churchmouse
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Posts posted by churchmouse
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Jenny I've sent you a PM regarding this.
P
Hey, thanks Peter and Colin for your collective help! But still no word about Musing Muso. The place does seem very quiet without him...
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Actually, while I'm looking for missing person, has anyone seen Andrew Butler?
or Fiffaro? Or Charles Wooler? I'll have to remove their quotes from my book if I can't get their approvals for my final version...
oh woe....
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Glad I'm not the only one pining for Musing Muso!!!
Apart from the fact that I urgently need him to check his extracts for my organ anecdote book, I really miss his spirit on the board.
Churchmouse
Is Musing Muso (MM) OK? Does anyone know?He last posted on 16th July and has an average posting of three per day so nothing in over a month seems a little odd.
Perhaps he is away. I hope he's well.
J
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Hiya,
Look forward to seeing the book. What will be the title? Or is that currently unknown?
Dave
Hi Dave,
The title is being considered!
Should be out by November. Crossing fingers and toes as I write.
cheers
Churchmouse
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Sorry if this is horribly off topic for you all but I need to get in touch with Lee Blick who often posts to this forum as a guest Would anyone have any idea how I might get hold of him or even if you happen to spot him can you ask him to get in touch with me through here? Thanks!
The book will - all things considered - be out for Christmas, I'm delighted to say. Many of you have graciously agreed to having your pearls of wit and wisdom reprinted in it and join the many others from the globe in celebrating the daft world of the organ. I'll post news of it later, but in the meantime thank you all for your patience. It's been a long year!!
cheers
Jenny
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A related problem - as you know you can only reply or post new messages when logged in. I had written a reply to a topic, and when I went to Preview, I was asked to log in - the message I had written was lost. Has this happened to anyone else?
Peter
Yes Peter! I'll admit to that! A simple remedy is to use the back button and you will, with luck, find your text still there. I am sufficiently paranoid to copy my messages before trying to send, whereever I try to send them from. Find it has rescued me from numerous frustrating moments.
It's a bit like losing your registrations, isn't it..... and just before a concert... (nope actually, nothing is as bad as that!)
Jenny
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Just a thought. Are you absolutely sure they didn't get sent, Jenny? When you send a PM you won't get a copy saved in your outbox unless you tick the box at the bottom of the page that says something like "save a copy of this message". Mind you, if you were expecting replies and didn't get them...
Yup, am pretty sure I ticked the box. Sent a couple this am. Will try sending you one perhaps. Either it's a glitch or God's trying to tell me something again. *sigh*... Thanks for your feedback anyway!
chirps
J
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Those of you who might have expected to be contacted by me about anecdotes might be able to help... I have been thinking I was sending messages about various points of stories, names, ways in which any of you (whose stories are hopefully going into the anecdote book) would like to be referred etc - but discover that the lot I sent over the errr, ummmm, ah, last 2 or so months simply haven't existed..
Can't figure it out at all, and I would suspect my own fault if I hadn't already managed to send and receive messages...
I did note though that at one stage some members had been inadvertently blocked (am sure I didn't do it! well, not deliberately)
So apologies to those who have wondered about my silence, and any help would be appreciated..
cheers
Jenny
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I purchased an Edirol R-09 a while back, and am quite happy with it. It's very portable and lightweight, and records onto SD cards. Although the RRP is about £280, they can often be picked up on Ebay for about £200.
I'd second that about the Edirol - I have just bought an R-09 and was astounded at the light weight, ease of use and fabulous quality. Transferring to computer a breeze . Have just ditched our Sony minidisk 700 something that we carted everywhere with accompanying curses - it was the hardest gadget to operate I've ever owned and the instruction manual was nearly in tatters I had to consult it so often. Never easy when working in the dark of a church nave or under pressure of time.
chirps
Jenny
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This is not an organist but I think many of you would be fascinated to hear an incredibly musical performance of the (hiding head under bedclothes) Bach BWV 565.
I was riveted. He makes a better job of it than many do and I found it thoroughly enjoyable.
Curious? You should be!!
Player is Dmitriev
Churchmouse
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Oh , I should have added to my first post but was a bit shy; there are 4 or 5 little videos of my Martin playing the Christchurch Rieger: Grison, some of his own bits n' bats, and a Lefebure-Wely Sortie. The latter might be of interest to some of you as it also shows shots of the interior of the organ and I even braved climbing to the top of the swell to get those as well. (heights AND Cameron Carpenter playing make me weak-kneed, obviously!)
Martin's little collection you can find on YouTube here
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I felt weak at the knees when I watched this video of Cameron Carpenter playing the Chopin Revolutionary study. Yep, that's right. And guess what he uses to play the runny left hand bits with???
Think I'll give up now and take up truck driving again.
chirps
Churchmouse - still feeling weak-kneed
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I hope our hosts will not mind my mentioning that Organist Publications Limited has now launched a new Website.
Congratulations Barry! Marvellous clear, easy to use and effective website.
will add that to list of links on our site and wish you all the best with the venture.
Memo to self: buy 'The Organist's Dictionary of Real Meanings' for Christmas - looks huge fun.
Cheers
Jenny
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One of the curious things about the many replies I've had - as well trawling the waters of organist gossip - is that there are not very many Christmas anecdotes of things that went hideously wrong; weddings, funerals, baptisms, ordinations are all there, but Christmas seems to escape the worst horrors of Father Glitch. Or perhaps we are all so exhausted at the end that anything bad is immediately wiped from memory?
The closest to a disaster that I have personally seen was while playing the outgoing processional at the midnight service, I watched a rather simple-minded member of the choir about to set fire to the long hair of the alto in front with her candle.
cheers
churchmouse
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Tony looked him in the eye and replied, "Aye, and peace on you father!"
MM
when talking of Yorkshireman and Lancastrians I always think of irresistable forces meeting immovable objects (being married to one I ought to know!! 
Keep 'em coming boys - the book is rolling along but won't be out in time for this christmas...
Jenny
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It should be added that Peter Warlock's Capriol Suite, readily available in a solo piano arrangement, transfers extremely well to the organ and the ability to take some of the left hand parts in the pedals overcomes a lot of the technical challenges making most of it a lot more straightforward than it at first appears. The one exception is Bransles, which is a sod. Certain movements (particularly Pieds en l'Air) are absolutely ravishing with a nice thick 16 8 4 flutey registration, the Sw 2' peeping out from behind the shutters. The second movement (Pavane) is very effective with the left hand taking the 'drum' part on a nice fat Claribel Flute and also handling the inner melody for the second half. Both the first and last movements can be very exciting if the wind starts to get a bit unstable, which it does. Ahem, I wonder if there are any recordings of this shortly to become available...?
um, yes, Martin Setchell put the Basse Danse and the Pieds en L'Air on his "A Taste of Shropshire" cd released earlier this year...
The Edward German dances from Henry VIII on the same disc have become favourites for me...
churchmouse
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Seeing this reply from the much lamented about "camp followers," reminds me of the old days at Holy Trinity, Hull, when the choristers used to have an annual choir-camp during the summer months.
The Vicar at the time, in his prayers, said, "Let us pray for all those who are about to enjoy their vacations, and especially for the choir camp."
From one of the adult male choristers could be clearly heard a sibilant, "Aw bless! He's praying for us!!!"
MM
Oh superb! Thanks MM!! Just love it. And the other about Simon as well. Back to book, chaps.
cheers,
Jenny
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I have a six page (single sheet folded into three) CD inlay booklet to fill. What do members of the forum consider essential information to go into this space? ....
CD inlays are a skill in their own right and the others have helped enormously with their suggestions.
But what I would add for my two penn'ith is that you should include a link to a website - one that is unlikely to change - where people could go for more information. This might be for the performers the pieces, the organ - or whatever, but as long as you could have access to a page where you can flesh out anything you feel you'd have liked to have included but couldn't.
Failing that, a disposable email address. Gmail has a very good spam filter so I use a gmail account for things like this when I want an address out in the public domain but don't want to get buried in very unlikely products given that I'm a Sheila.
All the best and I'll look forward to seeing this when it's done!
cheers
Jenny
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I'm sure not all connected with the organ world are that way.
well spotted .....all right, fans then
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The reason I'm searching for organ stories is that I'm preparing a book for publication containing tales from the organ loft - or console -or at least something to do with the organ. Many of the tales already on this board are also about choirs - I think they would take a separate book, so at the moment I'm keeping it strictly to organs.
So far I have approached about 266 organists from around the world to contribute (and am still writing frantically). People who will be contributing include Christopher Herrick, Dame Gillian Weir, Massimo Nosetti, Roman Krasnovsky, Gordon Stewart, Hans Hielscher, Robert Ampt, Jennifer Bate, and a host of others.
This is just an update for those of you whom I have pestered about organ yarns - the list of contacted organists and builders and camp followers has now passed the 700 mark and still climbing. But with such a large forest of material to comb through I've fallen short of my Christmas deadline to get the book completed, printed and available. BUT: never fear, it's coming! Much better to be a good, readable result than hastily cobbled together.
So I'm still always keen to hear from people with their favourite yarns and memories - and to that end I'm about to put up an online page where you can write your stories directly. I'll post that up here when it's ready. And thanks to all of you who already contacted me - I do hope I have managed to reply to you all.
Meanwhile, back to the sifting and writing lark. This must surely be one of the happiest jobs in the world...
cheers
Churchmouse
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Count Dracula, with almost full conscience regained, fixed his red eyes upon the constable, opened his mouth, bared his fangs and confirmed his identity with a husky, "Aye!"
MM
PS: This is a true story, and if the initials DHB mean anything to anyone in the Halifax area, they will know who it was!
You're a ripper, MM!!
Loved it - thanks a zillion! -
Care should be exercised when quoting those still living, for very obvious reasons, especially in a published book.
Barry Williams
Yes, you're quite right Barry - that what sharks - ooops sorry - lawyers were invented to prevent
But luckily I do hope my 30+ years training as a journalist, as well as 4 of those as a daily columnist dealing with submissions of stories from the public, should help go some way to preventing too many problems. It never ceased to amaze me the different ways in which you can upset people, completely innocently. Think the same applies to concert goers, congregations and clergy!
chirps
Jenny
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I think you may be on the right lines in that I doubt very much that it was Jane W.
I heard this story about the same time as you - I remember exactly where, when (well the year anyway) and who told me and it predates Jane W's time at the Abbey. This makes it very unlikely, if not impossible, to be she who said it. (Also we are great friends from our time together at college, and I would be very surprised if a) she ever stumbled over her words and
lost her cool enough to say that!)I seem to remember that the person who was alleged to have said it was not an organist, but my memory may be faulty or even my informant may have exagerated her part in all this.
The version I heard had Gillian Weir as the origin - and not that she lost her cool but it was a deliberate choice....
any other offers? Does anyone know Simon Preston well enough to ask him? I'd be brave enough to but I haven't been able to get in touch with him at all (tried to get a few anecdotes, natch!)
cheers
Jenny
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Anything by Mendelssohn leaves me feeling short-changed, apart from the C minor Prelude and Fugue which seems to be far better than any of the other organ works.
Oh thank goodness at least someone else isn't a raving fan of Mendelssohn. I love his orchestral and piano works but get the feeling that he was actually trying to bake a blancmange when he wrote those organ sonatas. And I HAVE tried and tried to get to know them but the moment they're finished I can't help wondering if they were ever played...was probably asleep, I suppose. My other dislike is anything by Martin Shaw. Absolutely ANYTHING. Needs vast quantities of salt and pepper. Sorry...
Jenny
when talking of Yorkshireman and Lancastrians I always think of irresistable forces meeting immovable objects (being married to one I ought to know!! 
well spotted .....
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Does anyone know if there is a way to let people know that their inbox is full? (apart from leaving a general message as a topic here!)
it's a bit of a catch as those messages soon add up. Or perhaps they get a message from the system telling them to do a bit of weeding??
cheers
Churchmouse