innate

God only knows how Bach's choirs coped with pitches a tone apart.

I went to this free concert yesterday evening. There were speeches from the Principal (Professor Jonathan Freeman-Attwood) and Head of Organ (David Titterington) who was the driving force behind the installation and “Expert”* in the design of the new instrument. The organ looks rather fine; certainly the modern case design doesn’t jar with the building. We heard Bach, Bach arr. Dupré, de Grigny, Duruflé, two fascinating Études by Lionel Rogg and Vierne played by Susan Landale, Clive Driskell-Smith and 4 RAM organ students and the concert finished with a piece for Trumpet and Organ by Jolivet and Dupré’s Poème Hèroïque for Organ, Brass and Field Drum played by organ and other students. The organ spoke clearly to where I was seated in the rear quarter of the hall. I don't know how close to full organ we got but it was never too loud; I suspect the octave couplers weren't used. Some of the solo sounds were gorgeous including the Tierce en taille, the Cromorne and the Flûte Harmonique. Lovely flute combinations; strong, rich chorus reeds; refined strings. The swell boxes are very effective. Some of the low pedal flues lacked clear pitch definition. I was trying to imagine the organ playing with a full symphony orchestra but wouldn't like to prophesy as to which would win. I may well have missed them but I do not remember hearing tremulants, the Hautbois or the Voix Humaine. I would be very interested to hear the reaction of others to the instrument. *He is so described on the Kuhn website which also has the specification. http://www.orgelbau.ch/site/index.cfm?id_art=4437&vsprache/EN&fuseaction=orgelbau.orgelportrait&laufnummer=114480&actMenuItemID=2605&id_site=52&vOrgelSelectAdd=Liste_Neu&vsprache=EN

David, it may be worth you registering for PPL in the UK and similar organisations in other jurisdictions, in order for you to receive your share of the money broadcasters pay for broadcasting music recordings.

I'd have thought the MU/BPI rates would be a good place to start. I think there are two basic rates: the standard rate which is somewhere around £110 for a 3-hour session and the Classical Orchestral rate which is lower, perhaps £75 for a 3-hour session, which is only applicable for listed orchestras engaged for classical orchestral music sessions ie non-commercial. These are minimum rates and if you are playing on your own or a solo part (as in a concerto) then you should expect a significant upgrade. The BPI agreement covers only audio recording for release as such, doesn't cover any secondary use such as use as a backing track or for tv or film, and only 20 minutes of music can be recorded in the 3 hours. For film sessions there is a MU/PACT agreement which is approximately £50 per hour, with no limit on how much music is recorded in the session; many top "session" players negotiate a rate of anything up to double that, if they are on "key" chairs eg solo piano, drums, lead trumpet.

St Francis' Church, Prince Charles Avenue, Mackworth, Derby, DE22 4FN Saturday, September 28, 2013 7:30 pm Organ Dedication Programme to include music by: Sweelinck, Bach, Haslam, Brahms, Stanley, Messiaen, Karg-Elert Organist: Michael Haslam THE ORGAN The first organ to be installed in St. Francis’ was a redundant instrument obtained from a church in Norwich in 1957. Although bearing the label of Norman & Beard Ltd. (of Norwich) and the date 1912, it was found on dismantling to have been based on earlier material, which to some extent accounted for the poor condition in recent times. Its small size (3 Great, 4 Swell, 1 Pedal) may have been just about sufficient in St Francis’ as first built, but in the enlarged church it was quite inadequate. The replacement organ was obtained in 2011 from Monyash Methodist Church, to which it had been moved 40 years earlier from its previous home at Darlaston Green, near Walsall. Though not carrying any builder’s label, it is without doubt a product of Nicholson & Lord (of Walsall). Its construction clearly indicates that it was begun as a 1-manual, with the Swell added on behind at a very early stage, perhaps even before it left the factory. The serial number 422, marked on pipework of both manuals, is consistent with the date 1884 found on the centre display pipe. As built there were two “prepared” stops on the Great and one on the Swell; by the time the organ reached Monyash pipework had been supplied to all except the 2’ stop on the Great; other alterations made over the years included conversion of the Pedal to pneumatic action, reconstruction of the console, provision of a balanced swell and removal of the hand blowing apparatus. In the programme of work completed at Easter 2013 the working parts of the organ have been fully restored, and the console returned to its original format (apart from the balanced swell pedal, which has been reworked). The three originally prepared slides are all now occupied by upperwork (previously entirely absent). GREAT Open Diapason 8 Original Clarabella 8 Original (drawing Stop Diap. Bass automatically) Principal 4 Original Stopped Flute 4 (v. Dulciana) 2013 ex stock Flageolet 2 2013 ex stock Mixture III 2013 ex stock (mostly from St Anne’s, Derby) SWELL Viol D’Amour 8 (v. Horn Diapason) 1906 N&I. Dulciana revoiced. Liebich Gedact 8 Original Geigen Principal 4 Original Fifteenth 2 2013 ex stock Oboe 4 Original from ten. C + bass ex stock PEDAL Bourdon 16 Original 3 unison couplers plus Swell Octave to Great 2 composition pedals to Great. Balanced swell (corner pedal)

A question or two about the Flute Harmonique (and yes, of course the proof of the pudding is in the eating): Wouldn't it be more useful (appropriate for more repertoire) to have it on the Resonance rather than as the only 8' flute on the Recit? Is there much precedent for it as the basis of the cornet composé? And I wonder what kind of flute the Grand Flute on the Resonance is? A big open flute, I suppose. Are the 3 8' flutes designed to balance each other or build from the quietest, on the Grand Orgue, to the loudest (on the Recit?)? Easy to ask questions, I know.

Apart from intentional vandalism the only organs I've heard being "broken" have been broken by accredited organists. A fine organist (who will remain nameless) showed me the Frobenius at Queen's College, Oxford in the early '70s and confessed that he had previously managed to break two pedal trackers.

Thanks for that link, passion_chorale. A search for OJEC produces the following: The Official Journal of the European Union is the gazette of record for the European Union. It has been published in 22 official languages (23 when Irish is required) of the member states, every working day since the Treaty of Nice entered into force on 1 February 2003. The OJEU superseded the earlier Official Journal of the European Community (OJEC) with the establishment of the European Union. The term 'Journal' is misleading, as production of the hard copy version ceased in 1997, and can now be accessed online via Tenders Direct which would seem to indicate that the recollection of a huge tome of tenders is at least 15 years out of date.

I'm no expert in the field—can anyone give an outline of the kind of repertoire the RAH organ was designed for and, secondly, what was generally played on it in its first 50 years? I'd be surprised if more original organ music was played than transcriptions but pleased to be proved wrong.

I agree with Contrabombarde on the biblical precedent, nay, imperative for the use of the tambourine. Given that even some players of the drum kit are less than positive about the tambourine as a musical instrument I wondered about extremely musical uses of it in worship. I never heard it but Simon Preston persuaded a lay clerk to play tambourine in John Gardner's Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day; given the unerring taste of both the conductor and lay clerk, it must have been both effective and aesthetic. Can anyone provide further examples?

I think that's right vox, about the norm. I didn't know about the life expectancy but certainly they were treated as stars or heroes.

I was talking to a trumpeter the other day who specialises in playing "original" natural trumpets in Baroque music. There are some players and some ensembles that use small "vent" holes (invented by Michael Laird) to assist in playing securely and, more importantly (I gather), in tuning the notes that require tuning. For example, the 11th harmonic (partial, pick your own terminology) is naturally (on a D trumpet) somewhere between G and G#. Bach requires his solo or first trumpeters to play both notes in eg the opening movement of the Magnificat and Großer Herr in Part 1 of the Christmas Oratorio. On the natural trumpet without the "cheat" finger holes apparently this isn't possible without making a noise that modern ears find uncomfortable. I suspect that non-Equal Temperaments fall into a similar position. Modern ears are so used to ET some listeners just can't accept anything else. I, on the other hand, whilst not always able to hear the alleged beautiful effects of non-ETs rarely find them objectionable.

Well, electric action, totally enclosed, 97 stops from 28 ranks, and sustainers would have made it more similar to a Cinema Organ than to most church or cathedral organs at the time. It would be hard to find an example of a rebuild or new installation where the incumbent organist described the previous state of the organ as beautifully designed, well-built and in perfect condition.

That's really informative, Vox, thank you. I remember, but can't find now, a mediaeval poem called something like The Choirboy's Lament, where the choirboy, I imagine in a monastic foundation, bemoans his life having to deal with all the different kinds of notes (ligatures or neums?) and the unending nature of his duties and punishments. The implication I remember is that the choirmaster or chorister's instructor is a bit of a tartar.

Who trained the choir and what was their title in the places where the Rectores Chori were strutting their stuff on the short bench, Vox?

I'm not sure how desirable it is to "solo out" the chorale in this prelude; Brahms was capable of making his intentions quite clear in this set of pieces. It would probably be easier to play the chorale c.f. on the pedals on a 4' if playing the bass on the pedals is too difficult. Possibly amusing anecdote: I once started this piece in Eb by accident. If I'd done it on purpose I would have probably been ok but on this occasion I was in all sorts of trouble.

I was an undergraduate at Christ Church when the Rieger was installed. The original piston system was pretty much as described by sjf1967 above; the 6 general pistons duplicated by pedals to the left of the swell box and all the couplers (7) duplicated by pedals to the right. There were, perhaps obviously, no pistons to Manual IV. I have a vague memory that the 7th coupler was changed from IV/P to IV/II at a relatively late stage; at any rate one of my acquaintances had the redundant IV/P pedal in their possession for some years. The combination system was installed by Rieger at the same time as the rest of the instrument but did not work correctly. Stops would be added in the normal fashion but not subtracted. The pistons were small white plastic and illuminated when pressed. The Christ Church chemistry tutor Richard Wayne was suddenly on the scene armed with a soldering iron and his work over perhaps a week or less immediately prior to the dedicatory services and concerts enabled them to go ahead without a hitch.

Cambridge has had a reputation for, um, informality since the 1960s. I was told the Governing Body at King's debated a motion to convert the chapel into a swimming pool although I've never quite believed it.

Interesting, David, and thank you. Odd that there are mutations but no mixtures. The lack of a pedal stopped 16' at Wyggeston is surprising. I remember when I first became interested in pipe organs and stoplists c. 1970 mutations and high-pitched mixtures were subject to much ridicule both in my local organists' association and in the pages of the Organists' Review.

I hope this organ finds a home - a shame that the school, with a distinguished history of producing organists, will no longer have an instrument. As an aside, how common was the presence of Nazard and Tierce in British organs of the 1930s?

I think there's been quite an extensive discussion of organ-related fiction (chiefly crime-go figure!) on this board some years ago. Wouldn't know what words to search for except possibly Edmund Crispin.

My 2d-worth: just as likely to be a problem with the computer as with Sibelius. I would perform the recommended house-keeping tasks for your OS first. Then sacrifice a goat. Good luck.

This is a bit like “vinyl vision” http://skepdic.com/vinylvision.html

Does anybody know the trick in Horsley where you can slip down a third for the last line of each verse? I heard someone demonstrate this on an RSCM course in the mid-1970s but have never been able to recreate it. I can't even remember if it was a major 3rd or minor 3rd. Fairly sure it was more than a whole-tone though.

I suppose the only way it could work without attracting opprobrium on organists in particular would be as part of a general Boy Bishop, Twelfth Night, Lord-of-Misrule, upside-down, topsy-turvy type of day. There might be some advantages to an occasional irreligious act of worship. I think "hidden melodies" are best unsignposted.