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Andrew Butler
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Posts posted by Andrew Butler
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On 16/03/2024 at 17:24, S_L said:
Perhaps everyone is practising for Easter!!! I know I am!!!
The church where I will be playing on Easter Day in rural France, always have a group playing traditional instruments to play the "voluntaries" at Easter. I just get to accompany the usual (often liturgically-incorrect) drivel.
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Ah. Right. Thanks!
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What's the latest re Wells? I saw a comment about an appointment on Facebook but can't find it now.......
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21 hours ago, Martin Cooke said:
A good choice, Richard, thanks for that. Shortly after that, the school where I worked invested in a large Wyvern/Phoenix with the cabinetry for speakers and console all undertaken by Renatus. I played it again for the first time in 6 years or so at Christmas and it was sounding splendid, though I would have wanted a few little bits of revoicing done now, I think - Tubas not quite right and too shrill a mixture on the choir - (though I loved it at the time, I suppose... unless something has gone awry with it). Some truly lovely sounds on it. One doesn't hear anything of Phoenix these days.
There's a smallish 2-manual Viscount with some external speakers newly installed in our local church and it sounds really good. I miss the 4ft flute on the Swell that a larger organ might have - (as at church - WIllis III, and here at home - Viscount 3-manual) - but one can go on and on adding stops, and you can download more or less anything you want from the onboard library, although it's not easy to achieve this during a service because the clicking of buttons is too noisy!
Phhoenix' UK website hasn't been updated since about 2008......
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20 hours ago, bam said:
Fully agree - it sounded 'just right' to complement the Willcocks arrangement. I hope it gets published. When he took over, Daniel Hyde had a rather annoying habit of clipping the final chord of a verse or piece, but he seems to have dropped that now - mostly. Also good to hear Bach's In dulci jubilo played after the radio service in a clear and measured way.
I never noticed that "clipping" but it reminds me that I never liked Philip Ledger's habit of only leaving one beat between verses.
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22 hours ago, father-willis said:
Well I'm going to have a go. This is but one solution which attempts to right all wrongs of previous instruments in one(!!)
The old cases will contain what will be called the "Harris Great" and will use all of the remaining case pipes.
Although the case is to remain where it is there will be no "Grand Chorus" or "Nave Great" etc within it destroying its integrity.
The "Restoration Chaire" case to remain with a light tracker action to allow for sensitive playing.
On the south side of the Quire, behind the canopied stalls will sit the ""Willis Cathedral Great". Uncased with bare zinc bases (again for authenticity) this is voiced to be able to fulfill the needs of choir accompaniment (essential) and can, with ease, be used in recital filling the cathedral with sound - if the stops are carefully and tastefully selected.
It being considered that the backwards protrusion of a beige painted swell box (colour selected to blend with the surrounding stone) into the south transept would be ungainly, the "Anglican Accompanimental (Specialist Psalm) Swell" will be placed as close as convenient to the player in the south quire triforium. The artful voicing of this division, though not large, will allow for the registering of many schools of music if stop combinations are chosen with care. It can also play and accompany choral music of other denominations. It has been suggested that this division be renamed the "Ecumenical Swell".
In the north quire triforium will be placed the "Ethereal Solo & I Set The Pace Chorus" together with the bulk of the pedal.
The Harris Great and Restoration Chaire to be played from a console en fenetre to the main case with chaire behind. Great on direct electric action to energise the speach by explosive attack to each pipe (and the whole division) overcoming any defects/alterations of/to these pipes, and in the large acoustic sound nice and "baroque".
Harris Great, CCC ie 16' - F in alt. Wind pressure 2 1/2" wg- Diapasons, East Diapason, West Diapason, Stopt Diapason, Principall, Principall, Twelfth, Fifteenth, Tierce, Furniture, Cimball, Trumpet, Clarion.
Restoration Chaire, CC ie 8' - F in alt. (2 1/2") - Stopt Diapason, Principall, Nason, Fifteenth, Two and Twenty, Cremona
Willis Cathedral Great (Flues & 16' reed: 4", 8' & 4' reeds 7") - Double Open Diapason 16, Cathedral Filling Diapason 8, Open Diapason 8, Open Diapason 8, Claribel 8, Cathedral Principal 4, Principal, Flute Harmonique 4, Twelfth 2 2/3, Piccolo 2, Fifteenth 2, Fourniture III, Mixture III, Trombone 16, Tromba 4, Clarion4.
Anglican Accompanimental (Specialist Psalm) Swell Stops marked with * enclosed within a secondary inner swell box - Lieblich Bourdon 16, **Contra Salicional 16, Open Diapason, Geigen Diapason, Lieblich Gedackt 8, *Hohl Flute 8, Salicional 8, Vox Angelica 8, Geigen Principal 4, *Gemshorn 4, Lieblich Flute 4, Flageolet 2, Sesquialtera III, *Contra Oboe 16, Double Trumpet 16, Cornopean 8, *Horn 8, Hautboy 8, *Vox Humana 8, Clarion 4.
Ethereal Solo (enclosed, facing south) & I Set The Pace Chorus (unenclosed, facing west) - Quintaton 16, Contra Dulciana 16, Flute Harmonique 8, Doppelzauber Flute Triangulaire 8, Bearded Gamba 8, Shaven Celeste 8 (2rks, keen), Flute 4, Praetorius Rankett 16, Orchestral Clarinet 8, Saxophone 8, Unenclosed - Diapason Phonon 8, Large Prinicpal 4, Nazard, Harmonic Piccolo 2, Tierce 1 3/5, Larigot 1 1/3, Pace Chorus XXVI rks, Bombarde 16, Trompette Harmonique 8, Ecclesial Tuba Magnificenta Superba 8
Pedal (North Trforium) - Sequoiadendron Giganteum 32 - (Wood, One hollowed out Giant Redwood), Open Wood I (Oak) 16, Open Wood II (Chipboard) 16, Violone 16(metal, keenly voiced to allow transmission of tone southwards to be a bass to south divisions), Echo Harmonic Stopped Doppel Pentabourdon (five sided) 16, Violoncello 8, Bass Flute 8, Fifteenth 4, Harmonic Twig 2, Contra Saxophone 32 (enclosed), Lieblich Bombard 32, Trombone 16,
Console detached and set in a convenient place among the choir stalls. All divisions except the Restoraion Chaire controlled from this console.
This is not, perhaps, the ideal or perfect solution to Gloucester's organic woes but I believe it to solves many of the criticisms that have bedevilled this place for some time.
Please comment 😁
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
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On 16/10/2023 at 12:57, S_L said:
I wonder when you last played for Evensong!! Or do you sing Vespers in your neck of the woods? We have Vespers every Sunday evening - it begins with silence!
I also wonder how many on here actually get to play for Evensong on a regular basis. Cathedrals and the Greater Churches still follow the tradition although I know of one Cathedral that sings 'Shortened' Evensong (not sure what that is!). Is Evensong still prevalent in Parish churches? Or is it just a distant, longed for, memory to most players?
No sung Vespers in this part of the Charente!
I used to play Evensong at least twice a month in the UK pre-COVID plus cathedral visits (mainly Canterbury)
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Depends on the occasion - Easter Day and a Thursday evening in November are totally different.....
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My late father was a Unitarian minister in Gateacre, Liverpool. From a very early age I was fascinated by the organ in Gateacre Chapel (it's on NPOR) and this fascination grew as I got older. On moving to Wilmslow in Cheshire, I began piano lessons at age 7, and having access to organs in dad's churches I started to teach myself! I started proper lessons at 10 (when I played my first service) On moving to Bristol, lessons continued - although I squandered the opportunities offered. I took up music full time in 1987, having been made redundant from a managerial post in business, holding a succession of paid church posts and supplementing my income with private teaching. I now live in France in semi-retirement, doing some online teaching and also I am a registered celebrant for weddings and funerals, as well as playing in various local churches in the Charente region. (For which payment even of expenses is non-existant! Another topic brewing there!!)
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17 hours ago, S_L said:
Yes, of course! But I find that doing things like this keeps me awake. It's easy, it's simple but, when you get to over 70, little challenges, taking 10/15 minutes, are a sort of therapy! If that makes sense!!!
Oh absolutely! I get enough of that playing at church here - I've learned to have manuscript paper with me to transcribe things before services that the cantor hums to me because they haven't got the music!
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31 minutes ago, S_L said:
I'd never heard of it but I found a version on YouTube - it's easy enough to transcribe to manuscript. Attractive little piece but it doesn't go anywhere!!!
I've found it on YouTube too. I'm being lazy!!
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On 18/09/2023 at 19:06, handsoff said:
I have recently been sorting out some odds and ends associated with music and the services for which I have played the organ and decided to throw out the many service sheets for weddings and funerals I for some reason had kept. Most were entirely predictable and unremarkable but a few stood out and it is these I shall mention here. I have until recently covered this type of service in three churches but 2 out of 3 oddities come from services at the church with the best of the organs, a 2M + P 9 stop very bright and pleasant Nicholson.
The most enjoyable was a wedding of an older couple who were quite knowledgeable about music and involved me in their discussions. They were keen to have a good selection of music before the service and promised me that their guests would be requested to remain quiet as I played and treat it as a concert. The music, the titles of which were printed on the order of service was :-
Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring
Salut d'Amour
Short P & F in G Minor (JSB (probably..)) which they had heard me play in the church and liked
Pachelbel Canon
Hymnus by Vangelis, a sort of simple hymn tune, very easy, a bit predictable but easy on the ear, as the bride entered.
All carefully timed so that the last piece ended about 15 seconds after the bride's arrival which she promised faithfully would be spot on time. It was.
During signing the register - Jesu Joy again
Postlude - Wedding March.
The hymns were Love Divine and Lead Us Heavenly Father
I was given double my usual fee and very kindly given credit in the
programmeorder of service.The next one of note was a funeral in the same church which turned out to be rather less musical. The only music required was "The Old Rugged Cross" played twice as the coffin entered, as the hymn and then again until the church emptied. Nothing else.
My most eventful in a non-musical sense was in one of the other churches where a couple were married with the costumes having a Peaky Blinders theme. The rector was concerned that she might have to abandon the service as there were fears that the whole bunch of them would be in the village pub until kick-off. In the event it wasn't that bad. Quite... The groom and best man were mostly sober and dressed as Peaky Blinders but did agree to remove their flat caps for the service. Some of the audience were a little the worse for wear but remained reasonably well behaved if a bit noisy and some even removed their headgear.
The music before was organist's choice, the hymns some odd words to the tune of Morning has Broken and I Vow to Thee My Country on the basis that they would at least know the tunes. For the register signing it was "Red Right Hand" aka the Peaky Blinders theme in a reduction for piano, and afterwards some noisy rubbish on CD.
The bride and groom made the short journey from church to pub in a horse and carriage for the reception. I was later told that true to form there was much drinking culminating in punch-ups to which the police were called. Twice.
Anyone else with some good stuff?
I've just PM'd you - I've been asked to play the Vangelis piece and am looking for a copy!!
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Seeing Nigel Day's reference to High Pavement Unitarian Church,Nottingham, reminds me of a Facebook conversation I had with Stanley a couple of years ago. I mentioned as an aside, that, having myself been brought up as a Unitarian, some theological point he had made in a blog post was "very Unitarian" He replied "Oh, splendid!!"
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Absolutely splendid. The Abbey music is in the safest of hands with AN. The weakest link for me was Bryn Terfel I'm afraid. With so much talent in the "back row" too.....
Did anyone else notice Huw Edwards' two gaffs? (The two I noticed anyway - there may have been more!)
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Allan Wicks playing "Transports de Joie" on the old Willis at Canterbury......
Clifford Harker playing "Sarabande for the Morning of Easter" at Bristol.....
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On 19/02/2023 at 08:10, DHM said:
St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol is looking for a new DoM (full-time post).
Hmmm....... I wonder what is behind something hinted at in the introduction to the job description?
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Grayston (Bill) Ives wrote a rather good piece for the 1977 Jubilee.....
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Who was it who described him as "The finest cathedral organist we never had" ?
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Sad news of the death of Martin How at the age of 91. RIP
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I recall in the 1980s he was due to give a recital at St Mary Redcliffe, but literally on "the day" he dropped a paving slab on his fingers and had to pull out. Amazingly, Paul Morgan from Exeter was able to step in and play his planned programme!
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5 hours ago, MikeK said:
Perhaps the new incumbent will continue the tradition?
So they save on NS's "turn"!
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On 06/07/2022 at 09:34, John Furse said:
It begs the question what will happen to the mooted change of instrument at St John's.
It will save them some money! John's has quite a tradition of new organists being dissatisfied with the instrument they find!
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Where has Lee Ward gone from Liverpool?
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There was an Unda Maris on the Choir of the long-gone 3 manual in Wilmslow URC, Cheshire (never made it to the NPOR I don't think) that I remember playing as a schoolboy in the 1960s
Anna Lapwood - 'Best Classical' award 22 March 2024
in General discussion
Posted
She was indeed