DHM

Sorry, I can't answer that one. You would need to ask "giwro". However, if the 32ft reed appeared on the recording, that might rule out one possibility.

The 32ft Bombarde was borrowed by Brett Milan from a nearby Casavant.

Barry mentioned the Fritts organ at PLU in Tacoma. VH will, I am sure, remember another organ by the same builder in the same city, where (IMHO) authenticity for its own sake was taken to extremes with counter-productive results. It would be interesting to hear his views. (While he's at it, he might also like to comment on other good, and less good, examples of American organ-building that we have encountered over the last few years.)

I agree - what a pity it seems to have completely died out nowadays. A little anecdote which may (or may not) be of interest to anyone who does use it: I learnt it from Herbert Byard (one of my tutors at Bristol nearly four decades ago) who always played the last line of music slower - he said he learnt this "piu lento" from Holst himself.

I would like to apologise to any list members who may have been offended by my recent posts about Hauptwerk - which some have seen as a "sales pitch" - and to our hosts if they feel I have over-stepped the mark and taken unfair advantage of their hospitality. My postings over the last few days have been intended to provide factual information, to correct misapprehensions, and to invite one and all to see, hear and play it before making judgements. For clarification: I have no financial, and currently no commercial, interest in Hauptwerk, other than as a very enthusiastic customer and user of the product (though I will confess that I hope to be able to sell it in the near future), and as the UK representative of a German organ builder who makes consoles to be used with it. HW was created by Martin Dyde and is marketed by Crumhorn Labs Ltd. Douglas Henn-Macrae.

If you don't like the "noises off" you have the option to disable them. You do get the action noise - draw stops thudding, tracker action clacking, etc. If there are voicing inconsistencies (e.g. on some of the older organs) it is faithfully reproduced, not ironed out by the computer, since these are intended to be historical archive documentations. They do. And then some. That's exactly what it does on the Reinhardtsgrimma Silbermann. Only the treadmill and the hapless operative are imaginary. Come and see us at Sandown Racecourse in May.

You DO hear it, and it's not simulated - it's a CD-quality recording of the real thing (along with the key and stop action noise, and every pipe of every stop). On the St Anne's, Moseley organ (which comes free with HW) the blower starts automatically when the organ is 100% loaded (you hear the clunk of the motor starting up, and then the rushing mighty wind). With the big EM Skinner (Our Lady of Mt Carmel, Chicago) you actually have to turn the key on the console before you hear the same thing. This produced some interesting reactions from visitors to our stand at the CRE in Exeter a couple of weeks ago, when they drew stops, played a few notes and wondered why no sound was being produced. It works perfectly once you turn the blower on! With all due respect to Mr Coram, this is not "just like the real thing crap". It's actually as close to the real thing as you can currently get without going to Moseley, Chicago, Thuringia, Aix-en-Provence, etc, and a helluva lot cheaper. (Incidentally, it's also considerably cheaper than most examples of what are known on this board as "toasters".) Those who came, saw and were amazed did not consider it a laughing-stock. I would invite all "Doubting Thomases" to try it for themselves, with an open mind, and prepare to have it boggled!

A bit like playing the Hauptwerk version of the 1731 Silbermann at Reinhardtsgrimma (perhaps VH might confirm/comment?): there is a stop marked "Calcant", and the organ won't play a note (though you can see the keys moving on-screen if you try) until you have drawn it. It rings a bell to summon the organ-boy to pump!

I see that Norwich are advertising for a DoM (Church Times today). It seems that the Cathedral Organist is going to be just the cathedral organist. Anyone have any more information as to what is happening and why?

A kind thought, and much appreciated - thanks, Tony. It would seem that, apart from the local Viscount dealer, we are the only organ company represented. Few, if any, organ companies even go to the main CRE in Esher nowadays. At least we are offering something new and unique. It will be interesting to see what reaction we get (can't wait to see VH's face when he gets his hands - and feet - on the big Cavaille-Coll!).

They are the AKG K-240 as recommended until recently by Prof Helmut Maier of OrganArt Media (creator of some of the best Hauptwerk sample sets). I say "until recently" because they have been discontinued. I managed to find a pair at www.dolphinmusic.co.uk. Frequency response is down to 15Hz.

I did think (but only very briefly) about a demo room - they did offer us one. But with limited staff (the wife and me) and only two instruments it seemed more sensible to stay on the stand and be visible.

@ VH: Shouldn't be too much of a problem, so long as it isn't fff all day! I will also be bringing some pro studio-monitor headphones (the ones recommended by Prof Helmut Maier - response down to 15Hz!). I played the big D-C-C with these cans at Frankfurt, and it was stunning. @ David Coram: Regrettably, probably not - Wednesday is build-up day and I doubt the public would be admitted (and we wouldn't be there until probably mid-late afternoon anyway).

PPS: Yet more mouth-watering goodies on their way for your delectation (postman permitting!): 1654 2-stop Positiv in Griebenow (unknown German builder); 1731 II/20 Silbermann - Reinhardtsgrimma and the piece de resistance - the 1854/1880 III/47 Ducroquet-Cavaille-Coll in the Cathedral of Aix-en-Provence. I should add that all of these include blower and action noise and the acoustic of the building. If you are within reach of Exeter next week, come and see what HAUPTWERK is all about.

You could also look here: www.hoffrichter-organs.co.uk. Tony - if you would like more info, or to arrange a demo in your area, please contact me off-list. Douglas. PS - If the postman does his job on time, there will be two more organs available to try out: the 1686/1720 II/25 Bosch-Schnitger in Vollenhove (Holland), and the 1877 II/21 Cavaillé-Coll in Mainz (Germany).

I trust I will not be offending our hosts by announcing that Hoffrichter Organs will be exhibiting at the South West Christian Resources Exhibition in Exeter next week. You will find us - hopefully with a new portable 3-manual console specifically designed for use with Hauptwerk software - on Stand P60 at the Westpoint Centre in Clyst St Mary (on the A3052, one mile east of the M5, Junction 30). Visitors will have the opportunity to "virtually" play the 1907 II/30 Brindley & Foster in St Anne's Moseley; the 1843/1986 II/23 Stiehr-Mockers in Romanswiller (Alsace); and the 1928 III/58 EM Skinner in Our Lady of Mt Carmel, Chicago. Admission is free. Book online at www.creonline.co.uk. Opening hours are 10:00am-5:00pm on Thurs/Fri 25th/26th, and 10:00am-4:30pm on Sat 27th. Looking forward to seeing some of you there. Douglas Henn-Macrae Hoffrichter Organs UK

They weren't - at least, not in this Forum. I cannot deny it. I'll say no more, lest I offend our generous hosts. My identity, and therefore that of the other instrument, can easily be deduced from my previous posts.

MusingMuso described how the sound of different organs do, or don't, move him and others to tears. I know what he means, though in my case the latter experience is much more common than the former. If only we could put our finger on what it is that provides that very rare magic "je ne sais quoi" that pushes us over the edge and brings a lump to the throat and a tear to the eye! Whatever it is, if someone could capture and bottle it, they would make their fortune. VH may recall my comparing two cathedral organs, which we both know well, in automotive terms. One of them seems to me like a Ferrari or a Porsche: fine craftsmanship, superbly engineered, but very noisy and brash - no trace of subtlety. It only begins to sound thrilling from a distance of about half a mile, e.g. when we are singing around the High Altar at the end of the 5:00am Easter Vigil. The other gives me the impression of an elegant silver vintage Rolls-Royce, purring gently even when going flat out. Hit Swell piston 8 and you feel a catch in the throat as the large Open Wood and the 32ft Violone kick in. Add the Great reeds at the end of Coll Reg and you still won't drown the choir. Drool.... Does anyone else understand what I'm getting at, or am I way off the wall??

I haven't seen the score or played it, but I've heard it - our organ scholar played "Jupiter" last Easter or Christmas morning (memory becoming hazy - a "senior moment"!) and it was very effective - though it sounded difficult. Not that anything fazes him - he has been playing Dupre P&Fs, Durufle Toccata, etc for a year or two, and he's only just turned 17. Incidentally, the Newcastle Farrell is Scott, not Sean (the former succeeded the latter at Ely, requiring no change to the phone book entry!). Sean was at Rochester until 2001, when he went to Trinity College at Greenwich.

Has anyone ever used Robert Ashfield's tune "Broadwalk" for "Brightest and best"? It was set to that text in the Anglican Hymn Book. I don't think it's been used at Epiphany here since Bobby retired.

Then there was the time when the local branch of the Leprosy Association attended Evensong at Rochester. It was the 14th Evening. See Psalm 73, verse 2a.....

Post deleted by DHM.

The funeral will be next Monday, 15 January, at 2:15pm in Rochester Cathedral. A Memorial Service, with interment of ashes, will be announced at a later date. Please pass the word to any non-list members who may have Rochester connections and would like to know about this, and also to anyone who may have contact with Bobby's surviving contemporaries, e.g. Drs Jackson, Vann, Wicks, etc. Douglas Henn-Macrae Senior Lay Clerk, Rochester Cathedral Director of the Cathedral Special Choir

Used to be standard Mens' Voices repertoire for Monday Evensongs. Less so nowadays, alas. Do you have the Lord's Prayer setting that goes with them (a later addition, I think)? Let me know if you would like one.

I regret to have to report that Dr Robert Ashfield passed away at 1:40pm today at the age of 95. Robert (“Bobby” or “Doc”) Ashfield (as he is affectionately known in Rochester), was the first Cathedral Organist under whom I sang as a very new Supernumerary Lay Clerk in the autumn of 1970, learning the job by singing alongside one of the six regular men. He was born in Surrey in July 1911, but his family moved to the village of Eynsford in Kent in 1912. His first practical musical experience was blowing the organ in the village church while his mother played - and sometimes they reversed the roles. As a young teenager he attended Tonbridge School, where he excelled both at the organ and on the sports field. In 1928 he entered the Royal College of Music in London to study with Ernest Bullock (then Organist of Westminster Abbey). Having gained his ARCO diploma in 1931 and FRCO the following year, Bullock invited Robert to be his Organ Scholar at the Abbey. In 1934 he was appointed Organist of St John's, Smith Square in London (now a concert hall) and in 1936 he became Music Master at Westminster Abbey Choir School, gaining his BMus from London University the same year. In 1940 he returned to Tonbridge School as Assistant Music Master, and obtained his DMus the following year, before being called up for war service. After the war, in 1946, he went to Southwell Minster in Nottinghamshire as Organist & Rector Chori. He moved to Rochester Cathedral as Organist in 1956 and the following year was also appointed a Professor for Theory and Composition at the Royal College of Music. Robert retired in 1977 but remained active until recently as a composer and concert promoter, and was a regular attender at the Cathedral Eucharist on Sunday mornings. We last saw him in church on Christmas morning. The Cathedral Special Choir had already scheduled some of Robert’s music for this weekend (as we often do): as the Introit at Evensong today we sang his processional setting of “Of the Father’s love begotten”, and this is repeated at tomorrow afternoon’s New Year Carol Service; at Mattins tomorrow we sing “Fairest of morning lights” (17th century text by Thomas Pestel); and as an extra valedictory item at the end of tomorrow’s Eucharist we will sing his best-known anthem, written for a Diocesan Choirs’ Festival at Southwell in 1949 to a text by Lionel Johnson, based on Revelation 17: “Ah, see the fair chivalry come, the companions of Christ! White horsemen, who ride on white horses, the Knights of God! They, for their Lord and their Lover, who sacrificed all Save the sweetness of treading where He first trod! These, thro' the darkness of death, the dominions of night, Swept, and they woke in white places at morning tide: They saw with their eyes and sang for joy at the sight, They saw with their eyes the Eyes of the Crucified. Now, whithersoever He goeth, with Him they go: White horsemen, who ride on white horses, Oh, fair to see! They ride where the rivers of paradise flash and flow, White horsemen, with Christ their Captain, for ever He!” May he rest in peace and rise in glory. Douglas Henn-Macrae Senior Lay Clerk, Rochester Cathedral Director of the Cathedral Special Choir