Zimbelstern

The article actually says: ‘St John’s, Smith Square, London, is losing £250,000 a year. It does not receive any subsidy and without a fresh injection of cash its reserves will run out. Richard Heason, the director, said that it had to survive on ticket sales and donations and if it did not find “another source of extraordinary money of some sort, then the money would run out by the end of next summer”.’ An article in another newspaper today says that one cruise missile costs £667,000. Enough to keep St. John’s going for three years! Perhaps our esteemed representatives round the corner could save both St. John’s and a lot of lives at the same time.

I was privileged to be present at the organ recital at which this video was filmed. It is played on the Blancafort organ of the Concatedral de Santa Maria in Castellón de la Plana, Spain by the Italian organist Carlo Maria Barile. He’s improvising on the tune “Salve, Virgen del Lidón”, a local folksong dedicated to the patron saint of Castellón.

One place where I believe “be prepared” will eventually translate into “it is finished” is the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, construction of which was begun in 1882. Present estimates for its completion centre around the year 2026. It’s quite hard to get concrete information about the organ, but some years ago when visiting I read that Gaudi’s original vision was as follows: specially designed tubular bells would hang in some of the towers and huge organ pipes would hang in others. On a Sunday morning the doors of the Basilica would be flung open and the entire population of Barcelona would hear a 1000 voice choir singing Gregorian chant, accompanied by giant tubular bells and the enormous organ. The remaining towers are gradually being built. I’m not sure if the plans still include pipes for the towers, but it seems there will eventually be at least 8000 pipes distributed around the building, The present organ, which will form part of the completed instrument, has 1500 pipes. The organ builder is Blancafort of Montserrat. I can’t wait to hear the finished organ! I wonder what they’ll play at the inaugural recital?

Well, this forum would be extremely dull if everyone agreed with each other all the time! In the end it all comes down to personal preference and taste. It is good to have a forum where people can share and debate their views, and politely disagree. Over the last few months I have read carefully the entire series of posts regarding this organ, as well as those from years ago regarding the new organ in the Royal Academy of Music (which I have played and greatly appreciate). Both topics include a great deal of useful information both regarding the individual organs and also organ building and design, but also very differing views. Personally, I have nothing against modern organ building styles and organ cases of any genre or any particular type. The most important criteria are how good the instrument is, and how appropriate it is for the liturgical function and/or repertoire that will be played upon it. The closer we are to a particular period in time, the more subjective the judgement is. All periods produce good and bad examples, and over time the removal of the bad results in a judgement of the period as a whole, whichever branch of the arts we are considering. Even after several hundred years, however, debates can still continue as to the merits or demerits of a particular organ - even if it no longer exists! A case in point is the Scheibe organ of the Paulinerkirche (University Church) in Leipzig, which Bach famously inspected and declared sound, although Johann Andreas Silbermann’s opinion several decades later was uncomplimentary. Academics are still arguing about it. One of the world’s most eminent musicologists has stated categorically in print that is was tuned to Chorton. Another has produced documentary evidence to prove that it wasn’t! So much for objectivity. When it comes to organs and their suitability for a church, it seems to me that, in addition to the location and acoustics, there are three aspects of the instrument which need to be considered: the sounds, the quality and reliability of the workmanship and the case design. I have seen organs whose sound I like, but whose cases I dislike in that setting. A couple of years ago I heard the new Klais organ in Leon Cathedral in Spain. I love the sound, but dislike the appearance of the organ, which I feel is out of keeping with the building, partly because of its location. Last year I heard the organ of St Eustache in Paris. I love the case, but the organ disappointed - all I could hear was a mush of sound when pieces were played fast. I’m sure, however, there are many who would disagree with me. It’s all a matter of taste I suppose. I haven’t heard the new organ in the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, but it looks stupendous. From what I have read in this forum, and having looked at the specification of the Turner Sims organ, it seems to me that, apart from anything else, it is rather limited in regard to the repertoire that can be sympathetically played upon it. The stop list seems to be informed by the fashion some forty years ago for so-called Neo-Classical instruments. I dislike many of the instruments of this kind which I have heard or played, mainly because of the sound they make, which doesn’t seem to resemble in any way the wonderful 18th century North German organs they were supposedly imitating. But there are, no doubt, good examples of the genre. I’m sure organs of this type have their admirers and they are just as entitled as I am to their opinion. The organ I play on in church is a 1914 two manual William Hill pneumatic action organ. It was so well built that after more than hundred years, still in its original condition, and no major repairs, it makes a sound I and most people like, is reliable, versatile, and can be used for a very wide repertoire, ranging from Bach, through Widor, to Messiaen. Yet countless instruments of this era have been thrown out or altered beyond recognition. Why? Perhaps because of fashion. Or perhaps because they weren’t very good. Who are we to say? Perhaps in the end we are all just dedicated followers of fashion!

Doesn’t sound very promising!

Sorry to disagree, but having seen the video I think it looks awful. It’s totally out of keeping with the building, partly because of its position on one side of the back of the church. Having said that, what I can see of the other organ is just as bad. I think it would be better to remove both instruments and start again with an organ designed specifically for that church, both acoustically and aesthetically.

I think you’ll find that the anti-clericalists, and their allies are at the opposite end of the political spectrum. The President of the Popular (Conservative) Party in Seville, Virginia Perez, condemned the actions of the Andalusian Government in fining the nuns in the strongest possible terms, as you can read here: http://www.europapress.es/andalucia/sevilla-00357/noticia-virginia-perez-ve-injusto-expediente-organo-santa-ines-culpa-junta-desidia-20171113165809.html Her party, the Partido Popular, is the one which currently rules in Spain under Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, a devout Catholic and defender of the Church (and presumably organs). He is also staunchly in favour of the return of Gibraltar to Spanish sovereignty.

If you want to be an organ scholar, and if you are aiming for RCO diplomas, you must build keyboard skills into your routine every day, right from the start. The three skills I would especially recommend you practising are: 1. Transposition 2. Figured bass 3. Four part score reading (FRCO requires 5 parts, but you can’t try for FRCO until you have ARCO). If you start practising these skills now, and spend an hour on them every day BEFORE you start practising your pieces, you will not only be able to actually do them after three or four years, but they will help you with all sorts of other skills that you will also need, for example improvisation, harmonising melodies at the keyboard or Bach chorales on paper (figured bass makes you feel the harmony automatically in your fingers). The foundation of transposition technique is transposing hymns, which are also extremely good for developing a good pedal technique. Good hymn playing is much, much harder than many people think. The pedal lines of many hymns are quite hard. Once you have learnt the basics of hymn playing and transposition, I would start every day by practising a hymn tune thoroughly, marking the fingering and pedalling and sticking to it. Then practise transposing it down and up a semitone and a tone (don’t bother with e.g. A flat if it’s already in A, or E if it’s already in E flat). Make sure you choose a different key every day (up to four flats or sharps). Good hymn playing and transposition also lead on to improvisation techniques. Learn the basics of figured bass using R.O. Morris’s “Figured Harmony at the Keyboard” - worth its weight in gold. You can download masses (and motets) of material for figured bass and score reading practice from the internet free of charge on IMSLP and ChoralWiki. If you have a tablet you can play them from that, rather than printing them out. Recently, Oxford University Press has published two volumes which will help you enormously from the start with these skills: they are called “Graded Keyboard Musicianship”. Progress in these skills comes only gradually to most people and sometimes they seem like a real drudge. But one day you sit at the keyboard and discover that you can actually transpose a hymn or play from figured bass or a four part score at sight, and it all starts to become rather enjoyable. Practising these tests requires great concentration, focus and self-discipline. That’s why it’s best to do them every day before practising your pieces. Remember: KEYBOARD SKILLS FIRST!

There’s probably a lot more to this story than meets the eye. Amongst the reader comments in the Spanish newspaper cited above, there is a claim that the huge fine on the nuns was linked to the political opposition of certain politicians and parties to the Church in Spain. Whilst Spain has traditionally been a very devout Catholic country, there is also a strong anticlericalist tendency, going back at least a couple of hundred years. There have been periodic attacks on church buildings, monasteries, priests, monks and nuns, thousands of whom were killed during the 1930s. Organs seem to be a favourite target of both religious and non-religious fanatics, as we know only too well from the wholesale destruction of organs in England in the 17th century. Dutch organs only survived iconoclasm because they were placed high in the church and belonged to town halls, not to the church. The church itself in Spain does not seem to value organs very highly - there are many ancient organs rotting away unused and unloved. The two major “reforms” of the Catholic church with regard to music and liturgy since 1900 were carried out to the letter in Spain, unlike in France where, after some initial upset, things seemed to carry on as before. Pius X’s Motu Proprio of 1903 (“Tra le Sollecitudini”) specifically limited the use of the organ in worship in favour of Gregorian chant. Whilst this had the positive effect of encouraging and furthering the singing of chant in Spain, a few decades later all this was overturned by Vatican II and most choir schools were lost. Organists in Spain are rarely paid, even in cathedrals, access to organs by anyone other than the incumbent organist is virtually impossible, and the number of organists in training is tiny - hardly surprising in view of the nonexistent career prospects.

St. Alphage’s advert for its organ recital series in the current issue of Organists’ Review has two “International Recitalists”, one “Organ Recitalist and Concert Pianist”, one “Organ Recitalist and recording artist” (I don’t understand the logic of the capital letters for one title and not the other), two “Organists” (of their respective churches) and one performer who is modest enough to just state where he lives. One of the recitalists actually takes up five lines listing his various posts. Are we in the future to expect that adverts for organ recitals will give full length CVs for performers? Surely the fact that someone is giving an organ recital is sufficient for us to conclude that he or she is very probably an organist.

I’ve just had a look at the job spec. £15,000 for 20 hours per week for a top class, highly experienced allround musician, organist, conductor, manager and administrator with a list of skills, duties and responsibilities as long as your arm. Presumably a graduate with an FRCO. All for around £15 an hour. For that you can get a job in London as a handyperson, a door-to-door fundraiser for Shelter, a labourer, a mini-cab supervisor, or a housekeeper (all advertised on Gumtree). The Shelter advert actually says: “Ideal for Performing Arts Graduates!” Super flumina Babylonis ibi sedimus et flevimus.

Whenever I read comments such as those preceding, I am reminded of the opening words of the Preface to the 1549 Book of Common Prayer: “There was never anything by the wit of man so well devised, or so surely established, which (in continuance of time) hath not been corrupted.” Or in the words of Ecclesiastes: “Vanity, vanity, all is vanity.” I understand that in the higher echelons of a German company these days, a doctorate, earned or honorary, is no longer sufficient. One must now have the title of “Professor”. When I was at university, I was in awe of professors. Yet today, it seems, we are adopting the American usage of the term - anyone teaching in an institution of higher education is a “professor”, even if delivering only the occasional lecture or class on a casual basis (in which case one is a “visiting professor”). Spare a thought for poor old J.S. Bach who was keenly aware of his lack of academic title. Perhaps if he’d had a doctorate he’d have written better music.

Of all the periods of organ music history, none seems to have suffered a decline in its reputation as much as that of the late 19th/ early 20th century, especially as regards English organ music and interpretation. Yet with the increasing availability of both music and theoretical works of the period on the internet, we can perhaps begin a long waited re-assessment of the period. Recently, whilst trying to find out more about the musical background of George Oldroyd, I came across the name of his teacher A.E. Hull, whose life was cut short in tragic circumstances in 1928. Amongst his many works is an extensive manual on organ playing entitled: “Organ Playing: Its Technique and Expression” (Augener 1911). After downloading this work, a quick reading made it apparent that Hull had a very wide knowledge of “early” organ music and technique. He was aware of registration and keyboard fingering in Bach’s time and refers to use of toes only as the “old method” of pedalling. His views on phrasing may not be to the taste of many of today’s organists, but the treatise gives excellent insights into how he and his contemporaries approached the subject. At the end of the book Hull reproduces a number of organ recital programmes from the first decade of the 20th century verbatim, including programme notes. These give us the opportunity to compare the recital programmes with those given today (there is a surprising amount of “early” organ music), as well as read assessments of contemporary pieces. I was interested to read the note about Dr A. Lister Peace’s recital given at St. George’s Hall, Liverpool on January 13th 1909. The programme note regarding several movements from Widor’s 5th Symphony has this to say about the last movement, written long before the piece gained the iconic, if not notorious, status it has today: “The Finale is a veritable moto perpetuo; built upon a kind of ecclesiastical chant or plain-song, which is given out on the pedals, fortissimo, with bold and striking effect.”

In my humble opinion I’m afraid it actually does the organ world a disservice. Our little world is like no other, even in the realms of classical music. Whilst a reasonable number of superstar pianists may fill concert halls on a daily basis, here and abroad, I’m afraid the same cannot be said of organists. (The Leeds International Piano Competition may be televised and watched by millions, but does anyone seriously imagine the same will happen anytime soon with the St. Albans Organ Competition?) There are many contradictions and ironies in the organ world. An increasing number of elite churches and concert halls are kitted out with state-of-the-art organs costing millions of pounds, yet the most accomplished organists may play them to an audience of only a handful of people, even when there is no admission charge. Disgracefully, immensely expensive instruments (the Royal Albert Hall comes to mind), unless required for liturgical use, may only be played in public once or twice a year. The vast majority of the population never listen to organ music, know nothing about the instrument, and would be astonished to learn that organists play with their feet. A group of amateur organists is able, by joining the local organists’ association, to play instruments worth ten Steinway grands. Yet the vast majority of young people are prevented from learning the organ by lack of access to an instrument and a lack of teachers (how many local authority music services teach the organ?) - these days, with a few exceptions, it is only those attending independent schools with a chapel who have the opportunity to learn to play the organ. Many of the aforementioned amateur organists are of the last generation of parish choristers whose musical education was delivered by the church. But the world has changed. The churches had one of their periodic attacks on the liturgical and musical traditions which they spent so long building up, and no longer fulfil their role training organists. It’s left to whim, good luck and the services of the dedicated few who still share the old ideals of service to God and their neighbour. The organ world of fifty years ago, with all its imperfections, was peopled by mostly dedicated musicians, both professional and amateur, who realised they were just doing their duty, without any pretensions that they were going to earn a lot of money and superstar status by playing the instrument they loved. Actually, little has changed in the sense that many professional organists, unless they have a fulltime teaching job in a school, or a partner with a good job, hardly have two pennies to rub together. I know of many extraordinarily talented and well qualified organists who live in what can only be described as modest circumstances. Rather like the clergy, I suppose. Whoever heard of a priest (or even the Pope) being described as an “International Church Vicar”? If the situation is pretty bad in the UK, spare a thought for organists in other countries. Even in Paris I understand that remuneration for a talented organist playing a Cavaillé Coll masterpiece is low. In Spain church organists are rarely paid at all, even in cathedrals. I know of one Spanish cathedral organist, who plays a brand new instrument which cost half a million euros, who not only doesn’t get paid but has to pay for the tuning of the instrument himself. What the organ world in this country needs is a major initiative of local authority music services, schools and churches to provide young people with opportunities to learn to play the organ. That means providing good teachers and access to instruments. Those at the very top of the organ profession have a duty to support and campaign for such an initiative, mindful of the fact that, as now, the overwhelming majority of organists, however talented and well qualified, whether professional or amateur, will in the future probably live in modest circumstances, doing what they do for the love of it, not for the money or glory. Reputations in the organ world are earned and sustained by respect for immense talent and service to the church or the world of music, not by silly titles.

I notice that many organists these days are describing themselves as “International Concert Organists”. What exactly are the requirements for describing oneself in this way (apart from not being professionally attached to a particular church or other institution)? “Organist” I get, but “international”? Does this require simulaneous citizenship of several countries, or is it simply enough to have played once in a foreign country? As far as “concert” is concerned, I was under the impression that most organists give “recitals” most of the time, unlike pianists who often give piano recitals, but also sometimes take part in “concerts”. either as soloist with an orchestra or as an instrumentalist playing as part of a larger group of musicians. Is the organ world getting caught up in the mania to give oneself overblown titles, lacking any sort of agreed criteria? Even most conductors are described in concert details as “conductor”. I don’t recall ever seeing “International Concert Conductor”. If a first-rate organist is well-known in the rather close-knit organ world, surely their name followed by either their institution or city or country of work or residence is sufficient (e.g. J.S. Bach, Leipzig) - if they are not, surely “International Concert Organist” is unjustified.

Since Saint George is the patron saint of many countries and cities around the world, it might be fruitful to look further afield for music celebrating his feast. For example, the Catalan composer Joan Pau Pujol (1570 - 1626) wrote much sacred music inspired by Saint George. You can download partbooks for some of this here: https://dl.wdl.org/14186/service/14186.pdf

Thank you skf1967. I wasn’t aware of the Hans Fagius book, so that’s very useful.

All the Spanish organs I have seen or played, although located in a similar position in relation to the floor plan, have been raised up quite or very high, either in a gallery, on the wall, or above the choir. Maybe this was for acoustic reasons, or simply so as not to take up space ground level. The choir in old Spanish churches is often situated in the middle of the church, or even further back, totally enclosed on three sides, with iron gates on the side facing the altar. A good example is the church of Nava del Rey, not far from Valladolid. You’ll see what I mean in these photos. https://goo.gl/images/3Xq6yo https://goo.gl/images/KNA4FR I went to the inaugural recital of the newly restored organ there in 2015, given by Juan de la Rubia, who is the organist of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. A very impressive instrument. The region is littered with baroque organs waiting for restoration.

Thanks David. I’ve been using the latest Breitkopf edition, but I’d forgotten I had a copy of the Novello edition edited by Walter Emery. You’re right - many of the ornaments are written out. It’s a start!

“at least as far as the window rises up behind it, the organ should be protected from further threats of weather damage by means of a small brick wall or a strong piece of sheet iron placed inside the window” (J.S.Bach)

Passiontide is not far off, and I am considering a performance of Bach’s “O Mensch bewein dein Sünde gross”. I am, however, rather worried about playing the ornaments. I have a copy of Paul Badura-Skoda’s excellent “Interpreting Bach at the Keyboard”, but do not have the time at the moment to undertake an in-depth study of the c. 300 pages devoted to ornamentation, so cannot yet see the wood for the trees, although the book has unsettled me in relation to using Bach’s own ornament tables as they stand. Does anyone know of an edition or an analysis of this work which gives a clear and comprehensible guide to how to interpret the ornaments? Modern so-called “Urtext ” editions give huge amounts of information as to sources and variants, but almost no help with actually playing pieces. The only alternative seems to be to listen to a selection of different recordings and make notes. I don’t want to get bogged down in controversy - I’d be happy with three or four succinct summaries with justifications so I can make my decision. I think information under the following headings for each kind of ornament would be helpful: 1. Starting note 2. Length 3. Tempo 4. Use (or not) of rubato

I recall reading somewhere that in the past there was a serious problem with rats eating organ pipes because of the lead salts. Or perhaps they still do!

If you search for Drischner on the Contrebombarde site you will see that someone called Carson Cooman has recorded and uploaded this piece, so that could be a useful lead.

Could you please tell us where this book is “freely available online”?

Perhaps that’s why Pope John XXII declared in 1324: ”But certain practitioners of the new school, who think only of the laws of measured time, are composing new melodies of their own creation, with a new system of note values, that they prefer to the ancient, traditional music. The melodies of the Church are sung in semibreves and minims and with grace notes of repercussion. Some break up their melodies with hockets or rob them of their virility with discant, three-voice music, and motets, with a dangerous element produced by certain parts sung on text in the vernacular; all these abuses have brought into disrepute the basic melodies of the Antiphonal and Gradual. These composers, knowing nothing of the true foundation upon which they must build, are ignorant of the church modes, incapable of distinguishing between them, and cause great confusion. The great number of notes in their compositions conceals from us the plainchant melody, with its simple well-regulated rises and falls that indicate the character of the church mode. These musicians run without pausing. They intoxicate the ear without satisfying it; they dramatize the text with gestures; and, instead of promoting devotion, they prevent it by creating a sensuous and indecent atmosphere. . . . However, we do not intend to forbid the occasional use—principally on solemn feasts at Mass and at Divine Offi ce—of certain consonant intervals superposed upon the simple ecclesiastical chant, provided these harmonies are in the spirit and character of the melodies themselves, as, for instance, the consonance of the octave, the fifth, the fourth, and others of this nature; . . . for such consonances are pleasing to the ear and arouse devotion, and they prevent torpor among those who sing in honor of God.”