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emsgdh

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About emsgdh

  • Birthday 20/07/1950

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    Staten Island, New York, USA
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    I'm an organist and choir trainer. For the past five years, I've worked for the RC Church. Had the honour to be a pupil of Marcel Dupre (1970) in the year before his death. Try to maintain my repertoire but find it harder to play JSB than when I was a kid. England is my idea of paradise, esp. Salisbury & its beautiful organ. Greatly admire the work of the Mander firm.

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  1. Hook & Hastings in the States made some flutes in this manner, I believe.
  2. There is always Harvey Grace. It's very good. Virgil Fox used to play it up a whole tone in EM.
  3. I'll weigh-in on this one. There is a superb French toccata that very few people play. It's "Electa ut sol" by Dallier. The pedal theme is virtually unforgettable and, being in E-flat Major, a 32' reed is not necessary for success. I played it quite a bit over a five to ten-year period and always got raves for it. Karl Watson, Staten Island, NY
  4. Friends: Yes, I've read 4's remarks. They're both amusing and informative. Karl Watson, Staten Island, NY
  5. May an American join those mourning the death of HWIV ? He was known to many US builders as well as organists and was respected for his generosity and for the warm welcome given at the Willis works. Over here, one is perplexed by the invariable British condemnation of all things Willis and the exaltation of even the most humble H&H production. Was this always so or did it come about as a reaction to the well-known personalities of III & IV ? I've heard and played several extraordinary Willis organs, of all periods, and find them rewarding, to say the least. Conversely, there is more than one H&H job in the US that is extraordinarily coarse, challenging their fabled reputation for impeccable tonal finishing. Can anyone shed light on this question or is this an inappropriate moment to ask ? Karl Watson, Staten Island, NY.
  6. bam: Oh yes. These are the best thoughts yet. Who amongst us knows both jobs well enough to compare and contrast, quite beyond the obvious ?
  7. Was Ian Bell's book about the Albert Hall Organ ever published ? I remember it being advertised. Karl Watson, Staten Island, NY
  8. Dear friends: I know that we are all beyond busy at this moment, but, just a thought to distract us. Although it is almost seventy years since the building of this organ, I often wonder, what if ? What if it were placed in a "cathedral" acoustic. What if it had normal, English-type, low-pressure chorus reeds. What if the flue voicer had been allowed to nick the pipes. What if it had been scaled using H&H's usual scale sticks. What if HWIII had built it. What if Compton's had built a real rock-crusher, in the original ceiling position planned by the architects. Am I crazy, or have any of you ever contemplated these possibilities ? I have tried to like this organ, tried to appreciate Ralph Downes ideas. I've read and re-read Baroque Tricks. I'm fully aware that there are many authorities who have high regard for Ralph Downes and this organ. His point about balances between divisions is well taken. The usual British/American organ of the period is rarely balanced in this manner. And I quite agree that his revised Solo Organ is the making of it. However, there is one of his basic ideas that I simply can't abide: the elimination of treble ascendant foundations. Organs voiced without treble ascendant foundations strike me as feeble in the French repertoire, just for starters. I could name a couple of much-admired instruments whose foundations have zero lyric impact, but I'm afraid that there would be a chorus of protests. I'm not trying to start trouble here. After all, "Love came down at Christmas." But, I would like to know if anyone else thinks about these things as I do. Kindest regards to all and MERRY CHRISTMAS. Karl Watson, Staten Island, NY USA
  9. Dear friends: Sometimes news travels slowly. I've just read about the organ at Guildford being taken-down for cleaning/repair as part of work on the building's fabric. Are changes to the instrument contemplated ? Karl Watson, Staten Island, NY
  10. Friends: Sorry to be thick, esp. if this subject has already been explained, but is there a digital instrument in the chapel during the big job's restoration ? Wondering what we are to hear for this year's L&C broadcast. Karl Watson, Staten Island, NY
  11. Thin-skinned and easily offended as am I, surely there was no disrespect intended by handsoff. It IS an ironic situation. I'm confident that the Allen Coy. will provide a suitable instrument for the occasion, not unlike the many, many instruments played with joy by our late brother. Interestingly, for Lynnwood Farnam's funeral, some eighty years ago, there was not a note of music. The full choir processed in silence. Very fitting, I think.
  12. Thanks for this but some rather heavy mis-information, a la Liberace, contained therein.
  13. Have any of the members played or heard this new instrument and, if so, what is the "low down" on its sound ?
  14. In that diocese, the likelyhood of a Tridentine Mass in their cathedral is slim to none. Cowboy songs accompanying singular, local versions of the Novus Ordo are the usual faire.
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