Pierre Lauwers

YESSSS! Fine, Davidh The Prelude is N° 26, the Cantabile the N° 9 (first link). Pierre

I copied the sound files on CDs, so I could listen to them in the living-room (NAD amplifier, B&W loudspeakers, Koss electrostatic Helmet), and noted just two things: 1)- The mixture work seems to be exceptionally well balanced. 2)- The organ seems to be "throttled", I mean, it seems "the wind does not follow". Maybe this is what Mr Mander says while writing "needs to be brought to its potential". I know we may be confident he will advocate for the preservation of all that historical "Substanz". Pierre

Here is a list featuring the original editions: http://users.belgacom.net/gc442020/lemmens...ex-lemmens.html ....With that, it is possible to commence to search. Free to download there is but few things save the "Fanfare"... I open a thread on the french forum about these scores. Pierre

"Beck the Swell had no Oboe and no strings but practically every conceivable mutation and a mixture that would sound excessively high-pitched to Arp Schnitger; the Great had no proper 8' Diapason that could be played, though the pipes were still in the case! The major force at 8' was a phenomenally pervasive (and mounted) Quintade 8'." (Quote) :lol: This said, such things we have by the dozens in Belgium.... ....With a side effect: the revival of the romantic organ! Pierre

Since the end of the last month, 2009 May, there is a Conacher organ (17 stops upon two manuals, built round 1900) in the Godelievekerk in Roeselare (Western Flanders). The organ was re-erected by Paul Andriessen, from Menen, successor to the Anneessens family of organ-builders. See here (in dutch, but with a picture and the specifications): http://www.orgelkunst.be/wcms/modules/news...php?storyid=301 Has anyone an idea where this organ could came from ? Pierre

That is good news ! Thanks for sharing, Pierre

There is no need for scholar articles; whenever one hears a Trost organ, or a Wagner organ (already mid-way between northern an central german), it is obvious their mixtures aren't intended to be imponed upon the public for more than a few minutes at a time, even with a full church. Bach and northern organs; Bach did not travel that much. While studying in Lüneburg, he heard a Niehoff organ Schnitger ranked like Worcester's was in 2006, that is, just good enough for the scrapyard. Later he happened to hear and play one or two Schnitgers, and that was it. He played central german organs 99,9% of his lifetime. The idea "he would have preffered the northern stuff" is 150% a neo-baroque one; an idea that, if taken over, allows us to pretend whatever we want. Franck, for instance, as from Gemmenich origin (a frontier village with a dialect close to mine's), could have preffered a western german romantic organ, say a Stahlhuth, a pupil of Merklin while in Brussels, and whose workshop was in the Aachen area. Or a Peereboom & Leyser (pupils of Hyppolite Loret) from Maastricht. De Grigny would surely have preffered to be played on a Le Picard organ (Liège), because this family of builders still build after the 1690 french manner up to the end of the 18th century... ....And so I earn Franck and Grigny back in my backyard in three sentences, just by borrowing the way of the neo-baroque tribe. Halas this is not serious...At all. "Listening to the mixtures in the Fugue reminded me of the (for me) strange idea of Harald Vogel that Buxtehude et al used reeds in polyphony and mixtures in non-polyphony." (Quote) This is not so strange, if one remembers the northern german organ and the french baroque organ share the same origin, that is, the brabanter organ. And both share a particularity: they have quint mixtures. These are NOT used for the polyphony in the french organ, with which fugues are played on the reeds. Bright, quite "free toned" reeds are to be found in northern organs as well. Mr Vogel also wrote the big Schnitger mixtures, along with the powerfull Pedal basses, are intended to acompany congregationnal singing -which fills precisely the gap at 8'-. The french organ has virtually no Pedal save a 8' Trompette, but this one had not to acompany any singing at all. Pierre

I do not know of one interpretation of the BWV 443 that I like, and this one, though efforts towards something different than the usual neo-baroque recipes, is no exception. The attempts to provide life ends up with instable tempi, and the fugue is still two times too fast. The registration is extremely well conceived, with some variations, and avoiding to use mixtures all the time. This goes in an interesting direction. But I would prefer another organ for Bach. They have the "Saunders" now in the U.S. (the Casparini copy), they should use it first would any attempt to a reference interpretation be made in Bach. This interpretation of the Liszt's piano transcription deserves interest; I think this could be interesting for organists: Pierre

With the Double Open on the Great and a complete Full Swell if one uses the octave couplers, this is no surprise... Meursault sounds very well indeed. I gave the link on the french forum, where it meets with much interest. Mutin becomes much appreciated nowadays. Pierre

Because of the Tuba maybe ? Pierre

"The B-Minor prelude, played by van Tricht after the Straube edition, is foundations throughout, quite slow and melancholic, as if played by a large string orchestra." (Quote) The organ of Bach's time was not an "anti-romantic" one, like the neo was; it was in search of the romantic sound. It is often completely overlooked that Casparini built two celestes in an organ in 1700 already...Such stops were very common in Bach's area up to about 1780, when a puritan fashion shed them in the shade for nearly a century; then, oooops, the "Voix céleste" appeared, as if from nowhere, a "typical romantic" stop.... Dass ich nicht lache... Besides this, Bach's musical textures obviously appeal for a kind of orchestral sound, nor a "northern" one, nor a "romantic" one: a baroque orchestra. But whenever we think "orchestra", we think Wagner (Richard, not Joachim!), and we err, as always. This baroque orchestra had indeed strings....As the organs Bach played, and not vaguely stringy Principals like Silbermann's, but rather like those, splendid, we still have in the Fux organ in Fürstenfeld: nearly as stringy as a 1890 Sauer's... http://www.viscardi-ffb.de/denkmal_fuerste...SabiSandra.html So that version you mention might be, from an historic point of view, more accurate than many others, later ones, up to one important point: the Crescendo-Decrescendo was not possible that way with the organs of that period, of course. Pierre

I heard it about 20 years ago, so I do not know if it is the same today. As someone already said here, it benefits from a generous acoustics, and this enhances any organ. Besides this -but for sure dependant upon it- there is nothing screaming there. The upperwork fits with the foundation without standing out. And this is important in a time when the players are used to draw the loudest mixtures about 90% of the time in baroque music. It is not original, indeed. I know of another one in the same case, the Aa-kerk, Groningen, which ranks quite high in my own "little pets list" ! Here is a video which conveys a closer idea to this organ as it sounds "in the flesh" (I may disagree with the playing, but I intend to document the organ): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmaT5QxhVqs...feature=related I am somewhat surprised with the strong ascendency in strenght in the tierce combination, though (first part); it is as if those stops were meant as a Grand Cornet, i.e., intended to work with a reed chorus. It think this may be caused by the microphone siting, and I do not remember such "harshness". But otherwise this video is relatively fair. Here is the Website of the organ: http://www.garrelsorgelmaassluis.nl/start.htm (click on the picture to enter) Pierre

""This Prelude, with its mournful and pathetic cadences, always seems to me to have been written more for the strings of the Orchestra than the Organ, and I always play it in a more or less orchestral way on the soft string-toned stops." (Quote) Such stops Bach had on the organs he played in his own area... Pierre

Though there are things I like (the touch, well detached, with some air between the notes), I disagree with the registration (as nearly always) and with the phrasing. Short values are too short, some long values are too long, and one lacks the "declamation", I mean the "sense of the whole discourse", and get confused. General tempo too fast for me (as always). And yes, again, I'd try something more eastwards as an organ (as always...) Pierre

I did: it is a really outstanding organ. Pierre

If you ask them, Klais would certainly build something like this: http://www.klais.de/m.php?tx=70 (I would!!!) More here about this organ (in german, but with some pictures): http://www.st-elisabeth-bonn.de/t3v415/index.php?id=75 The Fernwerk was installed by Klais in 1989, since WWI blocked the fundings, and the Orgelbewegung forbidded such things afterwards.... So, 1989, this Fernwerk was added. Then, an electronic combinator (Setzer) was asked for. Klais installed it with an interface to the original, preserved pneumatic action. Needless to say, if I dare present it here, it is because I was convinced, in Situ, with the tone ! This is one of my preffered late romantic (to the verge of post-romantism) german organs, with some by Oscar Walcker and the Link organs in Giegen and Andernach (near Koblenz). A builder capable of restoring such a thing like that demonstrates two things: 1)- The founder's tradition is still alive (as S. Bicknell wrote too); 2)- He is a good builder ! So it is up to the customer to decide what he wants. If the customer wants an ecclectic organ, Klais will do it. Ask them for something else. Once! Pierre

An intimate vision of the orchestral organ: Pierre

"Hans Gerd Klais took the Klais style in a certain direction, this style peaked around 1975 with organs in Ingolstadt and Trier. " (Quote) ....But it is not sure it was his preffered one. He much admired the late-romantic style, a style with which the very house Klais began.

Dear Bazuin, I agree with you save for one point: Klais ! I learned quite much from Hans-Gerd Klais, especially about romantic organs. By the way, Eule Orgelbau is busy building a new organ for the Mercator-Halle in Duisburg which could surprise much people here. I shall give the specifications when it will be available on-line... Pierre

There is an Engler organ which is by far best preserved than Olomuc's. See here, with even Videos: http://www.mander-organs.com/discussion/in...?showtopic=2049 Pierre

"no contracts in Germany or France ever seem to go to 'foreign' firms." (Quote) Here again, it depends of the funding. German builders like Ahrend, Klais and Grenzing work in France. Thomas of Belgium too (and he has got the contract for the Monaco Cathedral). Kern of France often works in Germany, where the swiss builders are much appreciated and have much work. The problems commence whenever public money is concerned ! As for the british builders, the potential is there -see the numbers of used organs exported from Britain to Europe-. The victorian style fits extremely well in the today's trends in Europe. Pierre

Look and hear what they have, and what they play, in Little Rock, Arkansas: ....And this is by no way an huge organ. See here: http://www.nicholsandsimpson.com/first1.htm Pierre

The answer to your question is on the french forum, on the Florence (IT) topic. Pierre.

1)- Then, why are british builders never at work in Europe save in quite isolated cases ? 2)-"Would Willis have done as good a job for the same money?" (Quote) This very question is symptomatic of a problem!!! (The Austin Montego syndrome?) That Willis would have done as well Klais would not question for a minute. I see here symptoms of a disease we know quite well in remote southern Belgium, and at work already in western Midlands sometimes: Provincialism. It can be summarized so: -We are little guys. -What we have is worthless. -Our only redeem is to copy Brussels (or London, for example...) -What we need is the same toys as theirs in Brussels -The guys from here are peasants, don't listen to them. ....As for the results: see the Severn joke on another thread. Pierre (joking, but not that much).

Indeed: "Rejoice in the water, ye canticles bins and toasters, that ye decay in particles, join Bristol an then vanish into the sea". (Traditional belgian hymn) Pierre