nachthorn
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Posts posted by nachthorn
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Thanks to all for their opinions. So, to summarise - straight/concave is the most preferred (by 4) for reasons of comfort, accuracy, space etc. Radiating/concave is advocated by two as the pedalboard most often encountered in the UK. One prefers straight/flat for not encouraging poor posture. I know it's not exactly a large enough sample to be generally representative, and I'm sure personal preference and dimensions have a strong influence, but nonetheless this is a rather interesting result. I'm probably going to go for straight/concave, leg length not being in short supply and posture being important to me. I'll see how it goes...
Now - 30 or 32 notes?
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... but what's the ultimate purpose of all this? ... You should go for the type of board you will mostly find yourself playing elsewhere.
I take your point. If I spend 80% of my playing time practising on this console, however, would it make sense to choose the best pedalboard pattern for practice, then adapt (if necessary) to whatever I find when playing proper instruments?
Or am I over-thinking the whole thing? Probably...
I also have a radiating/concave one, and don't find any particular problems in switching between the two.Ah, so which do you prefer?
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I'm about to invest in a practice console for home use, my need for practice time now outstripping my ability to get convenient access to a decent instrument. Having decided that pinching the rather wonderful Peter Collins II/6 that my tutor owns would probably not work out well for me
, I've opted for a portable assembly of components from Hoffrichter, which I saw demonstrated a couple of years ago. Respecting our hosts' desire not to discuss toasters, I won't talk about the hardware specifically. Instead, can I ask what sort of pedalboard people think is a good choice for practice purposes? I know most consoles in the UK have radiating and concave boards, but would a straight/concave or straight/flat board have any benefits? -
Someone may well correct me, but I seem to recall hearing somewhere that the BBC sound engineers don't like the organ being played as we would like to hear it as it is very difficult to balance for broadcasting.
I thought that, for the first time in many proms broadcasts, the organ sounded very fine in tonight's ('Last Night') TV broadcast.
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[... lots of wisdom...]
So right. I find that I'm my own worst enemy. When my own efforts fall short of what I expect of myself (or suppose others to expect of me), I find it difficult to face the whole thing altogether. More often than not, it's an inspiring recital, a fantastic CD (the Briggs improvisation on the Hommage a Cochereau disc recently released was the last to have this exciting effect) or an unexpected and encouraging bit of news that fires my determination again, and off I go. Keeping at it and plugging away is harder, and more courageous, than it might seem, but it's definitely the best way.
That said, recently I suggested that I might be allowed to help out with playing from time to time in a local parish church with professional music direction and organist. It was suggested that, if I was unable to make it into work for my day job, the last person I would call upon to push planes round the sky was he, the organist, therefore why would I expect to do the same for his job. This doesn't help
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I must try this one on my wife - I don't know how she would react to being described as silent and eerily beautiful - dimly lit or not
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Should really have done this sooner, as I've been skulking around under a pseudonym for too long!
I'm Duncan Courts, age 28 and live in Bournemouth. My parents attribute my lifelong fascination with churches to a year (at age two) spent in Beverley, home of two of the country's finest parish churches. They were convinced from my reaction to seeing these churches that I was going to become 'either a vicar or an architect'. They obviously didn't think about the organ. I was started on piano lessons aged four, and moved to the organ on starting secondary school at Kelly College in Tavistock, studying with Andrew Wilson. I worked through Grades 4 to 8 at school and went on the 1998 Oundle summer school, the highlight of which was having a lesson on Alain's Litanies with Olivier Latry, and the low point being the discovery that there were a lot of players there who were both younger and far better than me - it was then that I made the decision not to pursue music to degree level or professionally.
I went to Birmingham University in 1999 to study Computer Science and ended up as organ scholar, studying with Ian Ledsham and taking lessons from Marcus Huxley and Andrew Fletcher. I 'dropped out' at the end of the second year, realising that I probably should have read music after all, and applied successfully to train as an air traffic controller (aviation having been another long-term interest). While working at various airports in the South West, I was organist at churches in Bickleigh (in Plymouth), Penzance, and Plympton before moving to Bournemouth in 2007. I now sing (and play occasionally) at Christchurch Priory, direct the Birmingham-based Fountain Singers (inherited from Ian Ledsham and comprising mostly of friends from my time at Birmingham), accompany the Bristol-based Cantores Literati on occasion, and - after a gap of eight years - have restarted organ studies with Margaret Phillips, working toward the ARCO. I'm also planning to do the ACertCM over the next couple of years, time permitting. My wife is the 'proper' musician in our house, a soprano in the very early stages of a career in opera. We both live and breathe church music, something which no amount of depressing experience in 'average' parish churches has managed to diminish! I have a soft spot for the mainstream twentieth-century French school (Tournemire, Vierne, Dupré, Duruflé, Messiaen, Cochereau and others) but also less well-known works by the likes of Thierry Escaich, Hugo Distler, Hermann Schroeder and Eugene Reuchsel.
I proposed to my wife in the organ loft at Gloucester Cathedral after a late night practice session prior to a weekend with a visiting choir. It was dimly lit, silent and eerily beautiful. I told Andrew Nethsingha this story a couple of years ago, and he stared at me with disbelief. Perhaps he misheard me...
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Prélude sur une Antienne. I found this beautifully reflective short work in the Langlais collection 'Neuf Pieces' after hearing it on a Lammas CD from St. Albans recently. The score itself doesn't give much information away, and most of the internet search results relate to the sale of that same Lammas recording. The question is, does anyone know which anthem chant the piece is based on, or whether Langlais created an original melody in the style of chant?
I realise that the piece may not be particularly well known, so if I'm met with stunned silence, I'll post the chant melody notation.
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I'm trying hard to picture it from a map, but failing. I'm sure it will all make sense when we get there... Thanks for the recommendations.
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So, after a lot of trawling around on the internet for good deals, we're off to Leipzig in a couple of weeks for a short and highly musical break. Never been before, so it's something of a journey into the unknown. Visits to the Thomaskirche and Nicolaikirche are obvious, but I'm sure there are plenty of hidden jewels in the city too. Have you been? What did you find compelling? Hints and tips gratefully received...
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As I recall the solo tuba is enclosed, am I right?
You certainly are.
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Thanks Mark. Listening with interest.
Very short notice I know, but I thought you would be interested to note that Stephen Farr is presenting an item on Radio 3’s CD Review this morning at 10:30am, assessing recent recordings of historic European organs. -
I suppose it's only an extension of the mentality amongst some church circles that prefixes anything 'pop' with the word 'worship' (worship song, worship band, worship music etc.) thus implying that non-pop music is not worship and therefore undesirable. Howells' Gloucester Service is worship music, but you'd never hear it described as such. It's only one step on to knock off the word 'worship' again, and then song, music, band, musicians all automatically imply 'pop' music.
Mind you, "No organist? No band?" would have done the job without displaying such casual ignorance.
Perhaps this advert could be brought to the attention of Damian Thompson (the editor in chief) who certainly seems to have sympathy with traditional music and liturgy. Maybe that would carry some weight with the company concerned.
The current issue of The Catholic Herald carries an advert for a company called Hymn Technologies offering one of those computerised hymn playing gizmos, which it describes as "the ultimate worship music solution". Adding insult to injury it heads this advert with the strap line "No organist? No musicians?"Really, what can be done about this? It would be irresponsible of me to suggest that members call the company on their freefone number to complain about such insensitivity. The freefone number is 0800 043 0503.
Peter
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And there's a general knowledge rumour that an organist at a large church in the south of England wore an FRCO hood that he had acquired second-hand without troubling himself with the exams and so on. Can't imagine why - it would make me feel thoroughly fraudulent.
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Tony, this somewhat surprises me. Barry Williams and Robert Leach, in their excellent book referred to from time to time here, point out that one of the authors came to faith through getting involved in church music and that he, having climbed that ladder, would not wish to knock it away from another.
I had this experience too - church music came first, faith followed, and I have pointed out to individuals hell-bent on expunging half-decent music from the churches they inhabit that they might as well be expunging me and many others from their church. My wife is the same - none of our parents are church-goers, but we are - initially because of music, then later because of those deep and mysterious things that church music illuminates.
That said, I think - regardless of whether a church musician believes or not - that they should have a thorough and reliable understanding of the faith in order to do the job effectively. As to whether a musician serves their congregation better if they believe is probably more down to the individual. I find that I can't properly concentrate on worship if I'm directing or playing, unless the task and church are very familiar. Perhaps a degree of distance results in a more objective and effective musician - I don't know. There is a tenor in an occasional choir I direct who normally sings at a major English traditional RC church. He says he has no belief himself, but he likes to think that he is helping others who do believe. He's a very effective and musical singer, and I don't think he'd be any better as a singer if he did believe.
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I heard the second half of evensong at Tenbury. Magnificent singing, can you post more details on the Fountains singrs or do you have a website?
The lady vicar was excellent, one of the besty clergy speaking voices I have ever heard.
What happened in the last Vierne piece that caused FJ to stop part way through the piece, only to pick up from where he had stopped as though nothing had happened?
Good recital, well worth going to hear.
Thanks PBJ. www.thefountainsingers.co.uk Sadly I had 250 miles to drive following evensong, so I had to miss the recital - I heard FJ practising after the morning Eucharist though, and it sounded excellent. The organ there is crying out for a complete restoration, but the church did very well to meet the costs of building conservation, and I don't think they can afford significant organ work.
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Absolutely: he's playing at St. Michael's, Tenbury on Sunday at 3pm-ish
Just seen Dr. Jackson at Tenbury, and his playing still certainly sounded hugely adept and compelling. I think he needed a hand with the steps up to the organ console, but they're certainly not easy. As it happens, we were singing for the services there today, and as as one of the tenors pointed out, the long line of people waiting outside for the recital equated to the majority of the audience who didn't want to go to Evensong first. A pity.
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Thank you - so much - everyone who's taken the time to reply and give valuable advice. I've been otherwise engaged over the last couple of days, and will be for the next couple still, but after that I'll spend some time carefully reading the advice given and doing some good planning! Perhaps a little overwhelming at this stage, but no doubt it will all coalesce in no time...
Thanks again,
Duncan.
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From another topic, I've been pointed towards the St. Paul's Psalter, edited by John Scott (or John Scott Sr. as one American website has him). Despite being a relatively recent edition, I can't find a copy new or second-hand anywhere, and Canterbury Press simply list it as 'out of print'. Any ideas? Happy to accept second-hand offers if people want to sell their copy of what seems to be like gold dust...
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I've decided to take the plunge and sit the ARCO in one of the two periods in London next year. Is there anyone who has recent experience of the process, particularly of the paperwork, and also of the organ at St. Barnabas Dulwich, who can give any useful hints and advice?
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Just to say thank you to DHM and others who made helpful suggestions.
He can indeed help if required.The chant book used in Ashfield's and Barry Ferguson's time contains two triple chants, as Paul Walton correctly points out: the one originally written for Psalm 2 which is in (sort of) C# (mostly minor), and that for Ps 66 in D major.
In the psalter produced during Roger Sayer's time only the latter chant appears - albeit four times: for Psalms 66, 96, 135 and 146.
Awaiting PM if further help needed.
Douglas
[formerly Senior Lay Clerk, Rochester]
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There is a magnificent triple chant by Robert Ashfield (in D flat, I think), which John Scott used set to Psalm 2 on the Hyperion psalms discs from St. Paul's. Does anyone know where I can acquire a copy? If at all possible, I need to do so today. All help very gratefully received!
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(Hi there, Hele Huggers!
)Hello
I used to read the forum before I registered as a member, but I suspect I might not have registered at all if I hadn't been able to read first. Perhaps the best solution would be a fourth sub-forum, for topics of a more private nature, with access to read restricted to members only - the pub 'snug' rather than the debating hall. Not sure if the software or Manders' time allows for this, though.
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Effective, beautiful and with integrity:
The Metzler in the University Church in Oxford.
The Frobenius in Oundle School chapel.
The Mander in Chichester Cathedral.
The Lewis in Southwark Cathedral.
And for the biggest disappointment, case-wise, in the UK? Westminster Cathedral. For such a heroic instrument in such an building not to have a case (and in fact to hide behind a dark grille) just seems wrong, as well as a missed opportunity for something great.
, I've opted for a portable assembly of components from Hoffrichter, which I saw demonstrated a couple of years ago. Respecting our hosts' desire not to discuss toasters, I won't talk about the hardware specifically. Instead, can I ask what sort of pedalboard people think is a good choice for practice purposes? I know most consoles in the UK have radiating and concave boards, but would a straight/concave or straight/flat board have any benefits?
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Pedalboard - Flat/straight Or Radiating/concave?
in General discussion
Posted
William Mathias' Toccata Giocosa calls for a top B flat too. I played this for my ABRSM Grade 7 exam (some years ago!) on an organ with 56-note manuals, and in the scheme of things, a single substituted note chosen wisely makes little difference.
Incidentally, I've opted for a straight/concave 30-note pedalboard. Thanks to all for helping me to choose