Peter Clark

This Walker resembles somewhat the Walker I used to play when I was in London. I suspect they are from roughly the same time. There is a similar instrument in Llantarnum Abbey, and another in St Wulstun's, Fleetwood and no doubt plenty more..... http://npor.rcm.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi?...ec_index=N16103 To go back to the original thread, however, the very first organ LP I bought was Alan Wicks at Canterbury in the Great Cathedral Organ series. Peter

Another misprint? First movement (The soul of the lake) bar three 3rd quaver LH - the d should be flattened (compare the Novello edition to the one from Bardon). Peter

I thought today's broadcast one of the best I have heard for a long time, and it was genuinely moving, a fine match of words and music. Even the "Make me a channel" was upliftingly performed (though I was a little uneasy about "One more step" despite the presenter's justification of it - but it was a good arrangement).

Does anybody play this delightful suite? The last of these movements, Hymn to the Stars, is in B major; at bar 4 should the left hand chord not be an A natural though? It is on the sound-card "recording" (provided by the publisher) but not the score I have in front of me. See: www.bardon-music.com/music.php?id=BE00327-7&lang=en&curr=usd Thanks Peter

Yes I looked it up on Musicroom. It is interestiing to look at the "poeple who bought this also bought..." section, and it seems that at least one person who bought this also bought Music from the Star Wars Trilogy! Peter

You forgot "prepared for" Peter

Thanks. Bernadette Farrell, of course. I knew it had to be one of the Thomas More group. In fact, and this is disturbing, I actually played it at a teachers' Mass about 6 months ago. My memory is going rapidly. Why? (No - not too much tonic, please ) Peter

I have a couple of photographs of the organ I'd like to add to the entry on the NPOR - what please is the best way of going about getting them to the NPOR and getting them attached to the entry? Thanks Peter

A great improvement! I liked the descant and reharmonisation of Was Lebet - also the second piece the choir sang - contemporary - anybody know what it was? It sounded to me like something Christopher Walker might have written. Cheers

To mark the end of Christmas last week I sent them home to the Raiders of the Lost Ark march! (Busked from a piano score, but I still think it counts as a transcription - I used in a few monhths ago for a children's "meet the organ" evening.) And I've got the Dr Who theme...... Peter

Thanks everybody. This means a radical rethink from my youthful performances when I seemed to change manual and registration every other semiquaver ! The idea of keeping the same reg throughout attracts me (and makes life easier) though would a small mixture (or even a large) be out of place? My current thinking is: Gt Princ. 8 Octave 4 Octave 2 Mixture IV Ped Princ. 16 coupled to Sw 16 Basson But maybe less is more.... Thanks again Peter

Although seemingly straighforward, this comparatively short fugue is packed with delightful things, not least the wonderful stretto near the end. My problem, ladies and gentlemen, is how many, if at all, registration changes should be made, and where. The semiquaver passage at the end of page 1 (I use Novello for this) seems to require something a little lighter than the opening. But I am concerned as to the "authenticity" of this. In the passage that follows, a "duet" between LH and pedals, should the registration be as at first, leading to the wonderful re-introduction of the opening subject in the RH? That's just for starters. Any thoughts on this would be welcome. (I first learnt it on a 2-manual Walker extension but now I have something a little bigger to play with I don't want to register just for the sake of it - I think it sounds quite effective played staight through on the same registration.) Toodle-pip Peter

Although I had not been told in advance, the priest at one Mass preached on recent convert's devotion to the Virgin Mary, and that the only words that this new Christian could think of was the Gershwin song "Lady be Good". I therefore played a variation on this during the offertory procession. Afterwards the priest asked to have a word with me. Fearing the worst, I engaged him in small talk and them he congratulated me on what he called "creative liturgy". Peter

Yes we have a "family Mass" once a month which sometimes ends up like cabaret with sacraments thrown in as an afterthought. The school runs it; I avoid it. One of my young choristers (aged 10) goes to that school and was told off by a teacher for going to the 11.00 (Sung) Mass rather than the 9.30 (family) Mass. "But I'm in the choir," said young Lydia, and good on you, thought I !! Peter

There is a particularly awkward one on page 3, bar 4 (I think) when the left hand holds first a B & G# (thumb and 2nd) and then the 3rd and 5th fingers join with D# and lower G#. I think that if you had a sequencer that low G# could be played by the foot coupled up, provided you adjust the registration for the proper pedal entry in the next bar! Back to a question I asked earlier about this piece: what if you don't have a pedalboard that goes to G? The G appears twice (I think) in the entire piece, so is it legitimate to substitute a G an octave lower? Indeed what is the general rule, if there is one, here? Thanks Peter

All I can say is - oh dear. Peter

Thank you very much for your kind offer - it is much appreciated. Peter

Yes, this duplication seems unnecessary. I have one CRB check which covers me for the choir (there are children and one "vulnerable adult"), the parish amateur dramatics group (I was MD for a number of years) but not the Brownies and Rainbows as the Guiding Association insists on a seperate check. This despite the fact that this is a parish Brownies and Rainbows unit, which meets on parish-owned property and Brown Owl happens to be my "significant other" (don't you hate that phrase?) and it is further complicated in that four of the choir are Brownies! So when they are in chorister mode, the parish CRB covers me; when I go to the Brownies/Rainbows to teach them some music, presumably the Guiding Association CRB takes over. Peter

There were two consoles to the old organ, the balcony which, as you say, was not connected, and a newish one downstairs by the Sacred Heart chapel. This console is now in our organ tuner's workshop. Pipework from the old instrument has been distributed throughout various worthy causes (including the St Peter's Brownies!). The new organ is tracker, with console back up on the west gallery. If you're in Cardiff again look me (and it) up! Peter

Indeedy-doody! Small world! Peter

The "middle voluntary" seems to be a feature of Scandinavian worship: when I was a Denmark and Sweden a few years ago I went to a few services and the organist often played between the readings and the sermon - not just a 30 second improvisation while the priest finds his homily but a piece lasting sometimes 4 - 5 minutes. (I knew nothing of this tradition some twenty years ago when I was organist for the Finnish church in London, however. ) Peter

I've introduced the Caccini Ave Maria and it has gone down well at weddings and funerals. In fact we will be using it on Saturday at a memorial service. (Avoid the K**** M***** version!) Peter

Is the structure (RH melody, LH sparse chording at least initially) of the litanie possibly the model for Langlais Incantation, which itself has as its second subject a litany? (Langlais was a pupil of Dupre). Indeed, was Dupre's own litanie subject taken from an earlier source? The words Kyrie Eleison fit perfectly to it, and Langlais' work uses the Kyrie Eeison from the Litany to the Saints. Peter PS (editing): also, the last page of the Litanie, with its alternate RH/LH semiquaver chords resembles the last two pages of the Incntation, I think.

I have used the Pasticcio by June Nixon from this book to amused effect - I had a game of "hidden melody" and "hidden composer" with it! Peter

Yes, I play a few of these pieces. The album Swing Gently contains two pieces I am fond of: A Meditation by Simon Lesley and At the River by June Nixon. Soloing the Stops has a good piece called Tubas on Parade by John Marsh, which I have used for brides' entries. I agree, and I have said before on this board, that neither the composers nor the publisher would probably make claims that this is "great" music but it is very useful. Minbd you, in my opinioon Mayhew has been responsible for some dross, including some of the hymnals which still include the dreadful Israeli Mass and similar things. Peter