AndrewG

A former Kings organ scholar said he transposes the BWV 572 up a semitone into A flat purely to allow that one note. (Not sure if he was joking!)

The old version of the NEH hardly stays open (at least in my experience) - my copy has taken years of trying to get it to do so! It has taken prolonged weighing down open with heavy books to get it vaguely usable. Very frustrating, especially when playing hymns early or late in the book. Not something I've had trouble with any other hymnal.

Indeed!

One of the first Proms at the RAH I went to had Jessye Norman as soloist in Beethoven 9. She had absolutely no trouble being heard over a full orchestra and a massive choir. No mic needed. It is still one of the most incredible musical performances I have ever heard. As a teenager it made me fall in love with live (and affordable) classical music.

At a cathedral near me the DoM was unable to give his recital at their summer organ festival for some unexpected reason a few years ago. So pre-recorded it and had it played back as if “live” on the day. It didn’t feel right at the time (and not something they’ve repeated). Everything online and CD etc is so perfect these days that it is far preferable (to me at least) to hear things played live. Mistakes and all. Although it amazes me how few glaring mistakes get made by the pros in recitals. There are often tiny blemishes that I suspect vast majority listening wouldn’t notice (unless the listener knows a piece intimately - as in I suspect many members of this forum). When I was a chorister it was almost unheard of for the organist to make a mistake in a service accompanying - despite the tiny amount of time rehearsing each day. (Most days we didn’t sing with the organ until the service itself). Which amazes me even more than the recitals - which I am sure are long practiced. As an amateur I play lots of wrong notes. But it often surprises me how few get noticed by the audience - when as the player they seem so glaring and obvious. But keeping going (and performing) rather than correcting seems to disguise a lot! (Although my teacher seemed to be able to notice even the slightest deviation from the written page!) Maybe my audience are just kind.

Church funerals seem to falling out of fashion in my experience. With more Crematoria based services with piped music (not in the right sense!) A newly built chapel near me has no organ or any means of playing live music, with everything coming from a sound system - even the hymns (if any). In terms of unusual choices at a funeral I was asked to play Darth Vader’s March at the end of a service for a teenager. Which they followed with Mr Brightside by The Killers blasted over the PA as the coffin left.

There’s a disc by Magnus Williamson who specialises in music from that era (available on Spotify).

BBC Sounds app for Radio 3 lists it as an Improvisation by Peter Holder (following on from the RVW Rhosymedre and before the Parry). Assuming that’s the section you mean? (Maybe explained by rumour that service started a couple of minutes late!)

William McKie - knighthood Douglas Guest - CVO Simon Preston - CBE Martin Neary - LVO James O'Donnell - LVO It seems that being the Abbey's organist has gradually reduced in honours-worthiness over the last century. McKie, of course, provided the Queen's coronation. But then James O'Donnell has provided her funeral (amongst several other big occasions). Times change it seems - although it could be argued that the latest incumbent has provided a large contribution to national music/life over the last 20 years or so.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_BK7ohuN81I" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> A YouTube clip of the first time the organ was in action.

Wikipedia can be a great resource to start a search. But we teach our students to never trust its contents without cross checking original sources. (The same applies to newspaper articles - even in the supposedly reputable broadsheets).

The Royal Albert Hall twitter feed is suggesting the 4 scheduled "Mystery Proms" will all be organ recitals. That would certainly massively increase the exposure to organ music compared to any normal Prom year. Exciting if true!

Bit of a philosophical question. When is a Willis a Willis? If Harrison's or Manders (or someone else) take some old Willis pipes and relocate them elsewhere - does this then become a Harrison organ? Does the whole organ have to be transplanted pretty much unchanged to qualify as a Willis? Does the console and case need to come too? Or can it just it just be the pipes? Even then - how much needs to stay the same to retain the "essence" of the original.

My teacher recommended the Dover edition. (I think it is a copy of the older Durand one). It's easily available and not expensive.