bombarde32

I have to say that, as yet, I am unimpressed with the audio quality of MP3 recorders generally. I have yet to hear one which is as good as a decent Sony Minidisc recorder.

I think that the Laudate Dominum from Vesparae Solennes de Confessore KV 339 is always most suitable. The simple works by Fauré, outside the ubiquitous Requiem (eg: Ave Maria op. 69, Ave Verum op. 65) can be most effective also.

I too thought that the title of the thread was a new year oxymoron!

............and?

I feel for you - there is nothing worse than compiling a complex and time-consuming list of photos/web info only to find this.

Don't really see your point - you can have gold bloody plated keys if you pay for them, which would go for any decent organ builder - pipe or electronic!

Having attended virtually all the large Christmas services at Christ Church, Oxford (due to my son being a probationer-chorister) I was immensely underwhelmed with the organ. Whilst I normally sit in the area next to the choir for evensong, the organ works well here. For the large services (1100 attendees, according to the usher) we were sitting in the side transepts, where the organ was severely attenuated. The only thing which was heard clearly was the pedal basson 16, which is rather unpleasant, for any length of time. Although the full Great was clear, The 16' pedal flue tone was pathetically small, (Bourdon 16 and a so-called Montre 16) and I can't help but thinking that a good Willis 'Violon 16' or a modern medium scaled Open Wood would (!) have helped things along hugely. The reeds are far too fierce to use for normal accompanimental use, which is such a shame. The boys (and men) sang beautifully though, and were a real credit to Stephen Darlington and all the music staff at Oxford.

Both the variety and concert consoles at Southampton Guildhall have crescendo pedals.

However, it's not all bad! In Spain and Ibero-America, December 28 is a day for pranks, equivalent to April Fool's Day in many countries. Pranks are known as inocentadas and their victims are called inocentes, or alternatively, the pranksters are the "inocentes" and the victims should not be angry at them, since they could not have committed any sin. Various Catholic countries had a tradition (no longer widely observed) of role reversal between children and their adult educators, including boy bishops, perhaps a Christianized version of the Roman annual feast of the Saturnalia (when even slaves played 'masters' for a day). In some cultures it is said to be an unlucky day, when no new project should be started, unlikely in the days of the current 'credit crunch'!

..............which would in no way reflect the current Wyvern-phoenix technology then, would it?!

Also Leroy Anderson (100 years since birth) Giacomo Puccini (150 years) John Blow (300 years dead) and Edward Macdowell (100 years) Any of these composers' music would be infinitely preferable to listen to (or play) than Messian for me (personal opinion!!!)

A Gemshorn can be of better blend especially in a small room, due to the conical pipes absorbing some of the higher overtones. I know of at least one smallish church organ where the main 4' Great Principal is actually a Gemshorn, even though it is not actaully described as such on the drawstop. I have also seen (by many builders, esp. Osmond) the stop 'Gemshorn' which is stringier, and turns out to be a slotted Violin Diapason of sorts, which is, of course, definitely NOT a Gemshorn.

Neil, the funny thing is that in Ireland (where my wife grew up) the Irish Catholic church hierarcy produced a document BANNING certain tunes and songs which could be used at the signing of the register, and amongst the usual suspects (when I'm 64, One Hand, One Heart, Hey Jude etc) was Help me Make it Through the Night!

What a wonderful and glorious career.

I always thought that variations on "Help me make it through the night" was singularly appropriate for most weddings.............

........There was an old lady from Ealing, Oh, err! perhaps not!

It is indeed, but I regret that I haven't seen a copy for very many years.

I have often done a potted (arranged) version of the Troika (Lieutenant Kijè - {Prokofiev} which brings a smile to the congregation on the coldest Christmas Morning.

I would agree with Cynic that they are best used as a build-up device. You can't play Reger without one!!

I am indeed sorry to hear this. His performances on Sundays infuenced me greatly into playing the theatre organ (learning with the late Reginald Porter-Brown) along with my studies in classical organ playing. ...A sad loss.

Glory be - is there no end to the esteem in which the authorities hold the instrument!

Quite a few Catholic churches use this one. It can also be found in the 'Laudate' hymn book. It is singable by even the most limited choir, and sounds most effective, especially on the more solemn occasions and for the month of November.

I just caught (before a Rachmaninov 'vespers' rehearsal last night, as I was parking the car) a snippett from St Paul's late evening on R4. It was basically an interview with the organist (with the inevitable 'stupid' questions) and some quickie demonstrations of the 'new' stops and a good blast of full organ. The interesting thing was that the organ was recorded from the console - giving a good perspective as to the difficuly facing the organist in performance. I especially liked his comment that parts of the organ could not be heard at all well at the console!

One of the churches for whom I play still use (and have done for over 40 years) the Anglican Folk Mass (plainsong) by Martin Shaw!

I thought that we were forbidden to even mention the 'electronic' word..............