gazman

Yup, that's the way I read it too.

A quick Google shows that it appears quite easy to get Fellowships from the following, in exchange for a payment.... [remainder of post deleted by moderator because inaccurate and in parts defamatory]

Isn't it interesting to note that all these places giving away dodgy 'diplomas' seem to have people at the helm who profess to have the degree of "DMus"?! As far as my understanding goes, whilst these 'organisations' are allowed to grant so-called diplomas, they're not allowed to give degrees. Where do these DMus degrees come from, then? I doubt they're genuine. The USA, perhaps?

I've come across it being called "Cathedral" before, and Google confirms that people do refer to it thus. Goodness only knows why, though!

Thank you Squinius, and others who have helped by PM and by posting in this thread. Tuning was never really a problem as these ranks were at 32' and 16' pitch (and how often do organ tuners tune flue pipes at these pitches anyhow?!). However, if tuning did need attention, a knob was placed just inside the music desk to facilitate this.

I remember reading a fascinating article a long while back about the E flat Prelude and Fugue BWV 552. Not only did it discuss how often the number 3 appeared but, even more interestingly, how often the number 9 (the 'magic number') appeared. One of the properties which make 9 the 'magic number' is the fact that, if you have a larger number whose individual digits all add up to 9 when added together (say, for example, 144, 252), that number itself will be divisible by 9. I seem to recall that there are a large number of aspects of the fugue where the sum of the total can all be reduced to 9 - such as, for example, the total number of bars, the number of quavers, the number of B flats, E flats, A flats etc. I can't remember the details - nor where I read the article - but can remember being fascinated by it. Has anybody else come across it, and can they shed more light on it than my vague recollections?

Thank you, Tony - and thank you too to those who have generously replied by PM thus far. Fortunately, the loudspeakers are very good, so will be retained. There isn't sufficient room for any large pipes and, as there's more than one electronic rank, a polyphone cube wouldn't be of much use. So, electronics will continue to be the way forward with this.

Hi Folks! I'm after some recommendations along the lines of "These people know what they're doing" to "Don't touch the following people, even with a disinfected bargepole", please! I need to obtain some quotations for replacement of some electronic basses in a substantial pipe organ. The present electronic basses (a couple of 32s and 16s on the pedal, and the bottom octave of a 16' tenor C rank on a manual) were installed some 10 years ago, along with some terrific speakers, and were highly effective. Unfortunately, the electronics were plagued with gremlins from day one, and have now broken down almost completely. The church has taken the decision to retain the effective and substantial loudspeakers, but to replace the electronics and, perhaps, to enhance the system a little further. There is no further room for any additional pipes, so electronics will need to continue to be the way forward. So, I'm looking for a company who knows what they're doing with producing convincing electronic organ tones to blend in with existing pipes, and who would be used to getting the electronics to work with the existing transmission and capture systems. I'm a little out-of-touch about the very latest developments in electronic organs, and would like to know of some companies who could be recommended. Google comes up with a number who offer this sort of work and, whilst I'm sure a number of them are good, I suspect (from what I've heard in the past!) that a number of them are less good. In deference to our generous hosts (who, I believe, are not overly keen on having electronic instruments discussed on these forums), and due to the nature of this request, I'd be delighted to receive any advice about this by PM, if anybody felt so willing. Thank you.

Agreed. I would love to know what was in Franck's mind when he composed it. Thank you maestro_vienna for uploading these. I, too, enjoyed listening to them very much.

I last played this one around 15 years ago, and actually thought it rather lovely at the time, despite a specification which looks rather austere on paper. Sorry, Vox, but I don't know any more about it, not having played it since. I'd love to find an excuse to reacquaint myself with it, though.

Yes, indeed. It's interesting to note that, several years ago, I was asked to advise on a 22 year old practice instrument from the same stable. See http://www.npor.org.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi...ec_index=N10444 It was very, very worn indeed, and required a complete reconstruction. The authorities agreed but, unfortunately, chose an organ builder whom I would not have recommended to do the work due to his lack of specialism in mechanical actions, and subsequently also settled for a rather cheap "overhaul" as recommended by that builder instead of rather more extensive work which was obviously required. Unfortunately, this didn't improve matters, and I understand that the organ was again unplayable shortly after the overhaul. It is no longer at this venue, and nobody seems to be aware of what has become of it.

Let's just hope that metrication stays away from the organ world. Imagine "Open Diapason 2.4384 metres"!

Yes. The Father Willis organ at St. Mary's, Totnes, has the pitches given in Roman numerals. There were several organs in Torquay which had Latin stop names. They were all designed by W.S. Rockstro (http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Rockstro-William.htm) who was organist at All Saints' Church, Babbacombe, Torquay. They all followed the same pattern of being rather sketchy four-deckers, although all except the organ at St. Marychurch RC church have since been reduced to 3 manuals. I understand that the old Latin console of the organ at St. John's Church, Torquay (the last of these organs to retain the Latin stopknobs, which it did until 1957) is still stored in the basement of Torquay Museum.

Euthanasia?

Which is exactly what my friend has done this evening, with some sadness, and for that reason. Thanks for all your advice, folks.

Is it reasonable for an organist to charge an extra fee to rehearse with a young instrumentalist who is expecting the organist to accompany him in several pieces he is playing at a wedding? The instrumentalist is unable to make any time before or after rehearsals and services at the church which have been offered and wants the organist to attend a separate rehearsal. The rehearsal will probably entail some coaching too. The instrumentalist is a young offspring of one of the choir who thinks that the organist is unreasonable to expect the bridal party to pay an additional fee, as does the Vicar. The fee paid to the organist for weddings is slightly below the RSCM recommended minimum too. Your opinion is sought again, please, folks! Thanks!

I didn't see this, but have just flicked through on IPlayer. The Torquay church which was featured only briefly and towards the end of the programme is St. John's Church, Montpellier Place, Torquay. I don't recognise the building where the majority of the performances took place, though.

Having listened to Prime Minister's Question Time this lunchtime, I note that the prime minister still refuses to give straight anwers, so "Enlightenment by PM" seems rather unlikely!

Are you supposed to believe that it's live? Says who?

Sorry, but we're not really into rudeness around here....

Which just goes to prove that Mr. Bumble was correct in his conclusion that the law is, indeed, an ass.

I think this an excellent idea, and it's probably going to be the way forward if a number of us are to feel reasonably free to contribute to discussion at times.

Thank you, everybody, for your replies. I have spoken to my friend who has read all the responses, and has found them very helpful and thought-provoking. He informs me that he has taken them on board and is very grateful for all your suggestions. Recalling what happened recently when a troll tried stirring up trouble in the Church Times, I have now deleted my original post. Thanks again! HG

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