MikeK

To misquote Oscar Wilde; 'To lose one organist is unfortunate, to lose 3 is unforgivable'!

See https://www.churchofengland.org/media/20084 for the latest info, regarding 'exercising' the organ.

An interesting topic, but am I alone in thinking it is posted on the wrong forum. or is it being suggested that when playing Bach the organ should be tuned in a similar way to that suggested by David? The piano in the church where I play can be tuned in about an hour, whereas the organ takes almost 2 days!

This topic was covered in a topic started on 5 Feb. 2017. Since then I have been using a pair of Resound Linx 2. 961 aids. They were not cheap but are a vast improvement on the nhs ones I was originally prescribed. As has already been mentioned, what is suitable for speech is unlikely be suitable for music, particularly the organ. It is possible to adjust the settings to suit via an iphone & then save both these & the location, this is about as good as it gets! They are not perfect but at least the organ no longer sounds like a badly out-of-tune fairground one!

I seem to remember seeing a demonstration of an app that enabled the organ to be tuned single handed. It also allowed the player to check balances etc. away from the console by controlling the playback facility. With Facetime I wonder if I could work from home?!

David Lang was indeed the Organist of St Mary the Boltons. I was assistant organist there in the 1960's whilst studying at one of the London music colleges. The organ was a revelation to me as I had not experienced another instrument like it up to then. it took no prisoners & demanded very clean articulation, every mistake & fudge was obvious, just what an organ student needed! The detached console was placed immediately in front of the expressive box with it's glass shutters & the choir sat to the right of the console, so everything was 'immediate.' I understood from David

I agree! We also use Fothergills & have found them very thorough & reliable.

I always find it difficult to understand why incumbents do not choose there own hymns, preferring to leave it to someone else to do this. Hymns should be chosen to comment on or expand the theme set by the readings, sermon etc. Without this continuity they become merely 'gap fillers' & often irrelevant to the rest of the service imho. I would like to think that there is some discussion between interested parties when hymns are chosen, but in my experience this rarely happens. Perhaps playing in one of our 'dissenters' churches has spoilt me! Am I out of touch with what happens in the

A dulciana on the G O of a 2 manual is useful as an accompaniment to a swell oboe or other suitable solo stop. On the instrument I am responsible for I have had the C O dulciana tuned sharp to beat against the violin diapason. It also works well coupled up to the S O & used with the viol d' orchestra. Other combinations are available!

Not just village organs! As well as a humidifier plant we have 3 large seed trays filled with water under the main frame of a 4 manual organ. The church heating is maintained at 22deg. at the weekend & reduced a couple of degrees during the week. This used to play havoc with sliders sticking but since the addition of the trays we have had no problems at all. I got some funny looks though when I placed them in the organ chamber & was then seen carrying several full water cans!

As a boy, I remember playing the Walker 3 manual organ in Ryde (IOW) town hall. Does anyone know if it is still playable, or even still there?

The person you are referring to is David Lang, now retired & living in York. I had the pleasure of being his assistant at the Boltons in the mid-60's. I remember the organ as being most un-Compton like, very in-your-face & taking no prisoners! Just what a young music student used to playing a large Willis III in a very resonant building needed! I believe David was at that time a lecturer at Roehampton Teacher Training College & also a part-time teacher at the RCO. He was also a fine organist.

I was a pupil of Cecil Williams in the early 1960's, later becoming his assistant at St Mary's. I do not remember him as having a Doctorate though, perhaps we was awarded it after my time there. my memories of him have become a bit faded over the years but I remember him as a stern but good teacher. His influence led me to take up music professionally & we remained good friends until his death, indeed he played the organ for my wedding in1966. He did insist on choosing all the music though! I remember the organ in St. Mary's with great affection & Cecil took great pride in demonstrat

Redland Park, Bristol has solo, swell, choir,- left to right.

Having 3 swell 8' reeds, including an oboe, is a bit of a luxury! I suspect the Horn has been re-voiced at some point in the past as it is very similar to the Cornopean, the main difference being that it is a little rounder in tone & louder. It's availability on the solo is very useful, both as a solo reed & coupled down to the pedal in 8' or 4' pitch. The cornopean is likewise available on the choir & is as you describe, more of a trumpet, if a little quieter.