Nigel Allcoat

No. This is.

I really think that such occasions should only be booked and artists engaged after the organ is in, considered finished by the builders, and paid for. It is a frightening experience for the artist as s/he has a reputation to carry and the organ builders some standing in their world. I also (for an inaugural concert) suggest that the organ should be available for the artist to play before considering the programme. S/He wants to provide the best as do the builders. And when rather large sums of fee are involved it is imperative that all parties are happy. Maxim: Never book an opening concert until the organ is in and is being played for a good few months. It should be part of the contract. Playing to sponsors and devoted congregations knowing that the builders are holed-up in the vestry (or beneath the organ) clutching screw drivers and prayer books, does little for the inspiration but more for the perspiration and only lines the pockets of psychiatrists. N

but, in a vast, austerely plain romanesque space like this, the last thing you need is an organ

Obvious (to me) that this is a Committee Organ (again). Anyway, I would say that the acoustic will be too overwhelming for almost any organ and not a commission to be given lightly to anyone. Who would really want to build an organ for Europe's Biggest Bathroom, Ohne Wasser? N The Basilica of Constantine or Aula Palatina at Trier, Germany, is a Roman palace basilica, that was built by the em­peror Constantine (306–337 AD) at the be­gin­ning of the 4th cen­tury. Today it is a World Her­itage Site and con­tains the largest ex­tant hall from an­tiq­uity (see List of an­cient roofs). The room has a length of 67 m, a width of 26.05 m and a height of 33 m. The Aula Palatina was built around 310 AD as a part of the palace com­plex. Orig­i­nally it was not a free stand­ing build­ing but had other smaller build­ings at­tached to it, such as a fore­hall, an en­trance vestibule and some ser­vice build­ings. The Aula Palatina was equipped with a floor and wall heat­ing sys­tem (hypocaust). During the medieval ages it was used as the res­i­dence for the bishop of Trier. For that the apse was re­designed into liv­ing quar­ters and pin­na­cles were added to the top of its walls. In the 17th cen­tury the archbishop Lothar von Met­ter­nich con­structed his palace just next to the Aula Palatina and in­cor­po­rat­ing it into his palace some major re­design was done. Later int the 19th cen­tury Frederick William IV of Prussia or­dered the build­ing to be re­stored to its orig­i­nal Roman state, which was done under the su­per­vi­sion of the mil­i­tary architect Carl Schnit­zler. In 1856 the Aula Palatina be­came a Protes­tant church.

The ceiling looks wonderful.

Reading the posts concerning the other small Schnitzer specifications, I am reminded how they are produced for the size of the room. Each manual is complete yet each marry so very well. I am all for using imagination when coming to design. I have found that the more remarkable tonal schemes for small organs have come about when up against a mechanical challenge. Interchangeable coupling II -I and I- II is also a boon when the scheme is in effect a very complete one manual but divided into two. There is one instrument in the UK that is a very complete two manual that is split over three manuals and with mechanical coupling III - II, II - III, II - I, I - II. This makes it possible to have a Tutti on III, II, or I. Electric actions will simply allow all manner of easy options but sometimes the actual challenge of a mechanical solution can create a remarkable musical essay. A small organ requires every stop to have a voice. So often on large organs with a non-mechanical action, a voice can so easily be lost in the crowd. Back to topic - properly scaled mutations in the playing hands of those who use ears and imagination are a basic requirement for older and older-styled instruments. The tuning temperament also plays a crucial part in their use and design too. Equal Temperament suits symphonic reeds and something unequal adds delicious spice to mutations. Best wishes, N

Quite so. Leave well alone. When younger in the last century, my instrument of 3 ordinary manuals (but of heroic construction by Willis I) had the Great and the Choir behind at the same level. Then came the Swell which allowed sound to go through and over those departments as well as into the North Transept through the pedal division. The choir sang in the Choir for Solemn Evensong and Benediction and it was almost impossible to use the Great for accompaniment. However, the Choir plus Swell (always coupled together and both to the Great as well) was just the ticket for most of the time. Only would large climaxes demand Gt to Principal 4ft or to Fifteenth. (The full swell is still to my mind the best in the Capital - even surpassing St Paul's). The first stop to be added on the Gt would be the Small Open or at other times, the 8ft Viola or Claribel. The English Choir Organ was to my mind a most necessary division in the proper acoustical placing because a Romantic Great is far too large for normal accompaniment. The difficulties arose when organists (and some builders) thought we should go Baroque and have all manner of continental sounds on a Choir keyboard - with dire results. One such rather famous instrument from the 60's had such a Choir division with a weedy Cromorne made from the Clarinet and the Tuba (15") retained from the old mostly enclosed Choir division - except for it, which was extended to the pedal at 16ft to produce a most violent stop on a neo-classical organ from 1961. I believe that people forgot the use and usefulness of this department within the context of British music and its accompanying rôle. Best wishes, Nigel

When writing about imports one must never forget the exceptionally crafted instrument for the minuscule Trinity Hall Chapel in Cambridge from Denmark. N

If one is teaching an informed group of students, for me one must never attach to a specific instrument. It has been suggested that we should travel northwards to find scholarship there. Without being facetious this time, these instruments are isolated organs. Even a new console in Doncaster looks decidedly English - and wasn't this done before the end of the 19th century with a new console too? So often when instruments have been imported for one reason or another, they get Anglicised in some way after a generation or so. From leaving my home in Leicestershire by car, I have been known to reach the centre of Paris via Birmingham airport, faster than driving 99 miles to my capital in England. But these are silly comparisons. If I am teaching abroad with British students I want a handful of instruments that illuminate the repertoire and educate through the students' ears. I am just a tour operator. There is for me a point when theoretical teaching ends and a renaissance for the player happens when confronted with an indigenous instrument. By using Saint-Antoine as a basis of a 17th century French organ (and with extremely inexpensive accommodation and a wholesome 4 course meal with wine for €13.50) there are within reasonable reach (as we found with Academy students) a wonderfully tended Callinet in St Bruno in Voiron - 35 mins from my village (the instrument that the Family Widor disposed of in their church in Lyons when it no longer could be 'modernised' and afterwards brought in a brand new Cavaillé-Coll, for which the Vth Symphony was created for the inauguration) and a small, yet precious cleaned Cavaillé-Coll in Valence. If one is to teach and use every day wisely, it must never turn into an organ crawl. Each instrument must illuminate the literature. Within a decent radius it is possible to encounter a glorious Chateau Chapel in Grignan and a fine early Romantic French instrument as well as a brand new Ahrend in the cathedral of Vaison. To some degree, one visits Paris not exactly for the carefully preserved instruments of which there are only a handful, but to immerse in the atmosphere and history of the player-composers that held positions there. One needs to travel and visit certain places where one can enjoy the lineage of those instruments. One might mock the opportunities to eat, but it is so simple to equate the results from the French kitchen with the delicacies of French registration. Occasionally students need weird and wonderful analogies to help appreciate some parts of the repertoire. The French language too has some parallels in the old music when playing cadences as the spoken inflections can be heard and seen in the works of the 18th century. Therefore, as lovely a visit to Warrington could be (and yet where I did take the ISOC students on more than one occasion to find a badly presented instrument that hid lamentably amid numerous curtains), - to instil as much originality into the minds of the students one must always go to those very instruments, actions, sounds, acoustics that to a great degree inspired the works that we so fervently cherish today. Is there an instrument in the UK that can provide the German system of 2 or 3 Free Combinations or a round rolling-pin Rollschweller on a large instrument over-flowing with 8fts? Until the student has a first-hand working knowledge of these things, the works of Reger and Karg-Elert are quite in the dark for much of the time. I find it still quite strange to comprehend that some of the UK's largest instruments were imported from abroad in the 19th century. How did the purchasers know about the organ builders? Why was so much trust placed in their choice? There must have been a remarkable openness and passion amongst the philanthropists at that time - especially when travel was so different and difficult then. In a way, the van de H in the RAM on paper would seem to fit the bill. It provides a French Symphonic essay which would suit the size of hall and the architecture and much of the orchestral music of which it can so easily be a part. It looks quite a simple design - both in case and in disposition. In the past I have found that 20 dazzling registers with each oozing great character are to my mind far superior to 40 indifferent ones when building an organ. Numerous stops does not a good organ make - not all the time. (Take the Grove Organ in Tewkesbury, for instance). However, I cannot comment upon the way this was constructed as I have never played it. The latest creation seems on paper to be much larger in construction and in stops, but shows no regard to the room and its architecture. (Am I correct in thinking that Van de H sub-contracted others to make their pipes? If so, whose fault is it that some seem to be collapsing?) The other organ does show a finer affinity with the room to a greater degree. The proposed organ is rather brutal to my eyes and displays a vast amount of casing beneath the pipe level. This is an instrument that must link into the other features of the building. An organ is always seen as a piece of furniture whether it is being played or not and to be frank, I shiver at the incongruity of it. But of course, this is a mock-up. I hope to be proved wrong. But the colour and grace of the design leaves me utterly cold at the moment and is some decades out of date - even to be modern. All other comments concerning the musical design I do privately, of course. These thoughts are from what is so far posted upon the Web. Best wishes, N

We did. We used Ryan Air and Easy Jet almost exclusively. Bucket Airlines are certainly the only answer as I think you suggest. N

From my time teaching at the Royal Academy, not once did I hear the Duke's Hall organ played nor did I ever teach on it. The main departmental instrument is in Marylebone Parish Church. During my time a Baroque Italian organ was installed in another part of the Academy building and as hard as I tried I never got to play or hear that either. So I am rather optimistic about how this instrument will influence the players as they will certainly hardly ever come into touch with it on a very regular basis. It is in the Hall which is at a premium for ensemble use and would be hard I imagine, to argue a case for a one-to-one organ teaching session. It would not be fair in my eyes to have only selected students able to be taught or be allowed to rehearse on the new organ (it must be for all), when chamber groups and larger, demand the platform. To teach the Baroque French literature, I took the department for a number of days to stay in Saint-Antoine l'Abbaye. I have done the same for the Oxford Scholars as there is lamentably no true Classical French instrument this side of Calais. In a way, I feel the design is most probably constructed to deal with the organ as a basic member of orchestra scores - hence a manual being referred to as 'Solo'. The grand De Montford Hall organ in Leicester has three manuals with the bottom one being called Solo. This happened around the start of WW1. Therefore, I would suggest that this is an instrument to play with the orchestra and not to enlighten students concerning registration and indigenous musical Schools from around the world. However, if it is supposed to, then (on paper) it is a strange scheme to my mind. I will happily discuss my thoughts, but not in a public forum. best wishes, Nigel

Ugly.

I rather think that you refer to the Berkswell Willis. In the first picture that you come across of the organ (buried a little in the West Arch), in the Album you can see a cover over the manuals and those over the stops which perhaps adds some clarification to your observation. I agree - the little covers over the stops is a novel way to encase precious things! Do you think it unique? It is also good to see the original candle sticks, I think. Best wishes, N

There is a lovely Willis in Berkswell Photo Album - the photos of the lovely church and the West End organ are first in it. Organ Details The rest of the pictures are taken of the churches that my DAC visited the other year on our Summer Jaunt and Lunch. Best wishes, N

A sublimely simple piece. The chords to my mind should provide us with a gentle impetus and not all the same. (An orchestra would never do that. Why should organists?) I try to see if the strong and weak beats can be subtly given inflection and a Gambe and Flute of non-Romantic persuasion seem to inspire considerably to this end. A Tremblant can also add much to the 'living' quality of the sound on some organs. For the Chorale - a simple line, beautifully articulated. (To stop a stretched legato line, use only the 2nd finger for every note. This makes it possible for the ear to become accustomed to the 'projection' of such a simple line and for the notes to correspond to the accompaniment. Of course use a less bizarre fingering once you know what to listen out for and how to control it.) Best wishes, N

One the loveliest (with a fine mechanical action) is the gloriously restored 18th Century instrument in St James, Clerkenwell. Spot-on chorus and fine acoustic as well. I have always thought it just the best in town for so many reasons. N

If they take the same ploy as some of the great artists of the past who were forever announcing their Farewell Concert, Warrington will be assured of the best audiences in the land. N

If readers are wanting to hear an early 1960's Walker they should look for the fine recording of it by Adrian Gunning at St John the Evangelist, Duncan Terrace, Islington. It has always been lovingly kept and gently moulded into even greater brilliance by him and his totally dedicated army of 'organ staff'. The concerts each year have brought many stellar players to the London scene and since the demise of the RFH series, this has undoubtedly filled more than a fleeting gap. It is the first (and one of only a small number still of) instruments in London with a Rück Positive. There are now some more symphonic additions to a scheme that is entirely totally cohesive and fulfilling. Much work has recently been done (by all accounts) on the console and electrics. I for one can't wait to hear it again as it is one of the most splendid instruments of an international standing that can be found in the capital. The great church has recently had a total restoration and the whole is well worth a detour of many miles. Here are moments when you can hear it live - and find Adrian's CD on Google. May 21st Ourania Gassiou & Eleni Keventsidou Solo & Duet recital (Athens & London) June 25th Clive Driskill-Smith (Oxford Cathedral) July 23rd John Kitchen (Edinburgh University) Sept 24th Adrian Gunning (St John’s Islington) Best wishes, N

I meant to add that if you are up to try the 'new' fingering arrangement, it is wise to play from Bar 2 - LH single sixteenth note followed by a chord comprising of both RH notes. This way, one immediately comprehends the harmonic and totally simplistic structure which makes the explosion of an ordinary Tonic chord before the real meat is delivered. N Furthermore, upon reflection, I wish that improvisers would take these written examples of harmony and figuration on board. The times I have endured an organist plonking down a pedal note before rambling on the keyboards. What Buxtehude does in MHO is musically elaborate and tickle the ear that leads us to the first F# in the Pedal. It is the equivalent (to me) of a gentleman of that time entering a room and making a beautiful and courteous gesture of greeting with hat or hand, before uttering a word. But perhaps our modern way is the equivalent of the grunt. There are parallels - of this I am sure.

Although not steam, but certain rail - here is something to make you smile. Crash on the A******* TGV This is a train in an organ builder's premises that is used for transporting wood and all manner of things about the place and also for unloading visiting lorries. N

So happy to read - but why (I impishly say!) should it have to be recommended to excellent players? It further reinforces my point about players adhering so unutterably to what they have purchased. One of the great challenges has always been with putting Tablature into Universal Notation - and Buxtehude gives us much exercise in this matter. There are whims of the editor in sending to print what they think should be a Pedal line and what should be for the Left Hand. Bar 55 is an example in the famously great G minor Praeludium and Fuga of Buxtehude. Hannsen Edition (edited by Josef Hedar) gives this skitish fagotto bass line to the pedals but in Breickopf (edited by Klaus Beckmann), to the |Left Hand as it is quite simple to play the upper chords with the tight hand. The times I have heard this section mangled because the player has not used common sense in arranging it to suit them and to perform and interpret with confidence. Others prefer to use the pedals but I detect a modicum of showing off with something here! But it is hard to add true Vif using the pedals as the player really ought to hear precisely the speech of the pipes in the Basso and the snappy Dachshund chords. A further passage that rather hinges on the player perhaps enjoying improvisation more than the written score(!), is the opening of the F# minor Praeludium. This can be taken in all manner of ways and with dynamics too. However, these single lines of certain figurations are born out of improvisatory playing - they are just that, surely. But to me nobody can be serious when they see all this just written in the upper clef as if to be played only with the right hand. From an improviser's point of view (and on any keyboard instrument) I would strongly argue that so much more fantasy can be incorporated into this opening if two hands are used - just as a keyboard player would normally do, I say. Editions printed like this have performers often religiously interpreting it as being just for one hand because that is the editor's way of preparing the edition from the original. If people have the score, try the following fingering (which works on heavy mechanical or extremely light actions as you are able to always give 100% control. In BAR 1 all the lower notes are taken with LH and the upper, with the right. Try either 3 - 1 in the LH or 2 -3, and 2 - 3 in the RH. This makes for brilliant articulation as well as overwhelming control. BAR 2 the LH plays the first note in each group (3rd finger) and the RH (perhaps only with 3 - 1 - 3 or 4 -1 - 4) plays the intervals of 6ths and 5th. This is wonderful to play and within 10 seconds the brain comprehends the harmonic/chordal figuration and there is no need whatsoever after 30 seconds ever to view the score again. You play the whole passage from the spirit in you just like an improviser trying out a keyboard. Honestly! There are a mountain of such places in music that I can point you to try, but I must go and do the ironing now. Sorry if all this seems bunkum - but it suits my hands and fingers! All the best, N

It is most interesting to read the previous posts concerning a number of points - not just with a new edition. To me, I have sometimes found fine players playing notes from the page but with little of an ear to the instrument upon which they are playing them. A good instrument will and should suggest what will be an optimum registration for a work - especially Trio Sonatas and The Concertos. To have an edition that says this is perhaps good, but every player must come to their own conclusions. However, if you don't mind me saying so, what seems now to be suggested in the edition for registration is at times what I have found to work on good instruments. But registrations and editors have often in the past been locked into their Age - eg. Guillmant and all the 19th Century French Baroque editions and the older Novello Bach editions (Isn't a Tuba requested in the F Major Toccata?). The Trios can create some surprising registrations if the player doesn't arrive with pre-conceived schemes in their briefcase. For instance, I thought I knew what I would use for No 6 - and programmed it next to other things. When I started to rehearse, it just failed to work and the lines were far too unsubtle. Each stop was ravishing - don't get me wrong - but it took a good 20 minutes to come to the conclusion that the Flute and String stops were all that should be used and then to cap it all, the Tremblant was used throughout all movements. Extraordinary, both in sound and also a proper speed that totally suited. The joy of creating a chamber work and making the instrument not sounding like an organ (many thought there was a real flautist playing), gave me an intense Damascus moment. When we are young we are never very adventurous. When you get to my age, you don't give a damn except to bring the notes alive in the best possible way. Years ago (from my Novello score!) I was always playing that pedal note in the 'echo' section of the Eb Prelude as a keyboard note - it is totally obvious. The unmusicality of it when it is louder than the previous notes make it a mockery of it being what it is intended to be. I wish players would be courageous and do what their ears tell them. I fear new editions just play upon the fact (unless there are considerable differences or a new set of autographed scores unearthed) that players are entirely locked into the printed page and will do religiously what directions they have just bought (at great cost). The days of the improviser being firstly the keyboard player and then secondly the interpreter of printed works are no more, alas. If they weren't, we would have far more searching and interesting performances both interpretively and registrationally I sometimes ponder. As for page turning - I create my own scores from cut and pasting onto to B4 or A3 (with the whole cut down to a workable size). It takes time but is hugely rewarding. Even the Trio Sonatas can be done - especially the 6th when you realise that you can do the first movement* (using Novello - the best around for Trio Sonatas by the way) by omitting the first 17 bars! (They are repeated at the end) You begin playing at bar 161 which is on 3rd page on your right and then jump to the beginning of your first page (which is bar 18) which is top left of the first. Then you need be at one with the music and instrument without a page turner or a difficulty for yourself. Others use pocket scores etc. However, with my terrible eye-sight I must have notes as large as possible so that the score is best of both worlds. I think that is one reason I prefer not to play large instruments where the music desk is too high over a 4th or 5th manual. Best wishes, Nigel *Using B4 paper 1st Page = 6 lines (the first having two extra bars included making 11 in all before the 2nd line begins on bar 29. The centre page of the what looks like a Tryptych! has 6 lines and the 3rd page 5 lines. Movt 2 fills two pages with 5 lines on each. No page turns when there are repeats is a great blessing. Movt 3 has 5 pages where the first is like a cover page by itself. It has 4 lines plus a 5th that is bars 19, 20 & 21 Page 2 starts with bar 23 with two bars alone making a little 1st line. Then 3 lines. The opposite page 3 begins with bar 38 and has 4 complete lines - page turning with the left hand on bar 53. These last two pages before you have 3 lines each so that there is no page turning necessary. All is easily made into a B4 book with the addition of a joined and folded extra page that is sellotaped onto Page 2 of the first movement and opens out and then folded back again when you turn over to the 2nd Movt.

If I remember rightly, you have only to see and play the Straube editions of composers' works that were printed to see how the 'extras' got included. The main reason from Germani's point of view was to enhance the theme - not by the addition of stops but the addition of another octave by the use of the hand. A subtle way, in other words to increase prominence within the texture. Playing these legato in the first section of Halleluia! was a feat to stretch technique. They also were suggested by him for octaves in the pedal. His stories of how Reger and Straube collaborated on Max's compositions after a drunken evening out, make the often ridiculous dynamic changes understandable. Few also realize that Reger composed a number of works at the same time in his room and he went to one manuscript to another in rotation as the muse took him - a little like a bee collecting pollen from the garden border. Therefore the scores were open waiting to be attacked with PPPP's and FFF's at whim. But like most stories you must always take things with a pinch of Salz - especially with Germani. He was quite an imp at such things. But the gist must be true. Best wishes, N

Germani went to Leipzig with Straube for a time and most Reger works were made even more extraordinary by adding octaves here, and doubling there. It was also an eye-opener to know how Reger actually composed as well. My scores are littered with 'additions' which were part of the scene of those days. N