martin_greenwood

Add me to the Sennheiser HD 650s fan club. I tried a varierty of headpohones in my local hifi store using a cheapo Naxos organ CD that I'd picked up on the spare of the moment for just this prupose (some compilation type album). Having listened to 4 or 5 models I'd come to the conclusion that it was a hopeless recording - dull, muddy, no clarity whatsoever. I thought I'd have to repeat the experiment using a different CD. Then "just for a laugh" I asked to try the top-of -the-range model i.e. the HD 650's. The difference was phenominal - I might as well have been standing directly in front of the organ itself. Needless to say, my wallet capitulated. Sq.

A follow-up on my point about it being bass heavy... I had reached that conclusion when playing back the recording through a mid-quality hifi system direct from the line-out socket on the H2 device. However having uploaded the recorded .wav file onto my PC and playing it back through a professional grade soundcard and studio monitor speakers, it sounds absolutely fine. The inference being that the recording itself isn't boomy, just the playback function on the H2 device. If this is indeed the case then that's good news indeed! Sq.

Tried mine out for the first time at the weekend. So far am highly impressed by quality versus cost. i) placed on top of upright piano recording me playing piano whilst singing - very impressive (not my singing though) ii) church choir from about 10 yards down the nave - very clear though was bit too echoey for my likeing; will try again with H2 closer to the choir iii) organ - again very clear with good amount of detail, though I too found the bass boomy; will see what sounds like reducing the bass slightly in Cubase or such once it's been recorded In terms of usability, it seems very simple and you can start recording with minimum setup or fuss. Sq.

I've got the Dover edition and wished I hadn't. I gather there are various versions of the Symphonies resulting from Widor's own amendments, and AMT told me that the ones in the Dover edition aren't those typically used in performance. Aside from that, the binding is the worst I've ever come across and after only 3 months use I've got pages falling out. Sq.

Sounds like it could have doubled up as a musical Aga. Sq.

Thanks for all for your comments and advice. I've placed an order for a Zoom H2 this afternoon; it should arrive Wednesday. I'll let you know how I get on with it. Sq.

I'll second FW's recommendation. I came across this shop by chance when killing a couple of hours the week before last ahead of going to see the South African rendition of The Magic Flute (orchestra comprising of various maimbas!) athe the Duke of York. There were 4 or 5 decent size folders of fairly eclectic organ music to flick through, and stacks of music for other instruments + voice. You'll recognise the street 'cos there's a very posh ballet outfitters on the corner. I tried to persuade Mrs Sq. to go in and ask to try on a tutu whilst maintaining a straight face. She declined. Sq.

Indeed, either of the wonderful chamber organs on display at our hosts' Open Day last November would take up less space than my 3 manual Hauptwerk practice setup. I've promised myself, "one day....".

Just like Toasters, the salesman will almost certainly offer you an extended warranty for an exorbitant price.

For an experienced organist the speaking stops gizzmo is almost certainly unnecessary, but for beginners I can imagine it being very helpful. Given this organ will be the primary teaching instrument for the organ school, this sounds like a sensible innovation. As for who's voice would be appropriate for speaking the stop names, suggestions on a postcard please...

Has anyone experience of portable recording devices suitable for recording organ, choral, or orchestral performances - price range £100-200. I'm not looking for studio quality, but something good enough to make recordings to assist practice and for posterity and which will enable easy transfer onto a computer and burning onto CD. I've got my eye on a Zoom H2, and would apppreciate any feedback on this or similar devices. Sq.

The business of "babbling" rather than conversing reminds me of one particular definition of intelligence as exhibited by what people talk about:- HIGH - talk about their own ideas (e.g. MM) MEDIUM - talk about other people's ideas (this one's more me) LOW - talk about other people (thankfully not a frequent occurence on this forum) As for who's definition this is, I'm can't recall. Sq.

In an emergency the tweezers on a Swiss Army penknife give a g#, albeit rather faint.

I have just been reading an interesting article on Gottfried Silbermann's voicings, and the points about the various temperaments involved triggered a thought. Namely how someone gifted with perfect pitch in the equal temperant world of today, would have coped with the various baroque temperaments. Presumably there is some pitch tolerance associated with perfect pitch, so small variations such as those with differing temperaments do not affect this capability. Though it must have been a bigger issue dealing with the larger frequency variations associated with tuning to anything from A 409 through A 480. So for the the itinerant perfect-pitched musician in the pre 19th century, would perfect pitch have been more of a curse than a blessing? If so, it makes me feel a whole lot better about the lack of mine. Sq.

So when is a an organ a house organ? An answer of "when it can fit in a house" isn't particularly helpful since there are houses like mine (decent sized modern detached), and houses like Lord Montagu's at Beaulieu. So in general, what are the characteristics of a house organ in terms of dimensions? Is a chamber organ a house organ minus the pedals?

I visited St Paul's yesterday for the first time and did the obligatory climb up to the whispering gallery. Standing facing the high altar I could see at 10 o'clock a gallery housing a number of pipes, many laid hozizontally. There appeared to be some work going on there, and I was curious as to what they were. Are they the tuba referred to by JPM in his previous post?

Is this evidenced by the fact that if we choose a particular registration on a familiar instrument whilst away from the console, we are not surprised by what we hear when we come to play it? I'm not sure of your cause and effect argument on this one. I think live music surives for a multitude of reasons - the desire for fresh interpretations; the pleasure of listening in a fine acoustic and pleasant surroundings; the "danger" of a live performance; interval gin & tonics etc. I don't think I dream in images at all; it's more like a first person narration. Weird - I hadn't really thought about that before.

For me, pretty much any of the Islay malts. I have a soft spot for the place having spent a couple of weeks there on a "practice" honeymoon when our real honeymoon had to be defered whilst I had my back repaired under the surgeon's knife. Subsequently when I started working as a freelance IT contractor I was faced with having to come up with a company name. The deadline from my accountant loomed near, and I was still without inspiration. On the final evening before I had to respond, I was partaking in some Caol Ila 12 year old with a friend. After possibly one more dram than strictly necessary, I came up with the name Caol Ila Computing. This seemed like a good idea at the time and rolled off the tongue nicely. Subsequently though this has proven to be a particularly stupid idea given that I have yet to have a supplier spell the name correctly the first time they send me a cheque. Back to things musical, whilst on that same trip to Islay we happened to see a poster advertising "International Basson Recitalist - George Zukerman" performing at Bruichladdich vilage hall. I particularly recall, - the fascination of the islanders by the new-fangled electric piano (Clavinova) that was being used to accompany George. - the homely ambience of the hall courtesy of the radiant bar heaters along the walls - the stage lighting (namely a couple of standard lamps from somebody's living room) - the whole place being pitched in darkness mid-concert and the Clavinova being silenced when the electric meter ran out of 50p's - the obligatory interval shortbread biscuit and whisky provided by the Islay Tourist Office The music wasn't bad either.

Probably find the dust is carcinogenic and has been quietly poisoning organist and congregations for years!

Our choir sustains the note of the preceding phrase throughout this bars rest, to provide the congregation with a hint that that the next line has yet to come.

I'm puzzled by the tendency of some choirs/congregations to leave excessive (in my view) pauses at the ends of the lines in certain hymns. Take for example "Breslau". It's in 4/4 with a crotchet upbeat i.e. c | c c c c | c c c, c | c c c qq | c c c, c | c c etc. What I'm refering to occurs at the comma after the 3rd beat of the 3rd complete bar. I've accompanied a service where the choir and congregation insisted on inserting an extra 2 crotchet beats rest after that comma before continuing with the upbeat into bar four. It drove me nuts. Is this situation common? Does it only apply to certain hymns? Is it me being in ignorance of some distant hymn playing tradition which involves sneaking in 6/4 bars in the middle of 4/4 hymns? What's it all about? Grr!

I am mystified by posts that include both "Stairway to Heaven" and "this generation". Should this perhaps read "Stairway to Heaven" and "my generation"? Is "this generation" particularly familiar with "Stairway to Heaven"? Of course this may in fact be my complete ignorance of some "Stairway to Heaven" remix currently playing one of these dreadful disco-tecca-ques ( you know, where they play po-pu-laaarr music).

A remarkable lad indeed. Thank goodness Eton has had the foresight to accomodate Alex's particular needs and enable him participate in the school's activities as far as is practical. For those students lucky enough to know Alex and perform alongside him, I am certain that he will be an inspiration throughout their own lives. I felt inspired, and had only shared an hour's television with him.

Put a sock in it Vox

Do you mean that you select any that fell to the floor as you were leafing through them?