Denis O'Connor
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Posts posted by Denis O'Connor
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Surely that should be "Salvete omnes"?
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Vis-a-vis cases that slide to allow access to the innards, I first met this feature in the orgue-du-choeur in the church of St Servan-sur-Mer. There is a 3 manual Cavaille Coll on the gallery and a little accompanimental organ at the east end. The large organ was recently rebuilt.
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Does anyone remember her Messiaen recorded at the Royal Festival Hall? Hardly the most favourable acoustic
for this music. I think I have got some copies of the discs somewhere. I suppose they might have some value
for a student of how to surmount obstacles or,perhaps,as a sonic guide to the RFH instrument.
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I fear the problem is more radical.Never mind scales,arpeggi and tonic water,crate up all available bottles of gin and ship them to me.
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There are three indexes to The Organ that I know of:Betty Matthews(covering all articles 1921-1970)A Supplement to the same covering articles from 1970-1982 and Douglas Carrington's Index covering 1982-1993
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[in the early 70's I was the organist at St Anne's RC church in Vauxhall, South London. The parish priest came to me at the end of a service and said that there was a man who wanted to try the organ. He added a proviso that I should be strict with him. The gentleman appeared and seated himself at the console and proceeded to play various hymns,reading them from the hymnal. He kept saying that it wasn't loud enough and I duly obliged until he had full organ. Eventually he had had enough and departed. He appeared in the church next day and proceeded to attack one of the sidesman. It appears that he had been in prison and whilst incarcerated had been taught to read music by the chaplain. What the clergy will do in their desperation to get an organist! Still, it says a lot for the chaplain who must have been a very patient man,
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Is that the same as "What shall we do with the drunken sailor"? - which I think is best used to celebrate the Assumption of the Virgin Mary (considering the chorus).
BTW, did you know it's in the Dorian mode?
JJK
Is that the same as "What shall we do with the drunken sailor"? - which I think is best used to celebrate the Assumption of the Virgin Mary (considering the chorus).BTW, did you know it's in the Dorian mode?
JJK
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As to Quentin Maclean never having held achurch post in this country,he was at one time assistant organist at Westminster Cathedral
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The story about GTB and Thiman reminds me of Sir Henry Wood's acquaintance H.C Tonking. Wood had organ lessons with him and thought very highly
of him. Tonking was organist at Westminster Chapel,Buckingham Gate.However he was dismissed and before the first Sunday his successor was to play,he got into the organ and made certain alterations. He took Wood with him to the Sunday service and was delighted when the unfortunate organist selected soft stops for his prelude and was rewarded with 16ft and 8ft reeds plus 8 ranks of mixtures! Tonking thought it hilarious but Wood told him waht he thought of such a low trick and never saw him again.
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This reminds me of yet another story; this time concerning pistons.
It was said that Sir George Thalben-Ball had only the thinnest veil behind which he hid his complete contempt for Eric Thiman; then organist of "The City Temple", where there was (still is?) a very large J W Walker organ.
The story goes that Sir George Thalben-Ball was invited to play for wedding at "The City Temple," but Eric Thiman , as incumbent organist, insisted on accompanying the choir and playing the wedding marches and hymns. Sir George was therefore relegated to the role of assistant organist; playing just the voluntaries.
With a malicious grin, Sir George Thalben-Ball hatched a plot, and when the signal came that the bride had duly arrived, Eric Thiman hurriedly slipped onto the organ-bench and blindly stabbed at the thumb-pistons as he looked towards the entrance-door. The bride entered, less than impressively, to an opening fanfare played on the 8ft Great Flute with Swell Celestes coupled.
Sir George had reversed all the thumb-pistons!
MM
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This reminds me of yet another story; this time concerning pistons.
It was said that Sir George Thalben-Ball had only the thinnest veil behind which he hid his complete contempt for Eric Thiman; then organist of "The City Temple", where there was (still is?) a very large J W Walker organ.
The story goes that Sir George Thalben-Ball was invited to play for wedding at "The City Temple," but Eric Thiman , as incumbent organist, insisted on accompanying the choir and playing the wedding marches and hymns. Sir George was therefore relegated to the role of assistant organist; playing just the voluntaries.
With a malicious grin, Sir George Thalben-Ball hatched a plot, and when the signal came that the bride had duly arrived, Eric Thiman hurriedly slipped onto the organ-bench and blindly stabbed at the thumb-pistons as he looked towards the entrance-door. The bride entered, less than impressively, to an opening fanfare played on the 8ft Great Flute with Swell Celestes coupled.
Sir George had reversed all the thumb-pistons!
MM
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[On a slightly different tack, do any of the more ancient contributors remember a BBC series on the Third Programme? It ran,so far as I remember, to six programmes in which well known British orgamists of the day improvised. I think Regimald Moore of Exeter Cathedral performed as did Charles Spinks. As a youth I was very impressed. I think the programme was designed to show that the French were not the only ones who could do it (even if they were the best). The broadcasts took place in the 1950's. It would be fascinating to hear them again.
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What would readers consider a good average number of weddings/funerals to play for each year at their own churches? I play about 12 weddings and perhaps 10 funerals per year at my small church in Gloucester.As a young man (1960/70) when marriage was more popular than co-habitation,I looked with envy at colleagues who seemed to have about 2 or 3 weddings each week in their church. One chap was so bored with the thought of having to play 4 or 5,he would pass them on to me. A welcome bonus for a young married school teacher!
NB If the topic seems a little sordid for some of our readers, I am allergic to cats and would rather read about something a little more germane to this forum!
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Hi
If you mean Whitworth's "Cinema & Theatre Organ" then I have a copy in my library. Or is there another one?
In comment on a later post, I played a couple of Compton Theatre organs earlier in the year, and you can make a pretty respectable Compton church organ sound - and if the trems of their church organs are heavy enough, the reverse is also true.
Every Blessing
Tony
I have 4 books by Reginald Whitworth. The most substantial is"The Electric Organ"which treats of the development and application of electricity to the organ.His other works are:Organ Stops and their Use,The Cinema and Theatre Organ andA Student's Guide to the Organ.
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Hi
If you mean Whitworth's "Cinema & Theatre Organ" then I have a copy in my library. Or is there another one?
In comment on a later post, I played a couple of Compton Theatre organs earlier in the year, and you can make a pretty respectable Compton church organ sound - and if the trems of their church organs are heavy enough, the reverse is also true.
Every Blessing
Tony
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I believe Alexandre Guilmant was an honorary FRCO. It would be interesting to see a list of those foreign musicians so honoured.
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I believe Alexandre was an honorary FRCO.It would be interesting to see a list of those foreign organists
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Of course there's hope! I did my ARCO when I was about 20 and did quite well - I missed the top prize by one mark (for which I strongly suspect a sloppy piston change was responsible). I then did a very stupid thing. Having consoled myself with the Sawyer Prize I felt I ought at least to maximise my chances at getting one of the FRCO prizes (not that there was ever much hope of that, but nothing ventured, nothing gained). But that meant (a) ensuring I passed both paperwork and practical in the same exam - which in turn would mean waiting until the right history period came around and (b ) since I've never claimed to be Virgil Fox, waiting until there was a conducive set of pieces. In short the moment passed. And passed, and passed... Time rolled on. At one point I even gave up playing the organ altogether for two or three years (not something I would recommend - I've never been quite the same since). Then I got another church job, got back into the swing of things, decided it was now or never and put myself down for the FRCO, hoping I might scrape a pass. I got through the paperwork first time, but the b****rds failed my playing. It wasn't wrong notes - they just didn't like my interpretations. So the next time round I made a point of giving them the interpretations I knew they wanted to hear rather than what I felt was right and passed reasonably comfortably.
The point of this is that it pays to find out who the examiners are going to be and what sort of style(s) they like. For, though all of them will claim to be open-minded without any preconceived notions of what is acceptable, you will be very lucky to find ones that are as adaptable as they like to think they are.
Further on this, a little story. Many years ago Sidney Campbell was examining - I forget whether it was AR or FR. After one session he came back steaming mildly from the ears. There had been a bit of an argument between the three examiners over the awarding of the top prize. One superb candidate had played Buxtehude's Prelude and Fugue in F sharp minor in what, reading between the lines, may well have been a stylus phantasticus interpretation. At any rate, he had begun slowly and wound up the speed. Two of the examiners wanted to award him the prize, but Campbell strongly disagreed. He had thought the interpretation positively bizarre and felt that, although the candidate certainly deserved a pass, he didn't merit a prize. Campbell, being outnumbered, lost. Now when it came to interpretation Campbell was possibly the most open-minded and flexible musician I have ever come across, yet this demonstrates that even he had his limitations.
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Here goes,
I used to tune the organ (full day visits) of St James the Greater, Leicester - a very fine organ in a very resonant building. At 10 a.m., while hard at work the Vicar came in and announced that at 11 there was a funeral and please accept his apologies for forgetting to tell me earlier.
It was a bit of a rush to get the organ back into a playing situation in 30 minutes and there were still some outstanding faults that had to wait until later, including the fact that the Swell Tremulant knocked if drawn.
A very doddery old `guest' organist turned up to play and I told him under no circumstance must he use the Swell Tremulant. He did not during his playing, but during the prayers he pulled out the stop out of curiosity. It gave four knocks that echoed round the church and he then pushed it back in. He obviously wanted to make sure that it was faulty and after a little pause, when he had considered the matter, pulled it out for another three knocks. He pushed it back in and did not try it again.
Regretably he was totally oblivious to the consternation he was causing among the family, to say nothing of the undertaker. Fortunately the then Vicar, The Rev Lawrence Jackson, who some you you might have known, realised where the knocks were coming from and did not panic but many of the congregation were decidedly disturbed.
FF
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My good friend Anthony Scott restored this instrument in the (I think) 1960's in collaboration with Nicholson's. The Orchestral Oboe gave way to a sharp Mixture, I believe of 2 ranks; the tuning of the old stop was very temperamental, legend had it. I am told Denis Thurlow voiced the new stop and Tony Scott installed it. I played it about 10 years ago; fairly sure it had the original pedalboard etc. Definitely worth restoring. Tony was organist there for many years too. Legend has it there was a temporary contrivance called "Great to Pedal No 2" which operated a tap under the manuals, the other end leading to a beer barrel on top of the Swell.
Ramsbury was done about the same time (also by Tony Scott in collaboration with Nicholson's). There is a write up of both instruments somewhere in back issues of The Organ. I think Ramsbury had slightly more extensive alterations.
Tony Scott was not, it must be admitted, a great organ builder (apprenticed to Rushworth's just after the war - some of his work is just magnificently dreadful) but he was a well seasoned composer, studied with Howells and Finzi (Finzi's only private pupil).
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Whilst watching a BBC programme about architectural salvage,I was intrigued to hear a dealer mention that he had had some "salvage"from the Albert Hall organ.
I would be interested to hear what he got other than old tubing,wiring and split windchests.
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I did not mean "coffee table" book in a disparaging way. I meant to convey the impression of a well presented book that one woul be inclined to pick up. When I see the author's name and the publisher's, I know that content will be compelling reading and the quality of the book outstanding as regards the typography,illustrations etc. I look forward to getting a copy.
Denis O'Connor
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I seem to remember that a book about the organ in the Royal Hall was going to be produced. If I remember correctly, it was described as a "coffee table"book.
Preumably it would cover the history of the instrument and the music and musicians associated with it.Is such a book in preparation and, if so, when is it likely to be published.
Anybody Heard Marlborough College Yet?
in General discussion
Posted
I went to hear it and was very impressed. For the recital I was sitting at the front of the chapel with my back to the organ and about 10 feet from it. I found it a very impressive instrument and Simon Preston put it through its paces quite thoroughly. The nearest thing I heard to a cipher was a note on a reed stop which came on at the beginning of a movement and was quickly silenced. This happened a couple of times. During the service of dedication and blessing of the organ , the instrument was heard to fine effect in the voluntaries played beforehand and in the accompaniments and final voluntary. I would certainly like to attend the open day on 24th February but am booked in for the BIOS day conference.