andyorgan

A hopeful request! Is there anyone who might be able to offer me somewhere to do a couple of hours practice one night this coming week (Mon, Tues or Wed) within relatively easy driving distance of the centre of Bath? I have work to do there and a recital at the end of the week back at home, and keeping the fingers moving would be helpful. A quick PM if anyone can help. Many thanks

Yes, I agree........ but it sounded great!

Yes, I did a recital for two organs a while back, and we did both of the Mozart Fantasia's from Piano Duet scores with some ad lib pedalling. We then repeated it on one organ, so they might be a good idea. The Soler pieces however, don't work on one organ.

I have a German (possibly Barenreiter?) publication of pieces for pedal, they are quite hard. However, at the back of the book, there is a pedal duet piece, I think an arrangement of a Strauss waltz.

Have just found this on the excellent website we were discussing on another thread recently. There's also a volume in Robin Langley's excellent English Organ Music series, which I think Allegro do reprints of.

OK, the English isn't great, I'm in report writing mode at the moment! What I meant by the comment was that it is a pity when you see such great musicianship at such a cheap price, almost as an insult to the performer. I paid the full price, I think 4 years ago, and still prefer them as a set to the competition. However, sometimes I think it is the case that the more you pay, the more you might be satisfied in many areas of life......

Criminal that such musicianship can be for sale so cheap! I have no regrets at buying them full price a few years ago, worth every penny.

Hyperion have got Vol.13 of Herrick's excellent Organ Fireworks series on offer at the moment on the website (in the "Please somebody buy me" section, unbelievably); this volume has the Recessional on it.

Have you tried the RCO library? I have the Dance Suite and Resurrection Dances of Ridouts on loan from them at the moment. They were very helpful.

About 15 years ago I played the Chorale and the Canzonetta in a recital. It was on one of the those neo-classical type instruments in Cambridge (I can't remember which one) to break up an other wise 18th century programme. I think they went down well with the audience, a number came to enquire after the score at the end (possibly to see if they were as easy as they sounded?)

I've tried not to add up how much the FRCO cost me, for fear that the wife might find out. However, they included: -cost of exam (I think around the £400 mark) -music (must have been near £100 including a number of alternatives that I never properly learnt, but still have copies for. Anyone need any Alan Gibbs?) -travel, accom and food costs (one day trip to Huddersfield from West Mids for practice), two separate trips by train with overnight accom to Hudds for written and then practical exam -cost of music for the paperwork (including purchasing a lot of Flor Peeters and Buxtehude fro the paperwork) -cost of reading material for the paperwork (didn't mind this so much as I ended up with some very usfeul and readable books) -cost of lessons (I'm afraid I only had one plus a mock exam for the playing, but it did cost, and then there was travel etc. on top of that, I risked no lessons on the paperwork, and very nearly regretted it) -cost of RCO Cambridge course (can't remember how much it was, but is worth every penny, particularly as it replaced any lessons on the paperwork special topics) -misc costs of painkillers, sleeping tablets, bottled water to get through the big day! In terms of freebies, I did call in favours of friends to come and hear me play the pieces under pressure, (cost a few pints in pub afterwards), and I tapped a few people for info on composers/books etc for the paperwork. Would I do it again? Yes! I think the RCO hoped that I might spend the prizemoney on furthur organ studies, but to be honest, most of it went on a huge bottle of champagne and then towards the overdraft! (Then towards a weekend in London for the whole family who didn't see me on an evening for the best part of three months, for the ceremony.)

I had the same thought a couple of years ago and I got a book of piano reductions from Musicroom.com, called something like 'The Music of Eric Coates, an Anniversary Tribute'. It has both Lond Suites, Dambusters, Calling All Workers, Sleepy Lagoon, etc. I've got the Mark Blatchly disc from Lancing from a few years ago which is almost exclusively Coates transcriptions, I know Gerard Brooks did a couple from All Souls (including obviously Langham Place, on Priory). Kelvingrove were treated to Sleepy Lagoon not so long back, though in the noise of the hall I'm not sure how much they heard. The book also includes a couple of his songs. Much underrated.

Anyone for Dieu Parmi Nous with a difference? I don't know whether to be more impressed with the instrument, or the fact that he's playing from memory!

I can't remember who, but there's another regular on the forums who has ordered from the same place. The William Tell is also worth checking out if you want something slightly easier than the Lemare version.

Yes, and its well worth getting. Some of the postage might be a bit pricey, but they are a very friendly outfit (I have exchanged a few emails with them over other publications), and the material I've ordered has always come pretty promptly. The rest of the catalogue is worth a look, previously difficult to get hold of music/out of print. Dare I say it, but there's quite a few transcriptions in it! I play the Hollins Overture he lists, which a number of people had asked me about copies, he was the only place I could find it, ditto the rather-good Concert Rondo. Not everyone's cup of tea!

As a logical follow up, would you recommend the Schott editions full stop? I only play a couple (anyone else play the Eflat minor one?), and they date back nearly 20 years (FTCL in fact), but as has already been mentioned, the Novello ones are rather cluttered. What are the merits of the other editions?

To add to your hymn list, Come Holy Spirit Come is an excellent one which I think is in Common Praise and we sing it to Diademata (I don't need a good excuse to give that tune a frequent airing!) We did the Harris 'Come down O Love Divine' last year here at school and it went down very well, just on the limits of what they can manage at the moment.

Surely not the composer whose 'memory' of a melody bears more than a passing resemblance to Torvill and Dean's greatest hit with the snare drum ostinato, and whose venture in to Marian writing seems to have occured during a dream about the slow movement to Mendelssohn's violin concerto?

Yes, that can make quite a lot of difference!

That's the last thing I need, smug colleagues who are either more organised than me, or who have more organised pupils than mine! Seriously though, it does get rather depressing at this stage of the year, and given that this is the last time we do this GCSE, I don't care if I never see/hear another pavanne/galliard/Vienesse waltz/disco/salsa/minimalist/bhangra extract again. Organ practice was remarkably productive. Surprisingly, the Bach, Planyavsky and faster bits of my Lemare were fine, but anything remotely slow or medium in tempo was two notches above sight reading. Anyway, more time from now on!

Due to wretched GCSE and A level coursework deadlines being today, I haven'tbeen near the organ for a week. I'm about to make up for that this afternoon, I'll let you know if it has made any difference!

We've rehearsed the arguments for and against transcriptions on many occasions, and you are all aware that I firmly sit on the pro side, but only with the right music, and the right instrument. But I will admit that even I find the concept of Ravel's Bolero for organ quite unappealing (ditto all of the Beethoven symphonies!) Having not seen the music for the Ravel, perhaps there are some hidden gems in it?! Maybe now would be a good time to relate an anecdote told to me at the weekend. A certain well known organist (and transcriber) had just given a concert which consisted of the transcription of a Mahler symphony. Afterwards, a very thickly accented Yorkshireman (not me, though I do come under that category) said to him "Mr ???, That was tremendous, a fantastic performance. I already have your cd of this and listen to it all the time; its one of my favourites." "Ah", said the distinguished organist, "you should try listening to the original orchestral version." "Oh, no", excalimed the enthusiastic gentleman, "I couldn't possibly imagine that being played by an orchestra".

My experience of this was more manuals related. It did coincide with an upsurge in the amount of practice, but also particularly the Lanquetuit Toccata, which has a lot of repeated chords in the manuals. I got someone to have a look at my posture and particularly my wrists and it was very useful and helpful. To the extent that I'm still very careful when I practice this piece.

This has its flaws. I can't be the only one to be idling through pistons during a sermon at a certain west country large church when the Cymbelstern sprung into action!

Couldn't agree more, at last I've found someone on the same wavelength! And in full agreement here as well. I used to leave a note with numbers of channels that visitors could use at will, and always ahd a good flick through them afterwards. Though I learnt I huge amount from Thomas Trotters opening recital on the instrument I used to play, I learnt just as much afterwards from his piston settings.