Colin Pykett

http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/preludes-fanfares-and-a-march-sheet-music/19165458 It's a volume entitled "Preludes, Fanfares and a March", printed in facsimile to order. Maybe the (American) publisher might let you know more? I've heard of him and some of his output, but beyond that I know nothing further. CEP

Thanks for these views on 19th century pedal stops. Just for completeness, the little Walker at St Mary Ponsbourne not only has an open 16 foot stop (one pipe of which had to be awkwardly mitred to fit in the chamber), but a 16 foot Double Diapason on the swell as well. However all is not quite what it seems, because the latter is a stopped rank down to tenor C only. In fact all the swell stops end at tenor C, thus there is no pipe longer than 4 feet inside the box. For the lowest octave of the swell the Stopped Diapason Bass on the great is used. Slightly disappointing when one first discovers it, especially given the luxurious full length 16 foot rank on the pedals. But it's still an interesting little organ and quite rightly has an Historic Organ certificate. (As before, it's nothing to do with Ely I'm afraid). CEP

As ever, a reasoned, impartial and scholarly summary of the situation if I may say so, David. Regarding open 16 foot pedal flues, our hosts recently overhauled a tiny two manual Walker (1858) at St Mary Ponsbourne (Newgate Street village in Hertfordshire). It has an open and therefore full length 16 foot pedal stop. How often did that occur in such a small instrument, I wonder? I'm afraid my knowledge is not as encyclopedic as David's! However I am reasonably familiar with the Ponsbourne instrument, and have always been rather taken with its unusual pedal stop. But I'm taking the discussion somewhat away from Ely. Sorry. CEP

I too would be interested to read of good reasons for including 32 foot manual tone. One of the more convincing I know is (was) that of Cavaille-Coll, who placed emphasis on using suboctave couplers even when 16 foot registers were present. He, and at least some of the French school of symphonic composers (such as Widor) who composed for his instruments, apparently maintained that the use of both (i.e. 16 foot stops plus suboctaves) enabled loud music to be played high in the compass without losing too much gravitas. C-C included both even in some of his smallest 2 manual instruments, which would typically have a 16 foot Bourdon on the GO and a 16 foot Trompette on the Recit, with a suboctave coupler from Recit to GO. Some of his (admittedly rather weird) mixture compositions also included 10 2/3 foot ranks in the top octaves, thereby introducing resultant 32 foot beats with the 16 foot stops. However there is no acoustic energy produced by a resultant - one hears only the beat frequencies, which are not at all the same thing. But don't get me onto that hobby horse here ... Nevertheless, it's another piece of evidence pointing in the same direction. Whenever I listen to French and Anglo-American organists playing this sort of music on C-C organs I try to detect how they are registering it. It's difficult to be dogmatic without having been present at the console, but the French players do seem to use the suboctaves more frequently in loud combinations than do the Anglo-American ones, judging purely from the sounds they produce. CEP

Well, I'm not sure that it's restricted solely to hand-bell ringers. My wedding in Southwell Minster had to be cancelled when it became public that the then bishop, Gordon Savage, had been indulging in certain extra-curricular activities ... CEP

To my mind, Michael Smith's experiences during his career are simultaneously compelling yet mundane. To spend a working life spanning several decades in any profession, not just music, means that one will come across much the same spectrum of joy, sorrow, reassurance from kind colleagues but anxiety induced by others. At the same time one has to juggle it all with trying to create a decent life for one's family. These are the mundane aspects, because everyone in any workplace is in much the same boat. The compelling one is that few write it all down and make it public. Thus the difference between Michael and me is that he went into print. Well done, and good for him - I genuinely mean that. I fear that my book, were I to write it, would be so boring it would not attract a single purchaser. CEP

No, we are not, and that is one of this forum's refreshing characteristics. There are lots of other places for airing such matters. Therefore I will say this. The previous two posts come somewhat close to promoting not only loudspeaker organs, but a particular brand of loudspeaker organ. Therefore, do either of the anonymous authors have an interest in promoting them, I wonder? Do tell, please. CEP

Regarding organ music, how about Bossi's 'Entree Pontificale' for the entry of the clergy? I believe 'pontifical' refers to functions performed by bishops, not necessarily being restricted to those connected solely with the papacy. This might pacify those whose churchmanship might otherwise be offended by the title. Of course, it assumes a bishop will be present, but even if s/he isn't, it's still a great piece and not particularly difficult (important in my case if not in yours). If you use it, maybe try to persuade them to wait at the east end or wherever until the end rather than truncating it arbitrarily - it's about 4 minutes long. I have it in Mayhew's 'The Organist's Collection' volume 6, but of course (as with so much of their output, sadly), there's little to guide the player other than the vaguest dynamic indications. If you want to hear a really rousing rendition of it, Colin Walsh played it at Salisbury ('Anthems from Salisbury Cathedral Choir', Meridian CDE84025 - this might still be available from the cathedral shop). As for choral music, maybe 'Hear my Prayer' (Mendelssohn) - not necessarily all of it (!) - or 'How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place' (Brahms) - if you've still got time to train up the choir and have a reasonable soloist or two? CEP

There's also (some of) the Handelian 'Water Music' which has obvious aqueous connotations. Going completely away from your desired connections to nursing or Bath though, I find 'A Little Organ Book' written by several composers in memory of Hubert Parry very beautiful and entirely apposite for funerals, apart possibly from the one by Thalben-Ball which strikes me as a bit out of place and rather angular in that collection. But then, you will know of this. CEP

Ah, yes. How presumptuous of me to assume that nobody could possibly have a better pedal technique than I ... CEP

One thing I noticed when watching 'Carols from King's' on Christmas Eve recently was that there were a couple of shots of the organ where a Tuba (or comparable loud reed) was sounding solo, yet I could not correlate it with what the player's fingers were doing. There was an assistant but he did not seem to be actually playing notes. Was this an example of where the BBC synthesises unreal events from audio and video sequences unrelated in time? It's quite possible since the TV programme is pre-recorded. They do it often on 'Songs of Praise'. e.g. at RAH 'Big Sings' where successive shots have the organ console illuminated and complete with player, whereas in the next shot a couple of seconds later the player has apparently skedaddled and the console in is darkness. Occasions like this give a whole new meaning to the term 'virtual pipe organ' ... (Or, something else which has just occurred to me - does the organ have second touch? Maybe it does and I blinked and missed it). Anyway, I'm grateful to the above posters, who reminded me that I can check all this again at leisure while the programme is still on iPlayer. CEP

You might consider some of the 20 titles on this page: http://scrubsmag.com/20-songs-for-nurses/ They are modern/pop type songs which would have to be arranged for organ, but might suit the occasion nevertheless. CEP

A couple of years ago I was called on at two hours' notice (!) to accompany a local secondary school's carol service. It was being held in a nearby church, and to fit everyone in there had to be another service the following day as well. My son who taught there was the one who called me in, because it was most unfortunate that the student who was intending to play had gone down with a winter bug. (This proves that occasionally it's handy to have a dad who does geeky things like playing the organ ... ). Anyway, the thing which surprised me most was how well and strongly the youngsters sang. I had assumed, on the basis of no evidence whatever, that they would be more or less mute. A quite naughty and thoroughly patronising assumption as it turned out. In fact the roof nearly came off during 'Hark the Herald', and I had to use every octave coupler and mixture in sight even to allow me to hear the instrument I was playing. Pondering why this was so, I could only assume that most traditional carols are fairly easy to learn, so that after a verse or two the children had picked up the tunes and then they suddenly realised how good it was to sing at the top of their voices. It was a most enjoyable experience and one which I shall not easily forget. It seemed to be a similar phenomenon to what I observe on television during the various 'the choir' and 'the voice' types of popular programmes. CEP

Or - er - use Colin Hand's arrangement maybe ... CEP

There was a programme a few years ago where the comedienne Jo Brand was coached almost from scratch to get through JSB's Toccata (not the fugue) in D minor on the RAH organ. She so impressed herself that she then ordered a loudspeaker organ which was installed in her shed. It's not my intention to be sniffy or dismissive - I think (hope?) it was the sort of programme which might have attracted the interest of others who otherwise might not have thought about the organ at all. (Subsequent edit: there's a whole thread about this on the forum entitled 'Jo Brand at the Albert Hall' which I didn't know about when writing the above post earlier today. Assuming I can make the link work, it's here: http://mander-organs-forum.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/1086-jo-brand-at-the-albert-hall/?hl=brand ) CEP

The same at the Nottingham Albert Hall, also a 4 manual pneumatic Binns. IIRC it was only the pneumatic capture system which did not need overhauling when the rest of it was done by H&H in the 1990s. Whether this was so or not, it confirms exactly what Contrabombarde said about the durability and repairability of organ mechanisms other than the electronic aspects. When this organ was built c. 1909, Marconi had not long before succeeded in transmitting across the Atlantic using only sparks and induction coils! Electronics came later. But no electronic system has the longevity (deriving partly because of repairability and negligible obsolescence) of examples of non-electronic organ building such as these we are speaking of here. Therefore the point is that, apart from the electronics, all other traditional organ mechanisms can be repaired almost indefinitely as these pneumatic examples show, provided the will and the money is there. But if electronics is incorporated, one has to factor in periodic replacement costs for the electronics if the associated organ is intended to have a long life. (Just as one has to factor in periodic replacement costs of a digital organ and for the same reasons). CEP

I'm afraid electronics is electronics, and its failure modes are identical in both types of instrument. An otherwise fine pipe organ can be rendered silent if ('when' might be the better word) its electronic control system fails. I could quote many examples but will not do so here. Replacement is usually the only option, because obsolescence over a typical lifespan will render repair impossible or uneconomic. The bill will be typically in the region of GBP 20K for a medium to large sized instrument. Again, these assertions could be backed up with examples. I discussed the issues in detail in an article at: http://www.pykett.org.uk/reliability.htm So, as far as as the Sheldonian is concerned, Tony's preference for tracker action in a putative new pipe organ there (post #30) is therefore well based! The bottom line is that electronics is not a long-lived nor easily-repairable technology over a timescale relative to that of other elements of the pipe organ. I am not criticising the manufacturers of these systems nor the organ builders who employ them, after all they have little option nowadays, but it is not unreasonable for customers to be aware of the facts of the matter. CEP

Oh dear, sorry but the penny has dropped rather belatedly. Wurlitzer - Theatre Organ - Sheldonian Theatre .... Nice one David! CEP

Why can't these loudspeaker-organ firms design a SINGLE organ for the room it is ACTUALLY IN, like pipe organ builders do? Does the existence of several 'organs' mean they don't know how to do it, or are they are possibly overawed in a somewhat juvenile manner by the capabilities of the technology they employ? The Sheldonian Theatre is surely a bit different to shoving loudspeakers and a tatty console into one's living room, where such excesses are purely a matter for oneself and it doesn't matter a fig what anyone else thinks. The Sheldonian should have been graced by something which respected its traditions, culture and history, guided above all by TASTE. On the basis of what is currently there, it is obvious that only a top pipe organ builder could have brought this degree of focus to bear. CEP

http://www.boeijengamusic.com/sheetmusic.html?manufacturer=1361 Euros 11.90. CEP

Many moons ago the BBC vaguely hinted they might do SoP at the church where I was organist - they apparently used to send out scouts to suss out likely-looking edifices, and of course they had to come clean to the church as to why they were sniffing around. I was told they would boot me off the organ bench though, were it to happen, and replace me for the occasion with some august Chosen One. My reply to this was that the incumbent would then be faced with having to replace me, because having been booted off once, it would be for ever. For this and other reasons, a good proportion of everyone else connected with the church took a similar line about the whole event, including the choir. As it happens, we were not deemed worthy enough for the luvvy brigade to descend so the issue never arose. However I failed to see why I should have been expected to perform (reasonably adequately I considered) for the common herd (meaning those who, like me, attended regularly in the absence of showbiz personalities) every Sunday of the year, yet make way for someone whose face might have merely fitted the camera better and who would have got paid a good deal more. I don't watch it either, except on the odd occasion when I hit the tail end by accident and, through fascination by its sheer awfulness, I can't be bothered even to press another button on the remote. At this time of year though, I'm just looking forward to 'Carols from King's'. I know some find this a tad wearisome and hackneyed, but to my mind it's one of the very few occasions when that wayward yet taxpayer-funded monstrosity simply broadcasts a bit of sheer excellence for a change. CEP

Another member of this forum, who visited me only yesterday as a matter of fact, probably knows as much as anyone about the Electrone story and the personalities involved with it. Though if there is anything he doesn't know, he probably knows a man who does. In fact the purpose of his visit was to relieve me of some related Compton bits and pieces which have been occupying the garage for some while. I could PM MM privately if he wishes, but will not prolong this here because it's getting rather off the topic of pipe organs, even though it is still relevant to the doings of a pipe organ builder. (MM may well know my friend anyway). CEP

Only ladies? CEP

I've always thought that organ builders who use 'luminous touches' of whatever sort (and that includes most of the - ahem - other sort of organ) are not very heedful of the needs of the visually challenged. CEP

That would make it about 15 years old, about the average for electronics. It clearly suffers from other problems typical of the breed - nobody around to service it when required, hopelessly obsolete technically, console not up to the wear and tear expected of it. Apologies to the forum owner - I know we are not discussing pipe organs here, but maybe I can be forgiven. I will delete this post if asked. Pace. CEP