John Robinson

Three, now, surely. An excellent arrangement of two Baroque instruments in juxtaposition - ideal for duets - and a new 'Romantic' at the west end. By the way, when I visited Ottobeuren I found the contents of the glass cases in the crossing rather scary. John

Hear, hear. Not that I am ever likely to be a recipient, of course! In this politically correct age I am not sure what meaning these 'honours' have any more. When I read of some of the people to whom they are awarded, and for what reasons, I really do question their value. I am very pleased that Francis Jackson has been awarded the CBE (although a life peerage, never mind a knighthood, may have been more appropriate!) However of far more importance, in my humble opinion, is the high esteem in which he is held by many ordinary people whose lives have been enriched by his work and influence. Long may he continue to benefit the organ world. John

He has my vote! Perhaps I'm a bit cynical, but I can't help but feel that had he been the incumbent at a southern/London establishment things would have been different. I am sure that the 'powers that be' (in London) are blissfully unaware of the existence of anything between the Home Counties and the Scottish border. John

Your polished bench brings to mind the occasion when Gillian Weir performed at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester a couple of years ago. An overenthusiastic cleaner had brought the bench to a highly polished shine, not realising the consequences. DGW did not, as I recall, slide off: that would have been most unseemly. Instead, a blanket was hastily found which seemed to help somewhat. Her Liszt, incidentally, was superb. (No, not a pun, she did play Liszt.) John

I know this may sound silly, as my CD player is supposedly incapable of reproducing anything below 20Hz, but the Vox Balenae 64' (at least that is what I am assuming is making the ground shake) at Cologne Cathedral sounds very effective at the beginning of track 7 (Strauss) on Motette MOT13254. Incidentally, Klais proposed adding a Donner 64' - a resultant reed - to Altenberg Cathedral. I'd be interested to hear whether this has actually been built and, if so, whether it works: I have never heard of a resultant reed before. John

No way! That would have been Leila (? spelling ? name) - the 'cavegirl' from way back. Mind you, she's probably past her 'sell by date' by now. Still, memories... John

Cologne Cathedral has a Pedal to Solo (IV man) on the Transept Organ. I'm not sure how this would be used, unless by organists without legs? John

Yes, I have it too - we must be of a similar age! I agree about the York 32' reed. It certainly makes itself felt, at least on that recording. I wonder what it must have sounded like before it was relegated to the south transept! John

I have just taken delivery of this CD, which I find rather interesting. The sound balance, as one might expect, is very different from what I have heard before - recorded or live. What I find really quite puzzling is that, whereas the Tuba Mirabilis (facing west) is noticeably subdued on this recording, the Bombarde (facing east) is much louder. If the microphone was suspended above the case from the central tower, one would expect both of these horizontal stops to be equally ineffective. All considered, I like this CD, especially since it cost only £6 (Yorkshire roots coming out again!). Mrs R., not an organ aficionado by any means, likes it too (especially Tuba Tune), which means that I am allowed to listen to it in her presence! John

I am a born-again* atheist and yet my interest in the organ is both long standing and profound. (* i.e. I was once a Christian, but have seen the light!) I cannot remember how I first came to be interested in the organ, but it must have been when I was at junior school. Whilst at a carol service at our local church, I recall a teacher telling us to sing more slowly than usual 'because the organ cannot play as quickly as the piano', and my feelings at the time that the organ was 'misunderstood'. I also recall my music teacher at grammar school (the late Keith Rhodes) playing for us the well-known HMV 'Great Cathedral Organ Series' LP of York Minster, which had just been released, including Cocker's Tuba Tune. That did it for me: I went out and bought a copy, which I still have. John

I know the feeling! John

Excellent. Oops, somebody nudged the camera half-way through! John

I rather like Emerson's piano concerto. John

I, for one, enjoy watching (and re-watching) Series 1 and 2. I should be most grateful if Richard, or someone else 'in the know', would inform us on this site when Series 3 and 4 become available. Do you know which instruments were used on these latter series, Richard? Many thanks John

American, presumably?

Then, of course, there is the well known 'God rest you, merry gentlemen' rather than 'God rest you merry, gentlemen' One assumes the gentlemen in question were drunk. John

I believe that it was mooted to install a new nave organ in York Minster to supplement the screen organ. This would appear to be the only practical solution to the problem of accompanying nave services. Has anyone heard any more of this? John

As there seems to be no 32' reed, could this be a misprint (for Bombarde Basso 32')? John

I think I may have read somewhere that the Flute Allemande (at least its incarnation at Passau Cathedral) was a harmonic conical flute - but at 16'? John

OH NO!!! The forum's back. I've been having some well-needed early nights of late! Well done, Manders. You have been much missed. John

They're not commas! John

I agree. Very watchable. They are BEES though! I, however, paid rather more than that for mine. I wish I'd known. John

Hear, hear. I just went into 'My Controls' and placed myself in the Azores! All is now well, until the board clock is reset. Then I'll move back to the UK. John

Hear, hear. John