Contrabombarde

Sadly the experiment of two Oxbridge organ students playing Widor's tocatto as a duet (with each playing four bars before one slides off the bench to the left as the other joins from the right, keeping the playing continuous throughout) has been deleted. It has to rank as probably the funniest clip i have yet seen on Youtube and I hope two people will take up the challnege to rpelicate it somje day! The recording of Virgil Fox playing is here, sorry for the broken link before. I think Cameron Carpenter wins though... http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=KbGCriVk9UM&...ted&search=

I'm probably going to get banned for mentioning this, but recently i tried to make a copy of something that was available as a free broadcast from the BBC website, but only in streaming format, ie can't be saved onto the hard drive for later use (that would normally have been fine, but where I am at the moment the internet connection is so wobbly that when it works you just have to save madly and worry about the rest later). I must have installed and uninstalled half a dozen so-called freeware programs that ripped or copied streamed music, and none of them worked with the BBC streamed data - except Audacity. It evidently records whatever is passing through your audio card and captures it. That said, there are plenty of adjustments and I got the levels totally wrong. I later tried recording a differnet streamed file and compared it to the exact same file that I already had via CD, and the quality was noticably poorer with Audacity, though that may just have been me having the levels up too high or somehting. Still,k it doesn't cost anything and is clearly useful for the occasional item. I have Vegas but never yet managed to fathom out how to use the wretched thing.... On the subject of microphones, any suggestions for good inexpensive kit? The Sony EC907 or 908 (I think that's the number, same microphone, nbut one has attachment for video camera, the other for lectern) is regularly cited as very good by people recordingt musical instruments; I have one for my camcorder that I have been quite satistfied with, though it does seem to lack bass a bit. It was around £50.

At the risk that this thread treads similar ground to "r^-engineering the organ", may I suggest that as Bill Gates is wooing us with embedded chips in everything, it's high time we had digital displays embedded in the nusic desk. Probably a continuuously scrolling stave would be hard to keep up with and confusing to the eye, but perhaps the organ of the future might have a "Page+" thumb piston akin to the "combination +" sequencer piston. There was a fad a few years back of fitting floppy disc drives to some organs, either to record a performance or to record preset stop combinations. I wonder if anyone ever acually used the floppy discs (I always wondered what would happen if you plugged the floppy into the drive of another organ, would it work? What stops would it select?) Now, since floppies went out with the ark and everything is on USB memory stick, perhaps the recitalist of the future will carry their entire program, plus stop combinations, on a USB drive, then plug it in to the console and on the music stand appears all their music as pdfs or similar (with editable pdfs I believe you can add electronic "stickies"), and piston settings, preloaded. Obiously thanks to the National Pipe Organ Register they would have been able to set up a program of registrations on their laptop whilst travelling to the concert venue. Fast forward once more. As the majority of organ specifications are now on the NPOR, it surely won't be long before some IT geek comes up with a piece of software that, in the same way that I can get software that translates all my Nokia-format mobile phone numbers if I change brands and get an LG mobile, takes all your sequencer stop combinations for your recent recital at the Royal Albert Hall and translates them into appropriate combinations for you to play the same pieces on another organ of totally different size and spec without you having to go to all the trouble and time of setting up combinations from scratch...

Thank you very much for that link. I was the organist responsible for Feenstra purchasing from us that instrument's "sister" organ, a 3 manual Bishop of 1877 at Christ Church Sparkbrook (Birmingham) following the famous tornado which stripped the roof from the organ chamber and led to the church's eventual demolition (plans are afoot to rebuild the church, though it would be inapprorpiate for the replacement to have a pipe organ). I was very impressed with their communication and enthusiasm and rapid removal and made a short recording of it in situ (minus the roof, and me having to play in hard hat) before its removal. Feenstra evidently specialises in buying fine but redundant Victorian British oregans and transplanting them to new homes on the continent and beyond. A little homework with the modern day Bishops confirmed the two organs were virtually consecutive opus numbers and built at the same time. It appears that Feenstras have as yet to find a buyer, I hope it finds a new home before long. http://www.frfeenstra.nl/vb2.htm

Well, for some of us it's more than an academic question. I'm in Uganda next week and rather than bring a ton of paper music with me, all my organ music is loaded onto my laptop. Which is fine, except that I still haven't figured out a way to view whilst playing, and I can't just print it out, there is too much and paper and ink in these parts is too precious a resource to waste. Suggestions keenly sought... Changing topic slightly, I'm intrigued by the possibility (I think already happening) of elecgtronic organs having, rather than stop taps, complete LCD displays so that you can can replicate any organ you like as long as it has the same number of manuals as your toaster without the limitation normally resulting from fixed tabs or drawknobs with engraved stop names. Thoughts?

Oh dear, it's back to primary school again for me with that Chopin. And I thought I was doing well to get through the first page of the Krebs E major toccata as my recital party piece!!! This guy is easily a match for Virgil Fox. Though for sheer laughter therapy, THIS takes some beating

Thanks for those fascinating illustrations. Now, something I've often wondered. How the heck do you tune an en chamade reed when it's sticking out over the ether high above the floor of a cathedral, espeically if you can't get in the case immediately "behind" it so to speak without removing all the case diapasons. Or is that you how do it? Curious, Contrabombarde

I heard the proverbial story of a novice organ tuner being taken to Armley and after tuning the famous Schultz asking if there was anything else left to do. "Yes, it's your job to clean the gold ttrumpet that the angel at the top of the case is playing". Any somehow he managed to shimmy up and do just that. On a related note, I just posted a question on the "nuts and bolts" forum asking for suggestions as to nightmare organs to tune. Contrabombarde

I hope noone gets prosecuted by our dear friends at the HSE for responding to this thread...but reflecting on a similar thread elsewhere on scary organ lofts, I couldn't help wonder which the most difficult organs to tune are, or how tuners access apparently inaccessible instruments. The Willis in Wolverhampton parish church springs to mind, diaposons high above the nave and no obvious way to get at them or at the case, but there are many other organs i can think of that I wouldn't want to have to tune. How do you do it in the trade, do you "cheat" by hiring scaffolding, or do you ever have to admit defeat and leave part of the organ untuned? Just curious! Contrabombarde

Well, I haven't played an organ in the last two months as I've been working deep in the depths of north east Congo, but I will be spending a few days in Kampala later this month so hopefully will get a chance to play on the organ in Namiremb cathedral. No idea who the original builder was, but at 16 stops across two manuals it can probably claim to be the smallest cathedral organ (at least in a capital city) in the world. Does anyone know if this record has been beaten? Contrabombarde

I bought a "roll-up" keyboard from a store in the USA as I had never seen it being sold here. I ended up paying as much in shipping as the thing itself cost, and then the same again in taxes and courier administrative charges that they slapped on for the hassle of being over the £18 import tax threshold. Moral of the story, don't buy abroad. I subsequently saw them - for a fraction of the price I paid - on ebay. As a gimmick it's asages nice idea, and I imagine one day it might be useful if going camping or something and you really want to bring a musical instrument with you. It has a wide range of instruments and is available in four or five octaves and one version is even MIDI compatible. On the downside, the accidentals/black notes are not raised above the whites, so playing by sense is very difficult, and you also have to squeeze the note quite firmly to get it to sound (obviously it isn't touch sensitive). So overall it is fiendishly difficult to play the right notes and your fingers rapidly fatigue because of the force needed to play. Would I recommend it? As a Christmas present to the friend who has almost everything else and who will accept a joke item, perhaps yes. It has its place, just don't expect anyone who has one to use it more than once in a blue moon. Contrabombarde

Personally I prefer "O come all ye faithful" to come as the climax to a Christmas carol service. Sadly the "long" or processional version, with the verses about joining the shepherds with our joyful footsteps, and in particular, the magnificent verse Child, for us sinners poor and in the manger, We would embrace Thee, with love and awe; Who would not love Thee, loving us so dearly? are rarely sung, but when they are included, it never fails to send shivers down my spine. At one church I played for, determined to end with "Yea Lord we greet Thee" but aware the service was the Sunday before Christmas, they substititued "born this happy morning" for "born this happy season". I thought the little swap actually worked quite well, though others might disagree. Contrabombarde

Interesting question! The most unusual theme to an organ recital I've ever faced was a concert of organ music with Congolese connections. Stumpted? Just before leaving to take up my current job in Democratic Republic of Congo I gave a recital at my church. I included Franck's Third Chorale (being perhaps the most famous Belgium composer, and DRC was formerly a Belgium colony), plus a voluntary by Stanley (no relative of Henry Stanley, the Victorian explorer who opened up Congo) and Guillmant's First Sonata (which was composed for and first played in the presence of Prince Leopold II of Belgium, whose brutal rule over the colony created the conditions that have plagued the nation ever since). Other suggestions for wacky recital themes please? Contrabombarde

Whether or not there is really any point in having a 64 foot on the pedals, I'm surprised noone has questioned the idea of a 32 foot on the manuals. I have played two such organs, Lausanne Cathedral, Switzerland (Gt 32 flue) and Lake Avenue, Pasadena, USA (Gt 32 flue, Sw 32 reed) and vouch that in both cases the 32 genuinely does add noticable extra oooomph when reaching the climax of a dramatic piece. definiately not something to overdo, but I found a use for them, espeically the reed (well, I would say that, given my username, wouldn't I?)

I'm sure I have mentioed it on these forums before, though perhaps not on this thread so apologies for any inadvertent repeating. I was once asked to play for a wedding at a church where the organ had not been used for some time and was not in the healthiest condition. Indeed, whilst playing over the wedding music to the couple a few days before the Big Day to demonstrate how it would sound, at one point the Great reservoir sprang a leak that resulted in a banshee-like wail from a vibrating flap of errant leather. On the morning of the wedding things were so bad that I had to dispatch a member of the choir off to the local B&Q with a shopping list of emergency repair items, including duck tape and superglue, and as the congregation was gathering I had the unenviable task of crawling around the innards of the organ in my best suit trying to plug air leaks. About five minutes before the bride arrived, the ivory fell off the key of Great Middle C, and faced with the extreme discomfort of playing a keyboard with this crucial ivory missing, I decided to fix it by smearing it liberally with superglue. Bad mistake, as I ended up with half the Great keys, and my ten fingers, covered in superglue, and with the bridal party arriving, there was no time to nip to the washroom and clean up. Amazingly after that, the organ got through the service without a hitch, though I vowed never to play that particular instrument ever again...

During a particularly busy period of my medical studies I went about a couple of months without touching a note. I got a nasty shock one day whilst visiting a country church and enquiring about the organ therein; I was invited to have a go, and the resulting embarressment gave me a lesson I have never forgotton. Happily my fingers and feet rapidly found themselves again once I found an instrument I could regularly practice on. Having recently been away for a month then had a recital scheduled a week after my return, I probably spent a couple of hours a day during that week just on the recital pieces to ensure I was competent again for the concert. Now settled into a new job around 300 miles from the nearest organ (I'm currently writing from somewhere in the jungle in central Africa, oh the wonders of satellite internet systems), and only being able to visit that organ (Kampala cathedral) once every three months, I am going to give serious thought to how to maintain my skills with such limited practice opportunities. Any tips from fellow organists who have had to face a similar problem?

Saturday 28th OCtober??? Day or date wrong!

May I mention a recital with a difference to be held next Saturday evening 27th October 2007 at 7pm in Birmingham? A Congolese Charity Organ Concert at St Christopher’s Church, Sparkhill The organist will shortly be taking up a new role as a Public Health Doctor for the Swiss humanitarian relief organisation Medair in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly known as Zaire), a country that is just emerging from one of the bloodiest conflicts in African history. During the concert, which includes organ music with Congolese connotations, some former Medair workers with experience of DRC will describe the ongoing relief program there. The program includes the First Organ Sonata by Guilmant, which was dedicated to and first played in the presence of Belgian Prince Leopold II. It was Leopold who invited Henry Stanley (no relative of John Stanley whose Voluntary in G major is heard tonight) to explore the Congo, leading ultimately to appallingly brutal colonial repression. Cesar Franck, whose final composition, the Third Chorale is also being played, must count as Belgium ’s greatest organ composer. David Pitches originally studied medicine at Kings College London, where he was an Organ Scholar. In Birmingham he played at Christ Church, Sparkbrook, until the roof was destroyed in the 2005 tornado. He subsequently purchased a 3-manual Johannus digital organ which he has loaned to St Christopher’s whilst he is abroad and which he will demonstrate tonight. Admission is free; there will be an opportunity to contribute to Medair. The church is situated at the junction of College Road , Woodlands Road and Springfield Road in Sparkhill, Birmingham B13 9NY, map reference http://tinyurl.com/358bcq

Don't forget you'll need to apply for a TV licence if you want to be able to watch Neighbours during the sermon....I thought it was a proverbial tale, but I'm sure I once played an organ where the screen had been tuned in to the TV! Contrabombarde

One must tread delicately on a topic that can generate so much heat. But if anything, my experience of a "good" worship group is that they would spend more, rather than less time rehearsing, than some church choirs I've conducted. Though it has to be said, a good part of that time is actually spent setting up the sound system and adjusting the mics - at least not something you have to worry about with a choir! There are good and bad organists, and good and bad music groups. My church has a rock group (I hear some forum members hearts palpitating!), but the musicians in it are extremely accomplished and only those who are good musicians get to play for the Sunday service. (They actually let me on the organ too for the hymns, I must be good;-) ) Whilst much of the music they play is pretty transient and some is downright musically inept, it sounds a whole lot better if played on the instruments it was intended for, rather than a half-baked attempt strumming along on an unamplified guitar and a hoarse soprano screeching into the mic. I'm not condeming or condoning one style of music over another, but rather pointing out that it really does make a difference as to how well it's played. I'd venture to say that even if you aren't "into" pop, some of the modern choruses, with a professional band, sequencer, keyboards, drummer etc can sound a whole lot better than they usually turn out in the sort of services where they feed the perception that modern church music is altogether dire. Now, what can we do to improve the standard of playing in churches, whether organ or guitar? Contrabombarde

And I've been asked for (and done) Parry's "I was glad" (including choir and orchestra) coming in and the theme from Star Wars (going out)! And it worked stunningly well (though as the groom is himself an Anglican cathedral organist I couldn't really say otherwise!) Contrabombarde

I risk opening a can of worms by entering the discussion at this point, but would add that some of us are most content with an eclectic mixture of old and contemporary worship music. I am reasonably familiar with the "other" church in Bristol, Christ Church Clifton, having played there on a number of occasions myself when standing in for their former organist (himself now directing music in Sydney Cathedral). The church has various music groups, a choir and orchestra and could be credited musically with appealing to a wide range of musical tastes from baroque to Soul Survivor, often within the same service. And yes, so too could the organ - I have accompanied Mozart and Matt Redmund in the same service, and so long as the band is tuned to the organ, a wooden subbass can do wonders for the band's own bass player. I am sure not all will be comfortable with this arrangement but I don't think the church could particularly be accused of either being fuddy-duddy, irrelevant, irreverent or unmusical!

Here's rather more information about the theft. It was a 3-manual Allen, evidently stolen to order. http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=1550682007 http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/other/disp...1720755.0.0.php I don't want to sound prejudiced, but if I really wanted to go the trouble of stealing a toaster I wouldn't choose an Allen!!!

10-72 Ivory falls off Great Middle C ten minutes before start of wedding 10-73 Ivory stuck back on with a bit too much Superglue five minutes before start of wedding so now thumb is stuck firmly on Great Middle C Yep, it happened to me!!!

Well frankly, that attitude smacks of arrogance that was not unknown in the company concerned; Moller was in big financial do-dos because in order to win the prestigious contract for rebuilding the world's largest church drawstop organ (First Congregational Church, Los Angeles) they substantially underquoted and the huge cost they therefore incurred made them go bankrupt. Incidentally I've heard the organ and was hardly impressed - it just seemed one of those unnecessary "we have the biggest and are determined to keep that way" projects. It's not overwhelmingly loud despite its stupendous size (I think over 20,000 pipes) so hasn't made it into the Earthquake Zone. And isn't really even a single organ, more like about ten different organs of different styles, neobaroque, Italian, romantic - stuffed into different corners of a not altogether huge church (I'd guess that it isn't that much bigger than say St Bartholomew's Armley size-wise). Controlled by two colossal and identical 5-manual drawstop consoles, one at each end of the church. Controlling such a beast is far from easy - at least with stoptabs you can see what is illuminated but with this it's pretty tough seeing which of the 500-odd knobs are out at any one time. The resident organist made a number of registration errors during his lunchtime recital and afterwards said to me that it wasn't unusual to start playing on a manual and find you'd inadvertently left something in or out that ruined the piece. When organs get so big as to be unplayable I wonder what the point of them is. I mean, I can't reach the fifth manual with enough reach to be able to play and not risk toppling over, I'd be hopeless on the Wanamaker!