Jump to content
Mander Organ Builders Forum

Adnosad

Members
  • Posts

    218
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by Adnosad

  1. On 21/04/2024 at 10:27, Colin Pykett said:

    I shouldn't imagine the BBC has anything against the organ per se.  Rather, it probably has more to do with meeting the interests of the majority of listeners.  The BBC quite likely thinks that there wouldn't be much point wasting even more hundreds of kilowatt-hours of RF energy by broadcasting to an R3 audience which is already tiny enough as it is.  The organ just isn't up there at all when it comes to matters like this.  Example - how many people actually knew it was International Organ Day yesterday?  It's not just the BBC as  I listened to a good few hours of Classic FM on and off throughout the day and it never figured at all.  Then there's its repertoire - although large, much of it is regarded as absolute rubbish by an educated musical public, and they have a point.  The majority of people I meet deride things like Franck's L'Organiste even if they've come across it, Elgar's Vesper Voluntaries, S S Wesley's later output consisting of endless Andantes etc, and so on. Even some of the latter's finest pieces such as the Larghetto in F sharp minor or the Andante in F are in the 'slow and funereal' category which typifies much organ music in the mind of many, and bores them to death.  And, of course, a definite downside is that you have to go to church more often than not to hear live performances.   And so it goes on.

    At the time I thought the BBC did us a favour by broadcasting a homage to the organ, lamenting the way it is vanishing, at Christmas 2022.  What a bitter taste arises now that we know more about the man who presented it, himself an organist, though the blame for that can hardly be laid at the door of the BBC.  But from time to time, programmes like this show that they do at least try.

    I'm not saying that I hold or support these views myself, but I can understand to some extent those who do.  As I've said before on here more than once, until the organ world starts to comprehend the mindset of the 'customer' for the organ in its broadest sense, things are unlikely to get better, and they might even get worse.

    Echo your opinions on this subject completely.  

    I think that trying to educate classic FM listeners into the exciting world of organ music would only result in even more overkilling of 565, Widor V, et.al.

    " Radio 3 Breakfast Music " doesn`t fare much better either ( IMHO only of course )   

    Who in their right mind at Aunty Beeb would ever select say, the Canonic Variations as an easy start to the day?

    The organ per se and the music that goes with it will always be  ( IMHO only again ) viewed in Marmite terms.   Try sexing it up and you will still have problems.

  2. 12 minutes ago, bam said:

    It was interesting to hear one of Cesar Franck's chorales used as the intro music to Kenneth Clarke's 'Civilisation', the first episode of which was rebroadcast by the BBC last Saturday evening.  He was standing opposite Notre Dame in Paris.

    Yes, No. 3 in A. An excellent musical intro to an excellent series despite its shortcomings and omissions which Clarke himself was prepared to admit to in the preface to his book of the same title. 

  3. The spec` can be found on  the  H & H site; but it does involve a little bit of ferreting around to get at.

    The  " A _ Z " page of organs on H & H`s site shows the page to be unavailable but if you get their help

    page up you just type " winchester " in and hey presto it comes up!

     

     

  4. Just read a very illuminating article in " The Guardian " today ( Sat ) re` the organ which I recommend to those forum members who are of an open mindset re` the direction in which the organ should be going if it is going to survive.

    Essentially It describes David  Pipes ( a name known to one or two here?? ) collaboration with a couple of  heavy rock bands and a classically trained female vocalist who have gained more than a modicum of success with their performance  in Huddersfield  Town Hall and a redundant church.

    Great interest is being shown in these people to perform in other churchs` including that located in my native city of  Bristol, namely  St. Mary  Redcliffe.

    Well worth perusing , I think this will generate more interest in the organ than the somewhat inane witterings of a Certain Other Person .

    This could, hopefully, be the progenitor of the long awaited renaissance of the organ in the 21st cy instead of its languishing in the dust of the 19th.

     

     

  5. Hear ! Hear!

    And I hope there are more to follow in her illustriuous  footsteps too although  I well suspect that there are still those dust covered fossils who will view things in their own stilted/ misogonystic/myopic manner.

    There is hope yet that the organ may yet be able escape from its centuries of being shackled ,in the main, to ecclesiastical structures as a mere hymn accompanying machine ,` into its rightful position -  The Concert Hall.

     

     

     

     

     

  6. On 13/01/2024 at 10:37, John Furse said:

    I agree with S_L: on the one occasion (in the 90s) I visited this fabulous church with the orgues being played, I thought I would have concussion, so head-splittingly loud was the volume.

    As regards the state of the instrument(s), Hyperion released this month a CD of David Briggs's music (with improvisations) recorded in July 2022. In the over a dozen one-minute clips available to listen to for free, it don't sound too bad at all.

    That's not to say how difficult it was for the performer (Briggs) to achieve this.

             

      Allow me to impertinently agree with your last sentence and suggest that it was probably not very difficult for Briggs to achieve an acceptable sound level on what I think is a superb instrument.  Any instrument can be made to sound " too loud "  for reasons perfectly obvious to anyone. To use the old adage " only a bad workman blames his tools ".  

       VdH have a considerable corpus of good work, grounded in The Dutch  School   and to say that this instrument should be consigned to the skip is a trifle ridiculous (   IMHO that is )

    The Widor recordings made by JPS on the aforesaid instrument  perfectly illustrate this point.

    Not too sure as to the date of this instrument, probably the mid ` 70`s? but it is bound to be suffering from the usual old age problems common to any instrument.

     

        

     

  7. 18 hours ago, sbarber49 said:

    Yes, but so many? No carols to my mind till 4 lessons and 34 minutes in: just Christmas anthems and hymns.

    I am fully tolerant to listen to anything................apart from that wretched " Silent Night ". Makes me want to turn in my grave!

  8. 1 hour ago, Barry Oakley said:

    It's time this feudal system was scrapped! When people in essence are recognised simply because they have vast wealth available for political parties, or it's who they know or it's the circles the move in, bears no comparison with the deserving who have given their lives to outstanding service to humanity and who go unrecognised.

    Agree 100/00. But so long as we have this wonderful institution we will just have to clench ourselves and bite the bullet.

  9. Not much worth commenting on really; so far have only listened to the radio service from KCC.   Usual high standard. Nice to hear new pieces, especially from  JW.  Good to take the broom to the accumulated cobwebs and dead leaves on these occasions.

    Organ sounds pretty good. Good work from H&H in sparking the Old Girl up a bit.

    Re` comments on the KJ version; yes, it is good to hear readings recited in this format ; possesses a certain quaint and anachronistic charm all of its own.

    However I must comment on the First Reading. The Little Darling  not only enunciated his vowels ( or should it be " viols "  ( think about it ) but he completely masticated and mangled them to the n`th degree , but only IMHO of course.

    Still have the  anticipated pleasure of watching the TV version.  That, I always think is worth its weight in the selection of thought provoking readings.  Would be interested in knowing about the criteria employed in their selection.

    Finally I was amused by a piece I had not heard before which was played as the final piece   in the Afternoon Concert on B3 prior to evensong from Lancing College, namely  "Mrs. Beatons Christmas Pudding,"  directed by  Stephen Cleobury.  Quite delightful in its own way.

    Anyway, here`s raising a scotch , or three, to the next twelve months to all forum members.

    Different year..............same old..............

  10. In MHO only, I am unable to fully appreciate the tremendous fuss which seems to be ongoing with re` to the Gloucester organ.

    This noble instrument has been subjected to numerous tweakings/ reworkings/ re buildings over the decades/centuries - call it what you will it ended up being a  bit of a right old melange in actuality.

    RD`s scheme seemed fine to me ( probably only me! ) and I would be cautious in calling HN&B`s work into question.   True, they embraced that thing that went by the title of " The Organ Reform  Movement " and I think many people were upset by the changes involved.

    To my worn out acoustic nerve the instrument sounded just fine and I feel sure that the updated model will too.

    My main concern would be a decision to fit it out with one of those sets of what I can  only describe at best  as " Ragmans Bugles "  i.e. Trompette Militaires.  Having just said that however I have to admit to being impressed with the use of such a stop on Liverpool Anglican with regard to last Saturdays recital.    I T used it to great effect, in conjunction with all the artillery, in his rendering of " Fanfare For The Common Man ".  Quite shattering, especially the discords on the final page.

    I don`t feel that anything is lost in not reinstating the 32`.   Presume that some individuals may be still in a xenophobic apopleptic fury over the stop nomenclature  that will probably be kept , but never mind.

    Hope I have not disturbed the dust covering some of the " old pipes " on this site. The views expressed are completely my own and do not necessarily reflect currently held opinions.

    Taxi!

  11. Interesting thread provoking some good positive comments.   I would certainly claim to be a bit of a " sleeping member" with regards to any input, but as with my regards to life generally I am not alone in preferring to be " off stage / in the shadow " and leave those who are more  more qualified, and ebullient even in making their contributions.

    I am glad to read from one member that there is a greater sense of " democracy " operating within the forum than was the case in former days.

    I  was called out as being  a troll very early on for daring to mention the " D " word , and  " CC  "    ( not Cavaille- Coll !! )   fortunately those days and members are now just history I hope.

  12. I am quite sure that this  document is very informative  but will be a bit demanding on the ancient eyesight!

    My only comment to make on " The Organ  In South Africa " would be with regard to  the inglorious remains of the instrument in Jo`burgh   City Hall.

    Perhaps it has been replaced , or just collapsed completely now; maybe someone can inform me/us further ?

     

     

  13. I spot my omission now; the point I was attempting to make was with reference to the actual lack of lady organists who feature in interviews and performances recorded for the airwaves.

    I am sorry that I did not make this point 100/00 crystal clear in my posting.

    We are all well aware of the number of lady organists; and to your list I would add just a few, to include Weir,Parker-Smith, Williams ,Dienes,Ennis ,Bish ,Choplin, Watts, Pappadopolous...............et. al.     

    Hope this correction steers the thread back on course.

  14. Absolutely brilliant!    Your phonograph is something to behold! Despite their age and limitations to our contemporary ears these recordings were hailed as great technical achievments  at the time.   The organ was a very challenging instrument to record ( and still can be ! ) but the results still sound more than passable with the passage of time.  I believe Thalben-Ball and Dupre got away with murder when they were recorded by EMI in the `20`s at the Alexandra Palace.

    Modern techno applied to cleaning up these museum pieces is remarkably effective, without removing the brilliant expertise of the original recording engineers.

    My " clean up " on noisy old vinyl involves just spraying the playing surface with mere H2O; works quite well.

    Sometime I must get down to the EMI museum where they have stacks of the original equipment on view, including their mobile studio.

    Finally, it is quite amazing how much stuff in various genres was actually  recorded in 78 format,  I have rather an interesting volume entitled  "Gramophone Records of the First world War " which is a compilation of The HMV Catalogue from 1914 -18.

    Symphonies, as one can imagine are rare but plenty of solo pieces, including organ and recordings made  " at The Front ".

     

  15. ............. not sure if this has come to members` notice but just thought it worth mentioning in passing;

    Angela Lapwood is being interviewed by Tom Service  R3 today ( i.e. Sunday ) at 1700.

    Plus she is giving a solo performance on Tuesday night on the same R3 at 2215.

    Funny no one seems to have mentioned this since organ matters in general are as rare as hens` teeth with regards to live performances, especially from the AH.  Have to add as well that it will be good to get the chance to  hear a female performer  of outstanding ability.

     

  16. This site is the last place to be political but IMHO only I perused the site with what can only be described as " OMG! can this be for REAL ?

    A Georgian mansion with details as to how the family fortune was more than likely originally accumulated conveniently omitted?

    The feeble excuse of " it`s all in the past " no longer applies ; the past has come back to haunt us , and it is not going away soon.

    But, yes..............it would be lovely with an organ............A Hammond perhaps?.......a Farfisa?   Then we could all rattle our Crown Derby and choke on our strawberries as we bellow out some Good Old Empire building ditties.

  17. Comments make for very interesting reading considering, by necessity, how subjective this topic is.

    In my list I would include :-

    Garth Benson

    GTB

    Simon Preston

    Fernando Germani

    Noel Rawsthorne

    Eric Chadwick

    Dennis Brain

    John Watkins

    Jeanne Demessieux

    Jane Parker-Smith

    Richard Elsasser

    Nicholas Kynaston

    Carlo Curley

    ,,,,,,,,,,,, to name but a few, not all of which I have bee fortunate enough to hear in the flesh, so to speak.   Fortunately there is a healthy plethora of up and coming players/ future virtuosi to take on the mantle of these former greats.

    Think we can agree that the unquestionable maestro was Germani.   Heard him play at Clitheroe Parish church in `69/` 70 and was one of the earliest recitals I attended.   To my utter chagrin to this day I cannot recall a single item he played!!!!!!!!!!!!!    There was no introduction, no programme. Germani just played, and left the building. My overall impression though was of it all being rather good!

    I am hoping that in my final gasping moments on this mortal coil his programme will be revealed in all its glory to me and I will then know that it wasn`t such a wasted life after all!

    Good to hear from at least one contributor here about attending a concert given by the other CC at the RFH. That is one cat I would like to see /hear.

  18. On 17/03/2023 at 08:00, Peter Allison said:

    about b***** time. People like Christine Jose Rigby have been trying to keep the CC organ at the forefront, but greatly let down by the Warrington Borough Council, who just want it to rot, then can bin it (imho)

    In tandem with the thread issued by H& H the timing of this is interesting.

    Yes, CJR has done magnificent work over the years in attempting to keep this instrument going . It all comes down to those nasty economics again.   Warrington Council are very limited in what financial provisions they can make to " keep it going " they have to balance the books and their are other more important considerations at stake within the Warrington region.

    The Council have a double edged problem with the instrument; they obviously cannot afford the running costs and neither can they afford the costs involved with scrapping either.

    The ideal relocation for this instrument if it were possible at all, would be at Gorton just down the road- but the cost!!!

    I think we need to remove our rose tinted specs and dreamy romantic visions re` heritage generally.  We bang on endlessly about  " preserving our heritage".  and  " national treasures " whilst in reality we are spending loads of money on future nightmares for a  generation to inherit, which in all honesty couldn`t really care less. Why should they care? It is all " old stuff " to them.

    The only way forward is, like it or not, digital. I am glad that the sound of this magnificent instrument is being preserved for the future in this format.    One only has to look on the Johanus site and to see the fantastic recreation they have made of the instrument in the Oude Kirke,  complete with replica consul.

    In Liverpool a magnificent state of the art auditorium has been opened on  The University campus. I believe that plans are currently being mooted for the installation of an organ .   Space will be limited so an equally state of the art instrument  should be installed.

    I will depart before  " The toaster "  brigade start whinging.

     

×
×
  • Create New...