more like English diapasons than montres.

    Manchester Town Hall

    in General discussion

    Posted

    I wonder whether the interventions by English builders actually toned it down. After all, the great hall in MTH is by no means a large space; nothing like the size of Leeds, Birmingham, Sheffield or even pre-fire Bolton. A 60+ stop Cavaille-Coll might very well have been a bit much - even for late 19C tastes.

    Cameron Carpenter

    in The Organ

    Posted

    ...and Lichfield Cathedral the night before. (That's 11th and 12th September 2009)

    Given that CC is a virtuoso performer as well as a virtuoso player (if you see what I mean), will he be playing Phoenix rather than he Hill?

    Eight Stops

    in Nuts and bolts

    Posted

    Great Organ

    Open Diapason 8

    Tibia Clausa 8

    Viol d'Amour 8

    Swell to Great

    Swell Octave to Great

    Swell Suboctave to Great

     

    Swell Organ

    Diapason Phonon 8

    Hohl Flute 8

    String Gamba 8

    Cornopean 8

    Tremulant

    Octave

    Suboctave

     

    Pedal Organ

    Subbass 16

    Great to Pedal

    Swell to Pedal

    What about the tremulants.....?

    David Bell

    in General discussion

    Posted

    I heard David Bell give a recital in Colyton, Devon c.1985. Oragn spec is/was:

    http://npor.emma.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch...ec_index=N01462

    It made a rather more impresive sound than you might think. SWestern board members may hold opinions...

     

    Can't remember everything on the prog, but it included Franck Chorale no1 and Cocker tuba Tune (though the latter may have been an encore).

     

    Apart from his playing being stunning, it was also completely from memory. Still, anyone who HvK rated must be a bit good!!

    St. Andrew's, Shottery, Stratford-upon-avon

    in The Organ

    Posted

    I was horrified to learn that his W.H.Hewins instrument, recently expanded by Organ Tuning Services of SonA (not with pipes from Worcester :lol: ) is under threat of replacement by a toaster. It gets worse. The "organist", in reality a music teacher rather than a true organist, wants to do the deed! The organ is in good condition with much more nicely voiced pipes than I recall from years ago.

     

    The specification is:-

     

    Swell

    Gedact 8'

    Gamba 8'

    Oboe 8'

    Great

     

    Open Diapason 8'

    Principal 4'

    Fifteenth 2'

    Claribel 8'

     

    Pedal

    Echo Bourdon 16'

     

    Tremulant

     

    Swell to Great

    Swell to Pedal

    Great to Pedal

     

    Two non-adjustable combination pedals to each manual. Mechanical action and hitch-up swell pedal. Concave and radiating pedal board.

    By whose definition are they a 'music teacher'? I would be surprised and disappointed if a professional musician of any real worth (even if their primary area of expertise was in a discipline other than organ performance/choral accompaniment) would be prepared to ditch a serviceable pipe organ for a device....or am I being too idealistic?

    St Paul's

    in General discussion

    Posted

    Although not entirely my tasse de thé (too large for my liking - I'm a 2 manual 28 stop man myself)

    Surely Nigel, that should read,

    'I'm a 3 manual, 33 stop man myself'

    Cheers,

    Paul.

    :lol:

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