Clarabella
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Posts posted by Clarabella
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Glorious! The Howells was new to me.
Speaking of tortuous stairs, I don't remember Winchester's being particularly bad. And they are carpeted. My nomination would go to Rochester where the stairs are almost vertical. Some organists might not make it. But the organ loft when you get there is reasonably spacious. Wells' staircase is rather windy, and the loft has about room for a page-turner and that's it. Somewhat cramped.
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I think I read somewhere that Southwell is thinking of dropping its use of the term 'minster' on the grounds that not many people now know what a minster is. Seems a pity, especially as a load of large churches have recently been designated minsters. Maybe as the new minsters are parish churches they think it is confusing.
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Extremely sad to lose someone still at the height of her powers. Here RCO News: Catherine Ennis MA, HonRCO (1955-2020) is an obituary, which also contains a link to the citation read when she was awarded the RCO medal.
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I was surprised about the tuning too. Could some of them have been digitally tweaked I wonder?
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A nice little (6.5 mins) introduction to some Francis Jackson organ pieces by Graham Barber, courtesy of the RCO
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On 25/09/2020 at 00:51, Vox Humana said:
Campbell didn't write much. This is the full list, so far as I am aware.
Exultate (OUP, 1956).
This is in much the same vein as Gaudeamus, but is more of a carillon-toccata hybrid with the hands doing most of the work.
Gaudeamus (OUP, 1956)
Epilogue on a Gallery Carol (in A Christmas Album, OUP, 1956).
This is a fine, short Christmas postlude on a tune beginning like ‘Tomorrow shall be my Dancing Day’. If you like Gaudeamus, you should like this.
Canterbury Improvisations (Novello, 1961)
1. Impromptu based on a French Church Melody.
This is effectively a chorale prelude on ‘Grafton’.2. Lento
This is harmonically very degenerate, as Campbell effectively admits in a footnote, but it was his favourite style amongst a seemingly inexhaustible variety for improvising the choir into the stalls before a service.3. Fugal Epilogue
This does what it says, predominantly in 5/8 time.Canterbury Interlude ((Hinrichsen, 1962)
Pageantry (Novello, 1962).
I am very fond of this, even though it is a bit vulgar. There’s just a hint of the brass band about it.
Variations on the Plainsong Vexilla Regis (Novello, 1962)
As aboveJohn Porter’s interpretations linked above are definitive: he captured Campbell’s manner perfectly.
In addition to these organ solos, the RSCM book of last verse harmonies has Campbell's arrangement of ‘Easter Song/Lasst uns erfreuen’, which I would go so far as to say is the most impressive last verse arrangement I know (which is remarkable, considering that Campbell didn't believe in last verse harmonies: he wrote it at Gerald Knight’s request). The only problems with it are (1) he sets the original A&M Standard rhythm whereas probably everyone nowadays uses the EH one with the extra beats (I did my own adaptation) and (2) it doesn't suit the modern fad for fast hymn speeds: it’s very much written with a cathedral acoustic in mind and requires a feeling for grandeur.
Thank you very much Vox. John Porter's playing is indeed fine.
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On 17/09/2020 at 13:56, Vox Humana said:
I recently stumbled across this performance of Sidney [not Sydney] Campbell’s Variations on the Plainsong ‘Vexilla Regis’. I never knew him to play, or promote, his own organ compositions, but he did once recommend these to me, saying that he would ‘like to hear them again’. I did eventually learn them, but not until after he had died. John Pryer makes them sound very well here. The acoustic helps. Campbell knew how to tailor his compositions for a big space: his impressive Te Deum, written at Canterbury for the enthronement of Archbishop Ramsey in 1961 is another example. Some of the registration indications in the variations – RH Cornet, LH Trumpet; pedal Schalmei 4’; fanfare reeds – seem tailor-made for his organ at Windsor, but the piece was published in 1962, three years before the Windsor organ was built. Perhaps he had Coventry in mind. (The sung opening is not part of the piece. Why did the singers not use the correct English version of the tune that Campbell did?)
I like very much Campbell's Gaudeamus with its bouncy fugue subject (marked 'non legato' I think) and play it quite often. It's in one of the OUP albums. Has it been recorded? Are there any other good Campbell pieces I should know about?
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Non-members of the RCO might like to know that during the pandemic their entire online content is available free to anyone. You just have to register at https://i.rco.org.uk/
Lots of instructional videos, audio files, articles, papers etc on a wide range of organ/church music subjects
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That's assuming the 0.4 is correct in practice - I think a lot of church musicians actually put in more hours than they are paid for.
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If my arithmetic is correct the two jobs mentioned above work out at the equivalent of £47,500 and £35,000 full-time.
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I'm with Innate on the facsimiles - there is nothing to beat playing from the originals and these, like most 18C printed editions, are beautifully clear. Nothing against T to W in general though. (But does anyone else think 'Tallis to Wesley' sounds like part of a cricket commentary?)
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-You are not alone. I will be playing it on an organ too - in the absence of a bugle, I persuaded the Vicar that a live organ is preferable to a recorded bugle (keep music live!). Actually I think it sounds rather good on our trumpet stop (courtesy of our hosts).
Strictly speaking it should be played in Bb, which I do, but nobody will notice or mind if it's in C.
I always end service with so-called St Anne fugue as well as a nod to the hymn which we will have sung - does anyone else do that? Also before the service I often play Nimrod which goes quite well on the organ.
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The Daily Telegraph published an obituary (complete with photograph) last Wednesday
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A good party-piece. I've seen a similar thing on a viola (the orange being in the left hand of course, the viola held like a viol). It was slightly more subtle because instead of holding the fruit up at the beginning, the player said nothing, and the audience gradually started tittering as they noticed one by one.
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There is a verse anthem by Thomas Tomkins from Musica Deo Sacra which is headed 'for St George's Day' or similar: it is called Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke? Worth investigating (even if you're not a Tomkins fan like me).
I thought the text was quite extraordinary - then after some years I found that it is from the Song of Songs.
The edition on CPDL does not include the St George's reference, but it is clearly shown in the Bernard Rose edition in EECM.
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You are not alone. I must confess that I had never realised that 4 ft reeds do not go to the top without breaking back or turning into flues. I really must learn more about organ design and construction!
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Thank you for pointing this out! Will they ever stop tweaking? I see that FRCO score-reading is now G and F clefs but in five parts! I also see that the Certificate is being renamed 'Colleague Diploma'. Ugh!
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Pieces and test have always been separate sections, both of which had to be passed, even before the exams became modular. You had to pass both the tests and the pieces, or take the whole practical exam again. Now of course you can retake one half of the exam. But the principle remains the same - you can't fail the tests and make up for it by doing brilliantly in the pieces (or vice versa). The fact that the total marks available for tests are much less than for pieces does not affect this. You can however fail one test and make up for it in the others.
It would be surprising if anyone failed an academic music degree for making a hash of keyboard skills, whereas RCO exams are essentially practical. However, Oxford and Cambridge music degrees are well-known for demanding high-level keyboard skills - not just for specialist keyboard players but for all students. That said, I would be surprised if they were up to FRCO standard. There must be someone on this forum with personal knowledge.
With regard to Wolsey's comments: although the RCO exams have been tweaked about every ten years for as long as I can remember, I would suggest that the overall level of difficulty in keyboard skills has remained pretty much constant in both diplomas.
Widening the discussion slightly, it is sometimes suggested that RCO keyboard skills are out of date or irrelevant. I think this is quite wrong, with the possible exception of FRCO score reading which requires playing from three different C clefs, rarely found these days apart from the Bach Gesellschaft. (Orchestral score-reading as mentioned by Wolsey might actually be more useful).
Even as an ordinary parish organist, directing my choir from the piano or organ both in rehearsal and in services, I use all the skills every week. But I also see keyboard skills in general as rather like having to reverse around a corner to demonstrate your driving skills. Although you don't often need to do it, it shows that you have complete control of the vehicle.
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At St David's Cathedral in the 70s there was a 'do not disturb the driver whilst the vehicle is in motion' sign. I'm fairly sure it was a genuine sign removed (or salvaged) from a public bus. I'd love to know if it's still there. Perhaps someone knows.
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Many thanks for all the ideas. I've probably left it a bit late for this year, but I will look into them for the future.
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I couldn't find any previous discussion of this on the forum, so: can members suggest any Welsh or Welsh-themed organ music for 1st March? Those that spring to mind already are Mathias and Tomkins, plus Vaughan-Williams's Three Preludes on Welsh Hymn Tunes. (Rhosymedre is a little gem, the others less obviously so, but I might try out number three, Hyfrydol.)
There are plenty of Welsh composers of course but I'm not aware of any others that wrote for the organ.
Are there any other preludes on Welsh tunes (by composers of any nationality)?
Organs In Books
in General discussion
Posted
As someone mentioned above, there are some references to organs in Dickens. In Martin Chuzzlewit, Tom Pinch plays in the village church and is friendly with the assistant of Salisbury Cathedral. There is at least one scene where Tom plays at Salisbury. One of the other characters is incredulous at the fact that Tom does not get paid by the village church, but plays as a labour of love.