David.Dewar
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Posts posted by David.Dewar
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For a 'normal' CE I would play (as all ready mentioned) something along the lines of Howells Psalm Preludes. Then improvise for a few minutes (having made time for it) to finish with a unison when whoever is precenting to be ready for the note for the responses - i.e. to coincide at the appropriate moment - not early and not late.
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During the preceding few days, there was a superb set of Byrd events. The academic Symposium, of course, and also the cathedral choir singing CEvensong with the choir of Merton Oxford, and on the dedication of a memorial stone in the choir the cathedral choir singing with the Tallis Scholars - and a concert at 9pm the same evening, with the same forces. The whole seemed to me to be very well organised, and the performances went extremely well. Lincoln did their former organist of 1563 to 1572 proud.
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As someone currently involved in research at a university, I do not feel that style guides are any more than a guide to someone's view of something. Thus, I'm completely happy to continue to use the formal plurals, clear punctuation, the Oxford comma, avoidance of split infinitives, and eschewing the current deplorable misuse of the word 'incredible', as I've preferred over many years. My university does have a style guide, which I ignore. My supervisors are happy with that.
'Incredible' is increasingly used an adjective to denote a matter of delight, the antithesis of its real meaning. Such linguistic impoverishment is offensive.
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Listening late evening to Radio 3 some weeks ago, in the car after a rehearsal, we distinctly heard a somewhat estuarine announcer mention that the next piece would be a 'Burkuse' (I render it a tad phonetically, for the full flavour).
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It was indeed a most enjoyable concert (even from extreme stage left of the Rausing Circle). Though, come to think of it, that location provided a superb sense of the RAH organ, esp. in the final verse of the final chorale!
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Yes, Carlisle Cathedral has placed an advertisement in the CT and on its website! How massively enterprising. In neither instance is there any more information other than an instruction to ask separately for it - in other words, a further step and delay,
I would not wish to apply for it, even if I thought I might be eligible. But, why do these cathedrals think they need to be so coy? It has overtones of arrogance - making even enquirers, let alone applicants, jump through unnecessary hoops just, possibly, to satisfy some pointless bureaucracy within the supplicant establishment's management.
Ridiculous. They need organists (Ds of M) rather more than we need them.
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I'm absolutely certain it will. A clear-sighted appointment to Bath Abbey.
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Oh dear, oh dear.
My reading of the situation, FWIW, is that a respected colleague has done, in another part of his life, an admirable and humane thing.
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Absolutely, and a huge inspiration for very many of us. It is difficult to take in the fact that he has departed.
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Indeed, ringing at Pershore is great fun. Unless either they've re-hung the bells and altered the circle, or my memory is playing up, the 5th rope is the nearest to the edge of the cage. The netting used either not to be there, or not to extend so far up (talking about the late 1970s).
I recall going up to ring at St John's Dublin, and finding as one went up through the trapdoor at the top of the spiral staircase that the bolts securing(!) said staircase at its upper limit were exceedingly loose. This lent an extra frisson to coming down again after ringing.
Most towers, of course, sway to seom extent with a reasonable weight ring of bells. They have to, one would have thought, in order to absorb the mechanical moments of several tons of bell metal, particularly when the music of certain rows in certain compositions cause several bells' moments more or less to align.
Like certain organ lofts there are several towers where ringing includes an interesting element of risk.
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I understand it's not the only place in recent times down the road in Bristol where a choir has been disposed of.
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Organist Associations are a very mixed bunch, and there are some whose programmes seem to encourage the 'organ nerd' - more interested in the (admittedly important) nuts and bolts. However, the nuts and bolts must be subservient to the music - and that is what the associations should be encouraging - an appreciation on whether music can effectively made on any particular instrument, and who that may be achieved. (Those which provide opportunities for genuine students of whatever age are the enlightened ones.)
Personally, I am not in favour of 'organ crawls' as a participatory event - far too boring for the reasons already rehearsed. That there are associations which seem to provide only this is a great pity.
Am I alone, however, in feeling that as the post-holder at a church with a fairly large and fairly interesting (though not without its problems) organ amongst those in the area, I have a certain responsibility to support organizations for other organists? (If only to encourage their potential access to 'my' instrument.)
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We use it (I inherited it), nowadays as one of a repertoire of settings.
The congregation like it a lot, probably because it's the one they know best. I tend to put it on in Trinity, since a choir depleted through holidays (holidays? what are those?) can make a good job of it. There is a lot of repetition, but that helps the congregation immensely.
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Like the pedalboard, too! (Though I doubt W.T. Best woudl have.)
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Psalms of the day - absolutely!
We have, in addition to the re-emerging regular Evensong (psalms, canticle setting, hymn, anthem) - which have lectionary psalms according to the preferences of this place, also been setting up 'cluster' Evensongs where choirs of various churches get together to rehearse and sing the service in each others' establishments. I always insist on the psalms of the day for these - not only do people come to hear them, but they are also a learning process for choristers who do not normally do much psalm singing. Hopefully it will rub off in the future in various places.
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It was certainly a stirring experience in the building. Fine singing from the MYC, too.
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Yes, very much on the same basis as above, and very, very rarely.
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Our Evensongs were discontinued (much to the choir's, and my disgust), largely owing to the cost of heating, just over a year ago.
Recently, we have started re-introducing them. (Occasionally a sung Compline during the absence of Evensong proved that there was an interest, not just from the choir, in keeping an evening service going.) Congregations seem to healthier than before (numerically, anyway!)
Of course, you do not need a priest or licensed reader for Evensong, I believe.
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Truly sad news. An inspiration...
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This makes sense - there is indeed little room behind the console to take a decent photograph.
What a pity this new console did not fall from the hoist (like its predecessor), as it was being winched up to the tribune....
I still think that it is the organ equivalent of a Citroën 2CV.
I agree completely - and your last sentiment sums up exactly the impression I had when I saw some images of the new console.
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Hear, hear. Inspiring, intelligent, and dignified.
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Wonderful! Thanks for this, which has brightened the day.
I guess most of us have to get used to drips around the console - frequently of a non-liquid variety, though.
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Ah yes. I'm not saying that is the best means of recruiting. Simply that, faced with a large number of applications, it is one technique I have seen employed to reduce the number to manageable proportions. Latterly, in that former employment, such reduction techniques were applied before the hiring manager saw any of the CVs and letters.
Whether or not such techniques are applied in specific instances, it is well to couch CVs and letters in grammatical terms, with correct spelling (not necessarily that applied by a computer spell checker).
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Oh dear, I made a typographical error. Mea culpa.
Are we dying on our feet?
in General discussion
Posted
Sorry to be somewhat late in looking at this thread.
I have no experience with state schools, though friends in that arena make the decline evident.
Even many university music departments now have little in the way of what has been called 'art' music. It's obviously right that cosmopolitan cohorts of students are exposed to a large number of expressions of music from all parts of the world. The serious mainstream, though, gets rather crowded out, even the basic requirements of musical literacy are lesser compared with subjectivisation.
Naturally, peripatetic instrumental teachers can to some extent fill in the needs of proper understanding of composers' requirements in order to realise a composition, but that may well be somewhat 'piecemeal' and is likely to enlighten individuals rather than cohorts. Those lucky enough to have gained sufficient fluency whilst still at school will tend to excel over those who have not had the privilege of gaining the musical 'tools' needed for carrying on in music. The emphasis seems mostly to focus upon free-expression and improvisation to the detriment of how it all works.
[Even then, as we all, I surmise, know, improvisation if it is to mean anything to a listener requires some musical discipline.]