gazman

Sounds good! Will JSW be the performer?

Yup, AN organ, agreed. But THAT one???

Admirable sentiment, Jonathan, and I can see where you're coming from. But are there many who'd want to hear it? Is it a beautiful instrument which would have not only organ buffs but also general music fans raving about the organ? Unfortunately, I don't think so. Yes, it was a trail-blazer of its time, but it's now time to stand back and to see it for what it is today IMHO.

Well, perhaps they ought to leave it in the warehouse and put in something a bit more musical in its place!

I guess you care much more for the Dorian nowadays! One of the finest fugues ever written for the organ.....

Ah, yes, the one with the Sei gegruesset variations. Must dig that out again and have a listen!

Crumbs....I hadn't even begun collecting LPs by then!!! However, I do still have a head of very thick hair (as confirmed by my barber who complains about how it hurts him to use his scissors on me). I think it's only thick as a possible continuation of the properties of my head....

I remember an occasion a few months ago. It was the evening before I gave a recital at York Minster. JSW spent about 10 minutes explaining to me how to set up the sequencer. After his explanation, he said that he was sure that it was a waste of his time trying to explain it because no visiting recitalist ever used it because it was complex to understand and he thought I would probably be just as baffled as everybody else. He was absolutely right!

Yes, this was one of my favourite organ LPs when bought secondhand as a lad (that wasn't too long ago!). Funny, though, I found the interpretation of BWV 565 the most uninteresting thing on it for my taste. Yes, and what lovely understated playing. I must dig this out again. Thanks for the reminder.

That reminds me of an organ on which I gave a recital many years ago. It was a H&H of a similar vintage to Coventry, but not in the same league alas. It was one of these where all the piston settings were set by buttons on a big switch board (On, Off, or Neutral - and couldn't Neutral be useful at times (the one advantage this had over the standard systems of today)). Unfortunately, the pistons also operated the couplers and the organist had these set differently on different pistons and not left on Neutral. He was quite forceful in telling me he didn't want his pistons changing, so I had a very interesting time of different couplers popping out at different times during the rehearsal. However, I did change them for the recital as this was just impossible, picked up my fee at the end, and scarpered before he found out!

I think the SCOPE system has been around for about 10 years or so. I'm pleased never to have come across it. Whilst I understand it allows any piston to be used as a General piston, I'm a firm believer in the KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid!) and am glad never to have come across one.

I'm sure you can guess what I thought of it, MM! It's a gorgeous, musical instrument. Every voice is lovely, everything blends, the balances are perfect, every single stop makes a difference and everything sounds wonderful, apart from the Stopped Diapason on the Great which surpasses wonderful! And it is also one of the most intimate organs to play - it becomes a part of you. Mrs. Gedeckt came into the organ loft with me on the day before the recital with the idea of seeing the organ before she went into town to do some shopping. Unfortunately, due to a slip up on the part of the organ scholar, we got locked in the organ loft for about four hours before somebody appeared in the chapel for me to ask to fetch a key in order to let us out. Well, it was unfortunate for my wife who was denied her shopping, but I was very happy to be locked in with the instrument for such a long time! Actually, on reflection, it was unfortunate for me too coz I had to spend hours shopping with her the next day! Unfortunately, the day before the organ recital was the first time I was able to play a pipe organ in a couple of months or so after surgery (but THAT pipe organ - what a fine instrument to which to return!), so I wasn't quite on the form which I would have hoped to have been. Nevertheless the audience seemed to enjoy it greatly though. And it fitted my all-Bach programme like a glove!

Ah, "Low German". I remember being on a German exchange a number of years back and having to try to communicate with an elderly grandma.

Gosh, we're almost spoilt for choice.....or perhaps not! We could do with a few more female organists on the forum. I wonder how many of our contributors are female. Not many, I guess. Alas!

Yes, indeed.

!neht ti snialpxe taht, ha

Do what, mate?

Interesting. I have not heard nor played this instrument, but was there about three weeks ago having given a recital at Queen's College the day before. On the day that I visited Christ Church they were tuning the reeds. I thought that the reeds sounded quite raucous, and I wasn't in any way taken with them.

Yes, I too would be very interested in when to visit and hear the organ at St. Ouen.

I am totally in agreement with Cynic on this. Incidentally, with reference to Blackburn, it is not only a superb eclectic instrument, but a beautiful musical instrument too. Whilst I realize that eclectic can be a dirty word to some, the only other way around this would be to have buildings with several different instruments inside them for different repertoire - one for French Baroque, another for Bach, another for French Romantic, another for Howells, etc, etc! Eclectic organs such as Blackburn really do have their place, even if the accoustic there makes the performance of contrapuntal music rather "interesting"....

Yes, it is rather strange that he didn't specify them. Perhaps he didn't because no two organs are alike and because the performer's organ would be rather different to Gloucester (as then was), say. However, the fact that he would place instructions on which manual he wanted to use (I, II, III etc) suggests to me that Howells must have had a certain organ in mind, and the sonorities available on each of those manuals.

Whilst it's obvious that Howells did have contrapuntal ideas in mind whilst composing for the organ, I'm convinced he also had certain tonal sonorities in mind.

How much might Howells have considered the sound of each particular organ, rather than just following dogma? Perhaps, say, a 2' might have been too "bright" for him on one organ where it would have "worked" for him on another? Don't we all find that perhaps a diapason chorus to 2' might be brighter than we want on one instrument, but fine on another? And, perhaps, Howells might have had different ideas on different days, as I know I for one do. I think that, the more we delve and consider, the more we find it difficult to make hard and fast rules.

I must confess that, to my shame, I've never heard either of them "in the flesh" yet. However, from what I've heard in recordings, St. Ouen is just about at the top of my list of organs I'd like to hear and play.

Yes, indeed, a tremendous resource! Thanks!