John Robinson

All those people talking. Still, I bet they shut up when the West Tubas came in at the end!

Not even Daniel Roth's 'singing', and then leaning right in front of him to pull a stop on the left jamb, managed to put him off!

I'm not sure about attitude. It may well be ability (or lack of it)!

I can't comment about this particular broadcast, as I haven't heard it. Neither can I comment about BBC radio in general, as I rarely listen to it. But if, like me, you watch a fair amount of television, I'm sure you'll agree that producing sound at anything like a standardised level is a lost art. It may be my failing memory, but I'm sure they used to do it better in 'the olden days'!

Well, Friedrich, it's arrived and I think it's fantastic! Not a single duff track on it: they are all well worth listening to. I was pleasantly surprised to find that you (I presume it is you) have written a large and very informative section on the composer! Thank you!

I'd go with the latter!

The one in post 1, I should say.

I certainly shall. Actually, I believe the west-end tubas feature briefly in the last track of the CD of Vierne, Widor and Langlais masses, unless I am mistaken. What I would really like to know is which of these tubas is which. I understand that one is brighter in tone than the other, but I don't know which.

I have been doing some more searching for this CD and eventually found one copy only (!) on Amazon UK. Although it needs to be imported from a seller in Austria, the cost is £18.28 and the postage is only £1.26, so I have ordered it. That's cheaper than the price from Klais (26 Eur). Also, I have had a reply from them saying that I may only pay by 'wire transfer' for which, I believe, my bank would charge me a lot. Good old Amazon! Thanks for your help everyone.

Thanks Friedrich I have e-mailed Klais, as I do not understand their terms and conditions (in German), to ask whether they will accept an order with payment by credit card. If they don't, I'll get back to you. Do you happen to know whether Amazon.de accept credit cards from the UK?

Thank you all for your help. None of these companies seem to stock what I want: http://www.klais.de/m.php?art=276 Obviously, I 'googled' the product, but without success.

Does anyone know how I can get hold of organ CDs issued on this label? I have searched the internet, and can find only a couple of sites (Motette's own, and Klais organs) which sell the CD I am looking for. Unfortunately, I do not think either site (in Germany) will accept credit card payment, and I cannot find any seller in the UK. I believe that at one time Priory Records supplied Motette CDs, but there is no sign of that on their current site.

And, of course, the organ has been allowed to deteriorate to the point of being completely unusable. I'd like to add that I have sung to a large audience at St George's Hall. OK, OK, it was my school's speech day and I was one tiny part of the school choir. It had a very good reputation (before I joined I must admit) under the direction of the late Keith Rhodes. That was in the good old days when the organ functioned!

There have been attempts to built concert halls which can accommodate music of various styles. A recent example is the Birmingham Symphony Hall, which has received rave reviews of its acoustics. Although I have heard an organ recital there, I do not know it well enough to be able to comment on its success (or otherwise) in providing a suitable environment for all different styles of music. The reverberation chambers, when open, can add internal volume to the building, but I am not sure how much of a 'large cathedral' atmosphere these reproduce for some styles of organ music. Certainly it sounded nothing like St Paul's when I was there! At the other extreme, I wonder how well chamber music sounds there (with the reverberation chamber doors closed, presumably). I suspect, even with its advanced acoustic technology, it would be just too big. Perhaps someone else with more experience can comment further. I think the ideal would be to arrange to perform music of different styles in venues most suited to those styles. I doubt that we have yet managed to produce a completely 'one size fits all' concert hall.

Whether or not one likes Carlo Curley's style, I think most of us would agree that he is what we need more of: a genuine and earnest evangelist of the organ and its music.

Where was the Fantasia on British Sea Songs, my favourite? This isn't something to do with Brussels, is it?

Yes, so says Simon Johnson on the Priory DVD.

I don't think it's worth talking about rules. Any 'rules' that do exist in (British) English are invariably broken somewhere or other in the language!

You could buy a simple CCTV system for less than that, which could be more flexible too.

Thanks for those. I have already sent her my list, not that I expect any of my suggestions will actually get played!

I understand that the University libraries of both Oxford and Cambridge are ones at which a copy of every newly published book must be deposited (I don't know about sheet music). I think they're called 'legal depositories'. There may be others, but I hadn't heard of Manchester being one. Perhaps the British Library?

The number of times I have heard things like this, that organists are not only not respected nor appreciated (by audiences and other musicians alike), but are often not even apparent to them. Is this because: - organ music is just background muzak, like the stuff you hear in supermarkets, and is intended to be talked over? - the organ is a machine, as well as a musical instrument and, therefore, plays itself? - the organist is often necessarily invisible to the audience and, therefore, the organ seems to be playing itself? - the organist is usually a 'one man band' and prefers not to associate with other musicians unless absolutely necessary? - none of the above? (Tongue-in-cheek suggestions - at least to a point!)

I agree that this is a very sad state of affairs. Many years ago, I used to make regular visits to Bradford Central Library to borrow LPs of organ music, a surprising proportion of which had actually been borrowed and, presumably, listened to by others. I hesitate to mention this, but I recorded many to tape cassettes. Unfortunately, tape cassettes are probably the worst possible medium for recorded music and mine are hardly worth listening to now. I haven't been there for a very long time now, but I'm willing to bet that you will not now find a single recording of organ music (I assume it's all CDs now).

(1) Rap! I'm sure it would be possible to make use of more complex language than that in the trite happy-clappy rubbish we have already heard about, so long as it has rhythm. (2) Make it into a computer game.

An electronic 'organ' being replaced by a pipe organ. Perhaps the tide is turning!