Adnosad

All fair comment here on this somewhat contentious issue. I think it best if we back off the issue really since it is no more than a sticking record. I will just finish by saying I think that the whole matter has always been fuelled by politics and courting popularity; a twin headed beast fed on a diet of cronyism and clout. I reckon most of us on this forum, and within wider society, have all paid our dues in full into the domestic trough, which is sufficient enough reason to " gong " us ; but , there we go.l Just hope I don`t get banned for my doggrel! As a final diversion, I have to say that I am most impressed with the cd of Rochdale town Hall and the marvellous playing of one of Our Members - I nominate DB for a gong ..........TAXI!.................

Would have thought that just being selected to provide the music would have been a sufficient accolade. " honours " are merely political inventions,nothing more, nothing less. What does one do with a gong anyway? Wear it when you pop out to Tesco perhaps?

Fine here oop North.

Been expecting this for some time now. Very sad indeed. Glad we managed to hear his last recital at Chester. He will live on in memories and cdz :)

Wow! some interesting suggs here; the Khachaturian piece chosen by DB I am going to savour when Mrs. Adnosad is out shopping! " Volumina " is out of this world ( literally! ) I believe it was in Goteborg Cathedral that the organ started smouldering during the " playing " of this piece; seems that this is part of the performance! I am not sure on this post as to whether we are discussing solo organ works or organ + orchestra. One way or the other it doesn`t really matter so long as interest is enhanced with regard to The Noble Instrument. IMO some pieces which we like may not be exactly suitable for newbies / promenaders. The intention surely is to encourage them , not frighten them off completely . ad nos " I think would have them running for the exits as; as well as Bach P&F`s. Hindemith ( one of the most marvellous composers ever ( again IMO ) I think would be a total no-no. Educate `em but don`t frighten `em. however I hope I am not coming across as being a sanctimonious patronising know all; which Mrs. Adnos says I am!

Must confess to my being a bit of a " non-proms type ",especially with regard to the ubiquitous " Last Night....... " but have to say it is encouraging in the one fact alone that the organ is being singled out for solo use. I suppose the hall management are forced into having to since so much capital has been invested into this instrument. I know I will court scorn contempt and derision; but here goes; the proposed programme appears to be a bit , shall we say " so last year ". Could the honourable members on here care to suggest an alternative? Mine would be one of orchestral arrangements maybe including those excellent pieces by Karl Jenkins. another one might be Jongens " Concert Symphony "? Don`t think one of Fela Sowendas pieces would go down too badly either - " Joshua and the walls of Jericho" for example. I will now take up my customary position in front of a wall and position my blindfold.

To be honest with you my personal experience as to regards " quality of sound " has generally been pretty good. The old vinyl stuff only rarely produced " flat " results ;usually as a result of unsatisfactory mic location or the " final ears " on the mixing. I found CD quality to be equally as good , in the main. My main crib is with the playlist selection, especially with regard to the " K Tel Greatest Hits " format which was repeated time and time again ( 565/ Widor 5!!! ) Some right old gallery playing stuff thrown on the market stall, over which I think the original performers had little control. Anyway back to Base 2 - hope Jake gives us a future offering from Leeds ( town hall or parish church ) especially the former since it was at that venue I took my life in my hands and made two pilgrimages over the border to hear the late ,great JPS. Magnificent!

Suitably impressed by what this company has on offer. Took what I thought was a chance on downloading due to the horrors of compressed files etc but no need to worry here; top notch quality. As a result have just ordered Darius and Waynes offerings. Two well juxtaposed instruments, and music. At long last a company has emerged which has breathed a touch of fresh air into the somewhat staid and musty world of recorded organ music. Long may it continue!

Very good performer/musician; we need to hear more from such refreshing newblood. I exhibited a degree of caution on making an opening thread regarding this programme since I well know how certain items of a " contemporary nature " can ( or not, as the case may be ) go down on these hallowed pages. This series of programmes put out by The Beeb will be offered as often as Preston Guild; so we should all savour them to the max!

Splendid,cogent article ; would one expect anything else from JR? Can only comment on the article to the extent that myself ,and a fair few others are also in agreement. Reminds me of the famous story re` WTB at SGH.

Just exhumed the aforesaid from the vault and a quick perusal reveals no 64`. Gemshorn X3 @8/16. 5 1/3. There are two 32`s named as Tibia Profundis and Contra Fagotto. I can`t tell from the spec` as to whether the 16/8/4` are en chamade or not. The Mutations may appear to be correct as per your " spec " but there are too many to list! Since the instrument has no less than 173 stops I don`t think there would be much room for anything else to compete with what is already installed! This is a truly mindblowing instrument created by a true genius of musical and mechanical inventiveness. I am led to believe at the present time it is not in a playable state and will more than likely remain this way for some considerable time, mores the pity. Somehow think that they have matched the wrong photo up in your vid. I do not have a pic of the console so I can`t compare it with the one on the site you mention. Hope this trivia is of some use to you. I apologize for missing out an "l " in " Ellsasser" in my original post - don`t want the Organ Police carrying out a dawn raid!!

............. from the Saturday Afternoon Send Off. For a scaled down event this was most excellent. The personally chosen music was excellent , much to my surprise. Just illustrates how effective the minimum of resources can be . Would have liked to have been able to hear 546 in its entirety; there is a tendency to overblow this piece a lot of the time and as a result it loses a fair amount of its depth of feeling ( IMHO ) The playing of this piece was, by my standards at least, exemplary. The camera work ( again in IMHO ) was excellent; some impressive close ups of the facade pipes juxtaposed against the ceiling and views of " the artillery ".

Don`t know if this is of much use but I still have a specification of this interesting instrument on the cover of Elsassers outstanding performance of Widor V. Mind you, mentioning the name " Hammond " on this site could result in a few hospital admissions!!

Good method of musically educating a captive audience whilst waiting patiently to get stabbed. Reckon most of the " congregation " would prefer something a bit more along the lines of what is commonly referred to as " twangy bangy ".

Absolutely first class. Well deserved. A guy who possesses prodigious talent in several musical spheres. Quite obviously a staggering number of members of this site think the same.

A fine musician who will be sadly missed. Announcements of this nature are becoming somewhat disturbingly common of late it would appear.

Sorry to be such a bore and bring this topic back on line but did anyone here actually bother to listen to the service on the radio and watch the tv programme? IMHO, for what it isn`t worth, I thought the two offerings were excellent in their own individual way of presentation. The sound quality appeared to be superior on the radio as opposed to the tv, but there again I only have a c====y little 32" box. Have to admit to not being overly impressed with the version of " In The Mid Bleak Winter " " but that is just my humble opinion. not an expert opinion.

.............. believe that the restoration is coming along nicely.

" fascinating to learn what might have been "..................more horrified to read what they might have been would be a more apt description IMHO. The mere mention of " Gloucester " on these pages could still result in some members being wheeled into I C ! The temptation to " tinker " and " improve" does however prove irresistible to some ; hence that enfant terrible known as " The Organ Reform Movement". The book you mention sounds interesting; I will investigate it further , if I can find the time

St. James Chestnut Grove Bootle L20

Been awarded £612,700 Cultural Recovery Grant from DDCMS to cover salaries , running expenditure. Good news in generally gloom ridden times. Be interested to know if this has been extended to other ecclesiastical institutions.

Just perused YT and have to say quite impressed by the goods on offer. Pity Reymaier has to trot out the eternal T&F but I suppose DG were leaning on him a bit. The Williams pieces certainly deviate from the norm by way of a pleasant change! Sampled the clips and am impressed by what I heard, albeit 30 secs. Interesting checking the spec`n and layout of the sections. Have to admit though I was somewhat amazed,or similar, to note the inclusion of a 64`. Waiting now for the cd format to be released; I could not find it on Amazon. I will probably order it in conjunction with CC`s latest release.

Yes, I was pleased to be informed that the anniversary bash was still going ahead; albeit following a slightly different format. Will be good to hear the Old Box of Wind again after such a long break. Forty years? well,well, doesn`t time fly when one is enjoying oneself? Only seems like yesterday when I used to attend these performances with NR presiding and I would be standing on the shop floor about half way down the nave in the company of IT,IW, and SD waiting for the performance to start.

I can smell the burning martyrs from here! There exist on this forum,unfortunately it would seem, a significant number of individuals who think they are so important that ANY other forum would not be able to function without them. Once again " au revoir " to JPM and all the excellent work you have done ; and hello to Steve Glad to see there is a steady exodus in progress. It`s make your minds up folks time.

Just signing in to say " au revoir ". I have just joined the New Forum and am glad to report that its title does include the name " Mander ", so your name will live on in spirit as well as with the countless instruments with which you and your team have been involved with over many years. It is to be hoped that your craftsmen/technicians will be able to either re-locate within this endangered industry or transfer their existing skills into new ventures. One particular craftsmen out of many, I have to mention is Eric Bell who did some excellent work on the tuba on Liverpoo lCathedral organ some years ago. " sic et transit gloria "