Bevington
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Posts posted by Bevington
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The problem with what JOR calls 'tuneful, worthy music' is that it further alienates the organ from mainstream (art-) music making. Concert pianists or violinists don't tend to play 'tuneful, worthy' music.
Have I misunderstood you? Or isn't this the problem: who are we trying to attract to organ concerts? Yes, many of us will not get much of a kick out of 'tuneful worthy music' but I would far rather see of a church full of 'man in the street' type audience listening enthusiastically, than five shivering organists and two professors of music banging on about how I did the ornament in bar 34! If we are attempting to change culture - or improve it for that matter - surely we begin where we perceive it needs to be 'informed' and meet it at an agreeable and approachable level . . from the audience point of view.
I am not so sure about other concert performers not playing 'tuneful/worthy' etc: it seems to me that whether we like it or not, many top artists (i.e. piano/violin) do include a few potboilers as part of quite serious programmes. I am not suggesting that we take the Classic-FM "throw in anything" approach, but perhaps I was clumsy in expressing myself earlier - a good tune (and plenty of our most illustrious composers have written some) will not hurt any concert programme . . . AND I think if you have the correct sort of programme you can include something strange and avant garde:I know older members of the congregation at my church often remark (favourably!) on contemporary voluntaries . . (so long as it's all things in moderation).
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Exactly what I found. My (long suffering) wife and I did, indeed, arrive at least an hour early to find the cathedral already quite full. By the time the recital was due to start, people were sitting in the aisles either on camper chairs they had brought or even on the floor!
Why does this not happen here? Perhaps it is just a matter of a different culture - or a lack of it! 'Dumbing down'?
What can we do about it? Education?
I think that local culture, time and place (speaking literally and culturally) do indeed affect a number of factors relating to certain types of concerts. Sometimes it is part of the history of a town, perhaps the style of music that is prevalent whether it is pubs that have popular weekly rock bands, jazz bands or perhaps a community of people who happen to have a lot of string players around and have small ensembles who like to give concerts. I could expand on this but there is not space and it's a bit off topic. But above all I firmly believe that the way concerts are promoted and presented makes a big difference - and yes, it involves mundane, tedious work and running around. My wife has a sister who sings in a newish Chamber Choir. The choir included us on their rural tour. My wife decided to take on the promotion and in additon to her Mon-Fri job as an acting manager, ran morning noon and night emailing, posting letters, faxing, telling people, putting up posters, handing out leaflets, writing letters to every imaginable local/regional group, "talking it up" sending off media releases to the local paper, sending personal invitations, and so on.
It was endless leg work . . and the reward was a very good attendance (and on a cold wet night). At a recent organ concert that I gave, the organisers got a packed the church (admittedly that is only 150 people) and they also ran hard at the publicity, with a small committee that did the same things as my wife.
But the programming has to be approacable too. I keep my Vierne and so on for Sunday voluntaries or as a finale in the odd 'big' concert that I do. Most of my concerts are at churches where the people react best to 'user friendly' music . . . but I play only "real" organ music, but that includes (as in my last concert) things like the Bach-Vivaldi Concerto in G; Schumanns Canon in B minor for pedal piano (which interestingly was one of the most popular pieces on the programme), Wolstenholme, Wesley, Claussmann (Scherzo in D), lively chorale-preludes, and so on. It's music that I think is worth learning but it's also tuneful and worthy. Also I talk briefly and positively to audiences: tell them how delighted I am that they turned up on a cold wet night . . . explain how effective their organ is for a particular piece, etc. I keep it brief and pacey: sorry if this is not your style, but it works for me and keeps people on side, interested and asking me to return!
In summary organists perhaps need to radiate a more obvious enjoyment and enthusiasm for each piece, every audience, every venue and instrument: don't give up - sell what you love doing!
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Generally speaking I would go for balance and not seek to make the theme prominent. I would be afraid that, if priority were given to the theme throughout, it would quickly become very wearying. After all, the interest in a Passacaglia is not so much in the theme itself as in what is done to it. That said, there is no harm in bringing out the theme occasionally and a pedal reed certainly might work well at the places Grace suggests. It would depend on the reed, though; if it is oppressively heavy it might not be a great idea. But I really wouldn't want to be prescriptive about it. Try it and see. If it works musically, isn't wearying and doesn't obscure the manual parts, all power to your elbow!
Urgh!! What on earth is the point of that? I expect someone will now tell me that his piano arrangement or orchestral arrangement ends like that. Even then I would still regard it as both unnecessary and unwanted. To my ears it just sounds plain wrong and not just because I am used to hearing it as the composer wrote it. The ending of this piece (and, of course, the sonata) is magnificent and triumphant, but, above all, stern. It simply does not need brightening up with a major chord. In my book the task of an interpreter is to make sense of what the composer was trying to say and to communicate that musically. Being able to imagine "improvements" in no way consitutes a licence to tinker. But of course there are players who put themselves above the composers...
End of rant!
I agree - years ago I sat in the nave of a church enjoying listening to my assistant play the piece, and fell into a state of shock when the imposing final minor chord was altered to a major chord, thus causing choir men to gently lead me to an estblishment a moments walk away from the church where they revived and restored my equilibrium witnh "medicinal" beverages . . . Seriuosly though, I think the harmony of the penultimate and the anti-penultimate chords do not lend themselves to a Tde P ending: in short, it sounds 'wrong'. However, in other sonatas Rheinberger frequently does end minor key movements in a major key, but it is often that the final few bars/systems/page have already moved into a major key pehaps recalling material from an opening or previous movement. The E flat minor sonata ends on a minor chord as do movements from some other minor key sonata movements and in these I do not think at all that the effect would be musical to alter those final chords to major.
The end of Sonata 8 has a particular quality and I find the the most exciting performances are determined by the right sort of rhythmic/pulse approach to the final chord - that slight tension that could go either way, but ends perhaps unexpectedly on that towering, bone chilling minor chord.
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I am unsure as to whether or not this matter has been covered before but I confess that I have not noticed any previous reference to the topic outlined below.
I have been using a computer regularly since Windows 3.0 (1990/1), which, of necessity, has involved much use of the right hand for control of the mouse. I have, occasionally, had feelings of discomfort along the 5th finger of my right hand, together with the right edge of the palm; usually the discomfort takes the forms of numbness accompanied by a strong tingling sensation, akin to a very light electric shock. Usually, transference of the mouse to my left hand for a week or two has produced the required effect and my right hand has, eventually, been ‘restored to life and power and thought’. Over the last ten days, the numbness has returned, this time with a vengeance and making it impossible to use a piano or organ keyboard to anything the extent I could manage hitherto.
It is possible that some of the medication that I take may have affected these bodily extremities, and no doubt my medical advisor will confirm or deny my diagnosis.
So many church musicians use a computer regularly and I wondered if anyone here has suffered similar difficulties; if so what remedies do they recommend? I know that one of two of our contributors are medical experts themselves and may well have an answer.
David Harrison
Post scriptum: I have just returned from the morning service at church, which I accompanied on the piano. I sense that some of the numbness is beginning to ease off, though in truth, any improvement is so minimal that it may be my imagination at work. It is amazing, however, what can be achieved with just the thumb and first two fingers of the right hand. Even when you are playing the piano.
My initial response is Be Careful! I have been through this type of problem - pain is NOT gain. The school where I teach (now part time) has laptop computers for every staff member: we are expected to use them for every part of our work and routine - a nightmare for digitally directed musicians! Within six weeks of using a laptop for everything - roll marking, lesson plans, school notices, etc (and at this time I was teaching full time) my playing was badly affected, requiring visits to an excellent physiotherapist. Since then (encouraged by the physio, an occasional church attender)I have read and absorbed many books with titles such as "What every piano player and organist needs to know about the body" and "What every musician needs to know about the body", plus the stuff from Alexander Technique people and the like. Rob Sholl at S Michael's Croydon knows a lot about this too - I am sure he won't mind me mentioning his name. I am - or now happily, was - familiar with the 'electric shock' feeling that you mention. That suggest to me a "stop immediately" situation. Seek a remedy - and there are plenty. At school (thanks to the intervention of my physio some years ago) I now have a separate keyboard and I use my left hand for the separate mouse. I make a point of using my left hand for all sorts of daily things but keep in check my body alignment, arm postion/posture etc etc. I can happily give you some specific book titles which helped me immensely - and will help you rethink the way you hold your arms/body/wrist/hands/fingers . . and my goodness it has made a world of difference. (I wish my own music teachers thirty years ago knew what I have learnt now). In summary, a problem that can be managed without pain, and additionally may free up your playing . . . but left unchecked will cause pain and frustration.
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As I write we are almost an hour into the church's third most important day of the year, yet I always feel that Pentecost leaves me feeling that there isn't much suitably festive music for the occasion.
Choir pieces first then - well our collection of books hasn't much to offer really - NCAB presents Attwood's Come, Holy Ghost, Sterndale Bennett's God is a spirit, Tallis's If ye love me and Tye's O Holy Spirit, Lord of grace, as I remember. We have attempted the first three in previous years, and God is a spirit is the choice this year as we needed something unaccompanied. However, none of them strike me as particularly festive, even if all four are nice enough - should we be doing somewhat more to mark this important occasion in the church's year?
Then to organ music - in this case, unlike Easter, I'm aware there's an abundance of settings, preludes and variations around Veni something Spiritus, but is there anything which is seasonal but also celebratory and festive (and not too difficult for a mere mortal)? What am I missing out on? Not having access to anything seasonal, I stuck the Gigout Grand Chouer Dialogue down for the post-service voluntary, because it is loud and festive. I'm wondering if I can do better though, without stretching to something like the Durufle.
Even with hymns, I struggle to think of more than three or four inspiring Pentecost hymns, somewhat in contrast to Easter. Lots of churches seem to use 'O thou who camest from above' as a recessional - one of my favourite three hymns of all time, but I'm not convinced it works at the end of a main morning service (it might at Evensong). As the one responsible for choosing the hymns, I always use 'Shine Jesus Shine' as the recessional for Pentecost, because
a ) Its as good as Kendrick gets
b ) It satisfies the vicar's request to include a mix of modern and traditional (or rather, 30 years old and older still)
c ) Its a damn good romp and a fine way to finish a service
This has turned into something of a lament to which I suspect there isn't an answer, but after the euphoria of Easter I always feel Pentecost gets a raw deal in so many ways, musically being one of them.
For what it's worth here is what we do at Pentecost, but I admit that I see your point and perhaps feel your frustration. First of all, we had Ascension Day 'transferred' to last Sunday (as do so many churches now) and our Feast of Title is Trinity Sunday so that is a 'big' day for us too. Additionally, our Ascension Day service was suitably festive, particularly with Evensong's rousing anthem and Stainer (no, not Stanford, Stainer!) in B flat to lift the roof. For Pentecost, I did not actually feel the need to be 'festive' with last Sundays offerings and next Sundays requirements. I also choose the hymns and have some pressure (!) to include crisis driven contemporary music. So for our three services today - out of so many possibilities - we had/will have: Be still for the presence of the Lord (twice); O breath of Life come sweeping through us; Filled with the Spirit's power (to Woodlands); Come down O Love divine; There's a spirit in the air; Father, Lord of all creation (to Abotts Leigh); Rejoice the year upon its way; On this day the first of Days. The choral setting was a straightforward but tuneful one and the anthem was Tallis's O Lord give thy Holy Spirit. (In previous years we have done Elgar's The Spirit of the Lord). Now, with the sort of boys I have I need to adopt a fairly vigorous attitude to much music and we gave this anthem (the Tallis) a quite intense performance with a reasonable build up for the repeated section. Admitedly other things help: Our bishop was present giving a sound and amusing sermon. The congregation are encouraged to wear - and do wear - red clothing. And, the nave is decorated with trios of balloons in red, orange and yellow, making me feel that I am in some kind of enlarged DNA or molecule experiment. And, we have "up the candle" liturgy. The 10am postlude was "Fire" from Alan Ridout's The Canticle of the Rose - I actually named it "Spirit of Fire" in the pew leaflet to give the congregation a better idea of its purpose. So rather than feeling in need of demonstrable or palpable festivity I felt musically fulfilled and spiritually refreshed. This is possibly not much help to you, so I will leave you with three 'howlers' from the year seven music assignments that I have been marking between morning and evening services: "As a child Beethoven learnt many interments". "Mozart had a father who was a composer but not so important, so he became a miner composer". "The piano is a piece of music that you play".
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After reading this thread a couple of days ago, I did a slow "dotted" play through of the Vierne Toccata. What struck me is very close to what MusingMuso wrote about anchor points. I find that the Vierne often involves spreading the gap between two fingers in order to move to the next set of notes that fall under the hand, and that change in hand shape occurs at quite a slow rate and are rather small each time. There are also passages where chords just shift up or down making both reading and playing easier.
Having said that, I must confess to having had to work much harder to bring, initially, the Vierne to performance standard than I have had to for any of the Handel concertos or pieces of similar ilk, such as the obligato organ movements in Bach cantatas. Perhaps the relative time spent has something to do with the ease with which I can bring the Vierne back to performance standard, and then the surety with which I perform it.
I don't think this is a bad thing, though, as Handel and Bach obligato movements can sound better when they aren't so thoroughly learnt in that there is less spontaneity.
I shall now crawl back into my shell.
Thank you "all and some" for your interesting comments. The anchor points idea is applicable to so much repertoire, and in terms of the Vierne, defining the anchor points and 'spots for the thumb' gives a necessary and firmer sense of "grip". Fiffaro's point about bits of the Vierne simply shifting up or down tie in with my earlier comment about it being a logical piece, despite its complexities. The Handel gets its concert airing this weekend and has benefited from the suggestions by MM (so thank you, that man!).
An amusing anecdote to finish with (and a disclaimer so as not to offend anyone - I told this to my deaf father who no longer plays the organ because of his hearing and even he thought it most amusing). The church where the Handel is being played has a smallish run down instrument, in poor condition. I played there a couple of years ago at the request of friends to help raise money for a local charity. They managed to fill the small church with people. This time it is to celebrate the church organist being 50 years in the position. The organ has tracker action to manuals and tubular pneumatic to pedals, and has not had major attention for 40 years. At my first concert there, some pedal notes were not working, unreliable or in fact stopped working altogether during the concert. Afterwards, at a supper, I was introduced to the aged organist and the following bizarre conversation ensued:
Me: I noticed some pedal notes are not working.
Church organist: What?
Me: I noticed some pedal notes not working at all, on some keys.
Church organist (cupping hand to ear): What? What did you say? I'm a bit deaf - you'll have to speak up!
Me: (trying not to shout too loudly in a crowded supper room) I said, I noticed that a number of pedal notes don't work!
Church Organist: Yes, some of them are a bit quiet!
Me: !!!
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A google search reveals that he was at Chichester:
http://www.organ-biography.info/index.php?...nardFergus_1913
Thanks, Peter - that is indeed the man. Not easy to find out much more. Given his date of birth I can't imagine many will recall or know of him.
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This enquiry goes back some time, and the name Fergus O'Connor is perhaps familiar to mature aged organists! My elderly father - also an organist - was a chorister at Queens College Oxford under (L) Fergus O'Connor, a man of considerable skill, and who apparently turned the standard of the chapel choir from unspeakable to one of broadcast quality. He was also my fathers first organ teacher. Later I am led to believe that he was probably Organist/Choirmaster at All Saints Kingston in the 1950s after which there seems to be no further record of him. He was very encouraging to young musicians, who respected him greatly, as recalled by my father. I imagine that O'Connor died some years ago, but partly for general interest sake and partly for my father I wonder if anyone knows what happend to O'Connor after his last known tenure at All Saints Kingston? He was probably aged around late forties to mid fifties at that time. Sadly my father tells me that his parents last recollection of O'Connor is his appearing at their Sth London home one day "in a state" and asking to be put up for a few days; which they did, after which he seems to have disappeared . . .
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Sometimes it helps if one can "get into the groove" with such music - you might also find it worth playing through some Stanley Voluntaries (or similar pieces by Handel contemporaries) in which many of the same snares crop up. And, should you find yourself faced with the marking "Organ ad lib." in Handel's concerti, one of the easiest ways to get around having to improvise / compose a movement in the style of Handel is to insert a Stanley Voluntary...
Now that's an interesting idea . . . insert a Stanley voluntary, or part thereof, for a cadenza. Probably more secure than risking an off-the-cuff-job. However, when I practise the Handel and reach the cadenza point, I recall an old LP recording of the late Jeanne Demessieux, who improvised Handel cadenzas that would have had the purists spinning in their graves - full symphonic French style. Very exciting! As for other manuals only composers of similar style, I am fortunate enough to have an 1845 single manual Bevingington mere metres from the Willis so the likes of Stanley, Bennet, Hook and the seasonally named John Christmas Beckwith get regular airings.
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Would I be right in thinking that the F major Handel Organ Concerto referred to is the Opus 4 No.4?
Although not technically very difficult on paper, I think that many people struggle with “naked” music like this, possibly because it requires not only a certain precision in the finger, but also, because it does not provide the usual “anchor points” of denser writing.
I don’t play much Vierne, but I have been known to play Dupre, and what strikes me about the essential difference between Handel and Dupre, is not so much the obvious, but the less obvious.
Where there are lots of notes, ALL the fingers may act as “anchors” which secure the hand, and conversely, where there are only one, two or three parts, those basic anchors are lost: one of the reasons why Trio Sonatas are so tricky.
This is further compounded by light or shallow key-action devoid of “pluck,” which can lead to all sorts of insecurities.
I wonder if this may be at the heart of the problem?
If it is, the way around it is to go right back to basic hand position, by keeping the wrists low and the fingers well curved like claws; keeping all movement within the fingers and with a controlled degree of deliberate tension within the hand itself. This way, the “anchor” points are contained within the muscles of the hand.
That basic hand tension is useful when playing arpeggios on very light harpsichord keys, and especially clavichords devoid of any “pluck.”
If it IS the Opus 4 no.4, than arpeggios play a significant part, (especially in the opening movement), and I know from past experience that getting it all under control is far from easy, where the action is less than ideal for this type of music. I seem to recall struggling myself, when I first played this with an orchestra, and yet the notes seemed so easy on paper.
MM
Yes, it is the F major no 4. And I am practising it on a firm Kawai piano, and an electro-pneumatic Willis, whilst the organ for the concert is a worn out tracker that was poorly restored in the 1970s. What fun! I think your comment about "naked music" and having anchor points hits the nail on the head - it does feel exposed and somehow the Vierne, whilst technically demanding, seems to give more to comfort and hang onto. I tried your suggestion of lower hand position/claw like finger curve etc - assuming I did what you suggested correctly, it certainly gave a new approach. Like so many I suppose I was always told as a student to follow/read the music and not look at my hands when playing. But I find these days that I often tell my students to look at their hands occasionally, to avoid any false sensory perception that tells them that their fingers and wrists are doing the correct thing when their hand position is actually affecting their technique or fluency.
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Dupre had enormous hands; not everybody is so blessed. As has already been stated, fingering is a personal thing and what works for one person doesn't necessarily work for someon else. Dupre's fingering, generally, is much like dy some people, but is widely regarded as over fussy and nbot necessarily always helping historically informed peformance.
If you find the Vierne Toccata in B flat minor easy you are lucky. Most people find it comparatively difficult because it doesn't fall comfortably under the hands. Personally I find Handel concerti easier than the Vierne Toccata any day of the week, but then we are all physically and temperamentally different - thank goodness!
Malcolm
Oh how I wish I found the Vierne B flat minor Toccata easy! However, as I work through it, I have discovered how logical and 'patterned' most of it is - a bit like having a set of strange building blocks whose main challenge is to have them welded smoothly together. When I began learning it, a friend who has played it for years confirmed that keeping the thumb on white keys is important for giving your hand/s some 'grip' on the keys and around the notes and maintaining a useful hand position. But there are some bars . . . . My own (now deceased) teacher had smallish hands (smaller than mine) but was able to make them release and spread in a way that I did not discover how to do until some yeras later, avoiding strain and tension being a key point.
I have an old LP of Dupre playing Bach - also, as you say, not really an historically informed performance. However, his fingering does suit my hands and for the purposes of the concert for which I am preparing the piece, I will aim for an overall 'musical' perfromance, hoping that the Baroque Boys are not hiding up the back in this tiny church in a small town!
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Thanks, Peter.
One point did occur to me - the Handel copy has of course the extensive fingering inserted by Dupre, which I am using, having decided that it suited me and would save time. The Vierne however has nothing in the way of fingering suggestions, and had to be worked out from scratch, requiring careful planning and revision along the way. I wonder if using someone elses fingering actually slows down the note learning slightly . . . because you are using something that you have not had to think about or decide on for yourself. Both works require clean, precise, accurate (!!) playing but at present my Handel is subject to far more tipped notes and clumsy slips than the Vierne.
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I wonder if anyone can shed some light on a peculiar mental glitch that happens when learning certain styles of repertoire - I don't think I am alone in experiencing this. Currently I am a learning a number of new pieces for general repertoire, postludes, concerts etc. Soon I am also playing a concert at a small church in a small town on a two manual organ of 14 stops. For this concert I decided to learn - as it requires user friendly music - a Handel organ concerto. This is the first Handel concerto I have ever learnt. So I have chosen the Concerto in F from Bk 1 of the Bornemanne / Dupre series. Looks straigthforward enough. (An organist friend of mine desribes this sort of thing as 'two finger grade three music'!). I am also learning Viernes Toccata in B flat Minor, from the Pieces de Fantaisie. Guess which one is giving me the most trouble - yes: the Handel. Smudged notes, misjudged leaps, scrappy scale passages, bung pedal notes, and so on. Yet the Vierne is simmering along nicely. The Vierne will be ready as a postlude sooner than the handel will be a 'clean' concert performance . . . but why? Any observations welcome on this frustrating aspect of practice.
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This has its flaws. I can't be the only one to be idling through pistons during a sermon at a certain west country large church when the Cymbelstern sprung into action!
Reminds me of the organist who decided to clean the comsole during a sermon - somehow managed to touch the 'full swell' piston while dusting the swell keyboard from top to bottom, glissando style!
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For what it's worth, my contract states that I am entitled to attend four parish council meetings per year or at other times where issues may require my presence or input. However, some years ago, I was once encouraged to stand for a parish council election. But it was the vicar who almost immediately discouraged me - but with what seemed a good reason. He believed I had more 'power' (!) by not being on parish council. His reasoning was that if a musical issue arose and parish council went against what I wanted, or believed was a good outcome for the music, then as a member of parish council I would have to accept the "vote". But by not being on parish council, I could continue to cause a fuss, write letters, get further support etc etc to make parish reconsider or even overturn a decison that was not musically helpful.
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Looks like this one, which I have just ordered: http://www.musicroom.com/se/ID_No/07613/details.html
Thanks for the link - I have also ordered it.
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Like John Sayer, we too have had awkward moments with HTFD - this despite marked up copies and multiple hymnbooks. The congregation have had their own word sheet with just the appropriate Easter verses to make it clearer for them, (and there are different versions here and there of the text). I regret to say one Easter Day I suddenly could not recall which of the verse tunes I had just played (no wonder perhaps, having had services and rehearsals from 6am) and of course the words to each tune more or less fit the other. Embarrassing. The next year I decided that my young assistant should play it! The same thing happened . . . Processing with the choir however, I did note puzzled looks on faces of many of the congregation who to their credit did launch into the refrain. Now we do something else.
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The Introduction and Fugue in C sharp minor is a fine work - rather fiddly in places.
I have a Novello edition edited by Robin Langley which includes a number of Andantes (F, Em, A, G, C), the famous Holsworthy Church Bells, and the aforementioned Larghetto and Introduction and Fugue. I got it from Musicroom.com for a cheap price. I'm sure there would be something in there you're looking for.
VA
I am tempted by having all that in one volume, even though it will give me a couple of double copies, in addition to new music . . but I must be doing something wrong: I cannot locate it on the Musicroom site. VA, can you please tell me the exact title?
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. . . and furthermore, the Larghetto was originally a Novello (ed Chambers) edition - mine is of the time that has the old pinkish cover with the St Cecilia window down the LH side; the Andante in E minor (which I now see is indeed S S Wesley) is in the Tallis to Wesley series, and there is also an Andante in G which I recall is less interesting than the E minor one.
Also, my father once had an LP on which I am sure Simon Lindley had recorded an S S Wesley Introduction and Fugue in C# minor - but I have never seen nor heard of the piece since.
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Being his anniversary year, I'd be interested to hear what of Wesley's organ music people play and what is worth learning. The only piece I really know is the 'Choral Song', but I'd like to do something else to commemorate his anniversary. Any suggestions?
I am writing this from school (!) so can't check my cupboard for exact names: there is a charming Larghetto and Variations in F# minor, and (unless I am confused with S Wesley) an Andante in E minor. Both with independent pedal parts, worth learning and with one or two intricacies to keep you concentrating.
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I do rather like the Crucifixion. It wouldn't perhaps hit my desert island discs, but it is a sensitive and thoughtful meditation on the Passion (notwithstanding some of the points raised above). Musically it isn't on a par with many other things, but in that sense it probably appeals more to the masses and to your average parish congregation.
Not having an evening service on Sunday, I sought out a performance of it to attend. I try not to be a musical 'snob' but I have to say I didn't think it was performed particularly well. The ensemble seemed poor, we had an overwhelming number of sopranos and altos and so the harmony wasn't as rich as it could have been, and the singing was sometimes a little flat ('God so loved the world' dropped at least a tone). Probably the highlight was the solo tenor who was absolutely terrific, particularly in the 'King ever glorious' recitative, and he gave it absolutely everything for the final words of that and I sensed real emotion there. The bass was good, although his diction was a little odd.
I got the impression that this might have been an annual event when many extra singers were added from beyond the normal choir and that they just picked it up on the Sunday afternoon. This is fine, if the singers are competent and the outcome good, but with a work like this which doesn't make huge technical demands there is a real danger that it can be performed badly. Unfortunately, being a work I know well, I was left rueing some of the inadequacies mentioned because they were obvious to me and therefore spoiled it somewhat. However, done well, it can be a very moving experience, although I find the hymns a real struggle as they rise so high (two to F, one to F#, although I freely admit I am far from a great singer). Unfortunately, it is not possible to transpose them down as the keys follow in sequence with the music that is around them.
I see mention of Maunder's 'Olivet to Calvary', which I heard my home church choir do several years ago, and is twinned with the Crucifixion on the Barry Rose recording which I have and I agree is excellent (even if not a complete recording). While I wouldn't deny that some of it is verging on Victorian twaddle which has had some rather unkind things written about it, I have to say that I come back again and again to the final chorus 'Droop sacred head' which I find an incredibly moving and powerful ending. If I'm feeling uninspired, it is one of those pieces which I do come back to for inspiration because its words and music do have genuine feeling and power. I would probably go to hear it again just for that.
Isn't it amazing what Stanley Vann and Barry Rose did for Stainer's Crucifixion and also Rose for Olivet to Calvary? I had never heard 'Olivet' until I bought a record of it on a whim years ago. Yes, there is a lot of 'Olivet' that perhaps should not have been written, but when I eventually chanced upon a score of the Maunder it was a lesson in what a top choirtmaster can do with second rate music. Having said that, I agree that the Rose recording of Olivet has some stunning emotional moments as does his Stainer. There is a church two hours from where I live that does the Stainer every Good Friday (and with a top choir) and the building is filled. . . and that's a four figure size congregation.
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Having just come out of Foyles' today, and having a lot of spare time before my next appointment, I wandered into St Patrick's Soho Square for the first time in many years. After this coming weekend the congregation is moving out so that 12 months of (clearly) obviously needed restoration work can be done on the fabric. In the west gallery, where you would normally find the organ in a building of this Italianate design, is evidence of a music group. At the front of the nave - blocking the view of the altar from the pews - is the console of a toaster. The pipe organ, to the north of the sanctuary was in the process of being ripped out and a lot of wooden pipes, wind trunks &c., were piled up in a mess in the porch. The instrument in general and the console in particular, looked rather poor and worn out, a fact confirmed by looking at the NPOR entry - a very small, nondescript, 2 manual. Even so, it seems a shame to see a pipe organ dumped. Does anyone know anything further about what might be happening to the present instrument and what is proposed in the way of an organ when the church re-opens in a year's time? It looks as if the church is not exactly flush with money. I knew someone years ago who worshiped there and I got the impression then that it was very much a going concern.
Malcolm
NPOR lists a three manual at St Patrick Soho Square, with a grade two Historic Organ certificate - or did I mis-read something?
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Dr Stanley Vann - another extraordinary musician / cathedral organist - turns 100 on Feb 15th.
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Thanks for the link - some interesting comments. I have played the Sicilienne and the Fanfare and March, but await arrival of ordered copies of Symph Two and the Grand Choeur. The finale from Symph 1 gets its first airing on Sunday. I have been using my father's nearly 60 year old copy - don't think he ever played it, as it is in "as new" condition . . . or was, until I started learning the music. With all the recent practise it has become fragile and suddenly started falling to bits at the spine, which is a bit embarrassing after surviving so long. However, it really is worth the effort to learn and revive Weitzs' works, but mostly not easy to play.
What can we do?
in The Organ
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