sjf1967

The B minor Mass is an odd piece to choose if you're looking for evidence of performance practice. Bach never performed the B Minor Mass complete himself, at Leipzig or anywhere else - he may not even have been sure about completing it until the mid/late 1740s. The Kyrie and Gloria he presented to Dresden in 1733 were never performed there either - there's certainly no sign of a transposed organ score in the surviving parts. He did perform the (pre-exisiting) Sanctus at Leipzig in 1724, and again in the late 1740s. BWV 191 provided the model for the Gloria, and in this manifestation was used in the Leipzig liturgy. But otherwise, in the entire 18th century there is only one recorded performance of a whole liturgical section of the Mass, by CPE Bach in 1786 (when the Symbolum Nicenum was performed in a charity concert which included bits of Messiah). PS according to Joshua Rifkin, there are a few signs in the autograph MS (transposition errors, for example) that the opening Kyrie (in 2 sharps, not 4) was derived from a lost model originally in 4 vocal parts - the second soprano part seems to have been added when the mass was compiled, and gave him some trouble - and in C minor...

The Rhapsody on a Ground is a piece I quite enjoy when others play it, but I've never felt the need to learn myself. Bush - looks like there is a Toccata https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_compositions_by_Geoffrey_Bush . There is a Steel Sonata (which I don't know) and the Vars on a Theme of Machaut are pretty good - fantastic showpiece to display an instrument.

Other Ramsey items - The Steel Changing Moods Suite has some good movements (but also a few less good ones...). I used to play the Jacques trio - they always went down well, very elegantly written, but my copy is long since lost. I'm pretty sure Robert Munns (my first teacher) gave the first performance of them, and slightly less sure that he played them from Jacques' handwritten MS (I was only about 11 at the time). The Geoffrey Bush Trumpet March for the Royal Wedding in 1981 was also effective on the right organ - used that a few times in my cathedral days as a noisy voluntary.

Mendelssohn is War March of the Priests (Athalia). Third is Brother James Air - Harold Darke? Elgar is Nimrod.

The first is the Leighton Fanfare. Second Franck Piece Heroique.

yes, all the dingy old acoustic damping plaster has come down (it was riddled with blue asbestos, a large chunk of which fell off the day I was interviewed there in 1999) and has been replaced by lovely shiny new stuff, whch has added about 5 seconds to the reverb time - it can't be far off St Paul's Cathedral resonance levels now. And the interior looks glorious. Worth a visit! At one point a few years back it seemed the building would have to be closed indefinitely on H and S grounds, so it's good news that it's back in business. Do stay for Evensong if you can - the choir will appreciate some company, it's lonely up on the hill.

The building really helps the organ now - it's a much more engaging experience than it was 20 years ago, when the acoustic was like a bag of wet sand.

Sad to report to forum members that Robert Munns died recently. A great champion of British repertoire - he premiered the Kenneth Leighton Concerto, for example - and one of that breed of versatile and musically broadly-read organists who did so much for the instrument in their generation. Also a fine and wise teacher; I was lucky to come into his orbit at a formative stage, and I owe him much. RIP.

I had a quick ferret around in the library. Not much to report. Two short Benediction settings. The little unison mass. The Requiem. That's it. I suspect he composed as a matter of liturgical necessity, not from any great creative urges; most ASMS DoMs have contributed bits and pieces when circumstances required it, but none has been prolific (expect perhaps Harry Bramma, who wrote some excellent things for the choir). We've all written, or adapted, Benediction settings though.

I’ll report back.....

From memory, some of the Benediction settings have fairly substantial accompaniments (I haven't programmed them yet as various circumstances have meant Evensong and Benediction has been off the table until quite recently).There's a little unison mass which is little more than harmonised quasi plainsong but very appealing. Yes, the Requiem is unaccompanied (good piece, we still use it sometimes, when there isn't a pandemic in progress). As you know he designed the ASMS organ - very cleverly. No slouch. If I get a moment I might do a bit of digging in the archives one Sunday. Lord knows what's lying around the choir library.

We’ve got a fair bit of unpublished, and published but long unavailable, Walter Vale in the Margaret Street library, but no organ music that I know of. It’s quite possible that he didn’t write any more - he was a church musician first and foremost and getting solo works into print wouldn’t I suspect have been among his priorities. We still sing his adaptations of Rachmaninov - Palm Sunday is by long tradition the day when we sing an entire day of WV’s adaptations. And his Benediction settings get an airing once in a while too.

We have it in the library at All Saints Margaret Street, and it was certainly in the repertoire a few years back (before I took over). I'll dig it out and have a look....

Hello Owen! It did - complete James Macmillan, and it's here https://www.resonusclassics.com/james-macmillan-organ-works

I did my organ trials at Corpus in 1983...I always had a soft spot for the organ after that, despite its faults, and ended up running the chapel music (just for a year) a few years back. Beautfiul college.

TWO Zimbelsterns, I think!

As part of the week's events, there was a livestreamed recital from All Saints Margaret St - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaaAEb3gW4k Music by McDowall (a world premiere), Bridge, Steel, Leighton and Dupre. The organ is in fine voice and has been superbly well recorded here. It doesn't get heard very much in broadcast and recording, so I though forumites might enjoy hearing it - one of Harrisons's finest, I think. NB the recital is only available until tomorrow evening.

this looks fun, if you like Lego (which I very much do, having a small son around the place) https://ideas.lego.com/projects/50ad334b-fc10-4e8e-b1f1-a4c74fb3b80b?fbclid=IwAR1KjhWNpS4Is3gnZ9_L3pZkYpGqpl_eIfc33Jh4BnwQsip0vdPzkXnwakE

Henle and Wiener Urtext are to the best of my knowledge free of misprints and incorporate necessary corrections - I've used Henle for the second and third without issues and read through the first from it, although I'm perfectly happy to be corrected on this point if someone knows different. I reviewed the Wiener Urtext somewhere, and again didn't find any errors. That was the basis for my assertion, rather than blind faith in modern publishing. But on the point of principle Darius hits the nail on the head. The only way to be absolutely sure of the accuracy of any edition is to get hold of the MS in facsimile and check it note by note. That will be the case with any edition, from any house, and if you don't want to do that you'll always have to take a certain amount on trust. How many people check every reading of the NBA against the sources on bach-digital? Or use the new Breitkopf Bach and have never looked at the CDs of variant readings, some of which are pretty surprising? I think in terms of general usage among players Durand is probably way out in front, and the location of the errors has long been identified - not a vast number in any case. And I think you can get it free on imslp.

There’s probably not much to choose between the newer editions - either Henle or Wiener Urtext will be just fine. If Barenreiter have got round to the chorals, it will likewise be reliable in terms of scholarship, although I haven’t used it myself. There’s nothing particularly wrong with the old Durand really - if you have access to Rollin Smith and the list of misprints that text is perfectly OK. Just steer clear of Harvey Grace, invaluable effort as it was for its era. And Dupre is not perhaps first choice. The two Rollin Smith books are invaluable background reading, if you can get hold of them.

Maxwell Davies Reliqui Domum Meum is lovely, and very straightforward - manuals only. There's also a lovely Veni Creator by him, and the Three Voluntaries on Scottish Hymn Tunes are not hard (but they are quite austere). The Macmillan Meditation is very much worth a look, likewise the Wedding Introit. And the slow mvt of the St Andrew's Suite is gorgeous. Most of his other pieces are on the continuum tricky - fiendish, although worth every bit of effort.

And I think there’s a piece by Daniel Roth, Joies, douleurs et gloire de Marie - I’ve never played it though....

The Suite Mariale by de Maleingreau has a ‘Sept Douleurs’ movement. It’s still in print (and in copyright)... but you may find it takes a while to get hold of it.

Yes. op 129 no 4. It’s on an LP of Jongen and Reger from Southwark by my old teacher Robert Munns which I listened to incessantly when I was a lot younger.....

Reger Melodia - Op 129, I think.