Ian Ball

Sorry to be a complete 13 year old boy...but is lovely not just for its thrilling playing at the perfect tempo, but for the ingenious shots of the instrument, inside and out (Bayon, Kern organ)

And surely a normal cone speaker simply isn't capable of producing such low frequencies properly? This might be more successful (how many $$$ I wonder?)

Duly ordered! Ta. Ian

Hehe. Well obviously I'd prefer to have the pipe organ in the house, but it's simply too big for our new music room and we'd prefer to put the car in the garage and guests in the loft! I have fallen in love with the reed organ, however. I've replaced and made airtight the trunking from the 'sucker' box, which I've made more sound/vibration proof, and regulated the touch depth and it is lovely. I enjoy the resonance and feeling of being in touch with a real instrument that teaches you how it likes to be played. The colours are remarkably good too, especially the caged full swell, meaning I happily work hard on romantic rep for ages, whereas a chiff-machine or digibox would have bored me hours earlier, no matter how 'sensitive' the action. As for pre-1800 music, the light, early-firing action when uncoupled is ideal, and the slight tendency for the Great reeds to 'bounce' when you play uber-staccato makes me really work to relax and keep fingertips in touch with the surface of the keys to control the release. A useful discipline. The prompt-speaking Swell Gamba and Great Dulciana are all you need to practice well into the night without disturbing sleeping children or the neighbours. It's also a joy to have a console which is ergonomically perfect; I've played too many small new pipe organs over the years which give me back or leg ache. The only thing I'd change is to swap the RCO pedalboard for a Franco-German straight/concave one, which I find more comfortable and 'all-purpose'. The slightly heavy touch of the action when coupled also gives me a good workout. It was ideal when preparing for a recital at Tewkesbury Abbey last week, which I have hitherto always felt exhaustingly heavy when the divisions are coupled. Not so now! I do wish the Apollo's reeds were more easy to tune, however. I have an annoying bottom G on the pedal Bourdon which needs a few ounces of brass scraping off! Best wishes Ian

Clevedon Organs rebuilt my instrument currently offered for sale elsewhere on this forum. They did an excellent job. Moreover, correspondence and quotations for work were professional and timely. Anthony Hall (the MD) is ex-Nicholsons and absolutely first rate.

With great reluctance I am selling my little 19th century house organ. An unexpected acquisition of an Apollo reed organ has meant no contest (in my wife's eyes at least!) when considering the layout of our new music room! Forum members are welcome to contact me if seriously interested in viewing/playing/bidding. The organ current lives in central Gloucester but must be out by the end of the month. It is listed here but I am happy to remove the listing once a reasonable price has been agreed. Warmest wishes Ian Ball

I bet that keeps you busy in Wales

Vierne: Les Cloches d'inckley

Yes I looked there when trying to wire the thing up and it's pretty vague, general advice. Have used the blower (actually, as a sucker for my Apollo reed organ, fed from the inlet at the side of the fan) for a couple of days now and it runs very sweetly with no hint of overheating. The old cast iron blower simply wasn't up to the job and made it sound like a rusty old squeeze box. The newer one, however, complete with upgraded blower box and Wickes' finest laundry tubing and accessories, makes the Apollo sound and feel fabulous. Warm and sonorous on a wooden floor and more responsive/controllable than 90% of the tracker organs I've ever played! And I would never, ever bother with an electronic instrument having experienced a well-set up reed organ. That's enough work-avoidance... Thanks again to all who offered advice.

Many thanks indeed David

Thank you everyone Ian

Hi Does anyone know how one should lubricate a BOB TOT2 organ blower driven by a Brook Crompton Parkinson 2800 rpm motor? The cap over the end of the shaft is fixed by three screws and there is no obvious flip-up oil cap as one would find on some other types of blower. The bearings and end of shaft look spotless and grease free so I'm wondering if it should be oiled elsewhere. It runs fine but I don't know how long it is since it was in regular use and I don't want to burn the house down... Also, what's the best oil to use? I've heard 3-in-1 can be disastrous. Many thanks Ian

Yes. Yes. No. Yes. Adjustable. See, inter alia, Notre-Dame de Paris, Truro Cathedral, Gloucester Cathedral, Ripon Cathedral (nave console). Every organ should have one. Adds another limb. E.g. LH: Swell Strings 16, 8, 4; LF: (to Sw) 32, 16, mutations etc; RH: Cornet; RF: Cromorne or 'super' classical Plein Jeu / Plein Jeu with steroids: manuals Grand Plein Jeu; RF: chamades (cantus firmus); LF: 32,16,8 fonds or even low anches for big finish.

Absolutely! And I'm enjoying the debate very much. Kind regards Ian

I agree with Nigel's post, up to a point. I'd like to make two points. First, it was not the ff vivo that attracted/attacts me to Cochereau; it is the extraordinary beauty of his slow movements and the unparalleled 'Cochereau crescendo', both of which are often perfect fusions of linear counterpoint and sensual harmony. Indeed, it is often PC's countermelodies that hold the ear, astonishing in their beauty and complexity, yet utterly satisfying. Sure, we've all read contemporary accounts that PC was more attracted to harmony in improv classes, but why should this be viewed as some kind of 'dark side'? I've heard too many deadly-dry fugues improvised by Dupré, for example. To be able to improvise fugues using regular countersubjects might be impressive, but sometimes the results leave one cold. The important thing is that one's improvisations are not constantly trying to ape one style. Having worked with someone who can 'do' PC standing on his head (and he was frequently asked to!), one was equally as likely to hear improvisation inspired by others, including Brits from Tallis to MacMillan (certainly encompassing Purcell, Elgar, Tippett and Britten, perhaps with Whitlock for fun). But before I'm reminded that such things are nothing more than party pieces if they are mere pastiche (which, by the way, I don't agree with), I did say 'inspired by' i.e. "assimilated and considered" en route to finding ones own personal language - which I think was Nigel's point. Secondly, I don't quite understand the point being made about transcribing and listening to recordings. Surely transcription by another can be as valid as composition by the performer, since improvisation (by a skilled practitioner) is spontaneous composition? Where that performer has neither the time nor inclination to compose much, one has to make do with transcriptions (if only someone had transcribed Bairstow, Massey or Pryor!). Especially so when sometimes, just sometimes, the end results are as 'good' as if they had been written down and laboured over using pencil and eraser. Indeed, perhaps that flash of inspiration might have been dulled somewhat by the temptation to tweak at leisure... I submit that capturing a moment of inspiration at one's desk or piano, pencil in hand or Sibelius booted up, is surely on a par with someone else (duly skilled etc) capturing it on the creator's behalf. Of course, the creator loses artist control, but no more so than when he hands over that completed manuscript to a performer, who doesn't even have the benefit of a recording of what the composer thinks he has written (pace Sibelius or midi!). If the creator doesn't want to run the risk of ephemeral utterances being transcribed for posterity, then he should not agree to them being recorded. However, to learn or simply study an improvisation from a transcription where a recording is available and not listen to the original is a negation of duty, in my book. If there were recordings of Bach playing his own works, would we not wish to hear them? Of course one can never capture the spontaneity of the original, but one can try, and learn a great deal along the way. How many dry-as-dust performances of the Tournemire/Duruflé transcriptions do we hear? There's simply no excuse these days. I often find myself asking "if ONLY they'd listened...". Cloning should of course be avoided, whether it's of your favourite edited recording of a Bach P&F or of Cochereau improvising for the Pope. But I certainly do see a point both to transcribing good improvisations and to informing one's understanding of creative and communicative art by listening. Which brings me to 100% agreement with Nigel: "Let's listen and learn how to communicate music and performance" IFB

Too beautiful for words: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiMnLsJK-qk...feature=channel This thrills too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtcM5Q4Kf5g...feature=channel

Funny to read so much about the 'old' 'new' St Peter's organ. I was organ scholar there in its first 3 years. Its"difficulty" had little do do with positioning in the building (with due respect). It was simply a poor instrument, badly finished (less charitable visiting builders would say unfinished). The flutes were pretty, but that was about all. The action was poor; the Great Principal sagged when one drew the same stop transmitted to the Pedals; the chorus was crude and unrefined. As a crude, unrefined Northerner myself when I went up to Oxford, I was angered by the 'emperor's new clothes' attitude that prevailed at the time. No one seemed to have the guts to admit that the College's expensive purchase was not fit for purpose and to call the builder and consultant to account. Another gripe for the daily users of the chapel, was that the consultant had recommended the specification and builder because the college didn't have a choral tradition...apparently. That came as quite a surprise to generations of organ scholars, choral scholars and other singers who had to live with the thing. I immediately fired up the poor old Willis (back in 1987) and used that to accompany the choir - but only for Monday night Compline services, when the Chaplain wasn't around! It was better for practice too, with a more even action and comfortable console I was once asked to record some music on the Lammermuir by a committee considering a larger instrument from the same hand for a church on the south coast (to include strings, a Swell, pistons etc). Thankfully I was able to avoid embarrassment by explaining that the designs were so different that any recording from SPC would not give a fair impression of the instrument they had on the drawing board ~phew~ It is particularly gratifying to see the old Willis lovingly and superbly restored by Nicholsons and back in daily use (along with the proper choir stalls - no longer has the choir to clutter the front of the Nave on padded chairs). Incredible how the little Willis fills the place too. Another bonus is that all can now appreciate the fine Bishop Chavasse memorial on the north aisle wall (previously covered by the Lammermuir). It is a wooden replica of the stone original in Liverpool Cathedral. Where did the SPC Lammermuir end up? Anyone out there know?

Definitely! Buy it!

Recordings: scroll down here and you'll get the relevant reference numbers (mainly Philips France and Solstice): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Cochereau. The Scherzo you're working on is one of the two on the widely available Solstice boxed set Pierre Cochereau: L'organiste de Notre-Dame. You can order direct from Solstice or Discovery have it. Desert island improvs (for me) on this box set include CD3 tracks 1, 8, 9 (enough to move the stoniest heart to prayer), 16 (I want this at my funeral, along with Communion from Messe Dominicale on this) and of course the excerpts from the St Matthew improvs (his very last). I am not one of those sad puritans who "can't see the point". Any artistic endeavour which broadens the mind and opens the heart has got to be worthy of attention. At the very least, study of Coch ought to help one become a more generous, big hearted, inventive, risk-taking and inspirational musician (helps you use the Octatonic scale sexily too!) Kind regards Ian

Filsell's are pretty accurate, in my experience, yet not so fussy as to put the performer off learning the dots. He chooses to 'correct' splashes and the like, and I don't blame him, although the more the recordings get under your skin, the more the splashes become integral to the spirit of the original. The choice is yours. Don't be too literal. IMHO no transcription can perfectly capture either the texture or rhythms of the originals. Yes, 'bricolage' is very much part of the texture - thumb and forefinger of each hand often. Fast tremolandi. Don't bother measuring them (just go watch any decent improviser in this style and you will be persuaded). Remember, acoustic, voicing and size of instrument will all have a bearing too. The only way to hone your performance after learning the transcriptions is to listen to the originals until they are completely under your skin; nay, until they wake you in a state of arousal at 5 am! Interestingly, one ends up at the oft-repeated mantra that one's playing should always sound like an improvisation... If your playing of Cochereau sounds wooden, or that you are 'reading', then don't bother...as one could say of Bach, Mozart, Vierne et al, of course. And yes, Cochereau's chord repetition could out-Erlkönig the finest pianists! Technically, they are very demanding. Have fun! Ian

Well, if your wits survive the sheer bliss of hearing the Thomanerchor live, or the stunning organs, or the Gewandhausorchester, or the Oper, then the Schumannhaus and Mendelssohnhaus are well worth visits. Both within walking distance of the Gewandhaus and do-able in an afternoon. And any bars and markets you encounter en route! Rail station impressive too (if you're into that kind of thing). University musical instrument museum is ace too. Enjoy! Ian

Rory Bremner, I've always thought...

It has an honesty - about the organ he's playing; about the organ in general as an exciting medium; about his self-confidence and secure technique; about his passion for Bach; about his grasp of the architecture of the piece - that I like very much. No messing. And it has clarity - that watchword that led to the wholesale destruction of an entire aesthetic in Britain.

There's a lot of this talented organist and this superb instrument on Youtube. I just adore its sound. The colours in the Liszt and are simply stunning.

Not bad for four feet on a floor-level keyboard! Marie-Claire Alain dancing with André Isoir?