Graham Powell

How about the Final from Vierne's Symphonie No.1? Very effective, and apart from one or two tight corners, not too difficult. Also, have a look at Recessional by William Mathias, and his Jubilate too. Again, both very effective and approachable. And if your wrists are up to it, Mulet's Carillon-Sortie will keep them happy

I'm sure I read somewhere that JSB was supposed to have based the BWV542 fugue on a subject written by Reineken (from Hortus Musicus?). I'm probably wrong - can anyone shed further light on this?

Briefly donning the anorak VH - there is a Stopt Diapason 8' on the Great at St Paul's Cathedral (a Mander addition I think), and there are two or three Stopt Diapasons on the new Drake organ at St Paul's Deptford. Does this count as antiquated spelling, or is it a quaint abbreviation which has been adopted. Or should that be "adoppeted?"

The FH organ certainly features in lunchtime concerts - Crispian Steele-Perkins and Ian le Grice are playing there on 12th September, and Colin Walsh is giving a lunchtime recital on 24th October. The future of the FH (and much of the surrounding area) is unclear, as redevelopment plans are afoot - see http://www.croydon.gov.uk/business/esdu/re...oject/fairfield It would seem from this that the organ would have to be dismantled and removed - to be reinstalled at a later date? I wonder...........

I've been interested in trains and railways since childhood, and I have no idea why so many organists have this shared interest. For my part, it's certainly not through any interest in mechanics - talk of wind pressures, schwimmers, actions and the like leave me cold. Similarly, I have no interest in the actual workings of steam engines or diesel locomotives. An organist friend of mine (FRCO, CHM, ADCM etc) has a great interest in buses, and was one of hundreds present at Brixton Garage last year when the last Routemasters went out of service. And another good organist friend - a very fine recitalist - can tell you the location of every signal on the Circle line! But we're not nutters................

Has anyone mentioned Frank Bridge's Adagio in E yet? Graham

Edited blank.

I think the RAH recordings must be deleted by now - I picked up the CDs about 15 years ago. I don't know how up to date this is, but try http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000025...glance&n=229816 Good luck!

"An open wood stop of medium scale, of 8' and 4' pitch. The finer examples have bodies with a slight outward taper and a slight reediness in their voices. The stop is occasionally found in German organs". (From "The Organ", W.L. Sumner). See also http://www.organstops.org/b/Bordunalflote.html Graham

Indeed, and Jane Parker-Smith is a non-FRCO (and a non-Hon FRCO)too..........

Roger Fisher recorded this at Chester Cathedral in 2004 on his CD "The Romantic Organ" - see http://amphion-recordings.com/cathedral.html. I like this recording very much, although I think the ending is slightly spoiled by a huge rallentando. And keep an eye on ebay - the 1984 Simon Preston/Westminster Abbey CD still appears from time to time, but it does tend to attract very high bids - as at least one contributor to this board can testify

Exactly Stephen - but you are a cathedral organist by profession. Most organists are not! Does this mean that the FRCO should only be aspired to by those who follow a certain career path? Every test I did for ARCO has been useful to me at some point. I've had to sightread, score-read and transpose at very short notice, and have accepted this as par for the course. Although I do some freelance playing, I earn my principal living outside the world of music. With family commitments too, practice time is always at a premium, and I can't imagine ever wanting to sit down and learn these clefs, knowing it would be for a complete "one-off". I agree that the ability to be able to read these clefs says many good things about musicianship and the ability to be able to master a discipline, but I suspect that most organists would consider them largely irrelevant compared to what they do on a regular basis. I reckon a far more valuable test would be to place a hymn-tune (composed by an RCO examiner) in front of an FRCO candidate 15 minutes before the exam (along with the transposition test), let them play through it once during the exam and then expect them to reharmonise it fluently in the manner of an accomplished last verse descant. Only my opinion of course.................... As for me, I'll keep practising the DT crossword...................

The fact that Oxbridge colleges may need to read from three C-clefs hardly makes this a common occurrence up and down the land. The tests should surely be more relevant to the sort of problems likely to be encountered by a proficient organist in the course of his/her duties. How about the following? 1. Dealing with rambling sermons. A copy of the Daily Telegraph crossword will be shown to the candidate 15 minutes before the practical exam begins. The copy may not be marked in any way, and the use of a thesaurus will not be allowed. Candidates will be expected to complete as much of the crossword as possible during the practical session, preferably between the playing of the pieces and the keyboard skills tests. 2. Dealing with noisy congregations. Candidates will be expected to play a voluntary which has taken many weeks to prepare. During the playing, the examiners will move to within 10ft of the candidate and start braying loudly about nothing in particular. The candidate will then be expected to finish playing the voluntary, or at least end it at an appropriate point with some sort of cadential progression. Audible swearing by the candidate may well lead to disqualification. Any other suggestions?

It just draws attention to the fact that the editions shown are the recommended ones, and that candidates are strongly advised to select one from those shown. I don't have the Breitkopf edition - I use Barenreiter these days. I have fond memories of organ lessons with the late Alan Harverson at the RAM in the early 80's. He was a very fine teacher, and was a great fan of the Barenreiter editions of JSB's music. Being an impoverished student, Novello was all I could manage. I would spend ages proudly backing each volume in clear plastic, and I can remember my total bewilderment when Alan would apply bucketfuls of Tippex to my pristine volumes, and then scribble down notes in black biro. But I'm so grateful now!

No, you can use Novello if you want to - the only editions not allowed are those shown in bold type in the syllabus............

Yes, a wonderful organ and church. I had lessons there some 25 years ago, just prior to the overhaul, but haven't heard it since then. I gather the choir Tuba 8' was made available at 16' on the pedal (I think this rank had an extra octave at the top and bottom for use with octave and suboctave couplers), a 4' flute was added to the pedal, and I think there were plans for a chamade-type reed. I'd be keen to know if anybody has more recent knowledge of it.

Yes, that's the one - still open as far as I know. Don't know about St D's - thankfully!

I also lived in the area for a while, and I know there's a transplanted Hunter/Mander in St John's Bromley Road, opposite Homebase. See http://npor.emma.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch...ec_index=D04236 I don't know anything about this instrument, but I seem to remember that the post was advertised in the last year or two. Were you aware?

I've accompanied two different choirs singing choral evensong at Rochester Cathedral in the past 2 months (most recently on a temporary toaster ), and I'm accompanying another choir there in January 2007. I haven't heard this particular rumour - surely it can't be true?

Try looking back at the topic "Which organ would you most want to marry" from February of this year, under "The organ and its music", post 40 onwards. Have fun Graham

I think this is what you're looking for http://npor.emma.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch...ec_index=N17971 Hope this is helpful. Graham

I switched to Organmaster shoes a few years ago, having previously used "normal" footwear. Although they took a little while to get used to, the benefits are noticeable. They slide along the pedals smoothly enough, and they feel less cumbersome than ordinary shoes. Accuracy is better too, probably because the Organmaster shoe isn't as wide as an outdoor shoe. And there's certainly a more intimate feel between foot and pedal, which was missing before. Drawbacks? Well mine don't seem to be as hard-wearing as the manufacturers suggest, as the soles have become somewhat detached at various points, probably due to frequent use. But it's easy enough to glue them back I suppose. But it's a real pain having to carry them around with you when you're playing at St Elsewhere - my music case just isn't big enough. Either that or my feet are too big....................

"The organist is actually Michael Richardson". Yes - I even checked this before posting. Can't think what went wrong.......