Rowland Wateridge

The Kirklees Borough Council announcement states that David Pipe will be the Guest Curator for the forthcoming Organ Concert season (initially online recitals) and Gordon Stewart becomes Organist Emeritus of Huddersfield Town Hall, and will be giving a farewell concert before a live audience when circumstances permit.

A Google search for recordings of ‘Tuba Tune’ results in an astonishing number, 13 pages of listings, possibly more as I did not delve further. Performances on some surprising instruments (and by surprising performers!) are included. What I was searching for was the remote possibility of a recorded performance by Cocker himself. It would be revealing to know how he played this piece. Does anyone know if one exists? As mentioned on an earlier thread, a couple of years ago Darius Battiwalla gave a performance at Leeds Town Hall which was a revelation - instead of the somewhat jaunty ‘fairground’ character of many (dare I say ‘usual’) performances which doubtless have resulted in the ‘vulgar’ epithet, his interpretation imparted a dignity, even grandeur, to this work - obviously a matter of interpretation and, very much, measured tempos. Tuba Tune acquired a new stature in that performance.

But very easy, in your case, to guess which proper instrument!

I am a very slight organist, ‘at the coalface’ in BCP Matins and Evensong in country churches pre-Covid. However, I have played the Kenneth Jones organ in the chapel of Emmanuel College, and was greatly impressed. Emmanuel College is a very friendly place, or rather that was my experience as a guest there. NPOR N09198 is, I think, fully up to date. I don’t think there is very much, if any, surviving Hill Norman and Beard pipework. This was effectively a new organ in 1988 inserted into a late 17th century case. It has feather-light mechanical key actions, and so a good discipline for accurate playing! The lovely Chapel is by Christopher Wren and has a warm acoustic. Pay a visit there and see what you think. In due course please let us know where you go.

I watched the ITV broadcast ‘live’ and none of the pre-service organ music was included, the outdoor ceremonial taking precedence. As much as we heard it, I thought the organ sounded absolutely splendid. Luke Bond opened up for the final verse of ‘Eternal Father’ without drowning the singers - splendid stuff! The opening bars of BWV 546 were simply tremendous, and I quickly switched to BBC where the impact was considerably less, but they may have faded it for the ‘talk-over’ commentary. I simultaneously recorded Sky TV’s broadcast which included much of the Prelude without ‘talk-over’, and the sound quality was impressive, but this was gradually faded for commentary as the mourners finally departed.

Chris Nickol, I think, but only on the strength of a Google search.

I have the impression that this is an American recording. The singing doesn’t remotely match what I heard at the Masonic funeral mentioned above. It’s interesting that ‘St Oswald’ is (largely) used worldwide. When Martin first raised the subject, my memory went back more than 60 years with ‘St Oswald’ as the immediate answer. But for some reason ‘St Bees’ (also by Dykes) rang a bell. I now see from another video here that this is usually the tune for the Opening Ode.

My only experience of a Masonic funeral evidenced singing of a very high order! I remember remarking to a colleague there that no one would know the first hymn (expecting the silence, apart from the organ, which happens in that kind of situation at weddings). But I could not have been more wrong. The brethren sang like a Welsh male voice choir, and very accurately it must be said.

Unfortunately, I cannot answer your question about improvement as I never heard the organ in the flesh before the work done by Ruffatti. But I went to a recital by James O’Donnell in February last year, almost on the eve of the first pandemic lockdown, and the instrument, matched by the playing, sounded superb.

The only one I have encountered, slightly simpler - in D major, D (up to) G G (down to) F sharp. Perhaps, after the funeral, Martin Cooke will tell us which tune he played, and how he rose to the challenge of “so mote it be”!

An organist whose playing has you on the edge of your seat, especially in the music of the French school and large Bach works like the Dorian Toccata and Fugue; his performance of that was the most gripping that I have ever experienced. His service accompaniments are a model and the improvisations thrilling. The lucky people of Lincoln have enjoyed this for a third of a century! Clearly the Lincoln Father Willis has been an inspiration, the perfect combination of instrument and player. I have always felt privileged to hear his playing at Lincoln. I hope that will still be possible and I’m sure we all wish him well in his new venture.

I am not a Mason, but I have played the Masonic Closing Ode “Now the evening shadows closing”. It is a short hymn in 8.7.8.7. metre, and I played it to J B Dykes’ “St Oswald” which suits the words very well. It is an evening hymn and not specifically a funeral ode, although it obviously lends itself to that. I understood that it was sung at the closing of every Lodge meeting. “So mote it be” translates simply as ‘Amen’.

In spite of the limitations of listening on an iPad, it was a delight in present circumstances to be able to feel as though in the building hearing that wonderful organ. I think a revelation for me (and it has been said before by others) is how well César Franck sounds on the Schulze - and that was especially so in today’s performance by Graham Barber of ‘Pièce Héroique’.

Sadly I missed it. Living in the Southern Province I watched the BBC televised Eucharist from Canterbury Cathedral with the Archbishop presiding. Mixed feelings about some of it; I thought the girls’ choir was impressive. David Newsholme directed and Adrian Bawtree played the organ. It was difficult to get any real impression of the organ from the sound quality of an ancient television. Adrian Bawtree certainly opened up the organ in the closing voluntary, Guilmant’s “Grand Choeur”, but in best BBC tradition this was faded out to a scene of someone preparing pastry with a rolling-pin! One realises that time schedules come into play, but this seemed unnecessarily insensitive.

Reply sent by PM.

The serpent which I mentioned is in a Hampshire village. There’s an anaconda in Edinburgh University’s Musical Instruments Collection. Although John Kitchen is in charge of the keyboard instruments in the Collection, I’m sure he must know it.

Apologies for this digression. The extract of Charles Wild’s painting (water colour I think) “The Choir of the Cathedral of Amiens” should be of interest to S_L as the full painting shows a serpentist on both sides of the ‘choir’. The one on the left, on the north side in the illustrated extract, is playing: the other on the south side is not. A remarkable picture: a concelebrated Capitular High Mass in progress, green being the liturgical colour. I’m not sure that there is a choir, as such. The back row on both sides consists of the Canons in choir dress, I think, of rather more sobre type than the present-day style. A church where I used to play has preserved in a glass case its serpent, the sole survivor of the west end church band. VH may already know, but Charles Wild made a beautiful, and very detailed, painting of the choir (or quire) of St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

That's heartening to know. Surely, of its kind and its generation, SGH organ has to be one of the finest (the finest?) anywhere.

Apologies, hoist on my own petard! I wasn’t aware of David Briggs’ CD at SGH and have never encountered one. The organ has benefited from the loving ministrations and care of David Wells in recent years and, as I said, on its day can sound magnificent. It really ought to be a matter of national pride for this historic instrument to be fully restored. The old LP recorded by Caleb Jarvis demonstrates how we should be hearing it, and a fine varied programme highlighting its versatility in a variety of repertoire as well. I have a recollection of listening on radio, long ago, to a re-opening recital at SGH by Margaret Cobb (then organist of St Lawrence Jury, City of London). Can anyone else confirm this?

Yes, John, but what about repertoire? I’m a bit doubtful about an organ already in the series being repeated, but don’t want to be contentious. Undoubtedly two very fine instruments and I would like to be able to hear both again in the flesh. Now rapidly approaching the age of 80, that could be difficult. I first heard York about 68 years ago, played by Francis Jackson, and still an unforgettable experience! Of course, I would have been shot down in flames if I had nominated Winchester!

Until Martin Cooke’s choices, it was noticeable that all the organs were in Germany. Like Martin, I propose nominating a very grand instrument closer to home: 1. St George’s Hall, Liverpool, Henry Willis 1855 and grandson HW III 1931 2. ‘Lied Symphonie’, Flor Peeters or Choral No 3 in A minor, César Franck played by Ian Tracey Admittedly the organ needs to be restored to its former glory, although on the day it still sounds magnificent - a truly heroic instrument. As a third repertoire option, Vierne Symphonie 3, but actually the choices are limitless.

MusingMuso is the in-house expert on all matters Compton. It’s a while since he commented (hope he is well), but maybe a private message to him would be a good idea.

The page which I linked above is from M. Ménissier’s website. It includes a contact form and a wealth of other information about instruments and repertoire is accessible in the usual way from the links across the top of the page. Helpfully, M. Ménissier also provides his personal biography in English. He has performed in many places and many countries, but only Scotland, it seems, in the UK. Among different musical ensembles with which M. Ménissier has performed, S_L will particularly note that these include a serpentist! DR can have several possible meanings (although droits réservés does seem most likely), but contacting M. Ménissier will be the safest way of finding out. Without actually checking, copyright is claimed, I think, for all of the illustrations.

Stephen Bicknell was a tremendous Francophile. His views on French architecture and design - buildings of extruded plastic and cars like sardine tins - are entertaining reading.

See the link below. I assume this is the picture. The organ is Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois - Clicquot 1771-Dallery 1840 https://menissier.org/alexandre-boely