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  1. As you yourself said earlier in this thread- it has a lot to do with organists actually, because we're at the helm of this in terms of appliance. I'm not sure if this was an alternative setting, as I said, I can't remember much of it. It seemed more a case of trying to work round the worst parts.
  2. Ok ok. I'll start again- Now that we have this new translation thrust upon us, a number of new mass settings have come along with it. That MacMillan one being the best known I suppose. Anyway I recently saw one (I forget which) but all I remember was that it was a wierd blend of English and Latin. I wasn't sure if it was stylistic or whether it was to make it fit better. I was unimpressed either way. Surely they're not all like that of course- I haven't seen any of the others though so I couldn't say. The point is that it's a very clumsy bit of English that doesn't seem to like being set to music.
  3. Perhaps I could have made myself a little clearer. I'm not quite saying that a good setting must remain in one language throughout. That would be impossible for one thing, on account of the Kyrie. What I meant was that you shouldn't need to keep switching languages and throwing in random phrases in something else just to make the thing fit properly.
  4. The Gedackt 8 on the positiv of Buckfast Abbey has a good edge to it I think. St. Margaret Pattens in London has some gorgeous flutes too, but I couldn't give a clear winner overall.
  5. Of course, another problem is that the mass texts are no longer ecumenical, which sort of flies in the face of all this talk of better relations with the Anglicans, but I suppose that's a different discussion/rant altogether. I'm also not entirely convinced that most of the Roman laity know what "hosts" are (sanctus reference). I've seen some of the new musical settings of the mass, and I remember that one of them was sort of half English and half Latin, which sort of struck me as an admission of failure- because a mass setting should really stand up in just one language. The new texts really fall down quite badly as far as setting them is concerned. On the other hand, it IS an opportunity to move away finally from all these paraphrased settings like the dreaded "Peruvian" Gloria.
  6. For that amount of stops you might as well have 1 manual and a greater spread Pedal Bourdon 16 Great Diapason 8 Claribel 8 Flute 4 Principle 4 Fifteenth 2 Mixture II Oboe 8 I find that one manual organs of few stops tend to be quite playable actually- because there is a greater need to include decent stops. Small 2 manuals tend to be very boring because in making each division playable in its own right, you can end up with far too much foundation and little brightness. Particularly in organs of that period when octave couplers weren't exactly abound in small parish organs.
  7. I suppose it depends on the mood at the time and place. My last concert was an all Handel programme with me on the organ and a few singers. There was a quick introduction at the start and the organiser introduced us all before we started. There were programme notes so introductions weren't needed beyond that. At the end of the concert, however, I did address the audience to thank them for their attendance etc and as the last item was a collective hallelujah chrous, told the story about the king standing up etc So it's nice I think to speak perhaps at the start or near the end to establish a more personal connection with the audience, but I wouldn't do it between EVERY item.
  8. St. Michael's Cornhill has a good tuba and it's a fun one to play. If I remember rightly it speaks quite clearly down the north aisle, and you hear it much better from the west wall than the console. The organ in the City Temple (Holborn viaduct) has some excellent reeds on it. The tuba is exciting there. The pedal ophicleide makes its presence known more though- quite thunderous.
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