Adnosad
-
Posts
218 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by Adnosad
-
-
During this extended period of doom and gloom in which we are all encapsulated/imprisoned it is indeed good to be able to see a little light glowing at the end of a different tunnel.
Marvellous to peruse the " nomenclature francais" and note the changes .
Very fortunate that this instrument has survived the ravages of time and lack of funds and still remain in a " playable condition " up to the present time.
Reading the article encouraged me to mine Nigel Ogdons wonderful recording of `94 out of the archive . Despite the fact that one third of the stops out of action the depth and clarity are fantastic. The solo stops sounded marvellous and was not conscious of any action or wind noise; tribute to C_C`s craftsmanship plus that of Jardines ( a local organ firm ) who kept the whole shebang going remarkably well for so long.
Just a pity, me muses, that the other Lancashire C-C just down the road is not able to receive the same treatment despite all the efforts of Warrington Council et. al.
Going to look for the youtube vid now.
-
Noticed yesterday that the good `ol Graud had eventually woken up and placed an obit to Jane.
For some reason, probably known to themselves I found that the usual facility to comment was not available; or maybe I have just not seen the right buttons to press!
Anyway, it was a good obit methought.
-
Crumbs..........what next?................. can life generally get any worse??
The passing of so many organists of late is bad enough, but organ firms as well ?
There is less and less worth getting up for in the mornings now; well nigh that this lump of spinning rock was nudged by an asteroid.
I am not being facetious either.
-
2 hours ago, Barry Oakley said:
Equally sadly, I have none of her recordings. Without question she was one of the world's top recitalists, men and women. I have had to resort to YouTube to hear her once again but don't think the Blackburn recording is listed. I shall have to try Spotify.
Her recordings are still trackdownable. Few months ago I was rooting in a local charity shop and up popped a virtually brand new record of hers from St. Francis de Salle. It is a digital recording, which is best enjoyed played at volume setting 11, this is a handy replacement for my original copy is virtually played out.
Upon reading about her death I immediately blasted it out at 11 and toasted her with a horrendously enormous G&T ( followed by another
)
-
Very, very sad.
Was all set up to hear her at Selby in June.
She was someone else altogether!
-
Marvellous recording! Total rot that " one cannot play Bach on the RAH instrument. One can play Bach on ANY instrument. Many years ago I can remember seeing a young Jamaican lad playing a Choral Prelude ( forgotten which one! ) on steel drum. I jest not. it was a marvellous rendition and I feel sure that The Great Man himself would have wholeheartedly endorsed it.
Anyway that excellent recording you have so kindly provided of JB proves the point completely.
xx Good old Jennifer xx
-
Yet another unfortunate loss to the organ world, and the world of music at large.
Sadly there only appears to be one comment regarding her life and career in one of the daily rags.
I have reminded myself as to the excellence of her playing by digging out her performances of List and Stanford at the RAH.
Her televised performance from Norwich of Messiaen is still unforgettable.
-
Interesting topic and especially relevant in relation to contemporary times and attitudes regarding organs, their locations, their players, and the organ repertoire as it stands.
The organ is a most unfortunate creature in that it will forever be associated as a machine for merely accompanying the human voice; a historical allusion which goes back to the days of " The Great Winchester Organ " and its players ( " thumpers " ? )
As a result of this historical association the organ has never really been able to escape from these limiting shackles as to developing its full potential.
Despite this the organ WILL survive. Haven`t we read recently in the public prints that attendance for Evensong and other services is now enjoying a resurgence albeit in our larger establishments?
This can only be towards the general good. True, some of us may attend because we enjoy the architecture or the music and not necessarily the divine office being offered but it is still glutes on seats which leads to income.
Standing alone as a solo or accompanying feature though the organ needs to move on a bit and this I feel is the stumbling block.
It needs to undergo a bit of revamping, being presented in a different light; and mentioning light ;something quite artistic in its own way could include the use of lighting. One spectacular use of such a means has been employed at Leeds Town Hall. Another example would be the recently restored Grand Central Hall in Liverpool. ( see Google images ) In this building the organ has been conserved AND will be used. I believe this idea has been adopted In Auckland Town Hall.
One glorious opportunity which is completely out of the question on cost grounds alone , would be the relocation of a unique CC instrument which is currently mothballed, to the restored St. Francis Church at Gorton ( look at the website and you may see what I mean )
At least this will go some way in order to make people notice that there is even an organ there. Let`s not forget the famous one about WTB at SGH and " the organ will play"!
I can hear the splutterings already about " Reg at the Tower " etc. and the performances of some of our colonial cousins and all that hangs off that so I am not going there; just saying.
AS regards our " lesser churches " there is no quick fix on cost grounds alone . One gets what one pays for i;e; craftsmanship. Someone has already dared to mention " The "D " Word ". I am not going to invite parts of my anatomy to be slowly removed with red hot pincers on that one!
Education has been mentioned and that is a very valid point. If the kids are not being at least presented with the opportunity to learn the organ, or any other instrument , unless they attend a fee paying school, then the future is bleak. There are a fair number of young players out there but their access to instruments is very limited ( cost raises its ugly but unavoidable head again )
Finally,( I`m even starting to get bored myself now) we need to re-educate, stimulate, call it what you will, The Great General Public into attending more live events. We attend a fair number of " rock " type concerts, even at our age, and these events are always nearly full to capacity. Why not the same for other musical events? All these armchair supporters who bang on endlessly but hardly ever attend a concert or recital .
Finally ( honest! ) I was delighted to hear at the conclusion of the voluntaries after a certain carol service on the radio - the audience broke into applause. Great - they noticed the organ!
Please forgive these mad ramblings, have to go; my nurse has just appeared with some worrying looking equipment in her hand!
-
Don`t think this piece was a particular favourite of Uncle Joe.
-
" Alle Menschen mussen sterben "
-
Probably as a direct result of him being born and bred north of Watford Gap. Time well overdue that all this nonsense was swept out with the rest of the detritus.
-
Heard of his passing whilst attending the recital on BHM. A very long successful tenure which for the most part involved a team of two !
Have to say that I am still rather puzzled as to why a boy, who went on later in life to become very successful in the musical world as a singer/performer failed his audition to be admitted to the choir ?
There is an interesting ( for those interested that is! ) picture of this local boy attending the cathedral in Joe Rileys book entitled " Todays Cathedral ".
-
Most unfortunate. One could say that this represents the fraility of life; or an accident caused through human carelessness.
Whatever, the destruction, even as portrayed at this stage ,appears to be total.
-
A wonderful organist and composer now residing in a higher organ loft.
My fathers studies at Manchester overlapped with Noel and I remember my father commenting years later that his technique and ability were " somewhat considerable " at that early stage.
He took my father to Liverpool so he " could have a go " and when he saw the console he said he nearly fainted!
The two of them met up many years later whilst my father was playing quite a lowly instrument in a small church but Noel gave a marvellous recital on this organ. I think the " fee " was a crate of Guinness "!
IMHO his finest recording was with his colleague Terry Duffy of Solers concertos - pure bliss and magic.
The 93rd Anniversary recital promises to be something else I think.
-
A bit of an " enfant terrible" this one, IMHO and for what it is worth.
One could say that " it all depends on what you mean by.... ".
Regarding the term " organ concert " so far as I am aware this is the usual term which Americans give to what us Brits would refer to as a " recital ". Nothing particularly wrong with that I don`t think ( IMHO again! )
However, in order to ascend to the dizzy heights of being an " international concert organist " as opposed to a mere " organist " I would agree that the player/performer has to be free from the normal shackles which confine most organists to their consoles. There are n number of professional organists who undertake " trans Atlantic" " or " continental " tours. Several of these are formed from the ranks of our divers cathedrals and often take the format of summer tours and include their choirs too. This is usually on an " exchange " basis.
Those organists who have managed to gain the status of " international concert organist " are musical creations of another dimension altogether. They have all undergone the usual rites of passage , tutelage etc. but have been fortunate to develop a completely independent career path to their conventional colleagues.
I am not going to " name names " as such for that is too controversial, but I think on the English scene I will not have to duck from too many brickbats if I should mention as an example JPS. She would fit the bill on the basis of her musical training, extensive touring abroad on " more than one occasion ", has a good recording history, lectures whilst on tour ,adjudicates , and finally , employs a management/ PR agency.
Good topic for more debate this one methinks.
-
Hmm! Plenty of material to consider on this topic.
You choose a good exam question along the lines of " Can it be said that the quality of English organ music went into a state of decline in the early nineteenth and twentieth century " ?
I would state that there were a lot of player/composers who have left us a huge legacy of organ music; the problem being that there is just too much of it and its accessibility is not always easy. Libraries, attics, car boot sales, skips even!
During the period under discussion not only in England but also Europe and America there was what could almost be described as a virtual renaissance in works for the organ which matched the developments in organ design on an exponentional scale.
The discussion could now divert down the avenues on the subjective/objective quality of some of this work . WTB stands out as a prime example of a brilliant organist who stood classical music on its head by arranging " Classical Hits " for the Common Man and successfully dragged good music out of the musty hidebound stable of the class ridden concert hall .
Bests successor at SGH has for some time now regularly included a transcription or two successfully into his recitals . He has also included in other recitals some pieces by lesser known ( or totally forgotten ) composers from the period under review.
There are mighty Titans from this period , most notably IMHO I think would be CV Stanford.
To finish ( yawn! ) I endorse your comments regarding playing technique/ interpretation; always a bit of a political animal this one.
IMHO, which it is all its worth, I think that if we are to really understand and develop our musical skills, both theoretically and practically, and in doing so help to enrich an already ripe harvest we will have to look both back - and forwards ; or to use that terrible metaphor , " avoid throwing the baby out with the bathwater ".
Eaglefield Hulls most excellent book is as relevant now as when it was first published. One has to make allowances for the epoch in which Hull was trained and any modern day shortcomings which it may now reveal.
The same can also be said, I think, with regard to Conways " Organ Playing " written some forty plus years later.
All in all a very good posting worthy of some serious debate.
-
Attended the Parr Hall last night for the recital which was most excellently presented / played by " The Boss " whose approach to " the console with teeth " was both brave and impressive.
The sheer pleasure of hearing period pieces being played on a near as it gets period instrument of this type is quite invigorating , as well as being rare.
We all acclaimed Prof. T`s comments regarding the work and effort put in by the hard core band of dedicated enthusiasts and professionals; as well as the Management Team of the Parr Hall in their excellent promotion of the nights event and,hopefully, continued promotion of recitals.
The number of bums on seats well confirmed the need to retain this instrument in the hall. I believe another recital is planned for later in the year; I hope it is attended by as many, if not more.
There has to be physical evidence of support for the halls management team to decide that they are on to a viable proposition; last night I feel proved this point.
It is no good banging on about " this wonderful instrument in our midst - oh dear what a pity it`s no longer there " if people do not make the effort to support it.
Once again, well done to all concerned
Oh yes, finally, to those omnipresent individuals who one can almost hear sneering with self satisfied contempt, " and just how many recitals have you been to? " - well, first recital was CC in the `80`s and then joined the CC supporters Society, the rest is history.
-
Liverpool Anglican Cathedral
Saturday 29th June
1930hrs
Olivier Latry ( Paris )
-
Very sad reading indeed.
god is indeed good;isn`t it?
-
Output resistors blown ,possibly.
-
Presumably you are referring to St George's Hall. I went to see Carlo there once, a long time ago, participating in a 'Battle of the Organs' ( the Willis monster v. his Allen touring organ).
The Willis won!
Yes, but only due to the fact ,I think, that the Allen he used at that location was a fairly modest instrument of 2 manuals. Can remember C C and NR " arguing" over who had the rights over the Sinfonietta as their " theme tune "
The actual instrument I was referring to is The Monster On The Hill; which incidentally I heard Richard Lea play today. His playing of the " ad Nos " on the partially restored instrument was truly spectacular as well as frightening
-
Who's joking? What you say is absolutely correct.
Yes, I do agree, York, Leeds, Halifax, Ampleforth,Doncaster............. to name just a few but it has to be said that here in Lancashire we have all these rolled into one.................. Liverpool!!!!
-
Memorial service and interment of ashes both to be in the UK. I never realised Carlo was such an Anglophile. I was expecting these to take place in his native USA.
Good that Allen have provided Carlos old touring workhorse for the occasion so I will have to eat my words re` my previous post! Think we can bet pretty safely that Himself chose the tunes.
Reckon that shares in " Kleenex " will increase as a result of playing that selection
For some strange reason ,which completely mystifies me, Carlo adopted This Wonderful Country as his adopted Homeland and it is very fitting that he developed such a love for Gloucestershire, and especially Pershore and its wonderful Abbey.
Thank heavens he did not deem to be situated in Yorkshire for perpetuity
-
..and as I think that the incumbent at Pershore was a long standing friend of CC, regardless of the organ situation it seems a rather good place to hold a memorial service.
A
I agree, a perfectly suitable location for a memorial service for a highly talented and allround pleasant person who is sadly missed. I see no problem in the fact that the outstandingly beautiful,spiritual, abbey church at Pershore should be the setting scene for this celebration of CCs life and work.
In fact the very lack of a box of shrieking whistles and booming foghorns to accompany the service will make the event all the more spiritual and contemplative.
If I remenber correctly ,at the funeral service, held at The Madeleine, of a well known Parisian organist/ musician , the organ was not used.
)
Alternative forum
in General discussion
Posted
Tricky problem. Speaking purely for myself I have enjoyed perusing this site for several years whilst retaining a very low, should I say, inactive role towards its actual development.
Some very good offers to take over the site by individuals whose intentions I am quite sure are nothing but sincere. Finance can raise its own problems though in many unexpected ways. One example of this would be the fact that the " bounty hunters " will be logging into this site and will be especially interested in any traffic referring to any retrievable asset and this topic will certainly furnish them with ideas .
The old cliches of " all good things have to come to an end ,eventually ", and, " nothing lasts for ever " unfortunately come to mind.
The " archive" has been mentioned; yes, a pity to lose it but as has been already mentioned, how many of us have lost stuff one way or another and then realised that our lives can still carry on without it. New brooms and all that.
The idea mooted of a free forum, and one which how shall I put it? extends the scope of topics covered? sounds to definitely have mileage.
As in all these situations time is of the essence, and that is at a premium it would seem.
Plus, most pertinently, the bulk of the work will always fall upon the ubiquitous " Someone Else "
Sorry not to be more optimistic. I rest my case whilst I reach for my bulletproof vest.