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Simon Walker

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Everything posted by Simon Walker

  1. Yes I did. And I think you are probably alone in thinking that - I suggest you have another listen. It was girls and men (augmented back row I presume as usual at Chester for important events.) And the blend sounds good to me. With the girls choir have an age span from around 10 - 18 years of age, there is inevitable difference in voice maturity of the trebles, but this doesn't come across too much in my opinion. The layclerks always sound more blended when they are 12 in number rather than the standard 6. Please do think twice before putting negative comments up without proper justification - it doesn't do good things for the self esteem and confidence of those involved with the music there and more people read this forum than you might think.
  2. This is such a common problem in British churches, and some of the cathedrals. The less visited ones are often especially poorly heated in the winter, and in such large spaces, all heat just disappears. A fan heater is the best solution by far, as oil radiators don't send heat in the right direction. But this can only help you so much. During my time at St. Mary's Edinburgh, we got practically no heating except for at weekends, which was tough going in a daily choral foundation. My solution was to try and keep the body as warm as possible, thick trousers, a vest underneath the shirt, thick jumper overcoat, scarf, thick socks - and the fan heater blowing to the side of me. Maintaining a good body temperature will help keep the fingers from getting too cold. Eventually you sort of get used to performing in such cold conditions. Last winter I somehow managed to get through the Widor toccata in those awful January conditions, the building being only a few degrees inside. I'm currently in Canada and over here every church is fully heated - normally to a constant temperature. They simply have to heat buildings otherwise they would totally freeze up when it gets to minus temperatures for weeks and months. The organs tend to cope quite well - for a century now there has been a preference for Pitman chest action which avoids the problem of stuck sliders in low humidity.
  3. He shouldn't have bothered - the Greyfriars organ is perfectly fine without. The 'Rumble' as it's named is a second hand rank of stopped open wood pipes layed horizontally rear of the gallery, rigged up on electric action, when the rest of the organ is within the case and mechanical. The thing has never worked properly (last time I played it only one note in the bottom octave spoke at all...) It should be disconnected, removed or replaced in my opinion. So much for the 'Rumble'...
  4. I can't think of a more appropriate organ and organist to give a recital in his memory. Roger Fisher knew him well and the Sixsmith firm built his house organ in the 80's, which is a masterpiece in extension organ building! The St. Werburgh's organ is very pleasant to play and listen to and I'm sure it will be a memorable event for those who can attend.
  5. Thanks for the link to the earlier discussion - I'm sorry I didn't find it before starting this one, but never mind! Here is a link to some great shots of this most interesting instrument It will be interesting to see if any other builders choose to use this design again the UK. The craftsmanship of it looks splendid too.
  6. Thanks for your reply JJK! This organ has interested me ever since I first read about it. In so many ways I'm sure it gives immense satisfaction and it's tonal finishing is praised in the C&O article. I'd love to see it one day, but I rarely get down to the London area sadly.... It is interesting to note that you say the 'Cromorne works marvellously as a chorus reed'. How that wouldn't have been the case in many an organ built 30 years ago! The possibility of transmission was just a thought of mine, and complex it would have seemed when compared to the benefits, I agree. The thing which I do get a bit worked up about though is that modern organ builders don't seem to use composition pedals, when 100 years ago they were standard on just about all small organs produced in the UK. Often 2 or 3 to each department and a G -P reversible. JJ Bins often went further, and employed up to 4 pedals per dept on even modest sized organs. And in day to day playing they are so useful! Also they are reliable and last for ever, and won't give you the problems that electrical systems can after a generation of use. The down side? They can't easily be re set - not a problem when set by the builder, but indeed a problem if an organist with his/her own idiosyncratic ideas get's in the way! In my opinion they should always be set to romantic combinations, ie, i8 foot, ii8s &4, and finally reeds + upperwork. This then allows easier registration of romantic repertoire, and for anything early you just go by hand (as you would if you were playing an instrument of more authentic design). Not long ago I encountered a Binns organ c1900 where the organist had had the combinations re-set to give, 8flute, 4principal, 2 fifteenth on one combination! not much use for general service playing and very annoying!
  7. I thought I might ask a few of you about your opinions on this kind of organ design Here is the spec: 2009 Organ by the St. Martin firm from Switzerland. I keep picking up up the July/August 'Choir and Organ' magazine and pondering on it... It is entirely mechanical action and was built last year and has an interesting idea of grand orgue, recit expressive and resonance expressive. The 'resonance' has just 3 stops, 16/8' reeds and an open flute, and is designed to couple to either of the other two manuals and pedals as chorus reeds. In effect this enables the versitility from just a 16 stop spec of repertoire from the romantic period on an instrument which would be ultimately be more 'classical' otherwise. There are a few suggestions in the C&O magazine about how this layout might be used: North German Plenum - Recit used as Ruckpositive, Grand Orgue provides the plunum Chorus to mixture, and resonance coupled to pedal prevides pedal reed. Classical cantus firmus in pedal: Resonance Trumpet 8' coupled to pedal, or to provide ped 4' reed, use the resonance - ped 4' coupler French Romantic: Resonance coupled to swell to provide expressive chorus reeds There are other possibilities too - the 8' flute on the resonance could be used as a pedal 8'flute when coupled down, and in romantic repertoire the resonance could even achieve some use as a 'solo' division. - So lots of possibilities. I wonder whether some elements to this design could be further improved upon... It's all very well on a classical organ to have no registration aids, but on an instrument designed with the versatility to compromise to play romantic repertoire too would it be appropriate to consider some - there are already two balanced swell pedals after all! Perhaps mechanical compositional pedals to the recit and grand orgue would be useful, but on this front bringing the reeds into play on the swell (thinking about French Romantic stuff here) would be difficult, but easily overcome with a reversible Res - ped reversible compositional pedal. Also I see a problem with the baroque plenum.... You can't play on the Grand orgue with the 8' trumpet on the manuals and the 16' reed on the pedals... and surely this would be a very useful tutti when playing Bach etc... so would it be possible to have the 16' reed available to draw on the pedal by transmission? I believe the, our hosts, the Mander firm have put reeds on transmission at St. Giles Cripplegate as discussed on another topic. What do you folks think of this Spec? Anyone out there played / heard it yet? Are there any builders out there who would like to comment on this design? The organ At Girton College Cambridge (same builder) has a similar but rather larger design, which is also worth a look. http://www.npor.org.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi...ec_index=R00476
  8. A few Father Willis organs are mentioned... it seems they have survived well in many cases compared to instruments of other builders. Have Willis organs always been viewed with such pride?
  9. I can think of so many organs which nearly fit into this category... but none quite do... This is the oldest and most original I think I've played to date: 1875 Harrison in Castle Howard North Yorkshire. Splendid instrument in a beautiful private chapel - check out the pictures - lovely ornate case. http://www.npor.org.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi...ec_index=D03076 Sadly the Cremona stop on the choir was lost - removed at some point, according to information I was shown, to enable better tuning access. It has since been replaced most unsympatheticallyin 1991, and now makes a horrible sound which I'm sure would not resemble that of the original. (If anyone dissagrees with me here I'd love to hear why, because this puzzled me a great deal when I visited last year) Everything else would seem beautifully intact, including the hitched lever swell pedal.
  10. Why? There are lots of good instruments in Scotland especially Edinburgh, but other cities too. Did you live in the Highlands or something? The north East of England where I grew up has far less choice apart from the cathedrals. In the whole of County Durham I can only think of one large 3 manual with modern playing aids etc of note. Needless to say organ recitals aren't such a common occurrence, though thankfully the few that are organised tend to be well attended and well played.
  11. Take a look at Selwyn College Cambridge for a remarkable list of 4 organs from the period 1975 - 2004: 1890 Walker Organ (Rebuild Rushworths 1937) 1975 Harrison, 1993 W. Johnson and P. Collins, 2004 Letournau.... thats pretty bad going economically.... I'm sure the current instrument will last a long time though.
  12. If you look closely, you will see that the gallery front has been removed, so not only is there no way of not falling into the church as you stand at the keys, there'd not even be anywhere to stand. Indeed! The only thing you could do to play the original console would be to extend the gallery! The new console downstairs is certainly a creative way on getting past the problem that this organ essentially just didn't quite fit! Glad to hear you survived the unfortunate experience of the previous installation relatively unscathed... The haskelled bass you mentioned is interesting - I think I've only ever (knowingly...) come accross one of those at Ellesmere College Chapel. 1960's HN&B - a quintessential essay in 60's organ building, and a good instrument too. (The reason I was there was actually to look at the Schulzt the School hall has which is very interesting.)
  13. Very interesting indeed!
  14. Wow! That case looks fantastic - but rather out of place on that organ gallery. Big shame the original console isn't playable - I assume it must be on some sort of electric pull down action to link it with the new console? It's a good thing at least that this instrument has a new home - when it comes to re installations, it's obvious that often the new building won't quite suite the instrument as far as case and dimensions go. At least they've taken the respectable step to preserve the original console with minimal alteration so it may be available if ever needed in the future. (I assume the pedal board is in storage somewhere...)
  15. This is a really sad story Mr Cynic! I have seen an organ you put together with very limited resources at the home of a mutual friend in Cheshire which is surprisingly successful for what it is. I know you're a very competent organ builder, so this must have been a terrible kick in the teeth for you. Was it the case that after things started to go wrong they wouldn't let you put it right? It sounds as though they treated you like you were building a brand new instrument for them, when they surely should have known that it was a second hand job and some problems of this kind was always a risk (just like buying a restored classic car for example - you can never bank on a 100% successful restoration unless even with the best firms for all sorts of reasons...) To have paid you nothing for it and not ever paid for your fuel expenses/labour just sounds criminal. How would you have redone the electric action had you been given the opportunity? I assume you thought the instrument could be saved. It seems ironic that the church employed you to get an organ at very modest cost, but in the end they managed to afford the splendid replacement you speak of! (there are no details of the replacement instrument on the NPOR so I have no idea what it is...) PS - Out of interest, in contrast with the current discussion about the vandalized organ thrown into a skip in America - what have you done / plan to do with the remains?
  16. Thanks for joining this discussion Steve! The facts you list were outlined in your facebook page but not all members would have been able to access it, so your information here is most helpful to the discussion. It appears their is some rather bad foul play going on... what is stated in the letter from the Church's DM is at great contrast to the information you have provided. It's a shame the author of the letter doesn't go into more explicit details to explain the why these actions were taken.
  17. Quote Cynic "I think a new topic is needed - we should attempt to list the recent seriously short-lived 'mistake' organs. I'll venture one of mine (in a show of humility) if someone else starts it." I'll take you up on this offer - Lets have a discussion about the shortest living organs - ie. organs built relatively recently which now no longer exist, for whatever reason. What went wrong? Let's try not to name builders please and keep this potentially uncomfortable subject professional... Cynic mentioned the 1987 organ at St. Peters College Oxford which was succeeded by its eminent Willis built predecessor which they never removed. I believe the 1980 organ for St. Leonard, Heston, London was removed to be broken in 2003 according to the NPOR - does anyone else know anything about this surprisingly short lived instrument.? One of the worst instruments I've ever had my hands on was the one recently replaced at Trinity Hall College Cambridge, though I believe it still exists... quite why anyone would have wanted it I don't know.
  18. I hope this thread remains.... the freedom of speech surrounding this issue is important. Congregations and priests can and do make some horrible mistakes regarding installations and throwing things out. Even if everyone was in agreement at this church about the action to be taken it doesn't mean what they did was right in the eyes of others. In my opinion I still think there were some serious misjudgements made in this case.
  19. A hospital Chapel near Northallerton??? St. John of God Scorton by any chance? Rather you than me playing the Durufle Requiem on a small extension organ! On the note of Walker extension organs, I played a 4 rank one recently in Cheshire, complete with a trumpet rank and it made a good sound in the building. The 'chorus' actually sparkled beautifully and did more justice to JS Bach than I ever imagined.
  20. It seems incomprehensible to me that there could ever be a reason to totally destroy an instrument of this size. Various parts of the Facebook discussion (listed previously) point to problems with the organ regarding build quality and also the structural integrity of the gallery it stands on, it may be that this hasn't been the happiest of organ installations. HOWEVER.... for so many reasons this organ could have been use to someone else if the church no longer wanted it. To list a few, it has wonderful case work, beautiful case pipes and it's essentially free standing on the gallery meaning that rehousing it would be easier than for an organ installed in a chamber. Surely there is no question that this instrument had some value? According to the author of the facebook profile 'the Priest doesn't want it, nor does he want anyone else to have it'. What an utterly selfish and rediculous situation.
  21. I would contend that the 'brustwerk' stops on the Solo are actually quite useful. Just a thought; can one detect any stylistic influence when comparing the design of the Manchester Solo division (1957) and that of the remodelled Chester Solo division (1969)? I agree there.... I wonder how it compares - the Chester organ is a wonderful instrument, but the solo really lets it down essentially now being a dogs breakfast of a 'quasi' positive. It was never conceived as and orchestral solo like the manchester organ originally was, but a return to to something suitable 19th C sounding would be a big improvement when that instruments finally gets rebuild.
  22. I thought I might make a comment on this post as it is quite an interesting topic despite the fact it's been a long time since anyone else posted. The idea behind organ scholarships is essentially training on the job. One cathedrals needs in an organ scholar is quite different from another and it's similar for the candidates concerned. Some cathedrals require an organ scholar to just play a service occasionally whilst other cathedrals expect the a high standard of playing for numerous services a week. I started my cathedral training at a less well known cathedral and did 3 years there whilst studying at university in the same city. I essentially picked up all of my skills there playing once or twice a week for evensong, but at the end of my time there I desired a busier post with more responsibilities though I still wasn't ready for a cathedral assistant post. My second organ scholarship was at one of the more established historic cathedrals and my one year there proved most useful in my musical development. Therefore I would say that is can be very useful to move from one cathedral to another in this way. The problem is.... there are some people who do a cathedral scholarship, complete their time without gaining a great deal of experience or improvement and move on to another cathedral when they should perhaps have considered doing something else as a career that suites them better. There are some serial offenders around for doing this and most places are getting wise to it now! Quite why anyone would want to be a professional organ scholar I don't know - the balance of money, hours, and accommodation is really awful and frankly in some places just takes advantage of peoples fine skills with little or no reward.
  23. It can be rather difficult to obtain this one - long out print I think... does anybody know better than me?
  24. Depends partly on your prefered denomination. Scotland is mainly Presbyterian, and the obvious choice for that is St. Giles Cathedral. The Anglican churches in Edinburgh tend to be very well appointed with choral music. I would recommend either St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral to enjoy Scotland's only daily choral foundation (though wrap up warm as it is the coldest building you could imagine...) or the excellent high church Old St. Paul's, where the City Organist John Kitchen plays and directs the music. The organ there is less remarkable than those featured in the 'Organs of Edinburgh' collection, but it still makes a good bold sound.
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