DHM
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Posts posted by DHM
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I have contact details for Barry Ferguson if this helps. PM me.
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Hear, hear!
I know Chichester *insists* on visiting choirs doing the full Psalmody of the day if at all possible.
It would be nice to know which other places do. Then I'll try to make a point of taking a choir on the 15th....
How nice to see that there are still cathedrals that do the psalms of the day!
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There doesn't appear to be a stoplist on the OHS database for the Cathedral in Portland, Maine.
But there was also this one from a different tour.... (a real pew-rattler, if I recall):
http://database.organsociety.org/SingleOrganDetails.php?OrganID=8929 -
I'm surprised that you would put those two in the same category of difficulty. What am I missing?Dubois and Vierne Carillon de Westminster are the two easiest ones I know. The Vierne does require some wide stretches in the left hand towards the end.
Although I used to be able to play the Dubois, I can't imagine being able to get anywhere near the CdW.
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Has anyone heard anything more about a new organ for Canterbury?
Yes.
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The good Mrs Humana bought a particularly fine dollop of Stilton at Sainsbury's this week.
Cheesy? Guilty as charged, M'Lud.
But if it sends a few hundred people home happy, why not?
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We have done exactly that same progression in MJMS several times at Ordinations - usually with a good parochial worship band plus one of the cathedral choirs and organ, and sometimes with an ex-military brass 4tet thrown in for good measure. (And a G flat 6 on the penultimate chord.) To say that the roof almost lifts off might be an understatement. The dropped jaw and huge smile when it caught our new Bishop unawares was priceless. -The modern worship song "My Jesus my saviour" (which I should add I play on keyboard not organ) rather lends itself to a minor third uplift halfway through the final chorus - in other words from the home key of Bb major to Db major. The chord at the end of the fourth line is F major second inversion -> F major root -> tonic first inversion, which lends itself to being changed to F major second inversion -> (F major root -> Ab major dominant seventh) modulating into the new key of D flat first inversion. Just make sure you practice with the other singers first if you ever try that trick!
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Anything based on "Aus tiefer Not" (Ps 130).
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One of those two years was definitely 1972.
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My post on 12 May was based on information posted himself by the gentleman concerned on his Facebook page.
I think that counts as a public announcement.
I would not normally presume to post, based on hearsay, information that might be regarded as confidential.
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Does it matter, if they're right?
And they are!
DW
As a colleague of the aforementioned gentleman in his current post, I would say Yes, it does.
Your implication is that my question might appear discourteous.
I would respectfully suggest that posting such information before a public announcement might be regarded as more discourteous.
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Although this is sightly off-topic (in that it refers primarily to a service at which the organ is not used) it does show that not all congregations everywhere are as discourteous as many unfortunately are, and that they *can* be trained.
At St Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle, Compline is sung every Sunday at 9:30pm - a tradition that has existed now for over 50 years.
It is sung - mostly to plainsong, and renaissance polyphony - by a group of men in a corner of the dimly-lit nave, and broadcast live, every week, on their local equivalent of Classic FM. There is nothing for the congregation to do, except listen, be "ministered unto", and enjoy.
Two years ago we were privileged to attend this service, and it was a never-to-be-forgotten experience.
We had been told to go early to get a good seat; we arrived at 8:45pm to find the nave rapidly filling up, and crowds gathering outside; the congregation seemed to be predominantly in the teens to 40s age-range.
In the entrance was a simple sign: "Please respect the silence before and after the service". And they did!
What little greeting and conversation there was, was whispered.
By contrast, the previous Sunday morning, in a another Episcopal parish not far away, we experienced the exact opposite - a situation just like those described above: immediately after the final blessing, mayhem broke out, and the (very fine) organist might as well not have bothered playing a postlude. Interestingly, the age-range of this congregation was generally much older than that at the Cathedral......
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Some foundations - St. John's College, Cambridge and Norwich Cathedral, for example, sing the evening psalms one month and the morning psalms the next, thus getting through the whole psalter in two months of Evensongs. I've thought about applying this to Sunday Evensongs here, but I haven't discussed it with the Dean or really thought it through yet. Matins is said every Sunday at 7:30am anyway, so at least the psalms are recited, even though it's a small congregation.
I think that used to be done at St Paul's many years ago. Don't know if it still is.
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I really regret the loss of the "Psalms of the Day" in so any places: either the portion is curtailed, or alternative lectionaries are introduced.
There seems to be a feeling that the clergy and/or congregation can't be doing with all this psalmody - it puts people off coming to evensong.
It doesn't seem to have occurred to them that some people come to evensong *because* of it!
I could be wrong, but I thought that one important reason for discontinuing the daily psalms was that, with the demise of Matins everywhere, the ancient tradition of the continual reading (or singing) the complete psalter once a month had been well and truly rogered and the time had come for a radical rethink. To which I can only answer, "So what?" Isn't Matins said even privately in cathedrals any more? Have we totally lost the concept of Opus Dei?
One would like to think that the reason were as logical and as carefully thought-through as that.
It might indeed make some sense if it were true. But I'm sure it isn't.
And I fear that in some places the answer to Vox's last question is, unfortunately, Yes.
One (probably unintended) consequence of the new order is that choristers lose the familiarity.
Even though the allotted portion(s) of psalmody may be shorter every day, they have to learn (or re-learn) them anew almost every day - thereby using up *more* valuable rehearsal time than if the PotD were used regularly.
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"...by drawing all the tremulants on a general piston without any notes being played..."
Here endeth the pipes-vs-digital debate.
Maybe not possible on most digital organs, but definitely *would* be possible with another well-known system.
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I just heard that Edmund Aldhouse, currently Assistant at Ripon, will be replacing Jonathan Lilley at Ely in September.
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Many thanks to all who contributed to this discussion.
The collective wisdom of this Board prevailed, and the idea as originally conceived was not pursued.
However, in advance of the upcoming Christian Resources Exhibition, a survey was undertaken, the results of which are reported here:
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How I miss the days when Choral Evensong attracted perhaps 100-200 people, with a full SATB choir and wonderful anthems and settings. Psalm accompaniment was an art-form which had developed from being a boy-chorister, and of course, every organist aimed at the highest level of imagination, and musical beauty. It was always a lovely end to the week, and of course, organists would gather in local pubs afterwards and tell stories,(sometimes tall stories), but always in a convivial atmosphere of mutual support.
I think I finally accepted ten years ago that the era was gone, and I think the last Evensong I accompanied in this way was probably over a decade ago.
I suppose when you lose someone or something precious, you must accept the reality and move on. My problem is, that I don't see the slightest evidence of anything moving-on anywhere.
Best,
MM
I know exactly what you mean, and understand how you feel. If I were in a parish situation I would feel the same.
My regrets are more specific, and relate more to cathedral situations than to parish ones.
I really regret the loss of the "Psalms of the Day" in so any places: either the portion is curtailed, or alternative lectionaries are introduced.
There seems to be a feeling that the clergy and/or congregation can't be doing with all this psalmody - it puts people off coming to evensong. It doesn't seem to have occurred to them that some people come to evensong because of it!
My greatest regret is that I will probably never again sing one of the most heart-warming stories in its entirety.
Next time I take a visiting choir to a cathedral, I will try to find one that still insists on the Psalms of the Day - and make sure we're there on the 15th Evening! -
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Many thanks to Justadad and pcnd for the responses so far. This is very helpful.
Please let's hear more (whether for or against).
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An acquaintance has asked me to throw out a rather mischievous little idea to see what kind of reactions it might get from this esteemed community.
There are some who think that the organ has little or no long-term future, and that church organists are a dying breed.
Others would strongly disagree with those gloomy predictions.
Most church organists are talented and dedicated. Many can be very creative in their liturgical playing (e.g. "Happy Birthday" to the Dean, woven into the Gospel procession, or a 5-part fugue on "Men of Harlech" when a Welsh regiment visits to celebrate an important anniversary - you know the kind of thing I mean).
But many are also too often taken for granted, under-valued and under-appreciated.
It has been suggested that, on a particular Sunday in the not-too-distant future, following a certain event, organists might be "let off the leash", as it were, and allowed the freedom to be a little more "creative" than usual
and congregations be given the opportunity to show their appreciation more than they might normally do. This would be given extensive media coverage."Organists Behaving Badly Sunday". What do you think? Too irreverent, or a great opportunity?
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Many thanks! I'll pass the info on to my customer who was enquiring.
D.
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Does anyone know where a copy of this could be obtained, please?
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According to a post on the German-language Orgelforum a new organ is being built in St Josef's Church in Solingen, where the organist suffers from multiple sclerosis. The console is being adapted so that the pedal department is playable from one of the manuals, and the swell operated by a touchscreen.
http://orgelforum.info/orgelforum/index.php?mode=thread&id=24642
I Have Done My Duty
in The Organ
Posted
Problem solved.
Copy emailed to Justason with composer's permission to copy.