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There are pictures on NPOR

David's funeral is on Tuesday October 8th at 14h00 (19h00 UK time) at Christ Church Cathedral, Fredricton. The preacher will be the Rector of Rothesay, the Revd. Paul Rideout and the organist Dr. Willis Noble. A brief obituary: BA, FRCO(CHM), ADCM, ARCM Director of Music, Christ Church Cathedral, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada It is with sadness we announce the death of David Leonard Drinkell on September 26th, 2019. He was born on December 10th, 1955, to the Leonard and Nora Drinkell in Colchester, Essex, where he attended Colchester Royal Grammar School. He studied music at Bristol University, and upon graduation completed a Certificate in Education at Cambridge. In 1979, he moved to Orkney as an itinerant teacher of music, and was appointed as Assistant Organist at St. Magnus Cathedral, taking over as Organist and Choirmaster in 1983. In 1988, shortly after his marriage to Elspeth, he was appointed as Organist and Master of the Choristers at St. Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast, and in 2003 took up the post of Organist and Choir Director at the Anglican Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in St. John’s, Newfoundland. In 2016, he was appointed as Organist and Director of Music at Christ Church Cathedral, Fredericton. He was an accomplished recitalist, and gave recitals all over Ireland, the British mainland, and in Canada and Norway. David is survived by his wife Elspeth; his mother Nora; sister and brother-in-law Clare and Andrew Tate; as well as a niece and nephew-in-law Eleanor and Lewis Harratt. By request there will be no visitation. A memorial service will be held at Christ Church Cathedral on Tuesday, October 8, 2019 at 2pm. For those who wish, memorial donations may be made to the Christ Church Cathedral Organ Restoration Fund.

I met David once and corresponded with him a number of times. I enjoyed his posts on this forum which were always informative. He had an encyclopedic knowledge and shared it with humanity and modesty. May he rest in peace.

Always excellent and useful to see your recommendations Martin. I rarely play any more but it is always good to know what is out there! Many thanks for that. You mention Alec Rowley! Can I 'make a plug' for his music? There is a wealth of approachable organ music, quite suitable for the Parish Church, Chapel or Cathedral, available on IMSLP - all of it, as you would expect, beautifully crafted, some of it sight-readable by a good sight-reader, and well worth investigating! In 'my former life' I remember playing the 'Lyric Sonata' and a string quartet - but I can't find any mention of that latter work amongst his work-list!

I can't find a copy anywhere but Damin Spritzer includes it in her recording from Hereford Cathedral - so she must have a copy. It might be worth getting in touch with her. Her website is: https://www.daminspritzer.com/ and her email address: daminspritzer@gmail.com Hope that helps. (P.S. She is playing at Wells Cathedral on October 11th)

Although listening from afar, it was good to hear the Albert Hall 'monster' in full voice last night!!

I didn't know that you played for degree congregations at Hull - perhaps we do know each other after all!!

Absolutely!! What a splendid idea!

This is absolutely true and when there were complaints concerning lack of organ music at 'The Proms' a couple of years ago I pointed out that, during the 'Proms' season, in London alone, there were over a hundred recitals/concerts of organ music in London alone! Admittedly 'The Proms' are seen as prestigious but there are, still, plenty of opportunities to hear first class performers playing a wide variety of music on almost every day of the year!

If you look at the website the future seems rosy for organists at RBC. Then look more closely and the website is, seemingly, rather out of date! The opening sentence on the organ page reads "With 25 students, a world-class faculty and a new home on the horizon, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire enjoys a reputation as a leading centre for organ studies in the UK." Later we read "The arrival of a major new instrument at the University of Birmingham this year and the Conservatoire's move to a new, purpose-built home in 2017 (together with new instruments and state-of-the-art facilities) promises to provide a unique set of resources that will further equip our students to become leaders in the profession." The advert reads "...………………………………………………. there is no room to continue to house the instrument on site" One wonders!!!

AJJ - This is not the mutual admiration society - but I agree with every word you wrote!!! ……………………… and particularly about the student who turns up at church and hears general dullness from someone with 'over protective console syndrome'. I could compare that with a composition workshop given by Peter Maxwell Davies, years and years ago. Fairly 'traditional' students left the place buzzing!!! I'm glad there was a healthy audience for Latry on Sunday morning. I wonder how many of those bemoaning the fact that it was on a Sunday morning when they had 'other commitments', will make their way to Buckfast on Saturday!

There are multiple answers to this. It isn't simple. You can lay the problem at the door of Education. We all, I suspect, have recollections of school Carol Services where the Music teacher, or whatever he was called, played the organ or was the organist of the local church/cathedral. At my school it was my Maths teacher who was an ARCO! Nowadays the pressures on teachers make it almost impossible for them to hold positions of responsibility in schools and run the music in the local church. Unless, of course, they don't have family commitments. The post of Master of the Music in a cathedral is, likewise, far more outreaching than ever before. Music education has changed dramatically and it could be argued for better or worse, but youngsters today are exposed to a much broader spectrum of music than ever before. (I was taught, in my first three years, at school by an excellent musician, a graduate of the RCM and a wonderful pianist - who was the most awful teacher!) It isn't satisfactory anymore to play youngsters music and expect them to sit listening passively whilst you tell them how wonderful it is!! Thank goodness! I suspect more youngsters are learning to play a musical instrument than ever before. Certainly those of us who examine are finding our tours increasing in length to cope with the number of students taking examinations. In general students aren't taking to the organ and, again, there are reasons for this. Practice is an issue, getting an access to an instrument is an issue and the youngsters safety is an issue. Nowadays churches are, quite often locked! I can remember a time when the church was open, you got the organ key from the Verger who was always around and practised. These days have largely gone! The 'public schools' are producing organists because access to instruments isn't always the issue but a student in a state school wanting to practice has too many hoops to jump through! In general, youngsters aren't joining Parish church choirs. Now we have had this discussion before and members here know that I believe that you can sell anything to youngsters as long as it is seen to be high quality and 'cool'. But church choirs are, again in general, going through a tough time compared to 20, 30 or 50 years ago and so many organists started off as trebles, altos, tenors/basses and general assistant dogsbody to the organist, being given the opportunity to occasionally play and it progressed from there. Generally there isn't that opportunity, at least it exists in few places, for aspiring young players to learn the instrument, let alone find somewhere to practice. Another view, and I make no apology for saying this, is that 'the organist' is often regarded with suspicion! Too much publicity, in the press, of organists (and clergy!) who 'have strayed' away from acceptable behaviour, doesn't help the cause. And I will say no more on this subject. There was a time when 'the great classics' (whatever they are) could be heard, regularly and cheaply, being played on the organ and we know that people flocked to St. George's Hall in Liverpool to hear Best playing 'orchestral transcriptions'. Nowadays, of course, we can hear these played live, in their original form, or on the radio, CD, I-player or whatever! Latry's 'Prom' yesterday seemingly was a 'nod' to those days. You can't compare the UK with France, for instance. There might be great organists in Paris and in some of the major cathedrals but parish church organs barely exist and the standard of music, not only in some of the Cathedrals but also in the parish churches is pretty abysmal! Germany may be a different matter. But the French do go to organ recitals and concerts, particularly in the summer, are in profusion in Paris and in the provinces too! I could go on and on! I don't know the answer, I don't know if there is one!

Of course it can be done but I'm afraid that, for one reason or another, organists have a bad press in this country.

I don't disagree with a lot of that! The timing does, at a glance, seem bizarre! However! Even if the Latry concert wasn't on a Sunday morning I doubt whether 'thousands' of organists would have turned up! I'm thinking of a number of recitals I have been to by great players that have been sparsely attended by, for instance, the local organists association or local organists. I organised a recital, years ago, with Francis Jackson and no more than a handful of the local organists turned up. It was embarrassing. As for going to London - depending on where you are travelling from the cost could be astronomical - I read of a guy whose train ticket to 'the smoke' cost him more than a flight to New York! I'm sorry but I don't see organists flocking to the Albert Hall to hear Latry especially when he does seem to be a regular visitor to the country. Are you going to the Saturday concert he is giving at Buckfast the week afterwards? The timing of the concert would have been finalised before the fire at Notre Dame so I don't think you can lay that at the door of the BBC. £150 for a trip to Paris? I'm interested to know where you would be staying and how you would be getting there!! Your £150 wouldn't go far and you might just make it to Gare du Nord!! But I don't disagree about a subscription service - good idea! I spent time working for the BBC. I do have a certain amount of antipathy towards the organisation, I wouldn't have gone so far as 'detest' though! Anti Christian, certainly anti-Catholic! Anti organ - I'm not sure!

Yes. There was a time when if you missed something that was it but Isn't it wonderful that, now, if you do miss something on the Radio or TV you can listen or watch it later on at your leisure.

Yes! Thank you for the links Martin!! ................................................... and, of course, remembering that the instrument's primary function is to accompany the liturgies of the Cathedral.

Thank you for that. But, apart from my second sentence "not, I suspect, the church" the rest of my post applies. However, if you knew the answer I am mystified why you posted the question.

I don't know! But not, I suspect, the church. Most, even in the 'well-thought-of' places, are paid very little, much less than a Director of Music or Organist in an English cathedral, which is why they usually combine their position as 'Titulaire' with a teaching post in the local Conservatoire de Musique or supplement their income by giving recitals! Playing for the Mass, is left to the player of the orgue de choeur who, even in a cathedral, might be, though not necessarily, quite amateurish. However if the Gloria or Credo is sung antiphonally, as at St. Eustache in Paris, for instance, the antiphony is between the choir accompanied by the orgue de choeur and the congregation 'accompanied' (interesting word!!) by the Grande Orgue. The Titulaire will play before the Mass, often an improvisation during the offertory and at the end.

You, clearly, don't understand the separation of Church and State that exists in France

I'm not suggesting - I am saying that is a French Government responsibility which is why Macron (and not Pape Francois or ++Michel Aupetit) was able to say that it would be rebuilt in five years. A statement that he may well live to regret! The French have a strange relationship with Notre Dame. My neighbour was in tears when he heard the news of the fire. His wife took exactly the opposite view. As far as she was concerned the money donated could well be better spent on other things. The 3,800 people who live on the streets of Paris feel a bit the same, so I'm told. The rebuilding has got absolutely nothing to do with the Roman Catholic church. Outside Beauvais cathedral there used to be a sign, put there, I suspect, by the clergy. It explained, I can't remember the exact wording, that the building was the property of the state and, as such, the state was responsible for it's upkeep. The RC church was responsible for the spiritual welfare of the parish and those who visited. …………………… or something like that! It doesn't work like in the UK!! It's not the Church of England!

The organ doesn't belong to the Roman Catholic Church - it belongs to the French State - as does the Cathedral of Notre Dame!!!

I'm sorry - but I missed the previous post with details of the programme. It sounds as if it was a magnificent evening - and, presumably, enjoyed by a huge audience?

It looks like there wasn't!! Are you going to tell us about it? What did he play? Was it packed?

Forty six posts on a thread about the organ in St. Michael-le-Belfry in York being, at last after years of neglect, being rebuilt and removed to St. Laurence's in York! …………………………………………………………… and not a single one, apart from the first, mention it! And I'm as guilty as the rest! Interesting if rather wayward thread though!!!

I'm bound to get this wrong. The Pedal 32' and the 16' Open Wood, at Worcester, are in the Hill Transept case. At the moment they are 'prepared for' on the Chancel Organ but will be brought into play when, or if, the new Nave Organ is built! I think that is right - but, no doubt, there will be someone here who can correct me if I'm wrong!