MAB

Thanks Alistair. Can you give me a reference for the recorder score you mention ? Feel free to contact me off board. M

Just to add something to my earlier post, I have been thinking about this question further overnight, and two examples came to mind that crystallise my thoughts. In the second quiet section of the Dupre Allegro Deciso, there is a lot of triple and quadruple pedalling. At one point, both feet play a three part F# major chord in second inversion. The right foot has to play a F# and A# simultaneously. However hard I practice this point, I know that in performance, this chord is likely to be a '50 / 50' moment, normally depending on the dimensions of the pedal board concerned. Recently I played it and took an executive decision to omit the F #. As a result, I went into that whole sequence knowing that I could give a rock solid performance, rather than feeling nervous that I was going to fluff that chord. That must be reflected in the confidence and security of my performance overall. Now, the question is this. Which is fairer to the audience who have (we hope) come to hear you ; aiming to play every note but feeling a bit shaky at that point, or making the judicious cut, but thereby being able to give your audience a 100% confident performance ? The same comments apply to that point in the Durufle Adagio from the Veni Creator where, in the build up to the climax, the left foot has to play a F# / B chord. If I was recording the piece, that would be different and I would make jolly sure I got it right for the final version. If I was playing it privately, it would not matter and I would probably get it right 9 times out of 10, but the heat of performance, perhaps, justifies a different approach. That's my guilty secret out of the cupboard. Go on, what do the rest of you do ? M

Picking up on Cynic's cue, I have always hunted high and low for the D'Attaignant dances that Gillian Weir plays. I once heard Gerard Brooks play a matching suite and he suggested that you had to get the original scores out of a good music library and make your own arrangement. I could possibly find the original dances in the Bodleian, but this is starting to sound like an enormous amount of hard work. Does anyone know if these dance transcriptions are readily available in a published edition. Thanks very much ! M

I think this is a most interesting topic. In answer to one specific question, I remember reading that Vladimir Horowitz 'edited' some of his repertoire to make it more effective artistically, and I have no problem with this. I think the art of the musical performer is to realise the true wish of the composer, even if that is sometimes hidden within, or even concealed by, the explicit instructions on the page. I remember once playing a piece of Howells ; my page turner, who was a very precise musician, was horrified that I changed manuals in a different sequence from that indicated by Howells. 'If Howells had wanted you to change manuals at that point, he would have said so'. No, I think Howells wrote what seemed best for him on the organ he was playing at that point. He wanted to convey the impression he desired, and relied on having a sensitive and artistic performer to realise or interpret it. There must be discretion for the individual performer to realise the music in the most effective way on the instrument available to him at the time of performance. Obviously, this must be balanced judiciously with a respect for the actual notated score, and the art of the musician is in knowing from experience and scholarship what must be accurately performed, and where a little more freedom is allowed. My teacher, Robert Munns, was a great champion of Stephen Montague's 'Behold a pale horse'. Montague is a fine composer but does not play the organ. Robert substantially re - wrote parts of the piece to make the textures more suitable for the organ and, as a result, the piece more effective. Montague was delighted when Robert talked through these changes with him, complaining that when he studied composition, 'no - one told him how best to write for the organ'. In the same way, when recording Diana Burrell's 'Arched form with bells', Kevin Bowyer suggested to the composer that it might be effective to end the piece by turning off the blower, a la 'Volumina'. A pretty drastic change which, apparently, the composer was delighted with. Last year I took part in a most informative masterclass with Jos van der Kooy. He reminded us that sometimes composers wrote notes simply so that the music and voice - leading looked correct on the page. In reality, for example, it may not be necessary to play a passage written in octaves - the extra notes are simply there to make the music correct 'on paper', they are not needed in reality. This led him to conclude that it was not always necessary, for example, to attempt some of the huge stretches in Franck's music ; the notes were there for the sake of grammatical correctness, rather than being obligatory in performance. Franck, after all, approved revisions to some of his pieces for students with small hands who could not manage the larger stretches. I sometimes thin out textures or re - write chords in this way simply to make performance more secure and convincing. Putting it crudely, I have asked myself if anyone in the audience will actually notice the difference. Almost certainly not, whereas they would certainly notice a lack of conviction or shaky rhythm in performance when trying to play an otherwise 'impossible' passage. That seems to me musically justifiable. In terms of additions, the only one I hold my hands up to is the L Wely B flat sortie ; I think the ending rather runs out of steam, and under the last chord I play a descending B flat scale in quavers in the pedal, which seems to give a much better sense of conclusion to this masterpiece. In the words of the Fast Show, should I now get my coat ? M

I am not sure if this is true, although I have no reason to doubt the teacher who told me, but I understand that Richard Popplewell also had the Rachmaninoff Third concerto in his repertoire from a young age. However, the point of the story that was told to me was that Popplewell once observed how it was hard to understand how anyone could find transposition difficult. He was thereupon challenged to transpose the cadenza of the first movement of the concerto (and, at least in the story, he was asked to transpose it an augmented fourth) and, of course, promptly did so. M

As a postcript, I ought to add how much I enjoyed this Sunday evening's programme with Frank Skinner learning the banjo (a sentence I never thought I would ever find myself typing, for all sorts of reasons). If anything, I actually enjoyed this programme more than the Jo Brand programme, and felt that it conveyed the reality of what it is like to have a committment to music in your life, including above all the hours of practice needed to become good at an instrument, the sensitivities of the pupil / teacher relationship, the stress of performing, and the profound joy of making music with other people which has the power to sweep aside all those other stresses and limitations. As other contributors have remarked, the programme may serve a very useful purpose in this way, as well as our narrower hope of awakening interest in the organ. M

The authorities at St John the Divine also offered hospitality to, and provided a formal office for, one of my heroes, Philippe Petit ; those of you old enough (I was in the 6th form at the time) may remember that he was the tightrope walker who stretched a rope, and walked, between the twin towers of the Word Trade Centre in 1974. You can read his amazing story in his book 'To Reach the Clouds' published by Faber. I keep it near me at all times ; whenever I think anything I want to do is impossible, I just glance at the book to remind me what can be achieved with dedication (and, it must be admitted, outrageous talent). Anyway, the point is this ; Petit is a confirmed agnostic. When the Bishop of New York was asked why the Cathedral had entertained him, he replied that whilst Petit did not believe in God, God believed in Petit. That, I think, is the best possible answer to the question that has been raised. M

I know that this programme has been mentioned elsewhere ('Celebrity organists') but did anyone else watch this programme last night and, if so, what did they think of it ? I thought it was better as a programme about the role that playing a musical instrument can play in your life than as a programme about the organ per se. On reflection, it was more like a documentary about the role music plays in a family, rather like 'Who do you think you are' with an instrument thrown in as an afterthought. However, it may have served a useful purpose if only in showing to the layman how complicated and challenging it is to play the organ well. Whilst watching it my wife remarked that so many people who go to a wedding in church just assume there will be an organist, without having the first idea of the demands and dedication involved. The one thing the programme really lacked was significant footage showing what can be done in the hands of a master ; there was about 3 seconds at the top of the programme of Wayne Marshall playing the Dupre Allegro Deciso at Rochester, but not much else. That was disappointing for organ enthusiasts, and I feel would have given more zest to the programme. There was not a great deal to make, for example, the competent pianist sit up and think 'wow, I want to try that' I actually thought that Jo Brand's performance was hugely impressive, given her starting point just a few months earlier, but felt, putting this tactfully, that a different teacher could have produced better results. I was not convinced that HDW was the most empathetic teacher, able to put his own agenda aside, feel his way into where Jo was and lead her to a convincincing performance. To this extent I felt that Howard Goodall was actually nearer the mark in his approach, and more emphasis on dramatic articulation would have produced a better result than plodding through pedal exercises. However, perhaps that was a wiser choice to show the difference between learning one piece as a party trick, and the dedicated study of the musical instrument. What do the rest of the board think ? M

Many years ago I heard a an organ concerto by Charles Chaynes. I thought it was fabulous, and am amazed and disappointed that I have never heard it again. It was similar to the Poulenc concerto in style, and I seem to recall seeing it in the UMP catalogue. I believe Marie Claire Alain used to have it in her repertoire ; I would love to hear it again if anyone knows of a recording or forthcoming performance. M

Good topic. The more organs I play, the more I realise there is, indeed, only one rule ; what sounds best on this organ ? I almost regard the organ as just one collection of colours, without subdividing them into departments, feeling free to mix and match whatever works across the manuals. I loved registering at All Saints, Tooting ; the organ was so beautifully voiced that everything blended. The choir, as I recall, had - Flutes 16 + 8 + 4 Viola da Gamba (very keen) Harmonic Piccolo 2 (very piquant) Orchestral Oboe Clarinet The piccolo added to, for example, the Swell Oboe gave it a magical effect, and it was invaluable in Baroque solos. One of my favourite registrations was Swell strings with octave coupler, coupled to the Viola da Gamba and Harmonic Piccolo with the tremulant. This gave a fabulous 'Sainte Clotilde Vox Humana' effect which I used a lot in, for example, Franck and Tournemire. Roger Fisher played the first Trio Sonata on the organ (and could not stop raving about it). I was standing at the back of the church and could not work out what combination he was using for the left hand ; it turned out simply to be all the stops on the choir together. Another trick that worked for this organ, and which I have found useful on others was to add the Great 4' reed only to the Tutti - it gave fire without thickness. Another top tip from years ago ; on a very English organ, coupling the choir clarinet to the pedals can give them definition in Bach without compromising the colour. Any more tricks of the trade ? M

Excellent advice there from Cynic and Adrian Lucas. From what you have said I would aim straight for ARCO. I did not at your stage in life, and developed a mental block about these exams, which I did not conquer until much later. Get stuck into them whilst you have the time and even, as I did, if you need to take parts of them more than once, get them under your belt at this stage in your life. For all of the criticism levelled against the RCO exams, all of the tests require discipline, high standards and musicianship. I know I will never need to score read in SATB clefs, but the assurance and confidence I have gained from completing this test satisfactorily has fed into my music making at the deepest level. Whilst trying to make up for my lack of RCO qualifications, I took the ARCM and FTCL performance diplomas. It is nice to have them, but to be honest, they do not give me anything like the satisfaction of my FRCO and I am not sure that anyone really takes much notice of them. Whatever you do, good luck ! M

I am rather inclined to agree with all of these comments. I heard and met Wolfgang Rubsam when he first came to this country. It was at the time of the RFH recital referred to above (and when, incidentally, he had crew cut black hair and was clean shaven). This would have been in around 1979. He gave two warm up recitals, all Bach, at St Mary's Woodford. His playing then was just out of this world, likewise, his early recordings of Bach on Phillips. The playing was highly individual, although it would be putting the argument too high to call it mannered. However, I have recently heard him play Buxtehude and Rheinerger on Naxos and found the extraordinary hiatus at every phrase - end completely disrupted the musical flow and line. I do wonder why this is. Is it some sort of historical performance practice like 'notes ineqales' that has not been discovered before ? If so, I have never seen any authentic corroboration for the style (although I am not an expert on these things). Is it just that, with age and the call for novelty, some performers seek out more eccentric practices to make their performances stand out in an over - crowded market ? Wolfgang Rubsam is certainly not the only performer who raises this question for me. Either way, it seems to me that pursuing such an approach to a degree that it forces the music beyond what is pleasurable, musical or aesthetic is a signal lack of judgement. Glenn Gould, for example, was utterly eccentric in his tempi in Bach recordings, but the musicality of the argument carries all before it. M

I never really feel qualified to give a view on the technical / organ building side of these discussions, but in answer to the direct question of the suitability of this type of console for teaching purposes, I cannot see that there is any problem at all, and if any teacher raises objections to it, I would have serious doubts about their musical priorities. For me, the only important things for a student when learning are an organ with a precise, even, responsive touch, and a basic chorus that is musical to listen to and allows for sensitive articulation. Most of my early lessons were on small tracker instruments that fitted these parameters, and the organ on which I now do all of my 'serious' practice fits into this category as well. These are the resources necessary to develop discrimination of touch, precise ensemble and a discerning ear. These, surely, must be the essential skills for students to develop. For more advanced playing, certainly it is necessary to have experience of a larger organ with more sophisticated playing aids, and if the student really develops then he or she will inevitably play a wider variety of instrumetns and learn to adapt to all type of consoles. For such a student, the present instrument will be a valuable introduction to more continental styles of console disposition and management. Then again, such students may be, to a degree, self selecting ; it will be the adaptable ones who flourish and find the opportunities to play more varied instruments, leading them to be more adaptable and so on. M

Match of the Day has a very distinguished pedigree. Cardinal Basil Hume asked for it to be played at Westminster Cathedral at his Requiem Mass. I am told the organist (Martin Baker ?) obliged, albeit in a suitably uplifted form. M

Peter - So far as I am aware, my assistant busks it from a piano score and, yes, it is the theme from the original TV series (by a chap called Grey I believe) rather than the theme from the more recent film, by Busted if I remember correctly. I saw him the other day and he is threatening to play it at his lunchtime recital at the Temple later this year. I regularly practice at Holy Trinity, Guildford and noticed that the Thunderbirds theme was also noted in their voluntary book for last week. My assistant - now in charge of music at Tooting - is very talented and a brilliant improviser. Our vicar, now the Bishop of Taunton, was a passionate West Ham fan and on his last Sunday my assistant, played the Widor Toccata - except that the Big Tune when it came in wasn't the familiar dropping octaves but 'I'm for ever blowing bubbles'. It was incredibly effective. If you want to contact me off line, I will happily put you in touch with him. I know that he will be delighted to discuss Thunderbirds with you to his heart's content. M

Reading these posts reminds me how glad I am to be out of the whole wedding circus, although it brought back many memories. In terms of unusual music, I have also played the Throne Room march from Star Wars for a couple of Star Wars fans, also the theme from Brideshead Revisited, on which Geoffrey Burgon wrote a set of organ variations in the '70s. Both pieces actually worked very well. (My former assistant regularly plays the Thunderbirds theme tune at Pentecost which always goes down a storm). At the risk of losing all credibility, I rather like Gabriel's oboe. Yo Yo Ma has recorded a version of it on a CD of film music, whilst I have a recording in which it is re - arranged very beautifully as a baroque solo with a harpsichord continuo tinkling in the background. It is on my list of pieces which I must get round to transcribing one day. I always found it hard to fix the right fee for weddings. Admittedly this is going back around 10 years now, but the fee at my church was a fixed £30. If I was away and had to book a deputy, my vicar refused to allow anyone else to charge more than £30, which ruled out quite a lot of visiting deputies who would have done a professional job. If I was asked to travel away and play for a private booking, at that time I charged £60 including travel and music learning time. I once charged £60 for a very spoiled princess in Sloane Square who went on to demand endless meetings, changing her mind about music every week and literally presented me with new music to be played during the service itself. When I got to the church on the day, my jaw dropped at the flowers which covered every inch of the church and had been flown in by the Italian flower designer, also flown in. I realised that the budget for the wedding must have been enormous and my fee for playing was ridiculous. A friend of hers came up to me after the wedding and said she enjoyed the music so much she wanted to book me on the spot to do her wedding 6 months later. Admittedly her wedding required a full day out in Oxford, but without batting an eyelid I said my fee was £250. She accepted without hesitation, and turned out to be a delightful bride to work with. I got married 7 years ago and at that time read that the average couple spent about £15,000 on a wedding. Think how much is spent on the cake, flowers, the dress, the car ... how much do we think the organist is worth, more to the point, how much do the couple think good music is worth ?

Fascinating subject. Around 25 years ago I turned pages for Graham Barber and Dame Gillian Weir when they gave a duet recital - they included Alkan's Bombardo - Carillon, also for 4 feet alone. The rest of their recital was of the more standard fare, notably the Merkel sonata, the Wesley Duet, and various other odds and ends. I was at school with Jeremy Barham who for some time played in duet with William McVicker. I know they found the score of at least one of the movements for 'The Planets' in an arrangement by, or at any rate authorised by, Holst himself, and I seem to remember that there was some suggestion of the entire suite being composed for organ duet. Roger Sayer has launched a successful duo in the past year or so ; their unique selling point is a series of organ duet arrangements of the James Bond themes. I have not heard them, but imagine that this could be really effective. On a tangential subject, I seem to recall that when David Goode won the Calgary prize for best encore, he played his own transcription of Stars and Stripes forever, with the tune in the right foot, the bass in the left foot, the middle parts in the left hand, and the piccolo obligato in the right hand. Who needs four feet when you can do that with two ? M

Thanks for raising this most fascinating of subjects. I quite often draw up my list of desert island discs, but had not thought up to draw a list of desert island performances. The direct answer to the best organist I have heard live is probably Thomas Trotter. Whenever I have heard him play, it has been utterly stunning without the slightest flaw or bar lacking in inspiration. Hearing him play one day when I had been 'off' the organ for almost a year was unforgettable. I wrote to him afterwards to express my appreciation and received the most charming reply. I would place John Scott in the same category. Every performance is sensational. I remember him playing The Wedge in a lunchtime recital in St Paul's Cathedral which left me speechless - hearing Bach at its most sublime was a spiritually changing experience. I can think of a couple of other well known organists who are always rivetting to listen to, but perhaps lack that same level of consistency. Particular performances, though, that will never leave me are as follows - Dame Gillian Weir - Messiaen 70th birthday recital at the RFH. Simon Preston - Reubke Sonata at the RFH. The one performance above all that determined me to play the organ as well as I possibly could. Wolfgang Stockmeier - Reger 'Inferno' at St Mary's Woodford. Graham Barber - Demessieux 'Octaves' at the RFH. Simply unbelievable (despite a registrational snag). These all date from the 70s and 80s when I went to a lot of organ recitals. Nowadays, circumstances are such that I just cannot get to them so readily, but I am sure there are equally fine players around. I can think of a lot of piano performances that fall into the same category, particularly Mitsuko Uchida playing Schubert B flat sonata at the RFH. Other performances on the desert island would have to include - Bernstein conducting Mahler 5 with the Vienna Philharmonic at the Proms the year before he died. This is probably my ultimate desert island performance that trumps all others. Even the bars that in other performances just seemed like getting from A to B suddenly took on the most profound sense. I turned to my friend and said 'I will tell my grandchildren about this performance'. The next day, the Times review started by saying 'This is the sort of performance you tell your grandchildren about'. The first time I heard 'Ariadne auf Naxos' - never, ever wanting the music to end in the opera house and living in a dream for the next month that music could be that beautiful Mozart clarinet quintet played by Michael Collins and the Chilingirian Quartet at my local music society. Singing the Victoria Requiem in my first year at Oxford - a piece that I have sung several times since then and just cannot get out of my head and bloodstream. I was pleased that Musing Muso allows us to cross all boundaries because my love of classical music is matched by my love of a lot of rock and pop music, although here there have been far fewer live performances in this field. One, though, that stands out was hearing Genesis at Wembley in December 1980 playing 'In the Cage' from The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. Not just staggering virtuosity, not just colossal emotional power, but also sheer joy in music making - not something that distinguishes every organ recital we may go to. M

I do all of my own typing in the office, about 3 hours a day solidly, and the risk of RSI is a real concern. Learning to type properly certainly reduces the strain on the hands and arms. Also, I type on one of these ergonomic keyboards whcih are split down the middle, with each side rotated slightly and lifted up so that your forearms lie at a completely natural level. I would not be without it. Whenever I have to type on a flat, square keyboard, within a few minutes I notice the strain on the outside of my forearms. You can get one at any good computer shop, and I highly recommend them. M

I turned pages for a friend of mine when he played a couple of these movements. They are not especially difficult, although the scoring can stretch orthodoxies ; I seem to remember a lot of double pedalling with the pedals coupled to the manuals to augment chords. I think the important thing in these transcriptions (particularly Venus) is to be so on top of the notes that you can give every line, every paragraph a clear sense of direction, otherwise they can sag and sound rambling. Lots of general pistons helps as well ! So far as the development of technique is concerned, I disagree. I think if you are going to play to a high standard, you need a basic natural facility that cannot be taught, and that will show itself very early. Some people can make light of difficulties that other people find impossible. It is also true (in my experience) that as a student you have much more time to learn things, and faster mental responses. However, my technique in my mid 40s is now much better than it was 20 or even 10 years ago, largely because with maturity I have imposed higher standards on myself and will not let myself get away with simply getting through a piece. All is not lost ! M

I have been lucky enough to play at St Pauls a few times both for evensongs and a couple of the Sunday afternoon recitals. I found it a remarkably easy and comfortable organ to play and got used to it very quickly. The best tip I was given was from Andrew Lucas ; if you want to check if the Dome balance against the Chancel, play a chord on each and listen to the reverberation. When the reverberation periods are equal then the choruses are balanced. I used to hear the organ played a lot and many visiting players misjudged the Dome bringing it in with a crash at every climax. I found that if I was going to use it at all in a piece, I coupled the diapason(s) in very early and built it up from there. Also, if playing a chancel plenum in, for example, Bach or Handel, it was helpful to couple in the Dome 8 + 4 principals just to give the sound a degree of projection into the nave. The West End trumpets will definitely be out of bounds. If I was to play Bach before a service, I would go for something broad and with a relatively slow harmonic pulse (the Allabreve or the Fantasia in G have already been suggested) rather than something with too much counterpoint and detail. If the Swell and half the choir are out of action, the Dorian is going to be difficult to manage ; you need two exactly balanced choruses and very precise co - ordination between the two. I think the best tip has been given so far ; just play pieces that are really in your bloodstream, rather than putting pressure on yourself with something new. Whatever your son does, he should have an absolute ball. Playing at St Pauls has, without a doubt, been top of my list of great organ playing experiences. All best, M

Thank you to everyone for their very helpful details on this one. My mouth is already watering in anticipation, although I shall remember to try not to breathe at the same time as salivating when I get there. Throughly agree about guano ; I seem to remember that in the original Ian Fleming novel of Dr No, the baddie has a plan to dominate the world by extracting phosphorus from the stuff on his remote island hideaway. Needless to say he gets his come uppance by suffocating in the stuff at the end, but that was the first of many occasions on which I had a chance to relish the word. The Gonzalez organ at Beauvais Cathedral suffers, sadly, from the same problem, although (I suspect) not to such a degree. When playing there I was seriously tempted to have my page turner hold an umbrella over my head during the performance. Thanks again, M

I will be in Sarlat in the Dordogne for a couple of weeks over the Summer, and all the guide books make a point of mentioning the splendid organ in the cathedral. Google throws up a couple of recordings of C18th music, notably one by Andre Isoir of Roberday. Can anyone help me with any detail on this organ ? Are there concerts over the Summer ? Is it worth making enquiries to see if I might get to play it ? On a more general point, I often wonder whether there is a French equivalent of the NPOR or even RCO which could give a lead or introduction on these enquiries. Any help gratefully received, Many thanks, M

This is an interesting question. Around 12 years ago I gave a series of performances of Tournemire's 'Seven Words of Christ on the Cross'. The seven movements play for around 50 minutes and entail kaleidoscopic changes of registration. The first performance was given by Tournemire at Saint Clotilde, and if I remember rightly, Langlais assisted with the registration. I gave some performances on modern organs with multi - level capture systems so I could handle all of the changes myself. I gave some performances on organs with limited playing aids, in which case my page turner helped with a few stops. However, I gave one performance in Holland at St Servuus Church, Maastricht. The organ here is wonderful, only enhanced by the magnificent acoustic, but has no playing aids at all. The organ stops are the size of cricket balls and are ranged in one line on either side of the console and over the players' head. From the design of the organ it is clear that it is intended to play French symphonic music (which it does fabulously well) although there are no aids, such as ventils, which Tournemire would have enjoyed. I was assisted by a young student whose agility and speed in changing stops defied belief. In a flash he would change stops dotted around the keyboards, and even help with hitch down couplers above the pedals. After my initial amazement subsided, I just left it up to him in complete confidence that he would do whatever was needed. At the end of the performance he was given his own applause, in which I joined warmly, and his own fee, richly deserved. In answer to the original question, it seems to me that all of the performances on all of the organs were mine. My octopus - armed assistant gave a different, but equally dazzling performance, but it was not the performance of the music per se. It did, however, assist in the realisation of my performance, if such a distinction needs to be made. When you play the organ, music and machine are intimately related, but they are not indivisible in the way that the dancer cannot be separated from the dance. Two footnotes. As a schoolboy I also found the Anton Heiller Reger performance little short of a mystical revelation which I cannot get out of my head even now, having not heard it for some 30 years. And earlier this year I heard Jos Van der Kooy play Pneoo at Southwark Cathedral in the London Organ Day - he showed his DVD performance earlier in the day, and went on to give a dazzling performance on the Southwark Organ in his afternoon recital, with his registrant only pulling out the occasional stop where there were just no fingers or toes left to reach a piston. M

The piece was also recorded many years ago by Graham Barber on his debut recording from Norwich Cathedral. I know the piece was out of print for a long time although a few years ago I did see it reissued under an American banner (the same publishers who publish Garth Edmundson's Vom himmel Hoch - I cannot recall their name without checking my score at home). Many years ago when I was young and innocent I obtained a copy from another cathedral organist who simply sent me a copy of his score when I made a polite enquiry. Whilst I would like to acknowledge his generosity, perhaps it is best not to name him in view of the very correct observations that have been made in this thread about the lawfulness or otherwise of photocopying. I think that the best approach must be to write to the publishsers for an authorised copy, alternatively, directions on what would be acceptable in these circumstances. I have done this on a number of occasions in the past and have usually been met with a helpful response. M