MAB

I am not sure if this piece is published, but no doubt Google could help us here. I have only come across it once, and that was when Ashley Grote played it in the semi - final round of the Young Musician of the Year some years ago. To be honest, the piece did not make much of an impression on me. I felt it to be a matter of sound rather than substance, and as such, not the best choice for a competition. I seem to remember Thomas Trotter making the same point in his adjudication. I would like to give it a second chance, although I would not expect to want to rush out and learn it myself. Was Tom Winpenny playing it ? If it is not published, I imagine it is in private circulation amongst Kings organ scholars as Ashley Grote and Tom Winpenny were near contemporaries. I am sure an e - mail to either of them would help ; when I recently had cause to speak / e - mail to both of them, they were most helpful in their replies. m

As if any further commendation were needed, can I just say that Daniel is an absolutely outstanding teacher at all levels ; masterly technique, always musical and thoughtful, bursting with enthusiasm and great fun to work with. Don't be shy ! m

At the risk of repeating myself, can I offer some advice on transposition for exams that I have given elsewhere in this forum (with particular reference to the RCO exams). The best transposition exercises are real music, rather than hymn tunes or exercises written for the purpose of transposition. I have received this advice time and time again, starting with John Scott years ago, and with every teacher and examiner I have subsequently spoken to. The musical reason for this is that in an exam, the examiners will award a basic pass mark for accuracy, but you get the extra marks for playing with musical feeling ; they will be looking for phrasing, shape and articulation rather than just a robotic but accurate performance. Obviously, it is much more enjoyable as well to transpose real music rather than exercise music, and it probably includes greater chromatic challenges as well, which you can grade yourself. For my ARCO I transposed the more chromatic movements of Vierne's 24 Pieces en style libre, whilst for my FRCO I transposed my way through all of Reger's chorale preludes. Once you become more confident, start to transpose your vocal score and figured bass exercises as well. Put deliberate obstacles in your way so that 'simply' transposing seems simple by comparison. If you are feeling brave, force yourself to transpose a hymn in a service just for the sake of it. It is nerve - racking, but it will improve your confidence no end. In the three months running up to RCO exams, I made it a point of principle never to play any service music in the actual key in which it was written. I hope these thoughts help ; very best of luck. Mark B

Thank you to everyone for their suggestions. Just to conclude the thread, after making my posting yesterday, I pulled up the Notre Dame website and, on the off chance, sent an e - mail asking it if would be possible to visit the Tribune on 1st November. When I arrived at work this morning I switched on my computer to find a personal e - mail from Jean - Pierre Leguay inviting me in the warmest terms to join him that day. I have exchanged a number of e - mails with him this morning confirming details in which he has been the soul of charm. As you can imagine, I am already looking forward to this hugely. Kind regards, Mark

I am planning a weekend visit to Paris for the October half term, and understand that if you are a visiting organist, on making the appropriate enquiry it is possible to be invited to sit in the tribune to watch the organist playing for the mass. Obviously, I would love to do this if possible and wondered whether any board members had made this visit, and could tell me to whom I should direct my enquiry. Any thoughts gratefully received ! Many thanks, Mark

If it's the bit I am thinking of, I find the most helpful approach is to feel a clear minim pulse and let every other rhythm fall into that framework. If you try to count the individual quaver triplets in the left hand in your head, you will not be able to keep up with the pulse of the music and your thinking will block the music. I think this is one of those pieces where you must not try and work out the music in your head. Switch off your brain and let your inner musician relax into the music. Feel the force, if you will. 'The Inner Game of Music' has a lot to say about this sort of approach and illustrates it by some drumming exercises. You are invited to drum on your knees or the table. The more you think about it, the harder it becomes. The more you let go with your head and trust your inner musician, the easier it becomes. Having said that, practicing very hard can only help, particularly getting those quaver triplets really smooth and even on auto - pilot. Good luck - sublime piece, as with all Durufle. The Prelude Adagio and Chorale Variations remains my favourite, but the opening page of the Alain Fugue is just superb. Best, m

I am rather pleased that Cynic broke ranks and tried to turn the discussion to the most beautiful stop you know, because he was only saying out loud what I was privately thinking. Isn't it a bit adolescent to compare stops on the basis of 'mine is bigger than yours' ? As musicians, shouldn't we have outgrown this ? Shouldn't we be more concerned with beauty than with force ? I like to think it is a sign of such maturity as I have achieved as a musician that quite often now when playing a concert on a big organ, I deliberately avoid the tuba. Loudness for its own sake is wearying, and so many tubas are not particularly pleasant or interesting to listen to. Unless I am playing a trumpet or tuba tune, whcih is the sort of music I tend not to feature in my programmes, I can see no reason to use the thing. Fiery solo reeds are a diffent matter, and can be genuinely 'orchestrated' in the music for a real musical purpose. [The one exception I would make from instruments discussed so far is Eaton Square, which I heard recently in concert, accompanying a choir I was singing with. The tutti is very loud indeed, but without any trace of shrillness or harshness. It is genuinely thrilling and musical - the loudness has its own artistic purpose]. By contrast, a beautiful single flute or principal can be endlessly musical. I cannot nominate the most beautiful in the country because I have not played that many organs, but some stops that I have played that never fail to enchant me are the Cor de Nuit on the choir at Coventry, the stopped diapason on the swell at St Mary's Brighton and the Cor de Nuit Celestes at Westminster Cathedral. Also mentioned in dispatches are the flutes / principals on the Rieger at Oxford and at Marylebone. You find that you select these stops at the beginning of a piece, and then just want to carry on for the rest of the piece without change - the real test, in my view, of a musical stop. Sorry if this spoils the fun ! m

This is a good topic. Quite often I like to draw up my Desert Island Discs, and to be quite honest, would happily survive on the island without any organ music. Bach would be essential, but would be represented either by the St John Passion, or by the Well Tempered Clavier - I am hugely enjoying Angela Hewitt's new recording at the moment. I would probably go for the latter in that it encompasses every emotion known to the human heart, and having quite of a lot of opera and choral music on the island I would want a more abstract, purely instrumental piece. However, there would be one piece of organ music just to acknowledge how much playing the organ has meant to me in my life (in the same way that there would be one piece of pop music to acknowledge how much I have enjoyed pop and rock music as well). It would be a piece that I play myself, that I have happy memories of performing, and that I could listen to endlessly in different moods as well, ultimately, as just loving for its sheer beauty. Step forward .... the Prelude, Adagio and Chorale Variations on the Veni Creator by Maurice Durufle. I woudl take the recording by John Scott at St Paul's which is the one I come back to most of all. Regards, m

I am no great expert in these matters, but would just say this. When I was a student, my teacher impressed upon me the importance of playing with toes as much as possible, in Romantic music as well as Bach. Being young and big - headed, naturally I ignored him. Twenty years on I think much harder about my technique, and am re - constructing pieces I learned 20 years ago. Surprise, surprise ; I find myself using toes much, much more. The line is clearer, the attack cleaner, and phrasing can be controlled much more precisely. This applies in romantic and modern music as well as baroque. As a result of using toes more, I find that I also cross my legs much more, and often at the extremes of the pedalboard. At first I thought this was taboo, but then I remind myself of Roger Fisher's very wise remark, that applies to pedalling even though it was originally devised for fingering ; if the fingering [pedalling] is secure and gives musical results, then it is good pedalling. (Gillian Weir put it another way, apocryphally, when listening to some very earnest but dull performance with authentic fingering ; ' I don't care if you play it with your elbows if it gives musical results'). It requires more practice to control your feet when they are crossed - the wires in your brain feel scrambled - but it gives better results and for me, that is what matters. Having said all this, I do not completely avoid heels in Bach. I have heard 'all toes' performances of Bach and Buxtehude where the music is crying out for a legato bass line (particularly in the chorale preludes) and we are presented with a clumpy series of notes with the toes pecking away at the pedal board. I don't care what the scholars say ; the musician in me just doesn't want to listen. Hope that might help ! Best, m

Can anyone help me on this ? I have lost my old copy of this Dandrieu Noel, and quickly need to get a new copy to perform shortly. It is out of print, Roger Molyneux does not have a copy, and the copy in the RCO library is available for hire but for administrative reasons may not arrive quickly. This Noel is published in the old Schola Cantorum edition of the 2e. Fascicule of the Noels. If anyone has a copy, and could send me a PDF scan of it, I would be extremely grateful. Many thanks in advance for any help provided. Mark B

The Widor will sound fine. It will not be heavy work in itself, but the action will leave you nowhere to hide. Make sure you are on top form ! Best, M

It is a fine organ, in a magnificent building. You will certainly enjoy playing it. I gave a couple of Sunday afternoon recitals there a few years ago, and my recollection is of a beautifully voiced, graceful instrument in a grateful acoustic. The voicing of the instrument is beautiful rather than powerful. At the console the sound is intimate, and you can feel that you are not making much of an impact, but the sound blooms remarkably in the building and fills it very well. I seem to recall an 18th century English style of voicing, and the organ plays baroque and early music better than the romantic warhorses, but it is so musical that you can make a good job of most things on it. The action is also, as I recall, very precise, and this coupled with the close nature of the sound means that it is not an organ you can relax on. It feels like playing harpsichord - careful articulation is called for and you need to be on your toes. There is a trompeta real added into the scheme, which is not as vulgar as it might sound, but it is rather out of place. I seem to recall there are plenty of general pistons as well, so managing the organ is not a problem. Hope that helps, Kind regards, Mark B

Many thanks for these recommendations. Ron Coates is just round the corner from me, so I will probably contact him. Thanks again. M

Forgot to add. 5 (i). In the few months leading up to ARCO, if I was playing for a church service (which I was in those days) I made a habit of transposing every single piece of music I played during the service (apart from voluntaries) to get used to transposition in front of an audience. Nerve - racking to begin with, but gives your confidence a huge boost. m

Can anyone recommend a good engineer for a Viscount Prestige V ? My Viscount, which, I hasten to add, has given trouble free service for more than 8 years needs a new contact on one of the pedals which feels a bit wrong. Can anyone recommend a good engineer to come and look at it ? I live in Dorking, 12 miles outside the M25. Thanks, MAB

I thoroughly agree with everything that has been said so far. I took my ARCO about 6 years ago, and FRCO 4 years ago. I first took my ARCO 20 years ago when I was a student and failed everything. I was so knocked back that it took me all that time to have another go, but I am very pleased I did. In the intervening period, the exam process has become much more relevant, transparent and user - friendly. The study days now run by the RCO are very useful, particularly if you can get a 'hands on' day at St Barnabas which is, indeed, a lovely organ. Here are some tips which I learned along the way. 1 Obviously, don't ignore the pieces, but really concentrate on the tests. Practice the tests 100 times more than you practice the pieces. 2 Practice the tests, literally, every day. You need to get to the stage where you feel guilty if you miss a day's practice. I remembering practicing on Christmas Day just so that I could say I had done it. 3 Be patient and don't lose heart if it seems difficult. The tests will come, but will not come overnight. I reckon it took me around 8 months to start from zero but get to ARCO standard. The best lesson I ever had on the tests was talking to two very famous concert organists, both of whom were RCO prizewinners, both of whom are now examiners. I learned that they found the tests just as difficult as I did, and had to work just as hard as I did to succeed. 4 Practice the tests from 'real' music rather than books of tests. Practicing score reading from, say, the Gibbons Short Service is much more enjoyable than some dreary book of studies, and will give a boost to your harmony and counterpoint at the same time. 5 Deliberately step up the level of your tests so that you practice them at a higher level than will be needed on the day. When you are confident of your score - reading, try to transpose the score reading as well. 6 Record yourself playing the tests. Play them with a metronome. Video yourself playing the tests so that you can see if there are any areas for improvement. 7 Then aim to play the tests as if they were the most beautiful music in the world. That is the way to get the extra marks. The examiners are looking for you to be musical in everything you do, particularly the tests. Don't just aim to get the notes right, although that must be a given, think about your phrasing, your articulation, your sense of poise and performance. 8 If you elect figured bass, play along with real music. I bought the Dover score of Bach Cantatas (good for FRCO score reading), listened to the cantata on my Ipod and played along. A wonderful way to discover this treasure trove of music, and learn at the same time. 9 So far as Harmony and Counterpoint is concerned, I pretty much taught myself from scratch. I found Anna Butterworths books absolutely superb ; Harmony in Practice publisehd by ABRSM and Stylistic Harmony published by Oxford. 10 Anna Bond's little book published by RSCM on how to approach ARCO is very good. 11 Get really good tuition from someone who knows the exam from the inside, preferably an RCO examiner. The St Giles Organ School is superb in this respect ; Daniel Moult guided me through the FRCO tests and was just brilliant, as well as being huge fun to work with. You can contact him direct on his website. St Giles also gave me very good guidance for ARCO paperwork. St Giles also do mock exam days which I am sure would be very useful. 12 Put aside 5 or 10 minutes of your practice time at Dulwich to visualising the exam itself. The three examiners will sit at a table in the middle of the church space, closer than you think. Practice walking into the space. Practice walking out of the space. Imagine it is the actual day of the exam. Take a digital camera and take photographs of the organ console and the space so that when you arrive on the day you can picture exactly what you are going to do. Remember, the examiners are looking for someone who can give a polished performance from the minute they walk through the door, not someone who shambles on and just scrapes through. 13 Learn from my example. If you fail - and it happens - don't lose heart. As I say, I failed ARCO outright the first time, then got everything the second time years later, then failed FRCO test the first time and had to re - sit those. Diligence, method and focus is the way to pass these exams, and will be rewarded. This makes it all sound like hard work, which it is, but I cannot tell you how proud I am of the diploma on my wall, and how much it is boosted my confidence as an organist and as a musician. Go for it ! Good luck, and let us know how you get on. Best regards, Mark B

I once heard a recording of one of the Brandenburg Concertos in which, in the middle of the most energetic and buoyant allegro, was inserted a beautifully limpid cadenza for the recorder. The change in affekt was wonderful with the contrast between the virtuosity of the style and the simplicity of the medium. A similar performance that always makes me stop and think is Martha Argerich's recording of Gaspard de la Nuit, where she gives us real 'music of the night', full of darkness and shadows (even in Scarbo) rather than the carnival virtuosity we hear too often. Finally, I remember John Scott remarking about how he played the Canzona in d minor on the Dome 8' Open Diapason alone when he performed the complete Bach series at St Paul's, and what a revelation this was. I try for a similar effect in the cadenza of the Mozart Fantasia K608 ; having heard so many performances where Full Swell comes on with an angry bump at this point, before the recapitulation, I pause, and then play the first two phrases of the cadenza with all the time in the world on a 4' flute, before building up to a fuller registration for the recapitulation. Well, I like it, and no - one has ever shot me down in flames over it. M

I am no Durufle expert, and agree that this most meticulous of composers requires the most faithful interpretation of the score, but I aim to preserve, as has been said, the spirit of the music as it flows from the opening section into the semiquavers. For me, the 'Durufle flow' is important above all, helped by a sense of the dancing groups of three quavers that underpin the semiquavers. In addition, I find it helps gradually to increase the tempo throughout the piece, rather than change gears abruptly at these points. One very highly regarded organist I know starts the new section with a completely new affect, namely of spikey mechanical music, totally at odds with the elegiac tone of the opening - I cannot agree with this at all. M

Couldn't agree more ; less is more with all of these toccatas (and much other music besides). My old teacher always told me off if I talked about 'speed' and insisted I refer to 'pace' instead. I think this is a good distinction. At a slower speed / pace - within reason - you have the added excitement of the harmonic pulse of the piece, which gets lost in a blur if you take it too fast, also the cumulative, pulsing excitement of the repeated chords which, again, disappears if you take it too fast. I find that the law of diminishing returns sets in very quickly as you increase the speed in a piece ; there may be a certain breakneck excitement if you can pull it off, but in my view, that rapidly becomes a 'so what' experience. Having said that, it is often much harder to play these pieces steadily rather than at high speed ; it demands greater control and a rock steady (no pun intended) sense of rhythm. By contrast, one must also avoid the danger of taking 'emotional' music too slow. I have recently bought Charles Mackerras' recording of the 4 last Mozart symphonies in which the 'slow' movements are taken quite briskly. They pack a much greater punch which arises from the increased sense of direction and line which, ironically, highlights harmonic tensions that do not arise at the slower speed. But that's the secret ; the power arises from the phrasing and the line as much as the sheer pace. As with all these things, it is much easier to talk about than to do ! Best, M

Don't know the piece, but as an equally foolish and eager youth I did once learn and play in a recital the Sonatine for pedals alone. With the wisdom of maturity, I rather wish I hadn't. Perhaps the answer is to transpose the phrase, or substitute a note that makes harmonic / melodic sense in that context. On a more serious point, I am rarely convinced by pieces for pedals alone. Once you get over the 'look no hands' element, I am never convinced that the mechanical limitations are overcome sufficiently to make it a satisfying musical experience. Ironically, the less serious pieces seem to work best, and here I am thinking of the GTB Paganini Variations, the Sowerby Pageant and the cadenza of the Bonnet Variations de Concert. What these demonstrate is virtuosity for the sake of it, and nothing more profound is expected or intended. With anything that professes to be more serious (quite apart from the portentous Dylan Thomas title) I run out of patience quite quickly. (I do not include in this view short pedal solos such as in the Toccata Adagio and Fugue in C or the F major toccata which grow out of the overall musical texture, lead back into it, and are absolutely clear as to what they are intended to achieve). I feel the same sort of dissatisfaction when watching ice skating, or gymnastics. There is always a bit when, essentially, the skater or gymnast is just running across the ground to build up momentum for the following jump. They try and make it look artistic, but somehow never quite get over the fact that is, basically, running ; all function, and no art. I am sorry to say this, but I cannot quite escape this feeling when listening to unaccompanied violin or cello music, even JSB himself. M

Thank you for these responses. They have really helped me in a practical way, and boosted my motivation. Due to a problem with my computer, I could only watch the video rather than listen to it, but it was very helpful. Many thanks, as always. M

Title says it all really. Just how hard is this piece ? It is one of those pieces that I really want to learn, and pick up every year determined to crack it (by now I think I have fingered every single note) but then just seem to hit a brick wall. It was in the FRCO list the year I got my Fellowship, so it should not be superhumanly difficult. I am sure the answer, as always, is practice, practice and more practice, but I wondered if anyone here who plays it has any tips for some of the more awkward more moments. In particular, the octave chord skips always seem to catch me out. Any help gratefully received ! MAB

I too have special reason to remember Dennis Townhill with affection ; I only went to one recital he gave in Edinburgh, and certainly Leighton featured, although I am bound to say that I have never been terribly keen on his music. However, the closing piece on the programme was Hollins Trumpet Minuet. This was the first time I heard this piece, I fell in love with it on the spot and have continued to enjoy it ever since. Happy memories, and RIP. M

I think I had better tread carefully here as lots of sensitivities could be offended. First, I am not sure that reference to Mr Carpenter's 'homoerotic image' adds anything terribly helpful. Certainly, he adopts a flamboyant image, which is something rather different. When I was young and idealistic, that sort of thing used to enrage me 'at the expense of the purity of the music' etc. etc, but as I soften with age, I have to accept that he gets bigger audiences than I do, so must be doing something right. No, I am not worried about the flamboyance in itself and I hope we would agree that any gender reference beyond this is neither here nor there. Next, there is no doubt that he has a technique that is utterly dazzling. Period, as our American cousins would say. I do accept, however, that the flamboyance and the dazzling technique seem to hold primacy in his performances at the expense of any great, original or profound musical insight. Of his performances I have seen, those of the weightiest works leave me unmoved (to put it no more strongly than that). However, for music that is simply virtuosic for its own sake, he is in a league of his own. For years I had been trying to find a really good performance of the Demessieux Octave Etude, and his performance on YouTube is astonishing. This is not great music, but a performance that can carry this piece off has an eloquence and, in a way, an artistry of its own that is not to be denied. It is not the same experience as, say, listening to a mature performer play one of the Eighteen chorale preludes ; we should compare not one with the other. I am not sure that Cameron Carpenter would expect us to. His Mahler transcription shows him to be a fastidious and practical musician for all the flashiness he delivers in concert. For such a young student, he really knows how to make the organ work as a musical instrument. The story goes that he made the transcription from a combination of his eidetic recall of the score and his perfect pitch. I looked at the transcription and thought that I could play it and, more important, would want to play it. I also admire the fact that he has made the transcription freely available on the internet, in his words, to test whether it is musically viable; others might have only (self) published for profit. Regular readers of this board will know that I really enjoy pop music ; it gives me as much pleasure as classical music albeit in a different way. That is what I feel about Cameron Carpenter. Given the choice between hearing his Indiana Jones medley or listening to a dull performance of Bach, that does neither the performer, the organ, or the composer any favours, I know which I would choose. Now, what I would really like to hear is CC performing by himself, in an empty church, playing one of the Eighteen when he does not have a camera trained on him, and when he thinks no - one is listening. Perhaps in 15 years time. That would be very interesting. Not sure if any of this helps, but there it is. Regards, M

Due to family committments, I have had to withdraw from a recital at St Mary's Church, Rock Gardens, Brighton on Saturday 13th September. This is a date in a regular Summer Saturday afternoon series. It is a beautiful Bevington organ high up in a gallery in this rather magnificent church which is well worth discovering. The organ is in reasonable condition, although the action is quite heavy, and there are no playing aids. I have played there several years in a succession and have always been warmly welcomed, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. The organ is so musical that you can play virtually anything on it, subject, naturally, to dealing with the registration. The organist in charge, Bill Sibbey, is extremely helpful and likes to assist at the console. There is always a good, appreciative audience although, regrettably, no fee. If anyone were able to step into my shoes they would be doing me a huge favour, and I would, I am sure, thorougly enjoy playing this very fine instrument. Please do not hesitate to send me an e - mail off board if you could help ; first come, first served ! Kind regards, M