contrabordun

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Whenever I meet a new word starting with Lla- my first reaction is to see whether it spells anything backwards...

Simple. He has no qualifications to cover your job, but you are qualified by skill and experience to cover his. He probably knows this. Why it would lead him to make remarks like that is anybody's guess. Even if what he really meant was that he had a couple of other deps available, he could simply have said so. Compare that with Cynic's attitude to those less skilled than himself, cf above, (and in many other threads).

Duruflé - Soissons

That's a very interesting analogy: hadn't thought of that.

It depends entirely on the agreement you negotiate with the church upon appointment. The basic argument runs something like this: If a church can't afford to pay, for Sunday services and/or choir practices alone, sufficient to attract the person they want as DoM/organist, then they can offer it "with fees", which may double (or more) the reward for the job. In this case it is the church's (not the wedding couple's) responsibility to pay the organist irrespective of whether s/he is needed because it is the church that offered that particular carrot as an incentive. IMO, in this situation, the church ought simply to increase the regular salary, and have it cover X Sunday services, Y choir practices and up to Z other offices per year, and charge couples appropriately. It all comes down, as Messrs Leach and Jordan state so frequently, to having a written agreement that spells out what is and isn't expected and for what payment. Personally, as I earn my living elsewhere, my Saturdays are too precious to spend at somebody else's weddings and I farm the occasional offices out unless they're stalwart members (or ex-members in the case of funerals) of the congregation.

It sounds wonderful. I assume it's for French music, or the Hollins Song of Sunshine?

I've lost count of the number of times I've been to a recital only to find the programme covered in tippex and a photocopied insert added.

Anyway, without TC stops, we'd lose the opportunity to laugh at pianists who write "bottom octave of xyz pipes not working" in tuners books.

Isn't it included in the Koopman edition of the Bb Sortie? The one with the delicious editorial comment to the effect that "these works are not forgotten masterpieces...indeed this could be said of the whole of this composer's output"

But why not? Subject to [what would inevitably be a subjective test of] its suitability. We're there to provide a service. They're not there to provide employment.

edited blank

Clara, the Bella of the Ball.

Edgbaston Old Church is so loud that the organist has protection from it in the form of a 1" thick slab of perspex suspended above the bench. This is not a windup: vide http://www.bhamorgan.org.uk/organs/081.htm and click the middle thumbnail. It is at such a height as to more or less guarantee banging your head on it whilst getting onto the bench.

From Wales, Mr & Mrs A, and their lad, Dai (Dai Ap A - A's son)

Mr and Mrs Bennettthattubanearlytookmyheadoff, and you know the rest btw, handsoff, who are you calling argumentative? Are you looking for a fight or something?

Yes, but the point that Patrick hasn't made is that from circa 1975-2000, ICEL retranslated the Missal. This work was completed, approved by the English speaking bishops' Conferences and sent to Rome for recognito whereupon it was (after a delay of 5 years or so) thrown out by the CDW, the ICEL management and staff replaced and the current translations produced according to some hastily drafted rules in which, as Patrick says, the rhythm and cadences of the mediaeval Latin were given priority over the creation of something that 21st century people might recognise as the language they speak. The choice therefore was not between the current "plain" versions and the proposed ones: a carefully thought out via media that had been approved by the National Conferences of all the English speaking bishops was rejected by non-native speakers of English. Go figure.

But whose former liturgical language? Thees thys and thous have never been part of the RC liturgy, for the simple reason that prior to the translation currently in use there was no vernacular mass, and I for one am severely p****d off that the Italian-staffed CDW is determined to inflict cod-Cramnerian prose upon the 21st century Church for no very clearly stated reason beyond a vague feeling that it's somehow more churchy.

Well, I wouldn't lightly contradict Mr Carr (especially as he played this very piece for my wedding), but if you cross your right leg behind your left and play the first note with your right toe, perhaps a bit further away from the black notes than you'd normally put a toe down, the first 8 notes become simple alternating toes (and 9 & 10 a very easy heel-toe). Takes a little getting used to, but once done is very secure because you don't have the problem that one foot has to play consecutive semiquavers a 4th or a 5th apart.

At the risk of stating the obvious and diverting from a serious discussion, the thought of any audible sound at all during 'Shine, Jesus Shine' is pretty ghastly.

Me too, and there's a few other related aspects as well. 1 - If you've learnt p1 and worked out the fingering to p2, and you play pp1 and 2, there's always the temptation to go on and bash through pp3-12, which doesn't contribute much to learning those pages unless you've already fingered them out in detail as well (and even then, you may be trying to get the brain to absorb too much stuff in one go). However if you've learnt p12 and worked out the fingering to p11 and start on p11, there's no temptation to semi-sightread through most of it - the only bit available is to play to the end, but since you've already learnt 12, playing it again just reinforces good habits. 2 - Each time you start p11 you're working from unknown (hard) to known (easier) so you get to tackle the hard bit with the mind freshest and you finish up with the option of taking a psychological boost by continuing triumphantly (and accurately) down p12. I swear by this strategy - the combination of this and consistent fingering made a huge difference to the way I learned and retained music.

yes - I would agree (from a much lower level than Mr Cynic) that "the same fingering" is critical - if I play the right note with the wrong finger in practice, that's a worse error than the wrong note with the right finger, and I wish I'd twigged this at the age of 10 (or even 20) rather than 30!

Yes, we were allowed in it (and up it) back in January. Some of those pipes have to be seen to be believed.

Well, if you had his job, would you ever go home?

Only if we get one that allows remote changes to over-long and/or over-repetitive and/or content-free sermons (present company excepted, natch)