Paul Walton

TWO NEW VOLUMES OF EXCITING HYMN ARRANGEMENTS NEWLY PUBLISHED, AVAILABLE NOW Arranged by Paul Walton DESCANTS ARE FOR LIFE* [* not just for Christmas] Add some of that festive fizz to hymn singing all year round with this volume of 140 descants to 125 hymns. The arrangements can be used as descants, or the organ parts serve as last verse harmonisations as well. In addition, 22 of the hymns have parts for full choir. The volume is available in three editions: Full Music, with organ and choir parts in full; Choir, with full music for the singers (no organ part) Lower Voice, a smaller volume containing the 22 arrangements with parts for full choir The book is available physically, or as a digital download. For full contents, FAQs, sample scores and recordings, see: quiresandplaces.co.uk The volume is available until 13 February as a Kickstarter project: pledgers enjoy discounted copies and your name will be printed in the Full Music Edition. Postage to the UK is free as part of the Kickstarter, shipping to the EU, US and Australia is charged at cost. Visit kickstarter.com/projects/quiresandplaces/descants-are-for-life now for these early bird offers. From 14 February 2024, the volume will be available to purchase exclusively from Quires and Places. --------- But wait, there’s more. Organists get something extra… FOR THE LAST VERSE This volume contains 160 last verse organ accompaniments to 135 hymn tunes. There is no duplication with Descants are for Life - around 50 tunes appear in both books, but enjoy entirely different treatments in this volume. FOR THE LAST VERSE is available either as a physical copy (at a discount) or a digital download as part of the Kickstarter above. From 14 February 2024, the volume will be available to purchase exclusively from Quires and Places. --------- For Kickstarter or sales enquiries contact: Tim Popple (Kickstarter Campaign Manager, founder Quires & Places) tim@quiresandplaces.co.uk For musical queries contact: Paul Walton (arranger) pauldwalton@hotmail.com

A fascinating spec and very creative response to the challenges of the space. It's new and forward looking but with clear influence from the past. It's clearly designed to do the three jobs of a Cathedral organ: accompany the choir - plenty of foundation, enclosed soft 16s (including a reed), enclosed Clarinet, 32' tone - all the things the 1971 organ didn't have. Yes, we all prefer two enclosed divisions but if there's no space, there's no space. support the congregation - the 1971 organ by the nature of its sound gave the impression of being very loud but actually struggled to support a full building and was criticised almost immediately for this. play repertoire - although third on the list, still clearly thought about. This is definitely making a statement as a 21st century Cathedral organ, not harking back to an early 20th, and acknowledging that (despite its shortcomings) there was good in the 1971 organ. Undoubtedly the right way for Gloucester with its varied history. I'm glad it's the flute mutations that are enclosed, for Alain, Messiaen, etc - there's no repertoire to my knowledge that calls for enclosed principal mutations. And all that in so little a space. Many hours must have been spent. I'm sure some might like such things as a Pedal Mixture or Great Cornet, but in that space what is there will be used far more often than they ever would. Forgive yet more questions, but two thoughts, if I may (I'm sure they've already been considered): Might having the Voix H available on the Solo to combine with the Clarinette give a more convincing Cromorne to dialogue against the Sw cornet? I can't see a way of having a 4' reed on the pedal for the right foot if the pedal divide is being used. Maybe impossible (and maybe not wanted!) as the soft Solo reeds are borrowed from the Swell, but could a Solo Octave to Pedal (which we're having a bit further down the M5!) make that work? Very much looking forward to hearing and hopefully playing it in a few years. Congratulations! Paul

Thanks, Dave. Just one correction - the last chance to hear the organ will be the 10:00 Eucharist on Christmas Day, where I’ll be playing her out to the Widor Toccata. Paul

No Gloria

It doesn't seem to be available to buy over here (I tried earlier in the year but Wayne Leupold has no UK distributor). If anyone knows otherwise, please let me know. Paul

Three ranks now but not sure of composition. 2' replaced with Fifteenth, and new pipework for Oboe and Clarion. Paul

Flourish for an Occasion, Harris

Photos I've seen were posted by Sean Tucker but not sure if they're public. Paul

The NPOR spec isn't entirely accurate - photographs of the console on Facebook show a Pedal Clarion and Choir Tuba (as well as the Orchestral Trumpet).

Just to clarify, the electronic isn't fully installed - the main speakers will go on a platform yet to be built which will be opposite the pipe organ. The documents were part of the CFCE application - there is to be a small expansion of the pipe organ stoplist (mostly putting back elements of the 1907 scheme lost over time) but there's no redundant pipework involved that I know of - unless anyone knows what happened to our Choir Clarinet in 1947! Paul

As part of the 1990 work. The Gt Fourniture was added on a clamp onto the higher pressure soundboard. The Ch Piccolo was fitted onto the existing soundboard. The new pedal stops (Trumpet 8, Fifteenth 4, top octave of Cello 8) are on new chests. Paul

It was me - the programme was all pieces based on Come Holy Ghost (Bach, Buxtehude, de Grigny, Duruflé) and a wind trunk burst after the Bach, so the rest of the recital was accompanied by a great gust of wind. The wind of the Spirit also put in an appearance next time I played the Bach - it was during Covid so I had photocopied sheets to avoid needing a page turner and the last page blew off the music desk. It's clearly jinxed! Paul

That's the one. Paul W

Interesting to read these comments just as a new historical consultancy has been set up by one of our layclerks: https://scenespan.com/ Paul

Thanks for the Love Unknown recommendation - I've not played it but clearly should, as I've got the book. There's also a nice Cantilena in the Centenary Album of the Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside Organists' Association. Thanks for the plug for the hymn arrangements - let's hope for an opportunity to use some of them before too long! Paul

The tracks on Apple are in the wrong order - what you get when you preview the Impromptu is the Arabesque (track 7). Click track 11 (listed as first movement of Sonata Giocosa) for the Impromptu! Paul

I've played quite a lot of FJ in recent years, so hope this will help. Good starting points would be: Three Pieces (op.17) - the outer pieces Procession and Pageant are very useful voluntaries Seven Pieces (op.84) - there is a Praeludium written in Leipzig as homage to JSB, and an Intrada with echoes of Walton's Belshazzar Acklam Pieces (op.141) - I play the opening Fanfare, Reverie on a theme of Ravel, and Aria Celtica (a prelude on 'Slane') Prelude on East Acklam (his own tune) from Five Preludes on English Hymn Tunes All the above are quite approachable in terms of both musical language and technical difficulty, and work well on a variety of organs. After those, Sonata No.6 is probably the first big piece to go to - satisfying and probably not as difficult as most of the others - the last movement is fun, a gigue written at about age 87! The Impromptu (op.5) is very fine - written for Bairstow's 70th birthday though with the York organ in mind, making full use of the various Tubas (enclosed and unenclosed) Probably the most satisfying big pieces are: Toccata, Chorale and Fugue (op.16) - an ingenious piece, particularly the fugue on a very quirky subject but ideally needs a big Tuba at the end Sonata No.1 (op.35) - written for the opening of the Blackburn organ in 1970 and so needs that kind of colour, i.e. a reasonable selection of mutations and soft reeds, plus a big reed for the last movement. Paul Walton

The Solo has always had the octave couplers but, as Philip Moore has said, in recent times they have not affected the Mirabilis. Robert Sharpe has implied in the other thread that this will still be the case post restoration. The only possible use for them I can think of would be when using the Pedal Divide, to have the Mirabilis in the right foot, sounding an octave higher, though this would require a Solo Octave to Pedal coupler. Paul

The Sumsion arrangements were OUP and are now archive, so try Banks. Paul

Apologies for reviving a very old thread, but a Google search on this organ has brought me here! As the recently appointed University Organist, I am due to be hosting a visit to and giving a talk on this organ next month. All I know is what's on NPOR. I'd be extremely grateful if anyone could furnish me with a copy of the David Drinkell article mentioned above. Paul Walton

Howells grew up with the pre-Harrison Gloucester, but the 1920 - 1970 incarnation became his favourite instrument (then Durham and St Mary Redcliffe) and he dedicated the Six Pieces to Sumsion so they would be played on it. Paul

Not rare enough to be an exception though: York (1832) Newcastle (1883) St Paul's (1872) Salisbury (1876) Peterborough (1894) Westminster Abbey (1895) Southwark (1897) Lincoln (1903) Winchester (1905) Chester (1908) Ely (1908) Lichfield (1908) Glasgow (1909) Hereford (1909) and Durham prepared for in 1905, though not put in until 1935. I always use the Mag Gloria to judge whether the choir is strong enough to take the (in my case 16') reed at the end of the Nunc. Paul

'The Organs of York Minster' lists the Swell Open Diapason becoming the Voce Umana along with the reinstating of the Solo and part of the Pedal in 1972 following work on the building. 'The Organs and Organists of Ely Cathedral' doesn't mention the Fiffaro before 1975. However, it does mention work done in 1956 (Choir flues transposed into a cornet) and 1962 (repair work and revoicing of reeds). Arthur Wills, in his book 'Organ' (Menuhin Music Guides) discusses the retuning of two Choir flues to become Unda Maris and Fiffaro in the same paragraph as the cornet, and implies this was all done before the 1962 work. Paul

Most 20th century organs have registration aids. If the ones that don't are either historic copies from which we can learn how things were done in a certain period, or can be reasonably expected to only perform music pre-c.1850 that doesn't require registration aids, then no problem. If neither of these is the case, then whatever the sound of and however musical the instrument, failure to provide registration aids of some description (hardly a new fangled idea) is at best misguided and at worst sheer dogma, particularly on consoles of different design to the English Romantic console. If for example (from experience) you build a 2-manual organ for a church that has an annual festival that includes such things as Dyson in D and Britten Missa Brevis and Festival Te Deum then you should include playing aids. Bangs and crashes from stops going in and out by hand (and the contortions of the player in order to get to them) may be amusing for the choir, but are hardly conducive to high level corporate music making.

I think 'no tonal alterations or revoicing' covers it. And unless it was meant to be a historic copy, it's an organ of the 20th century, and 20th century organs have registration aids because the music they are required to play (accompaniments and repertoire) requires them.