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SinaL

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Posts posted by SinaL

  1. Dover only print out-of-copyright editions, so it all depends on how reliable these editions are. I have not seen the ones you mention, butI would guess that they are all serviceable enough, except for the Buxtehude, where modern scholarship will most certainly have surpassed anything Dover might be permitted to reprint. Also, Dover can print only the original Vierne edityions with all their misprints and misunderstandings which have been corrected in the new editions. With Dover the best question to ask yourself is: how up to date do you want your scholarship to be?

     

    I always supposed that the Buxtehude edition would be a bit dodgy (maybe includes C clefs and all that).

    I'm wanting to work specifically on the Finale from Vierne's Symphony no. 1. Are there any notation errors in dover's publication of that?

  2. Does anyone have any first hand experience using the unbeatably priced Dover publications of Vierne's symphonies 1-3, Franck's organ works, Buxtehude's complete organ works, Brahms, Mendelssohn and various other major composers, as I'm thinking of buying a few. I know of the problems with the bindings and the Widor edition but apart from that are there any other things to look out for?

     

    Many Thanks

  3. I'm assuming you mean the Kenneth Jones at the East End. But it's also worth mentioning the rather wonderful West Gallery Hill/Mander. A very slightly bigger brother of the Kidderminster Town Hall organ, it's colourful, has beautiful individual stops and choruses, and sounds superb playing all sorts of stuff. French romantic works well, as well as English. Action is, I think, all mechanical, and a bit heavy when coupled, but not unbearably so (at least it wasn't when I knew it, just after its restoration in the mid-1990s). A very under-known/under-used organ!

     

    Is only the east end organ played for services?

    When do they use the West-end one? I've heard, its under Mr. Cleobury's control.

  4. I only really know the Cambridge organs. Emma is not bad, and the fact that it's used for Music Tripos organ recitals shows that it's held in some esteem. I've enjoyed playing on the one at Magdalene, but it's really too big for the chapel. Not mad on Clare tbh...

     

    I agree. I liked Emmanuel when I played it, although it sounded rather out of tune, maybe this has something to do with the "winding" of the instrument which may be the reason for that "wind control" stop.

    Clare is way too bright, and has an awful swell.

  5. Interested to know the view of members of this board on the Oxbridge organs.

    I personally like Queens, Cambridge and New and Exeter in Oxford very much.

    Don't particularly fancy Christ Church.

     

    Which ones do you find the best, and which ones should go to the scrap.

  6. For the past 10 years or so, the old 4 manual Hill organ at St Mary Abbots, Kensington has been out of action, and a small electronic has been in use for some time.

    I remember being told a few years ago about a "restoration project", and rebuilding the organ up in the Triforium of the church.

    Does anyone know the status of this project, or if the Hill will be put back in working order anytime?

    A pipe organ is definately needed in a church of this scale!

  7. I used to practice here 40 years ago, but I'm sorry to say I thought the organ sounded dreadful... maybe it's better now? Try before you book.

     

    Quite right, it certainly isn't anything remarkable and coming to remember it, the organ contains some of the most loud and horrible trumpets!

    Maybe I shouldn't have recommended this one!

    But they are quite good for bookings, and the acoustic is an advantage.

  8. St John the Baptist, Holland Road in West London springs to mind.

    4 manual Willis organ, with solo reed and only 1 Sunday service at 18:30, if I remember correctly, so that could be an option.

     

    Holy Trinity South Kensington, St Peter Eaton Square, and St Stephen Gloucester road, all in West London too are also options for making bookings, and have suitable organs (3 manual R&D, new 4 manual Jones, and 3 manual N&B, respectively) with solo reeds, and all in good acoustics.

     

    Many churches in the City of London, such as St. Stephen Walbrook that you've mentioned do not have services on weekends, so they could be the best options in London.

  9. Rumour has it that HTB is happy to keep the organ at St Peter's Brighton and use it from time to time. I gather that at the licencing of the new P-in-C the Director of Classical Music from HBT played it extremely well and that the HTB "Classical" choir sang a Latin motet. I wasn't there but I'm told that this is what happened. A local organist - a former D-of-M at St Peter's - has been going in there every week (with the blessing of HTB) throughout to practice on the organ and thereby keep it in good working order.

     

    So far so good, it seems.

     

    On another point, en route to St Stephen's Gloucester Road (west London) last Thursday evening I went past St Jude's Courtfield Gardens and noted that services are now held in St Mary-le-Boltons in Kensington. Does anyone know what's happening to St Jude's building and organ? They used to have a good, low church, musical tradition and Stephen Ridgely-Whitehouse was there for a while.

     

    Malcolm

     

    The vicar told me that the whole church will be going through refurbishment within the next few months (or years!), I cant remember which one exactly. It will be closed within that time.

    Having played the organ there very shortly before the start of this work it was well well-sounding,no problems with the pipes, but there were major problems with the blower, which couldnt even hold just full swell together.

    I think that St Jude is unfortunately following in the footsteps of HTB. There is more contemporary music and instruments being used during services, and as the church website says, the church uses jazz music to connect with god. There is an organist/gospel and jazz music organiser. There are no longer sunday services.

    Hopefully, the organ will be without major fault after the work is complete.

  10. In theory it could be to some degree, given that the Tickell has MIDI out. But without some sort of complex go-between system controlling stops or swell pedals its not terribly practical. You've also got to work out just how to route the very very long MIDI cable (over twice as long as they are supposed to be...). We haven't fully decided what to do at Christmas yet... In the past we've always used two players keeping as closely synchronized as possible!

     

    Could the Quire organ sufficiently accompany the congregation by itself? I realise there would be some time delay problems though.

  11. That's right - the Rodgers has speakers at the east and west ends of the nave and the console is on a movable platform. The reinstatement of the Hill Transept case, its existing pedal pipes, and new Great, Swell and Pedal stops is on the agenda when a donor or two comes forward/is located (the stop-knobs of which are already present on the Quire console). The 3-manual Nave pipe-organ is rather more on the back-burner at the moment while the cathedral fund-raises for other things.

     

    Christopher

    Is the rodgers controllable from the tickell console aswell because in a major eucharist they must be used together?

  12. We have probably all come across instruments, even though wonderfully sounding, which have been positioned in such a place that they cannot properly project sound into the nave or lead a full congregation without having to use full great + swell.

    Are there any particular cathedral or major church organs that can be named and shamed on these grounds and which need certain re-positioning?

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