gazman

Yeh, it could have been fun! Thanks for starting it Dave.

Yes, I think it can be one day earlier than it is this year.

How dare you say such a thing about my wife!

No, maybe not. She'd easily shout it down!!!

Do you think it might work on my wife?

His father - who sings in one of my choirs - is also a good tenor! It must run in the family.

I think that - bizarely perhaps - it's very rare that words are the most important part in a hymn. It's normally the tune that people remember and enjoy most. I can agree with you in theory but, in practice, it doesn't work this way. Take for example, as an Offertory hymn, the verse "Take my silver and my gold. Not a mite would I withhold." as the singer contemplates how little he/she should donate. Or bits of nonsense one often hears such as "Through gates of pearl streams. In the countless host." "The Lord's my shepherd I'll not want. He makes me down to lie. In pastures green he leadeth me. The quiet waters by.". If the words are sung with thought and understanding, Coe Fen is a marvellous partner to those fine words of John Mason and helps lift them into a higher orbit. It's just a pity that one of my clergy doesn't like "heavenly hymns"!

Oh, that's FAR less impressive......

Why???

Understandable, then, but still a pity. Thank you for your explanation, and for generously hosting this forum.

It looks that way, doesn't it. Pity, I thought it was a bit of harmless fun. :angry:

Go on...do tell!

Surely plastic bags can't be very good when it's raining though?!

I vaguely remember there was a splendid hymn in SOP which had some marvellous writing along the lines of majestic organ tone rolling around arches of ancient buildings (or something similar), and cried out to be set as an anthem. But I can't remember anything else about it! Any ideas anyone?

Thanks Patrick! Everything's been sorted now. I wonder why it happened....

The forum has suddenly changed. If I try to read a topic, I only get one or two postings, and then just a list of "Posts in this topic" below, each of which has to be clicked on to be read in turn. I'm wondering if I've done something wrong, or if gremlins have got in to the Invision Power Board. Anyone else having the same problem?

I think a few more of us are probably going to crawl out of the woodwork!

I think it's gorgeous!

Happily, Jon! Last week's recital was somewhat unusual in that I had a soprano join me. It was rather a mixed bag of music, but the audience seemed to go away happy. The programme was as follows:- Tuba Tune - C.S. Lang O my beloved father (from Gianni Schicchi) - Puccini Think of me (from Phantom of the Opera) - Andrew Lloyd Webber The Holy Boy - John Ireland (the version Ireland arranged for organ) Ave Maria - Bach/Gounod Arioso - J.S. Bach (arranged Harvey Grace, disarranged Gareth Perkins) Prelude and Fugue in D BWV 532 - J.S.B. (both JSB organ pieces in the style of Virgil Fox - just for the fun of it!!) Summertime (from Porgy and Bess) - Gershwin Vissi d’arte, vissi d’amore (from Tosca) - Puccini Quando me’n vo’ (from La Boheme) - Puccini Chorale Prelude on “Now thank we all our God” - Karg-Elert Deh vieni (from The Marriage of Figaro) - Mozart Toccatina for the flute - Pietro Yon Art is calling for me - Victor Herbert December's concert was more usual of the sort of thing I do:- A Trumpet Minuet - Alfred Hollins (1865-1942) Variations on “Mein junges Leben hat ein End” - J.P. Sweelinck (1562-1621) Prelude and Fugue in G minor - Dietrich Buxtehude (c. 1637-1707) Three Chorale Preludes on “In dulci jubilo” - J.S. Bach (1685-1750) Air (from Third Orchestral Suite) - J.S. Bach (arranged Gareth Perkins) Organ Sonata no. 3 :- i, Con moto maestoso ii, Andante tranquillo - Felix Mendelssohn (1809-47) Two Pieces:- i, Marche des Rois Mages ii, Toccata in G - Théodore Dubois (1837-1924) That reminds me....I need to decide what I'm going to play next month! Thanks for the reminder.

Very clever technique, excellent handling of the instrument, and all from memory too. But it just doesn't come across as a musical performance IMHO. He takes massive liberties with Franck's intentions, and these just get in the way of the music to me. But I can admire the technique - and the clever gratuitous thumbing-down in the F sharp minor bit before the end. I much prefer this interpretation: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=dugrozq17Ek&...feature=related Concerning Virgil Fox, I have contemplated posting the following on this thread, and have now decided to put my head above the parapet, and am quite expecting to be shot down for having "bad taste". For a really moving performance, see http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=JSbNgX1_-SA. I think that most people will have the same initial negative reaction as I had. However, upon subsequent listenings, I've really grown to appreciate this, especially considering the circumstances of its performance. I think it displays a really fine sense of musicianship, and a really skillful organist, and I've gone back to listen to it several times.

Cameron Carpenter!

Yes, definitely. And very useful for teaching purposes too.

Gone happy-clappy?