Peter Clark

My father's funeral took place at Beckenham Crem last October. I remember thinking then that this a a pretty uninspiring machine. (I wasn't playing it, you understand.) Peter

A google search reveals that he was at Chichester: http://www.organ-biography.info/index.php?...nardFergus_1913

There is a major continuity error in the latest episode (The Vampires of Venice). Towards the end when the Signora/Fish activates the weather adjustment device, there is heavy rain falling on Venice but when Rory is attacked by Francesco/Fish, Amy destroyes him/it (the fish thing) by reflecting the sun onto him/it by her compact mirror. How is the sun shining there when rest of Venice is clouded over? Not a few fans, by the way, have complained about the revamped theme tune.

No doubt the last of your suggestions applies to me!

The Guardian gave it three out of five. The Bach was certainly well-received but the reviewer felt there was an overabundance of transcriptions, though that is certainly TT's normal style. I wasn't there but I was pleased to see he included the Wammes Miroir, a favourite of mine. The last time I heard him was at St John's in Cardiff where, given the location of the console, he was able to introduce each piece he played. Was he able to talk to the audience at Llandaff? Peter

I suppose it might be a "mood" thing. I heard this morning that a chap who lived downstairs from me a couple of years ago had died. We were never bosom buddies but we had a pint together now and then. We shared no interests, though we swapped birthday cards and Christmas cards with a token present but he was fairly young (about 60 as I recall), not too much older than I. Peter

In the RSI pedalling thread, Douglas Corr wrote: too much practice all of a sudden - take days off I just wonder how many professional or semi-professional - or indeed any organist - finds it benefical to take a day or two off now and then? I took a day oiff yesterday and my playing this morning - not in public thankfully - was dreadful. But when I went to the States last year and didn't play for a week on my return my playing was pretty good (for me, that is!). Peter

Yes, and another composer of that era and well worth looking at is John Bennnett. I am currently working on his Voluntary X. No pedals of couse but a most satisfying piece. Peter

I would never refuse a visiting organist - particularly if he or she was giving a recital - permission to change the pistons, but I woull request that they take note of the exisiting settings and either restore them after the recital or leave a note saying precisely what was changed. The strange thing is that in the case I reported above, the first two pistons were left intact and they are setting specific to a particular piece which I would not have thought of as appropriate to what was actually played! Peter

I should have added that you can also export MP7 files into Word. P

I also, like Malcolm, use Music Publisher 7 from Braeburn Software. Its author, Bernard Hill, is an organist as well as a software developer. It costs a mere £100, peanuts conmpared to what the big boys charge. Bernard is a thoroughly nice and very helpful man, and will answer email queries within 48 hours, usually sooner. For choral and intrumental music it can handle part extraction, and for an extra 70 jimmy o'goblins you can get a score reader which allows you to scan in scores which are then converted to MP7 and can be transposed or otherwise edited. Good luck with whatever you decide! Peter

I have had similar experienmces but I have two observations - don't assume that the Handel is "easier" than the Vierne. A technically less demanding work needs as much skill as a harder one to bring off convincingly - it as as question of approach which leads me to point 2: if I read you correctly you may have thought yourself into a situation in which you think the Handel will never be ready for a public performance. It might worth it to have a couple a lessons if for nothing else to get a different perspective. If you hold an appointment your church could be asked for payment for this on grounds of professional development. I am considering doing this for a piece I have been learning on my own for about 6 months (Dupre Cortege et Litanie). Best wishes for both pieces! Peter

Unfortunately I only had about 10 minutes as there was a baprism following the Mass. The dimensions are much the same as the one I play but the stops arelaid out in a strange (to me at least) way. If I remember correctly the great stops are the highest but split either side of the manuals. The sound isd quite severe from the console but it sounded great in the church. Paul Hale did a report on it in a receny issue of OR. I'll be going down to London again soon when I shall have a midweek visit and hopefully have more time. Watch this space. P

not sure - 'twas a long time ago but I suppose I must have been.

Although a Roman Catholic, many yeas ago I was (salaried) DoM in an Anglican church in South London and was elected to the PCC. There seemed to be no problems surrounding my nomination and election. Peter

I was in London at the weekend (and incidentally got to play the new organ in St Etheldreda's Ely Place); there was a concert on Saturday in my own church (St Peter's Cardiff) and wheh I got back and went to play on Tuesday found that my piston settings had been altered. I won't name the organist responsible but his is a well-known name. I know him and I suspect other board members will. Now to me this is a no-no. Or at least he should have taken note of the settings and restored them afterwards. Am I right in this way? I would never dream of doing this in somebody else's church. Another thing - I found out today that Radio 2 are recording in the church this evening. First I have heard about it and once again I feel it would have been polite had whoever is playing the organ to contact me. I ALWAYS approach the resident organist if I am playing in another church. Or am I just a Grumpy Old (well, middle-aged) Man? Peter ps I have now put a notice on the console forbidding changing the piston settings - in BIG LETTERS!

There is a little known Gavotte in g minor, available in a collection published by the New Room, Bristol. Peter

General crescendo pedals I find are a mixed blessing. The first one I encountered was on the Tambourini (I think) in the chapel of the Venerable English College in Rome. It was enormous fun for this then 19-year-old student to play about with it, and as I was there on holiday from my own college in Spain I didn't have to play for liturgies. There is one on the organ in St David's Hall in Cardiff. I played it for a Mass a couple of years back and as I had only half an hour on the instrument before the Mass, and had not time to set pistons, I did find it quite useful. It has a lip to the left side so that if you are opening the swell there is little danger of your foot accidentally engaging the general crescendo too. Somebody - possibly Gordon Reynolds - wrote an hilarious account of a vicar who knew nothing about the organ but thought he did. It seems that the outgoing organist had requested - and got - a "Great to Pedal Pistons combined" and the vicar, interviewing a potential new organist, said how much it had improved the organ's tone - "wonderful to hear those Great Pistons thumping away" or something. Loved the Halleluia Chorus by the way! Reminds me of that famous account of the opening passage of Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathushtra when it would seem that the organ was tuned - why nobody knows - a semitone above concert pitch, which nobody had bothered to check on before the concert.... Peter

Can I wish everyone a happy and holy Easter and once again thank John and Rachel for their hosting this forum for us. Peter

John, suggest you post this to Facebook and any other sites where organists &c are likely to be gathered together. Thanks for postingtthis anyway. There are as you will know dedicated organ and organist groups and pages on such sites. Peter

I need this in an organ arangement for a wedding in 2 weeks time. Does anybody know of a decent one which could be more or less sight-read? (I've pretty much worked it out anyway but would rather not leave it to chance. Thanks Peter

Is this a recent innovation? I swear that when I took grade 8 piano - admittedly nearly 40 years ago - I missed merit by one mark. Peter

I hope that is not the case (and indeed it should not be). Mine, who played it, got merit, missing distinction by one mark. P

Or the groom - that happened once to me and I was getting a trifle worried as I was due to play another wedding in another church later that day where a friend from university was getting married. He ws 3/4 hour late! Fortunately I was able to get the my friend's wedding in time. But the best of the lot was when the priest was late! Bride and father were waiting at the door of the church while he was, unvested, lighting the candles and checking the books were open at the right page and during all this I was trying to keep the congregation entertained - with decreasing enthusiasm and, I'm sure, equally decreasing success! Peter

The Walker I played in London about 20 years ago had tab stops and a double touch canceller was one of the playing aids, as a tab; I suspect this is a Walker innovation since I had never seen one before. I've never seen it as a drawstop. Peter