Christine Jose Rigby
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Posts posted by Christine Jose Rigby
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Greetings from Amsterdam,
Michael Hedley
Greetings to Amsterdam, Michael.
You are fortunate to have such beautiful organs in your City !
I am always moved when I listen to this one.
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But for the sterling work of Prof Ian Tracey and Ian Wells, the organ at St Geroge's Hall, Liverpool would have gone the same way.
Best,
MM
Hope you don't mind MM
--- It is David Wells, Organ Builder, who has done sterling work on the St George's Hall organ.Ian Wells is Director of Music at Holy Trinity, Southport and Hon Deputy Organist at Liverpool Cathedral.
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Does anyone know where I can pick up the Bairstow arrangement of the Purcell Sonata for trumpet and strings? I had it on a cassette recording a few years ago, and rather liked it. The score seems to be quite elusive, so if anyone here can point me in the right direction, I'd be most grateful.
Best regards
VA
Thanks for mentioning this arrangement.
I thought you would like to see this link
The reply you have received has given me the information well worth passing on to other organist/friends I know, as it will be invaluable in finding 'out of print' organ music.
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Not a youTube clip, but I stumbled upon this today- I think many will enjoy it!
WONDERFUL ---- It made ME laugh !!!
:lol: Jeremy has many talents ---- and not just for singing in a Cathedral Choir.
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Carlo has not owned an organ for many years - at least an Allen touring one anyway. Allen would hire out an organ to any venue (that Carlo was performing at) which was described as his organ - of late its been a Quantum 370 (3M, 58 stops). Its this organ that will be used at his Memorial Service. I assume that they kept the same instrument for his own use each time although I am not sure whether it was exclusively for him!
When I hosted him in 2001 I enquired about the cost of having the Allen but the cost was prohibitive due to it having to cross the Irish Sea - we hired a 4M Phoenix locally (at a fraction of the cost) which worked fantastically well and which he happened to rather enjoy, spending the entire afternoon playing it which I believe he would never do on an organ he didn't like.
Thanks for that D O, I think that the important thing was to gain sponsorship for the cost of hiring the organs, which I believe was the case when CC performed on two seperate occasions at my local venue. Without this sponsorship, the cost would have been prohibitive.
Maybe this is the way forward for us to give enthusiasts the opportunity to hear pipe organs in secular locations such as Town Halls and other Municipal buildings.
I have spent a few minutes browsing 'Battle of the Organs/Carlo Curly/Allen Touring Organs' and was very interested to find the following: - I quote CC from the Lehigh Valley Newspaper, The Morning Call, May 3rd, 1996.
"You worry about technique, you worry if the pistons are right, you worry about mixing all the colors.
I'm simply the manipulator of a device that makes music." end of quote.
And also, the end part of the article on Norwich Cathedral's web-site announcing CC's Organ Spectacular at East Harling, 21st July, 2012.
I quote CC "I would never say that even the latest, state of the art, digital organs, such as the one I take to pipeless venues, can replicate the sound of a magnificent cathedral organ, but the classical organist who does not at least investigate the new technology will not have a job, because the cost of pipe organ restoration is becoming prohibitive.
I greatly respect what has gone before, but as this is now the 21st century, anyone who declares that we classical organists must only play on organs with mechanical action, such as those built in the time of Bach, can't see the wood for the trees!" end of quote.
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I don't understand any of these observations, and it's nothing to do with my being from Yorkshire.
CC might have loved Gloucestershire, but not enough to want to live there. When I heard him play at Bridlington Priory his one lament was the difficulty in getting there by train; maybe he should have set up home in Doncaster!
The remark about whistles and foghorns was brave - espacially on an organ forum, (although I would be the first to admit to making unmusical noises on the instrument I play) and don't see why it is appropriate to take leave of CC in a place without an organ. It might have been more eloquent to have the service in a place with a wonderful instrument that was very obviously shrouded for the occasion
I understand that the Allen Touring Organ is now in private ownership in the South of England ----- http://cdmnet.org/Ju...es/elec/cjc.htm
AND http://uk.prweb.com/...rweb9096167.htm
Could it be possible that the presence of this organ was requested by the one who took it on tour for many recitals?
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There is also more information about the Funeral on Stephen D Smith's web-site - www.organrecitals.com
The link to this is http://www.organrecitals.com/carlo.php
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Sometimes it occurs to me that possibly - just possibly - our friend Musing Muso frequently writes far more sense, and is far more caring about his fellow humans, than a lot of our colleagues here might give him credit for.
Malcolm
:) AND his filing system is second to none, as I recall.His help in finding an article for me in The Organ Magazine was unbelievably quick.
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When Cameron Carpenter isn't drawing attention to himself, he can be quite impressive, and not just technically.
In spite of what sounds like a fairly predictable American digital organ, and rather poor sound quality, the following demonstrates a more serious (and musical) side to the man:-
It's the circus-act mentatlity which upsets me, and which now seems to dominate his concerts.
Best,
MM
No circus-act mentality here ---
--- just a Masterclass by Daniel Roth, Organiste Titulaire, St Sulpice, Paris.What a Registrant to have !!!
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Neither am I.
In addition to the odd 'articulation' mentioned previously, the balance is wrong for the middle section of the Prelude - the left hand can scarcely be heard.
In addition, the Fugue has a number of slips - for example, in the right hand, a couple of bars or so before the recapitulation.
This toaster makes a particularly nasty noise - gritty, is perhaps a fitting description. The loudest sounds appeared to me to be quite unrealistic. If Carpenter and Torrence genuinely prefer this kind of noise to the grandeur and beauty of a fine pipe organ (perhaps built by Cavaillé-Coll, for example) then I am astounded. The 'thing' Carpenter is playing on the above recording sounds like a pile of junk to me.
Pierre Cochereau was none of these things - but neither did he come across as eccentric (in a negative sense), or self-seeking. The music was still the most important thing. With Carpenter, surely it is patently obvious that it is he himself who he regards as the most important aspect.
To quote Torrence: “I have been to many European places and heard the organs. I attribute most good sounds to acoustics. The organs I don’t worship, although we do need to keep them current; otherwise, what would we sample?" This is quite absurd. If he does not like them, nor regard them as beautiful, let alone superb musical instruments, why bother to sample them? Certainly the toaster on the above recording does not sound like any pipe organ which I have ever heard - or would wish to hear.
Is it possible for a sound engineer to 'simulate' the sound of a pipe organ as superb as the Cavaille-Coll Organ presently in Warrington?
Samples of the C-C Organ in the Parr Hall have been made.
http://phoenixorgans...technology.html In this link, the sound engineer is pictured taking samples of this organ in Warrington.
Granted, the acoustic of the Parr Hall is far from ideal for this C-C Organ, but the Parr Hall is its third home. It was originally built as a Salon Organ for a wealthy man and he later moved it to another location in different County.
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Thanks MM, That is my aim, to publicise the instrument as much as I can, without upsetting those who have direct responsibily for it.==========================
This is how the theatre organ world has survived for years, the prinipal outlay being the fee for a professional organist. Others have often played for no fee at all.
The problem with public halls is that it is cheaper not to use them unless it's a big earner, and the usual way of putting people off is to claim that the local authority cannot show favouritism, and that the hall has to be booked at the appropriate cost.
Civil Servants are very good at stone-walling, and with listed buildings, they often let them get into such a state that they need to be sold but cannot find a buyer. Then it becomes a public danger and they pull them down. By doing nothing at all, they are achieveing two aims. Firstly, whatever the artefact is, it falls out of public perception. Secondly, the hope is that it will become a dangerous structure by the non-process of neglect, for which any local authority has the perfect excuse of being cash-strapped.
Warrington is not alone.....there are others such as Bradford, Newcastle (etc), where the organs languish in a state of disrepair. But for the sterling work of Prof Ian Tracey and Ian Wells, the organ at St Geroge's Hall, Liverpool would have gone the same way.
It may well be that the only effective way of getting anything done is to publicise, as much as possible, the existence of these important instruments, and to use whatever media outlets are available to us.
Best,
MM
With the help of the Mander Forum, I hope to achieve something. It is pleasing to see that there is still enough interest being shown in this C-C Organ. I have had a great deal of support from Roger Fisher, Benjamin Saunders, Professor Ian Tracey and David Wells, Organ Builder. These four have done so much, dare I say it, just for the love of the instrument.
I can add to these, the names of Douglas R Carrington, a past Editor of The Organ magazine, and Gilbert Kennedy. Their interest in the organ more than 40 years ago was invaluable, and we must not forget this.
It is my hope that one day, the C-C Organ will have a Curator and sufficient funding for its renovation and upkeep, wherever that may be.
It was against all the odds that we were able to promote the Bi-Centenary Recital last year. This was very encouraging to me and for this reason alone, I think we should try to keep up the interest.
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I believe this to be incorrect - although I am aware that John Rowntree asserts that it was built by Mutin.
Thank you pcnd5584. I can understand your reasoning and am not in a position to agree OR disagree with you.
I entered 'Charles Mutin' in the Mander Forums search engine and saw the topic 'Cavaille-Colls in Britain'
from which I quote: - Pierre Lauwers 27 Jan 2005.
'Mutin began using ACC's stocks, so that the first organs had the same quality. Later, the quality suffered because Mutin was more of a Manager than an artist. Claude Noisette de Crauzat does not list it among ACC's organs.
In 1984, he wrote 'the best conserved ACC organ in Britain was the one in Warrington, formerly built for a Mr Hopwood in Ketton Hall (correction, Bracewell Hall, Lancashire).
A further quote from John Pike Mander 27 Jan 2005 - 'I believe this (Farnborough) to be an early Mutin which is why it is so often attributed to CC.
Another quote from Guest_Roffensis 17 July 2005 - 'The organ is actually Mutin however'.
A quote from P F Baron 17 July 2005 - 'That is certainly true, and this organ definitely looks like a Mutin from the very first years of the XXth century.
For a short while, Mutin used the name-plate "A. Cavaille-Coll, a Paris", but with a wood substrate of lighter colour, as it is the case there (under Aristide, the substrate was dark, the name of the wood is "palissandre" (rosewood).
The shape of the stop-knobs and the stop labels (with a coloured ring round them) are also typically Mutin.'
I conclude with the National Pipe Organ Register (NPOR) [No 8452] 'Builders - 1905 Charles Mutin (Survey date 2004)
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If there were a guaranteed good home for the Cavaille Coll, in the UKalbeit in somewhere other than the UK,would it not be better to let it go somewhere where it would be truly appreciated rather than let it moulder?
I agree, Denis. This would be the answer, but not doing anything at all about the problem achieves precisely nothing.
We have a situation where no one wants the organ ----- the Warrington Borough Council want it out of the Parr Hall, but no one in the whole wide world seems to be interested in acquiring it.
This has been going on for approx. 5 years now and there is still no solution in sight.
In 2007 we were told by the WBC that there would be no more Recitals and that they weren't prepared to discuss it, end of story !
To give credit to the WBC, they do not want to let it moulder, far from it. They have sought the advice of Ian Bell and are keen to find another home for the organ, but if one cannot be found, what next ?
The C-C Organ is not a museum piece, as some would like it to be. It is a fine instrument and is worthy of being maintained AND heard.
Unfortunately for the organ, there has been a recent Heritage Lottery Fund Grant awarded to another worthy cause in the town. So I think it will be out of the question that there is any more money in the pot for the organ unless someone else takes it on.
I sincerely hope that those Members of the Mander site who are interested in the C-C Organ's future will be able to suggest a solution.
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Just herd the proposed move of this historic organ to Sheffield Cathedral is not going to happen due to a lack of funds
Warrington Borough Council comments -
The council now plans to consult with all interested parties to discuss the future of the instrument so that it can be enjoyed by as many people as possible.
Kate Hannon (Lab, Orford), executive member for leisure, culture and communities, said:
'Whilst we are disappointed that following a lot of work and negotiation Sheffield are not in a position to take the organ, I think this gives us a real opportunity to reconsider the future of the instrument.
'We all want to find a solution where the organ is maintained and enjoyed by as many people as possible and to that end I have asked officers to review the current condition of the organ and establish a range of options for the future. This will be done by ensuring that we consult with all interested parties so that elected members can then determine the best way forward.'
The Very Reverend Peter Bradley, Dean of Sheffield Cathedral, commented:
'It would have been wonderful to bring this truly great organ to Sheffield, but unfortunately in the current economic climate it has simply proved impossible to raise the funds. On behalf of the Cathedral, I would like to place on record our thanks to colleagues in Warrington, who have done all they can to help us make the project the success it deserved to be.
Sadly, the situation has not improved in the last 11 months since this announcement was made by the Executive Member of WBC.
There has not yet been a meeting of interested parties to discuss the future of the instrument, whether it be in Warrington or elsewhere.
The USA promoter of the recent Twenty-fourth Annual Scotland and England Organ and Castle Tour wanted to include the Parr Hall in the itinerary, but there was a lack of response from WBC, so this was yet another missed opportunity to put this instrument on the map again.
At the Parr Hall Bi-Centenary Recital last year, to Commemorate the Birth of the Organ Builder, there was considerable interest that it would not be too long before another Recital was announced. Unfortunately, as much as we wanted this to happen, we were told that we would have to book the Hall as a Community user, and this was out of the question, purely from a financial point of view.
In spite of everything, the C-C Organ was still in Recital condition last year, but I am no expert on the subject and regard myself as a bystander, albeit, a very entusiastic bystander.
I can only suggest that Peter van den Heuvel's offer of the Warrington C-C Organ on his Facebook web-site could have been to raise interest in the instrument, and nothing more.
The van den Heuvel organ, built in the style of C-C was removed from the Duke's Hall of RAM last August and this is now for sale.
It saddens me to see that Fugue State Films have chosen to include the C-C Organ of Farnborough Abbey in their film to mark the organs of Aristide Cavaille-Coll. This is a fine instrument, but it is a Mutin, built after the Death of A C-C.
The 1870 C-C Organ which is presently in the Parr Hall would have been a fine example of the French Organ Builder to include in the film.
We have come a long way since the late 1960's when local Town Councillor Harold Edwards found that the Parr Hall Organ was to be sold to a local scrap-merchant for £105.
We can only hope that the present situation and uncertainty is resolved before too long.
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For those of you who were unable to watch last Sunday's Songs of Praise from Coventry Cathedral --- this is the link to the programme http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/b01jxrcn/
It is worth watching, if only to hear the Saint Michael's Singers, singing S S Wesley's 'Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace'.
Truly, a taste of Heaven on Earth !
The link to this programme is available until 6:04PM Sunday, 17 June 2012.
I have just downloaded it, with the aid of Windows Media Player, a first for me.
Hopefully, I will be able to listen to the anthem whenever I want to.
I hope many of you enjoyed this beautiful singing by the Saint Michael's Singers.
It is what we are all striving for in our Church Music.
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For those of you who were unable to watch last Sunday's Songs of Praise from Coventry Cathedral --- this is the link to the programme http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/b01jxrcn/
It is worth watching, if only to hear the Saint Michael's Singers, singing S S Wesley's 'Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace'.
Truly, a taste of Heaven on Earth !
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It appears that for some reason, the BBC have not yet loaded the St Paul's Service on their iPlayer.
I was fortunate enough to be able to watch it again, by way of the Virgin Media Catch-up, but this wasn't possible until today.
This covers the 3 hours 51 minutes of the whole of the BBC's coverage from 9.15am.
It can then be editted in order to see the Service again.
It would be impossible to tire of listening to the wonderful music.
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I watched the repeat of the ITV coverage, purely to listen to the organ music before the ceremony and was pleased to hear the Con moto of the Saint-Saens Fantasie in E flat major. I noticed that when the BBC were in St Paul's, they sometimes excluded the sound from there in order to do their commentary.
It would have been lovely to have heard much more of the organ than we actually did !
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http://mypipeorganho...rgan-hobby.html
This link is very moving in its content and will be of interest to those of you who have had as many years playing the organ as this man.
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Thank you for the correction Vox Humana, I have edited my posting accordingly.
My organist friend is delighted with the CD and it has further inspired her to buy Flourish for an Occasion and Pastoral by William Harris.
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A lasting Memorial to John Porter can be found in the LP Archive Series of a well known producer of recordings of organs.
There are pieces written by his contemporaries at St George's Chapel, Dr Sidney Campbell and Sir William Harris.
Many years ago, the original LP was an inspiration to a young church organist who subsequently included some of the pieces in her repertoire.
I'm pleased to say that this CD recording will be included in her Birthday gifts quite soon.
Tempo Primo.
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I am pleased to say that I now have the information I wanted.
Tempo Primo.
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I would like to contact Gillian Adams but have had no success so far. She studied organ playing with Professor Harold Dexter at the Guildhall School of Music.
Gillian was one time Organist and Choirmaster at St Paul's, Wokingham and, later, the Organist and Choirmaster at the Priory and Parish Church of St Germans in Cornwall.
If anyone can help, I would be very pleased to receive a PM.
Tempo Primo.
--- It is David Wells, Organ Builder, who has done sterling work on the St George's Hall organ.
:lol:
Cameron Carpenter
in General discussion
Posted
Petroc Trelawny's writing in the London Evening Standard, about his meeting with CC, could possibly have influenced the 'paying public' to buy tickets for these Prom performances.
What I find to be distasteful, are the lines 'Now 31, and living in Berlin, he (CC) is an outspoken critic of the organ establishment, which he says is obsessed with the past. And he has little time for "the pedants who dream of 32-foot long pipes".
Strong words, to be sure, but is he in a position to make such profound comments about the organ establishment?
There is just one Comment to yesterday's Daily Telegraph online review of Prom 2012 - Prom 66, by Ivan Hewett.
This is well worth reading, if only to see the mention of the Willis/Mander Organ.