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John Furse

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Everything posted by John Furse

  1. And yet, within easy distance of l'église de la Madeleine, is the following:
  2. Delivering targets . . . mission statements . . . audience involvement . . . No wonder the national broadcaster doesn’t know where it’s going: the nation itself has lost its way. When did we lose our cultural identity ? Should we have one ? Do we really have to learn from Venezuela how to produce the orchestral musicians of the future ? The answer, it seems, is yes ! Yet, don’t we have a National Youth Orchestra already ? And a National Youth Choir ? Wasn’t the answer to expand the processes involved (finance being one of the most important) in the ‘production’ of musicians for these, rather than import a ‘Sistem’ from Japan, via South America ? No, not necessarily. We can and should learn from others. We no longer possess a cultural identity (it was seriously wounded in the Somme and mortally injured after the 2nd World War), but a richness in and of cultures. We have uploaded, largely, but not exclusively, what passes for culture from across the Atlantic. We have almost obliterated ours. But, what was this, in any case ? Music hall ? The Light Programme ? Folk song/Morris/e.g. VW’s ‘cowpat music’ ? The music of the public school chapel, then cathedral ? Radio 3 late at night ? What IS it, now ? One Direction ? East Enders ? Ready, Steady, Sing ? (At least, this last generic type has created a wish for many to make music as adults, when they thought it was in the ‘Lost Luggage Office’ of their schools.) Rowan (I was about to write Atkinson!) Williams talks of us as ‘post-Christian’; I would describe us as ‘post-British Britain’. Those who have travelled in Central and Eastern Europe may have noticed that most of these countries, now liberated from the Soviet yoke, have TV channels dedicated to their traditional music and dance. It is often played 24 hours. To a visitor, this is an invaluable insight into these realms. When I once asked one of my students, who’d come to the UK from one of these countries as a tweeny, he described this ‘stuff’ as ‘peasant music’ ! In another generation, therefore, will they lost their identity- as their young people imbibe deeply from the homogenising aural fount of Uncle Sam ? The Proms are, probably and as they self-describe, the ‘greatest (classical) music festival in the world’, with a broad range of music(s). The hierarchy at the Beeb presumably consider that the recent infusion of concentrated organ stock from the RFH is more than sufficient for the next twenty years. Father Willis would only get in the way, as it means moving the mikes. Some of the comments above make me despair in a quiet way: it is as if the 20th century had not existed, let alone our being in 2014. When teaching composition, one of my first tasks was to show my students how to LISTEN- with ‘open ears’. Despite the serious brain disease from which I’ve been suffering for the last year, I find myself still inspired by ‘new sounds’. Occasionally, I even find it in me to compose. ‘Open minds’ are useful, too.
  3. pcnd5584: According to both NPOR and the Mander webpage for the instrument, it is as I wrote. There are others at Westminster Abbey and Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral and the French Wikipedia gives similar. I will not atone for possibly ungrammatical stop knobs- although I do see the point you are making. Delving far back into the dark recesses of my inculcation into Sartre, Breton and all points Sud, I believe that both are acceptable. From brief internet searches, I find that US and electronic makers prefer "des". Please neither stop commenting on such faux pas (real or imagined), nor inhibit our exposure to your unparalleled knowledge. Apparently, I wrote the previous post whilst still asleep ! As for your final point: soup needs to be stirred from time to time, otherwise it will stick to the pan.
  4. It is sad to say that ‘audience participation’ may be one of those bugbears which ‘true listeners’ have to tolerate. It is probably one of the numerous and ludicrous indicators/targets on which the license fee is contingent. It is, of course and of national importance, that the opening of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony broadcast in retrograde and played on didgeridoo be recognised before the clip is faded, and that listeners immediately reach for their CleverFones and Twit in. Or that we are cajoled to participate in asinine mind games, to identify pieces of music featuring cuckoos, larks and other avians put through some additional and improbable mental mangle. When I made my way through the cumbersome (deliberately so?) online complaints process, about the radical amputation of The Early Music Show, I received blandishments worthy of the most herpetologically evolved political spin doctors. Mispronunciations (by ‘seasoned’ broadcasters) of the names of major composers and performers are rife and other inaccuracies legion. One such is the announcer who cannot pronounce Debussy ! Several find it impossible to distinguish between French and Spanish. This is embarrassing but, presumably, a product of our state schools’ lamentable lack of good language teaching- or, an anti-EU bias (?). The RAH organ is (reach for your keyboards!) a better instrument than the RFH and, I am afraid, the BBC has put its money where its (pipe) mouth is- or, rather isn’t. At least we will be spared the organ equivalent of Laurel and Hardy performing an arrangement of a famous ringtone on 32’ Double Ophicleide and Cornet de Violes. The quality has definitely deteriorated in recent years. This, at a time when we are able to hear more music, and know more about music(s), than ever before. The range of music(s) broadcast is, it must be said, impressive. Nevertheless, it is probably still the best classical station in the world ! I regard myself as fortunate still to be able to hear it and constantly listen.
  5. David: I presume those are Casavant Sœurs organ pipes they’re holding in their left hands (?).
  6. It is now midday. A ‘double bluff’ could be a geographical feature . . . I love the idea of a Choir to Pub stop. But, it doesn’t show on npor and the organ seems never to have had more than two manuals. (Have the shutters closed on the pub ?) It wouldn’t be good to have such a stop on the Solo: the solitary imbibing of alcoholic beverages could indicate something serious.
  7. Such stories (true, or otherwise) are not meant to be debunked until after midday, surely ? Since Rauschwerk is a sort of mixture, the pull-out drawer should only be used to hold cocktails, mild-and-bitter, shandy, etc.(?). Confusingly, it’s included in the Pedal section of the spec. (http://www.ratzeburgerdom.de/3501_grosse_rieger_disp.htm); perhaps it is assumed that one has already fallen off the organ stool.
  8. I am (as is pcnd5584), keen to learn details of the lunchtimes (having similarly found the website less than easy to penetrate to this level of information). [Were I to attend an evening concert in central London, the fastest travel time by rail means that I would not arrive back home until after 6 a.m. the next day ! Driving this, for me, is not an option.] Googling provided the following: the occupied reverberation time of the RFH is now 1.65 seconds; the Concertgebouw, 2.2. Unoccupied, the latter is 2.8: close to the ideal for the organ. From all the above, I would conclude that opinion is divided ! I very much look forward to hearing the instrument ‘in the flesh’- and hope my 2nd-hand auditions are proved misleading. WARNING ! THIS IS AN APRIL 1st RELATED STORY- AND, THUS, SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN AS GOSPEL On Radio 3 this morning, after a movement of a Hindemith, played by Peter Hurford, the announcer proceeded to describe, in convoluted and unconvincing detail, the Ratzeburg Cathedral Rauschwerk stop which, when pulled out, opens a drink cabinet ! Never mind, they had a go.
  9. Unhappily, I haven’t, yet (re #103). When the lunchtime recitals begin, I shall try and take the opportunity to hear the instrument live. (For health reasons, it would prove very difficult at the moment.) I have gleaned my impressions of this by reading all that has been written, on here and in other places, and by listening on the radio/iPlayer, via Roland studio monitors. Perhaps, when I read that the acoustic is now ‘fantastic’ or ‘brilliant’, I shall essay the other. Why should we, in this country, suffer so frequently the results of compromises, for so many ‘problems’ ? Why should we not aim to emulate the very best (e.g. the Concertgebouw), rather than make do and mend ? Actually, and possibly contradicting myself, Birmingham and Manchester could be said to buck this trend. Of these, similarly, I have no ‘live’ knowledge. (Impressions/comparisons, please- especially as regards full symphony orchestra ?) Again, thank you pcnd5584 for your powers of recall and profound depth of knowledge- at least the equal of the lowest pedal pipes at Sydney. I am surprised at the negative opinions of Llandaff (perhaps, this merits a separate thread): the CD I’ve heard leaves me feeling good about the whole thing. OK, one can argue with the original conception (‘insularity’ and a limited number of mutations, for example), but the overall sound is impressive, to my ears. And Buckfast, of course, deserves major support and restoration (again, possibly, a separate thread).
  10. [Off topic, indeed ! Good Lord ! And, thank you, Philip J Wells. Where would it have gone ? (And I love that quasi-biblical designation of Simon.) And how would a 35-stopper have coped with Mahler or Saint-Saëns ?]
  11. I commented on Trotter’s strange choice of registration for the conclusion of the Bach Adagio (Nick Bennett #88) in #29. Despite all my strictures, my (radio/iPlayer) impression of the organ is that it now sounds unified and more coherently powerful- good, even, if not better than good. When I first heard it, in the 60s, I did, indeed, think it ‘clattery’- although, also, strangely impressive, in that previously I’d not heard anything like it. I have heard a description of the relatively new Nicholson at Llandaff Cathedral, when on ‘full throttle’, as a ‘Wall of Sound’. Would those who have had the fortune to hear the RFH instrument live describe this in similar terms ? And, does anyone know if Downes actually liked Tubas ? I cannot find many in organs he designed. (I’m prepared to be instantly corrected, by those with superior knowledge- which is why I ask.) [The Barbican Hall, designed and built some 30 years later than the RFH, is also acoustically less than perfect. Perhaps, fortunately (!), it doesn’t have a pipe organ.] With orchestral concerts (in the RFH) in mind, further acoustic enhancements should be on the cards- notwithstanding the fact that those cards will not be dealt for a very long time. There is an obvious desirability for even greater bloom, in this regard. With an increased (future) knowledge of reflective and reverberance-enhancing materials and the investigation of the possibility of cavity creation, for increased resonance, these should be pencilled in now. I’m not suggesting the complete re-building of the Hall, but we will know what to do and how to achieve it even better, in the future- whenever that might be. Tangentially: the ‘outreach’ programmes and events, for young people and others, in and around the RFH sound fascinating. I truly hope they have beneficial results. In the next two decades, might one measure for their acclamation as a success be if they ‘produce’, e.g., an organ scholar at King’s ? [£1.3M is just over one month’s remuneration for certain footballers. This was the amount raised by public appeal. Perhaps we should be engaged in outreach to the sporting world.]
  12. Ah ! Thank you, wolsey (re #78). I’m afraid that, neither on my radio, nor on the iPlayer, was this (reading from a written statement) visible. And, thank you pcnd5584, for your further relations of Downes reactions/impressions. As far as I can recall, Buckfast was the ‘testing ground’ for some of his ideas, which eventually bore fruit in the RFH organ. It should be said that the acoustic here is reverberant.
  13. Yes, Tony (#74), no-one is gainsaying this. However, as has been extensively documented above, the designer had multiple visions (similar to those at Fatima) and we can, and should, improve on the imperfect result- sometime in the future- without compromising his ideals.
  14. Not at all, innate (see #68). When one is talking about and around something that has been the subject of a legal warning and, thus, possible legal action, one must choose one’s words most carefully. That is (me) putting words in my mouth. Apologies to members (and M. Latry), if I gave the impression that anything more ‘sinister’ was afoot. [i seem to be expressing myself less than cogently more frequently nowadays, following my latest bout of ill-health.] Surely, not, MusingMuso ! (see #71). We wouldn’t want to create a ‘Riot of Spring’, would we ? And, returning to the subject of ‘the acoustic’, Downes must have been distraught when he first became aware of how poor it was going to be/was. Although this has been improved, with the advances in the understanding and application of acoustical design and adjustable acoustics, let’s hope the next rebuild (of the Hall) will get it right.
  15. With Downes’ agonisings and constant changes of mind, it’s a wonder H&H didn’t collapse into a collective state of insanity. We still must be eternally grateful to him, though. Agreed (see #53). But, is it too much to hope that some of these (HLF) might be reading this thread (as do national leaders and decision-makers in another, completely unrelated, specialist scientific forum to which I belong) and, when the next rebuild is due, in another half-century or so, get it right ? At the same time, the acoustic could be sorted out. As for committees: why were the opening and closing London Olympic ceremonies so mind-blowingly memorable ? ONE man (Danny Boyle). Latry’s improvisation was, yes, amazing. Those of us fortunate to have heard Pierre Cochereau live might well compare favourably. No one has mentioned Latry’s astonishing disclosure of why he wasn’t allowed to perform the Stravinsky Rite. I trust he took legal counsel, before this.
  16. Thank you, mgp, for #30. Whatever was he thinking of ? But, I suppose, it was 1948. I’m not sure, though, if this (1948) spec. for the Solo wouldn’t have been preferable to what we have now. Did he say (mgp) why he had changed this by 1949 ? [The enclosed Great reeds might have been a throwback to the old King’s organ- where they were enclosed in the Solo !] The first movement of L’Ascension will always present an almost insuperable challenge in such an acoustic. I would posit that (pace Maître Latry) playing a piece such as this can only serve to point out the acoustical deficiencies of the hall. (AJJ: did this movement provide you with a true glimpse of the éternel, or was the acoustic too much of an hindrance ?) It’s a pity Messiaen didn’t envisage the possibility of this work’s being performed in a dry acoustic and provide a substitute movement for the 1st- as he did for the organ version in the 4th, with Transports. As Latry said in the interval talk, French music is nothing if not about colour; and the halo provided by the almost invariably ample (if not substantial) reverberation in French places of worship is almost an assumption by French composers for organ. Nonetheless, listening via Radio 3 and the iPlayer, Latry did make the organ sound different, and (dare I say it?) very French, at times. Also, despite the admittedly unsatisfactory (and compressed) manifestation via radio, the organ now does sound more coherent and unified. Despite all the above caveats: once again, thank you and a massive “Bravo!”, Mr Downes, for your vision and the positive (pun not intended!) effect you had on the development of the organ in the latter half of 20th century Britain. Ah ! (Peter Godden #49) HLF = array of committees (many members without specialist knowledge) = dilution of vision = compromises = final result
  17. MusingMuso: I have sympathy with a lot of what you say. The programme for the opening concert could have been much better designed- as has been said already by several of us. But, I believe it was drawn up by someone with little knowledge of what should have been in it. It should have been coruscatingly exciting and incandescently illuminating- especially for those unfamiliar with organ repertoire and the many young people participating. It was, of course, neither- and not particularly well played. The premières have, so far, proved disappointing to my ears. I’m afraid I even found Judith Weir’s unmemorable. This is remarkable, as I know and like many of her idiosyncratic works for all sorts of genres and have worked with her on a major project, when I found her delightful, insightful and wonderfully stimulating. Her Illuminare, Jerusalem trod new ground with its sparse, but extraordinarily effective and atmospheric (organ) accompaniment- described recently to me (by another composer Cleobury commissioned) as the best (new carol for King’s) in the last ten years. I agree with your approbation of Thomas Mellan, who is now around 20 years. I was unable to locate a recording of your suggestion, although others of his works and performances (including some for organ) are on YouTube. He is an obvious and huge talent. I also find that there is a copy of “Baroque Tricks” available- for well over £50 ! Please, can someone fill in the reasons for the changes in the spec. of the Solo, until I can find a copy of this (see #33) ? As for the Hall’s acoustic, it is a pity that, when the planning for the refurbishment was being done, the people in charge did not avail themselves of the University of Southampton’s excellent Institute of Sound and Vibration Research: requesting both an even further enhancing of the acoustic than has been achieved and one that was variable according to the performance medium. As MusingMuso quite rightly says, this is one of our premier concert halls and is something of an embarrassment in that respect. Finally, at every broadcast I’ve heard, there’s been an idiot (the same one?) who has started clapping immediately after the final chord. Is he (I’m sure he’s a he) engaged in some kind of competition, to show how well he knows the music ? After the Poulenc Organ Concerto, he waited for at least a micro-second; what little reverberation there was, was completely obscured.
  18. Thanks, again, contraviolone, for remembering so well what happened and, also, for so promptly conveying it to us. I can well imagine Downes’ chagrin, if this was the sequence of events. Over to pcnd5584 (?).
  19. Notwithstanding the aspirations/intentions of the original tender (#30), Tubas did not grow in the fertile H&H soil, to emerge and flourish in the final result/spec. For those of us not in possession of that tome (“Baroque Tricks”), a summary of the facts is in #16 and #19 of: http://mander-organs-forum.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/1199-royal-festival-hall-organ/?hl= Would pcnd5584, mgp or someone else be able to inform us why these changes occurred ? Many thanks.
  20. I totally concur, contrabordun (re #19). They have had criticisms: in an astonishing read-out on Radio 3, on Tuesday morning (at about 0750h), a listener wrote in to say they’d be happy if they never heard another piece of organ music. There is antipathy- hostility even- out there towards ‘our’ instrument. It’s obvious that we organists need to work in unison with (NOT unison off!) such invaluable assets to our country as the BBC in much ‘crusading work’. Possibly, though, they have a new employee, who actually knows something about the organ and its repertoire, and is prepared to put BBC money where our license fee is. It’s almost as if they’ve just found the key, so long lost, to the cabinet containing most of their organ CDs ! And thank you so much, contraviolone, for your illuminating insights, gained through hearing the instrument live. These are invaluable to someone yet to hear this instrument live, after many years. Thomas Trotter’s playing was far more assured- and, thus, more comfortable listening- than anything I’ve heard up till now: I wasn’t on the edge of my seat, waiting for the next slip/mistake/jolt. Was he able to procure more rehearsal time, to better settle in ? I query his registration for the last section of the Bach Adagio, though: this, surely, would have been on Fonds d’orgue. Yes, Tremulant- but applied to 8’ diapason/principal ranks, rather than the rather Romantic sound we heard. [And, as for the principal/diapason choruses, they do, over the radio, appear rather bland and smooth. Those who have heard it in the RFlesH may wish to comment. This was the fashion of the 50s, no doubt, but it is a shame. I prefer organs with more characterful choruses- and individual ranks. Some of the flute ranks, of course, are beautiful.] [in connection with non-organists’ misperceptions of the instrument, the proliferation of (small) continuo organs can only assist in correcting these. The great beauty of many continuo instruments will make a start in this direction. This, in one way, is going down a blind alley: the organ is not supposed to be- and was not designed as- an expressive instrument in that sense. Keyboard music was being performed for half a millennium before the advent of the fortepiano.] However, his Reubke was astonishingly and virtuosically assured. As for the Mozart: that must be the loudest clock in the world ! Wolfgang would have been blown away- almost literally. Why do we hardly ever hear someone playing this with slightly more restrained registrations ? Finally, there’s the other old saw: I would have wished, at last, for the inclusion of a Tuba ? Possibly the much-reduced space ‘did for’ this. Surely, though, this would have been an ideal opportunity to rectify an unfortunate (and now obviously mistaken?) omission. Even (!) European builders regularly include such a stop on the Bombarde division (or whatever it may be called), as an indispensible stop for the performance of many significant 20th century compositions. In (or, rather, not in!) an instrument with a specification that is, in other respects, so comprehensive, this has always puzzled me. I know Ralph Downes’ rationale and, in all other respects, he should endlessly be applauded for his vision . . . but, it IS the ROYAL Festival Hall, they are OUR Royalty, it was OUR Festival, it is an BRITISH organ in an iconic BRITISH concert hall and the Tuba is a quintessentially BRITISH stop, irreplaceable in some important works of ‘our’ FESTIVE repertoire. Am I missing something ? As can be seen, I believe this instrument certainly is. This is, nonetheless, not to be taken as anything other than a relatively minor criticism of the realisation of one of the most worthwhile musical endeavours of recent times: the reinstatement and restoration of this organ and consequent, and unprecedentedly well-publicised, concert series and accompanying ‘events’.
  21. wolsey: is it possible for you to relate your impressions of the opening concert and, even more pertinently, the organ LIVE and in situ ? The differences, if any, between this and the iPlayer rendition would be valuable to those of us who have not had your good fortune. Many thanks.
  22. Living even nethermore than AJJ, going to the Latry concert would necessitate an overnight stay for me in the Great Wen. I must, perforce, look forward to the lunchtimes.
  23. I agree with DouglasCorr that it was more than a slightly strange programme: a celebration of The Organ beginning, perversely, with the sound of brass instruments (!). But, then, the BBC has always had an ambivalent relationship with the organ and its music. As regards the choral (+) works, it looks as if some ‘community/outreach’ aspects had to be balanced, to be eligible for certain funding. As for the premières, I’ve always felt that both Sir ‘Max’ and Sir John wrote much more excitingly in the 60s, when they were enfants terribles. I’m not sure that the organ itself hasn’t shown up the extreme precision that’s required to perform on it. I’ve heard that it’s completely unforgiving (see #6)- and all the performers demonstrated this, with slips, infelicities and plain mistakes. I’ve heard all of them play better. Some curious phrasing and articulation were employed in the Bach: it was definitely an ‘electric action’ performance. I did, nonetheless, enjoy the ornamental, improvisatory roulades, just before the conclusion to the Fugue, which were so gloriously un-English. The Franck would have sounded perfect in St Paul’s, say- but we weren’t there. And it does take such a long time to ‘get going’. (I have heard a performance of L’Ascension, where the organist seemed to create reverberation in an almost completely dry acoustic. It will be more than interesting to hear how M. Latry copes. And, WHY NO MESSIAEN ? Arguably the second greatest composer for organ, this was an ideal opportunity for many in the Hall (and beyond) to hear works to which they wouldn’t normally be exposed.) Arrangements of Mendelssohn ? What’s wrong with Vierne ? There’s so much of his music written for organ that would have done the same job. Isabelle Demers is an incredible talent, with some fantastic clips on YouTube. She didn’t fire, here. Her Dupré was taken at a lick, but revealed some insecurity. I agree, AJJ: bring on Maître Latry ! (A week today.)
  24. And a link to the 'organ festival on an unprecedented scale': http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whatson/festivals-series/pull-out-all-the-stops
  25. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03y3fvd Scott, Parker-Smith, Demers, Goode at the RFH organ: BBC Radio 3, Tues. 18 March 1930h “A gala re-opening concert to mark the restoration of the Royal Festival Hall organ.” Including a ‘new work’ by the Master of the Queen's Music and the world première of the late Sir John Tavener's Monument for Beethoven.
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