Philip

Well, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I wasn't familiar with the rest of either the Guilmant or Vierne (aside from the Finals) and the Guilmant in particular I enjoyed, as well as the rather charming Intermezzo in the Vierne. BvO was excellent, they brought the mobile console down so we could see him in action. He sent us all home with the Vierne 'Meditation' from 'Trois Improvisations' as an encore to round off an excellent evening. I don't know how many people were there, its difficult to estimate, but it wasn't exactly full.....!

I am interested to find out how many others are going to hear Ben Van Oosten tomorrow night (I realise some may not post until after the event). I also wonder whether everyone else is looking forward to it as much as I am - dare I use the word 'excited' for an organ recital?! It promises to be a very enjoyable evening I think - at least from the perspective of an unashamed lover of music of the period in question!

Yes, this was a distinctly better effort, a good selection of musical items which contained something for everyone. I didn't care for that version of 'Give us the wings of faith to rise' - Ernest Bullock's version seems far better, but that is personal preference.

I notice a few differences in the registration instructions too - particularly the omission of some of the left-hand solo bits. I agree that overall no. 30 is an improvement - did the composer feel the need to alter it or write an amended version because he wasn't happy with the first one? Neither ending seems to particularly fit in with the mood of what precedes it - I'd be tempted to end it on a complete F major chord somewhere (as the player did in the YouTube link in the OP).

I've added one of my own adaptations for Blaenwern - I'm afraid I don't benefit from having Sibelius, I have a somewhat cheaper alternative so the notation looks a little messy. Might need renaming also.

De Montfort Hall, Leicester Tuesday 2nd February, 7.30pm - Carlo Curley Trad. Viennese Folk Melody The Old Refrain (arr Curley) Franz Joseph Haydn St. Anthony Chorale (arr Curley) Dietrich Buxtehude Fugue (Gigue) for keyboard in C major BuxWV 174 JS Bach Pastoral in F major (enhanced by an automaton of singing birds) BWV 590 C major movement JS Bach Chorale Prelude: O Mensch bewein’ dein’ Sünde gross BWV 564 (O Man, Bewail Thy Grievous Sin) JS Bach Fugue in E minor BWV 548 from Prelude and Fugue in E minor Wedge Sir Walford Davies Interlude in C (arr Thalben-Ball) John Philip Sousa The Liberty Bell (arr Curley) Roy Perry Christos Patterakis William Boyce Introduction and Trumpet Voluntary No. 1 in D (arr Thalben-Ball) Joseph Bonnet Elves from Douze Pièces nouvelles pour Grand Orgue, Opus 7 Gaston M Dethier Christmas – Organ Piece for an Opening (freely arranged & transcribed by Carlo Curley) Tuesday 13th April, 7.30pm - Gordon Stewart George Frederick Handel Overture The Occasional Oratorio François Couperin Soeur Monique (arr Guy Weitz) Johann Sebastian Bach Prelude and Fugue in G major Arthur Eaglefield-Hull Variations Poétiques Alfred Hollins Grand Choeur in G Minor William Thomas Strayhorn Lotus (arr Alex Wyton) Percy Grainger Handel in the Strand (arr Wolfgang Stockmeier) Harrison Oxley Clarinet Tune Noel Rawsthorne Dance Suite Tuesday 18th May, 7.30pm - Colin Walsh Mozart Fantasia in F minor K 608 Mendelssohn War March of the Priests (arr Best) Franck Andantino in G minor Final in B flat Bach Sinfonia Cantata 29 (arr Dupré) Saint Saëns The Swan (arr Guilmant) Coates March The Dambusters Elgar Salut d’amour Cocker Tuba Tune Vierne Impromptu Final (Symphony VI) Unfortunately I can't really say that Carlo Curley's programme appeals to me. Colin Walsh's, on the other hand, looks well worth hearing.

Would you believe it?! Its now been decided that we won't be singing it! Ah well, thanks for the advice everyone, and maybe it will come in useful in a future year!

Well, shoot me now, but I do rather like the piece! Not as a serious piece of music, but as something a bit different, and a bit of a crowd-pleaser too (not that I can play it - never managed to reconcile the um-pah rhythms with the right hand bits over the top). Can you forgive me?!!! I was highly amused when I saw it in there though.

Lefebure-Wely's Sortie in E flat?! A piece which has its merits (to be tactful) but not one for the hall of fame methinks. Not sure quite what I'd vote for to be honest.

I have a feeling that some of the hymns were re-used from previous programmes - I'm guessing they did a chunk of filming together and used it to fill 2-3 programmes. The whole programme didn't seem to have much of a point to it - there were odd bits about the city but there were musical solos and things too - sort of neither one thing nor the other. If you want some iPlayer searching, you're probably better off seeking out 'The Choir' from R3 on Sunday night which featured an interesting interview with David Willcocks, although I didn't think the BBC singers sounded particularly good on the items they featured.

I often watch SOP back later in the week, and this week's from Birmingham Town Hall featured a (brief) interview with Thomas Trotter and then an edited performance of the Widor. I was quite surprised to see them including an organ piece on its own, even in part, it seems somewhat unusual for SOP. I did wonder as it began whether we were going to get the whole piece, and indeed the middle section was cut completely, as well as the recapitulation of the main theme - the end of the first section led seamlessly into the coda where you get the sixth chords. Nonetheless, some good exposure for the organ. Warning though: if you do watch it don't expect to necessarily enjoy the rest of the music - I can't say I'm a fan of the foot-tapping, big-band style renditions of the hymns on this programme.

I thought the descant to Was Lebet on Choral Evensong at Derby last Wednesday/Sunday was very good. Lots of high notes, but I felt it wasn't just screeching for the sake of it and actually lifted the tune.

Yes, I particularly like your hymn introductions Stephen. I shall certain use the one for 'Thine be the glory' on Easter Day.

We had this is as the finisher at our Civic Service of Remembrance this year - it seems to alternate with 'O valiant hearts'. With having lots of soldiers in (in memory of a local soldier killed in conflict) they sung it quite lustily. There is an excellent arrangement of it in 'Carol Praise' by Noel Treddinick - it has an introduction reminiscent of the actual march itself, first two verses set in D, and then a modulation up to E flat and some nice scrunchy chords for the last verse, and a short organ bit at the end. I think it is really rather more well known than has been suggested, and is rather effective. On tunes which have new words set to them, Hymns Old and New (our edition being One Church, One Faith, One Lord) includes settings to Dvorak's Largo and Charpentier Te Deum. Its anthem companion also contains similar settings.

Many thanks for this.

'There is a green hill far away' to 'House of the rising sun'. It does work, its a matter of taste as to whether you like it!

Yes, I should have thought 'Blaenwern' is now the standard. 'Love divine' being second choice (and somewhat inferior in my eyes). From my experiences surfing the net, many across the pond sing it to 'Hyfrydol'. All of this bears up my point in the other thread - Kendrick's music will never have a dozen different tunes which might be set to it! Incidentally, if you want a different setting of Love Divine altogether, then I love Howard Goodall's anthem version - it can be found on Youtube if you're interested. I was going to mention 'O Jesus, I have promised', which surely is about the only other hymn which can have so many tunes still sung to it regularly Day of Rest Thornbury Wolvercote Hatherop Castle being the four most common, but I'm sure there are others. I'd opt for one of the middle two. I prefer 'The King of love' to 'Dominus regit me' and 'Praise to the holiest' to 'Gerontius'. 'Glorious things of thee are spoken' to 'Abbot's Leigh'. And so we could go on....

Ah, penal substitution. I don't get CMQ, but it is certainly controversial - I recall one of our clergy members expressing views against it. It is actually a rather good hymn though, this controversy aside. Is there a way of altering the words without ruining the sense of rhythm of the hymn, as our clergy don't like this line...

Absolutely. The New Church Anthem Book, surely a staple of most parish choirs, contains no less than six Wesley anthems. 'Blessed be the God and Father' may not be the finest thing for a musical purist, but it is absolutely glorious IMO, and many churches and cathedrals will be singing it on Easter Day evening I am sure. I would have thought 'Wash me throughly' is also something of a mainstay of the Anglican choral repertoire, which is why I am surprised at the lack of responses on here. Of course, this is Wesley's 200th anniversary year since his birth, so perhaps we should be making an extra effort to sing some of his stuff, if you go in for observing anniversaries. Based on the replies so far, I am envisaging something like Sw 8&4 Flutes and Oboe for the first section, and then a Great Diapason coupled up to Sw for the middle bit, switching back at the end, along with some judicious use of the Swell Pedal and an appropriately balanced pedal registration (in fact, contrary to my OP, he does supply an instruction for beginning pedalling some way into the piece). Interestingly, 'Blessed be the God and Father' has some reasonably comprehensive registration instructions, for instance a Sw Reed beneath a Gt chorus just before the first soprano solo, and then Sw Reed again for 'All flesh is as grass'. I like to add a tremulant and 32' for 'The grass withereth', and then of course in on full(ish) organ for the final chorus and fugal section. Thanks to everyone for their responses.

Thanks Vox. That gives me some ideas, and I'll have a play around during the week and see what works. Any further contributions gratefully received.

I believe so. The CD of hymns from Wells which includes the hymn has a booklet inside with some interesting information about the hymns on it. It makes some kind of reference to Purcell's 'Fairest Isle', which I believe was the original basis for the hymn. It is a good CD with some slightly different hymns on it compared to the 'norm'.

We have just started work on this piece and I played it through for the first time last Friday night. In the anthem books we have (NCAB and Ash Wednesday to Easter) there is a registration marking at the start of "Sw Reed", but no other markings in the rest of the piece. To those who have accompanied this before - do you accompany on Swell Reed throughout, just using the Swell box for dynamic changes? Or do you switch to something else at some point? What about the pedals? Thanks in advance.

I used to like a lot of the Kendrick stuff, but have grown a little tired of much of it. I happen to think The Servant King is one of his better offerings, in that it is more singable. Compare it to Beauty for brokenness, which we had on Sunday, and trying to keep a congregation together on that is an absolute nightmare - it goes all over the place, lots of held notes. Meekness and majesty likewise. The Servant King is very much more singable and much easier to accompany. Theologically, it is also quite good, the line 'hands that flung stars into space, to cruel nails surrendered' being particularly interesting. I also think Shine Jesus Shine is one of his better ones, and will certainly get a congregation singing. Surely one key difference between 'modern songs' and 'traditional hymns' is in how they were composed. Most hymns are a marriage of words and music which have been composed separately, often some time apart. For instance, Love divine was written in the 18th century by Charles Wesley but the two most popular tunes - Blaenwern and Love divine were both composed some 100 years later. Kendrick writes both words and music to his hymns, and Be still (which is indeed a modern 'classic') likewise. Tell out my soul was written in the 1960s, but the fine tune Woodlands to which we pair it was written nearly 100 years ago - is that really modern? Then we have John Mason's How shall I sing that majesty - words from the 17th century, now paired most commonly with the excellent Coe Fen, which is a modern tune. How many of the hymns we call 'modern' are actually old words set to new tunes, or new words set to old tunes? Christ triumphant is perhaps one truly 'modern' offering. Just a few reflections.....

http://www.harrison-organs.co.uk/cirencesterspec.html Link to the new spec - seems pretty comprehensive, and indeed a cathedral-size instrument.

Its not organ music, but you could play a transcription of the Aida Grand March. Plenty of use for the solo trumpet of course, and in the Noel Rawsthorne arrangement I use, when the main theme enters it alternates between Solo and Great - perhaps the bits on the great could be played with the Cornet. The congregation will love it too - super piece of music.