Rowland Wateridge
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Posts posted by Rowland Wateridge
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On 23/02/2023 at 08:15, preludefugue said:
Can someone help me identify the piece played at the beginning of this video
Unfortunately not able, but an enquiry to Viscount will surely supply the answer. Earlier judgements seem to me unduly harsh - but I am only hearing the sample on an iPad which is possibly an inadequate medium for assessing.
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Here’s a link for further details. A fixed term (?) part-time appointment with full attendance during term and vacations. Presumably these will supplement Choral Scholars. Applicants are surely going to need an additional income source: possible applicants from overseas are contemplated.
https://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/about/work-at-kings/lay-clerk-vacancies-2023-24
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There’s a brass plate on the music desk which I cannot decipher from the photograph. Does this provide any clue as to the organ’s provenance?
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1 hour ago, handsoff said:
Andrew Fletcher sometimes would play the final hymn at St Mary's Warwick …
Now that you remind me, I recall Martin Neary doing this before playing the voluntary.
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1 hour ago, Choir Man said:
During the final hymn he retired to the organ loft to play the voluntary. I wonder how many other cathedral DOMs do this?
Martin Neary normally did at Winchester, and did so on the occasion of a later visit to Westminster Abbey, but I would not know whether that was usually the case there. This is, however, going back quite a few years …
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I wouldn’t say that James Lancelot is underrated at all as an organist. It has been his choice to make his career within the Church from the beginning, a son of the clergy, and, as you know, he is himself a Lay Canon of Durham where he preached from the pulpit as well as maintaining the highest musical standards both as organist and choir director. I noticed on my last visit to Durham that James, and not the Precentor, was deciding when the musical parts of the service should resume after the readings and prayers, all of which he was following in his own prayer book. One of our very finest Cathedral musicians and accomplished players, whilst refreshingly modest and friendly. From his Winchester bachelor days I remember his saying that Sylvia came to audition him as a choral accompanist! The rest, as they say, is history!
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This is all I can find, so far, explaining an involvement of HW4 (and HW5) at Johannesburg City Hall (i.e., Town Hall) in 1974. It’s not very complimentary about HW5. But the original photograph, wherever its location, is surely very much older than 1974 and doesn’t seem to marry with the architecture of the Hall; see the photographs at the foot of this page - the one immediately preceding Alfred Hollins at the original 1916 console. Nor did the organ have a 32‘ open metal! It’s still an enigma!
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This is a complete mystery unless Bruce Buchanan can remember anything in the nature of further clues. I can’t read (from my iPad) what the sign apparently referring to HN&B says.
In view of the comments above, it seems inconceivable that Herbert Norman would have thought that this was an installation, or that it was possibly Johannesburg Town Hall. We can rule out the Kingsway Hall, both as building and instrument (NPOR N16549) - it didn’t have a 32’ open flue.
Robert and P DeVile are better qualified to comment than I, but from the original photograph I note that the 32’ metal open flue has a French mouth: possibly also the pipe being hoisted - less certain about the others. Am I correct in thinking the 32’ to be of exceptionally large scale - compare with the man standing alongside it. There are also what I take to be swell shutters or baffles lying on the floor (or they might simply be steps). It does, indeed, all look like a dismantlement.
The possible Johannesburg connection caused me to look at my trusty 1922 ‘Dictionary’ of organs, and HN&B (or Norman & Beard) were prolific builders of organs both large (Johannesburg 97 speaking stops) and small in South Africa. In total more British organs are listed under South Africa (90 no less, in 1922) than in any other overseas region. Many other British builders were also represented there. Sadly, nearly all of them no longer exist.
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Intriguing on several levels: Herbert Norman sending a photograph of a HN&B organ (?) to HW 4. Any possibility of its being a Willis organ being worked on by HN&B? The pipe being hoisted (up or down?) appears to be decorated as do the large 32’ open metal foot and sections standing on the floor beside the man, also others lying on the floor, suggesting that all are display pipes - clearly a substantial organ with a 32’ in the front. There’s not much to work on with the building. Kingsway Hall was very much wider, with galleries to right and left I believe, and the proscenium arch was higher and much more curved. So, at present, all questions without any answers!
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Possibly being pedantic, Reger’s Benedictus follows pieces titled ”Kyrie Eleison” and “Gloria in Excelsis”; they are collectively numbers 7 to 9 of the ‘Twelve Pieces’ and whilst they are clearly based on those three sections of the Mass, they are not parts of a Mass composed as a whole (if you see what I mean). All of these are, I suggest, purely descriptive works. Numbers 10 and 11, immediately following Benedictus, are “Capriccio” and “Melodia” before reverting finally to a religious subject in number 12, a Fantasia on the “Te Deum” which isn’t part of the Mass, but is sometimes sung at Mass on special feast days or great occasions.
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I have vivid memories of that service and the ‘Willis on Wheels’ as discussed on earlier threads. I mentioned that I remembered both organists wearing long surplices with full sleeves. I’m clear in my recollection that they also wore wing collars and a white (evening) bow tie. Do you think there is any possibility that they continued to wear these after officiating at the Chapel Royal?
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Congratulations! You should claim the prize!
Not Mr Kiddle after all, but an interesting diversion learning about him.
The organ case looked rather handsome by the standards of many concert halls. Sad that it was destroyed by enemy bombing in WW II.
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Having copied both photographs, one above the other for comparison, there is no doubt that they are both of the Queen’s Hall taken at different dates. The layout of the organ front is essentially the same. Since then, Wolsey has confirmed the known details of the occasion. My trusty ‘Dictionary of Organs and Organists’ (which has just had its 100th birthday) in 1922 listed the organist of the Queen’s Hall as F W Kiddle, but there is no corresponding entry in the organists’ biographies section. However Wikipedia (source duly acknowledged) says this:
Frederick B. Kiddle (1874 – 6 December 1951) was a prominent English pianist, organist and accompanist. Kiddle was born at Frome, Somerset and studied at the Royal College of Music under Sir Walter Parratt, Rockstro and Higgs. In 1902 he became principal accompanist for the Promenade Concerts at Queen’s Hall, in succession to Percy Pitt, and he remained there as permanent organist and accompanist for the next 25 years, retiring at about the time when the BBC took over the proms.
There is a slight discrepancy in the second name’s initial, but this is clearly one and the same person. I can’t find a photograph of Mr Kiddle, but there are surely archives somewhere - LNER? - possibly a long shot. Of course it’s by no means certain that Mr Kiddle was playing on this particular occasion; it might have been the orchestra’s own organist. Another man is standing alongside him - possibly Mr Kiddle as the incumbent on duty, rather as Ralph Downes used to be at the RFH when others played? This assumes that this event was no later than 1927, so to that extent it can only be a provisional diagnosis.
Edit: While typing this lengthy piece, MrBouffant has come up with a date of 1930 which, if correct, probably negates all of the above! Well, it will be interesting if someone can solve the conundrum. The LNER archive seems to be extensive, and there may even exist the programme for this occasion.
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Apologies for missing Harry Gabb from the list as I do remember him, but as a very occasional member of the congregation in my case, at Sunday 6.30 pm Evensong, and it would have been around that time as I started work in the City in 1960. Richard Popplewell was the other organist I remember at that service, and having just checked, he was LVO!
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Of the above, Simon Preston’s CBE is the exception, a Civil List honour, I believe. As Choir Man explained above, Honours of the Royal Victorian Order are in the Sovereign’s personal gift for distinguished personal service to the Sovereign. Martin Neary’s LVO was for the music at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales. At St Paul’s Christopher Dearnley and John Scott were similarly honoured - royal weddings and possibly other royal events. Douglas Guest’s was indeed a higher rank at CVO. Sir William McKie was an MVO as well as his Knighthood, awarded respectively for the music at our late Queen’s wedding in 1947 and Coronation in 1953. Christopher Robinson is CVO and Sidney Campbell was MVO, both, I assume, for their service at St George’s Chapel Windsor. So there are some variations among these.
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This is something of a surprise as I know the church and organ quite well, qualifying that by saying it could be twenty years since my last visit and hearing the organ played. It’s a substantial three-manual, originally Peter Conacher & Co, circa 1932/36 but at some stage converted from two manuals, replete with tubas 8’ and 4’ (NPOR N11636). The organ was rebuilt by the local firm of Bishop & White with tonal alterations intended to produce a more ‘classical’ sound and, indeed, David White of that firm was formerly the organist and the main force behind the tonal changes. On retirement he moved to the Isle of Wight, and I don’t know who maintained the organ thereafter. For the revised specification as rebuilt by Bishop & White in 1988, with new detached console centrally in the west gallery and revised tonal schemes see NPOR D03460 and photographs. Further work in 1994 included a new mobile console at floor level.
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8 hours ago, Martin Cooke said:
Well, it's to do with a reminiscence of Noel Rawsthorne's, expressed in the volume Fanfare for Francis, compiled by friends, under the auspices of the Percy Whitlock Trust and published by Banks Music Publications, to mark FJ's 90th birthday in 2007, to which Noel contributed the eponymous first item.
He wrote thus:
Prior to an evening recital it was always a great delight to sit up in the organ loft to listen to Francis accompanying Evensong and to hear an improvised Sortie at the end of the service.
I also was around in 1952, or it might have been very slightly earlier, when my family embarked on a holiday visiting many of England’s cathedrals using an itinerary provided by the AA. I think we got as far north as Carlisle, but for some reason never managed Durham. Of many memories now 70 years later, the outstanding ones are of visiting York Minster. My sister and I climbed to the very summit of the central tower. That involved ‘walking the plank’ literally along the western edge of the roof of the south transept (later largely destroyed in the famous fire) with only a single iron guard rail, and a potential drop of at least 80 feet to the ground. Afterwards we attended Evensong: our parents had sensibly stayed at ground level. On that particular day the service was unaccompanied, sung by the Songmen (are they still called that?) entirely to plain chant. As we left the quire after the service, I can only describe the impact of the sudden and unexpected sound of the organ as like an explosion! It was full organ underpinned by pedal reeds, undoubtedly including the celebrated 32’ sackbut. At that tender age, I could not have identified the music except that I’m certain it was not Widor V nor Vierne or Boëllman. So the possibility exists that it might have been Francis Jackson’s improvised Sortie.
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Another offering from Richard McVeigh at Winchester, this time something more substantial, the Final (Allegro Vivace) from Widor’s Symphonie VI:
The Winchester organ will shortly be taken down and transported to Durham for a conservative general cleaning and overhaul by H&H, plus the addition of a Vox Humana 8’ - actually a reinstatement or replacement of the one by Father Willis which was removed in 1938 - not wanted then! The wheel has turned full circle for ‘Voxs’, now appreciated again, and I look forward to hearing some more authentic sounds in the Franck Chorals from the new stop.
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Wasn’t the story that when Mr Davidson had an ‘awkward’ telephone call he would say that he had to consult Mr Kingsgate!
Fictitious firms’ names are sometimes chosen for a reason. I used to know a firm of solicitors who deliberately chose the first name ‘Abbott’ followed by the genuine name of the senior partner, with the result that they appeared listed as the very first name in the solicitors’ national directory, and under ‘Solicitors’ in telephone directories and ‘Yellow Pages’ etc.
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There’s an earlier thread about Kingsgate Davidson, started by the late David Drinkell, and going under exactly the same title!
I remember that we were told that the Kingsgate name was fictitious! Mr Davidson was the proprietor which probably explains the NPOR builder listing. Much of the information here was already provided, and I have some recollection of both Holy Trinity Brompton and the late Robert Munns being mentioned. In the back of my mind there was also a question of spelling, and the firm was sometimes referred to (evidently incorrectly) as Kingsgate Davison.
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7 hours ago, DHM said:
I’m fairly sure there is another version of this with much more divisi.
In the version quoted above, is the Treble G# in the last quarter correct? Should it be a B?
As I said, the chant is laid out on four staves in the Lincoln Psalter. I have a clear photograph of it which I cannot post here as it exceeds the size capacity. I can send it by email to anyone who wants it and lets me know their email address by PM.
The treble G# is indeed correct. To repeat, SlowOrg’s transcription was remarkably on target.
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On 19/10/2022 at 07:20, Dafydd y Garreg Wen said:
My reaction to the visual aspect (granted that even that is better judged in the church) is that it’s clearly constrained by the architecture, and the proportions are therefore unusual, but that does not mean that they are automatically invalid. The case is tall and thin, but so what?
I found absolutely nothing jarring, nor even ‘quirky’! As you say it fits the architecture of the church (many organs don’t). In the context of Dorchester and St Birinus, there’s another example of ‘tall and thin’ very close by at Douai Abbey, where Kenneth Tickell fitted his fine organ into a single and fairly narrow Gothic arch.
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St Birinus post-dates the ‘Dark Ages’ if we are using the term historically rather than possibly the extent of our own knowledge of that period. St Birinus, in fact, represents an era of enlightenment. As a bishop, having set up his see at Dorchester, Oxfordshire, he transferred it to Winchester, becoming the first Bishop of Winchester in the present succession of more than 1,300 years. For long he was one of the saints, along with St Peter and St Paul and St Swithun, in the dedication of Winchester Cathedral.
I have learned something new from a quick foray in Wikipedia. Birinus landed at the port of St Mary circa 634 AD at what is now Southampton, and that was when the first church of St Mary’s, Southampton came into being. The present church is a direct successor on the same site. It and its Willis III organ have figured prominently on this Board.
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The future of the organ - Harrison & Harrison's opinion
in The Organ
Posted
I have made this point several times previously. There is no shortage of organ recitals. 112 are currently listed on organrecitals.uk during the next four weeks in every part of the country in both churches and concert halls (including Reading Town Hall, as just one!). There are six recitals today - an ‘ordinary’ weekday - two in London and the others admittedly north of ‘the Watford Gap’! I think there are recitals in London and Glasgow every day. Admittedly attending them for working people can be a problem, although most venues pitch their weekday concerts during the lunch hour. I have no idea how well attended they are, but they exist and are available for those who want to go to them. If audiences are small, is it a matter that people don’t bother? There are doubtless other factors; some venues are hopeless about adequate publicity - almost non-existent in some cases. Another issue which does single out the organ is little or no advance information of the programme to be played.
The late David Drinkell preferred calling them ‘concerts’, rather than recitals, and suggested that this was a more persuasive name less likely to deter some potential audiences.
It really is worth getting to know the website organrecitals.uk.