jonadkins

Would one of the Balbastre Noels be different enough?

I think Roth studied with Falcinelli.

Why am I suddenly thinking of the first three notes of the Te Deum plainsong?...

Sorry - didn't mean to help turn this into a "have a bitch about Gloucester" thread. A Nativite du Seigneur there in the late nineties (given by Ian Ball, when he was assistant) did a lot to ignite my interest in Messiaen, and French C20th organ music in general.

Well - it would appear that I have done the late Piet van Egmond something of a disservice. The Cologne date query notwithstanding, I am now curious and willl try to get the CD - it would serve me right if it's already been snapped up! Just because hyperbole is used a lot to disguise mediocrity these days, it is not always the case!

I think you've hit the nail on the head here, pcnd. I also have a problem with some of the tonal qualities of the instrument, not least the strings, which for a supposedly french-style instrument sound remarkably un-french and insipid.

Apologies - double post

Browsing through the organ CD's in my local-ish music store, I have been on more than one occasion come across an offering by the "Legendary" Piet Van Egmond, and have been infuriated by it each time! Surely if he were truly legendary, it would be superfluous to state this on the CD cover, and if he isn't, well, his CD label are lying! Does anyone know the playing of this mystery organist? Am I doing him a disservice?

I feel for you, Peter. In a way, this is one of the worst things you can say to an organist. Set against indifference of this sort, even outright hostility is preferable, either about the music or your playing of it (not desirable, but preferable!) As musicians who have to play each week we are only too aware of the need to keep both the music and ourselves re-vitalised, which can be an uphill struggle sometimes.

Hmm... not sure about threads like these (I know I responded earlier!). Whats seems like a nice, juicy topic at the outset can become quite dispiriting as if left to go on long enough, almost every well-known composer gets rubbished...

I thought the same about Mozart until I heard Mitsuko Uchida play one of the sonatas: there was something about her playing which gave the music a profound beauty, and all the qualities of multum in parvo which we admire in other compsers applied to Mozart as well. As for opera, this brings me to my favourite Blackadder quote (forget "cunning plans" etc.) "the german reputation for brutality is legendary: their operas last several days"

Have just acquired this very interesting release, which I think is successful in many ways. The logistical problems of playing this sort of music together in somewhere like Bath Abbey have been very effectively addressed: the abbey can be a very unrewarding place accoustically, and they do not have the luxury of a ground floor console. However, I think it has been well "mic-ed" (sorry) and Peter obviously knows the organ and building very well. Musically though, I am slightly less sure. The Respighi and Rheinberger are lovely discoveries (for me), but I found that they tended to wander a bit, although I like the performances here. As for the Poulenc, the BBC NOW are in fine form, and the organ sounds thrilling, but perhaps in this work gets a little overbearing (I suppose you can't have you cake and eat it) and in the slower sections I found myself wanting the strings to be a little more demonstrative. The sleeve notes tell the anecdote about Poulenc leaping up and telling the violins to imagine they were playing the Meditation from Thais, and maybe he would have done the same here, and the violas have some wonderful stuff, but at times it needed a little more passion. Nevertheless, some beautiful sounds from the NOW and all credit to Francois-Xavier Roth for very coherent leadership.

For a long time, I had to have one of those Private Eye style "and.. er.. that's it" moments when people asked what had been written for organ and orchestra. Since then, I've come across a few things, like the Barber, but none of them seem to come even close in quality to the Poulenc concerto. Am I being unfair? What are others' nominations for unjustly neglected examples of this music?

Yes - and I trust that they who are snooty about transcriptions avoid the Schubler chorales! By all means avoid something if you believe it to be poor music, but don't write it off just because it's a transcription.

Frank Martin's Mass for Double Choir (and for that matter, RVW's is pretty hard to beat as well)

Yes, indeed, I completely concur about the distinction between personality/musicianship and hollow showmanship, and also about Guillou, for that matter: he has made me re-examine long-held beliefs about registration. As you say, his ideas may not be everyone's cup of tea (8' + 2' in Franck!) but he is at least convincing enough to make me listen to familiar music with fresh ears. As far as his instruments are concerned, give me Notre-Dame-des-Neiges ("talk to the hand") over St. Eustache any day!

I agree that this is an interesting topic, and I find myself genuinely torn. On the one hand, we, as organists know our favourite pieces if not to the point of obsession, then certainly inside out, and any mistake certainly stands out. "Wrong note fiends" (as Alfred Brendel calls them) are an acknowledged phenomenon. Gillian Weir, when asked about this is reported to have said that should she play a wrong note, everyone is happy, because the fiends get to spot their note, and the others, who don't let such things bother them will still have enjoyed the performance! I have heard blemishes in her more recent perfomances, but I feel completely neutral about these because what has remained is her absolute musical intelligence and let's face it, her technique is still pretty darned good, to say the least! On the other hand, I had a lesson in not meeting (or going to hear) ones heroes playing live. At one stage I thought his performance of the JSB Passacaglia & Fugue might collapse (it didn't, quite). I was by turns embarrassed both for the player (no names no packdrill) and that my friend who was there with me (to whom I had raved about said organist) certainly couldn't see what the fuss was about. I was cross that the player, whose Bach had become part of my life, had let me down, sad that it was time for him to throw in the towel. This went beyond the odd duff note about which we shouldn't be so anal. It was, quite simply, an incompetent performance, without much pizzazz either, really. A sad evening indeed. Also, the "panache" argument can be shaky. If you find the performance unmusical and inaccurate, no amount of "panache" (or head waving, in the case of our friend the hairy violinist of a previous post) will atone for it. All you are left with is the incompetent playing of the notes. Could I have done better? Maybe, maybe not, but no-one in their right mind is going to invite me to play at the RFH/Westminster Abbey/ AH etc.

I don't see why you shouldn't you include it, provided it's not too long and you believe in it enough!

Among respectable company I will make all the right noises, that Warlock and Chilcott et al are superior composers (which they are) but in private I will play the newish Hyperion CD of Stephen Layton & Polyphony singing Rutter. Perhaps I shouldn't be apologetic: after all, any composer deserves to be taken on their merits. Too much is wearysome, but then so is too much of anything. Also, hearing these carols orchestrated helps, as it helps us hear them for what they are: good, direct "light" music which Sidney Torch or Ronald Binge wouldn't have been ashamed to pen. (That was a compliment, by the way!) Mind you, Rutter goes beyond even this occasionally. I defy anyone to listen to Wild Wood carol or Dormi Jesu (particularly the end) and not be moved.

The Sunday Music is the most frequently performed work, but my favourite is the "Hommage a Buxtehude" in which Eben continues wonderfully the spirit of invention of the Lubeck Master. One section of it certainly "swings"!

We all have our favourite players from abroad: Rogg, Isoir, Koopman et al, but when pressed to nominate a British player of preference when it comes to JSB I find it a little more difficult. Don't get me wrong: I do not wish to denigrate any British organists who are a thousand times better than I - it's just that many players from this country (UK) whom I admire greatly in every other respect sometimes leave me less inspired by their Bach. Some might say that I shouldn't be so stupid and that Hurford is the obvious answer, full stop, but I'm not sure I agree... Who's your favourite?

I take it said gentleman does not play the fugue from BWV 532 (D Major P&F)?

Monstre 8'

I agree with Cynic: whatever obtains a musical result is best. I'm sure you've thought of this, but is there any scope for building up the heel on your organ shoes? Might help eliminate the contortions in the romantic stuff. Also, speaking as one who is taller than average, I would say that too much leg is worse than too little (at the risk of sounding like Peter Cook) The pedalboard only need be an inch too close to the player in relation to the manuals to make playing really difficult.

I'm not as qualified as some of those who have responded, but when I saw the thread title I thought that the author of such a textbook is unlikely to know the organ YOU will be playing. My advice: Focus on the music rather than any theoretical principles of registration, and let your registration follow from that. There is also the problem that practise time will be limited on the exam organ, but the specification of same is obviously readily available, so people focus on this. If possible, when you have access to this instrument take a friend who can play so that you can listen, and play around a bit with registration. By the time you will be "practising" on the exam instrument itself, you should be "rehearsing" rather than "practising"! Think of the texture of each piece. Develop starting point ideas for: - Contrapuntal music - clarity of all voices - "Theme and accompaniment" music - is balance what you want? - More symphonic music Also, I'm sure the others are right about the things like harmonisation and transposition etc!