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davidh

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Everything posted by davidh

  1. I like long messages, and if the first few lines are not interesting I give myself permission to skip the rest. I do NOT like messages which quote long earlier message in their entirety. (hint, hint). David
  2. "Hark, the herald angels sing" might be near the top of the list, but both the writer of the words and the composer of the music would have disapproved of what we sing now. In 1739 Charles Wesley published a hymn which began Hark! how all the welkin rings, Glory to the King of Kings It was perhaps because not many people knew what a “welkin” was, or perhaps because the tune used then wasn’t very inspiring, that it didn’t achieve great popularity. John Wesley wrote, “Many Gentlemen have done my brother and me (though without naming us) the honour to reprint many of our hymns. Now they are perfectly welcome to do so, provided they print them just as they are. But I desire that they would not attempt to mend them – for they really are not able. None of them is able to mend either the sense or the verse. Therefore I must beg the one of these two favours: either to let them stand just as they are, to take them for better for worse; or to add the true reading in the margin, or at the bottom of the page; that we may no longer be accountable either for the nonsense or doggerel of other men.” Martin Madan and George Whitfield published a new version of it in 1767, with the first lines changed to Hark! the Herald Angels sing Glory to the new-born King ! Other music was tried, including Handel’s See the Conqu’ring hero comes, and it is still sung to that tune in Ireland. In 1840 Felix Mendelssohn wrote the music for a secular cantata to celebrate Gutenberg, the inventor of printing. The cantata was first presented at the great festival held at Leipzig. The lyrics (probably just as bad in the original German), went something like this:- Fatherland, once a golden day dawned in your regions Bringing dawn to your people, Germany, Gutenberg, a German came, Gutenberg, a German came, It was he who lit the flame, Gutenberg, a German came, It was he who lit the flame. Festgesang's second chorus, "Vaterland, in deinem Gauen", was adapted in 1855 by William Hayman Cummings. Mendelssohn said of the song that it could be used with many different choruses but that it should not be used for sacred music. This may be because the melodic and harmonic structure of the tune are similar to the Gavotte of Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 4; indeed Mendelssohn (who has always been linked with the music of Bach) may simply have adapted Bach's music for his chorus, as was suggested by Nigel Poole with his (transposed) arrangement of the Gavotte as Bach's Christmas Carol.
  3. If you are happy with soundfonts and Jeux, there is a Zimbelstern there which starts, runs and, when turned off, slows down and stops in a convincing way.
  4. See http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1qdqu/Chi...esources/46.htm for an organ which is available free for a church which can arrange the cost of collection. (The advert is misleadingly under a "For Sale" heading.) This appears to be from St Marys, Felpham, Sussex, see http://www.npor.org.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi...ec_index=E00717
  5. The organ has been restored by Reil and will be inaugurated on Friday 14th October. For more information about the inauguration festival: take a look at http://schnitgersdroom.nl There will also be a new recording of the instrument, see http://www.orgelnieuws.nl/wcms/modules/new...hp?storyid=4528 See also http://schnitgersdroom.nl/
  6. Truly a "Voix Mystique" in the John Cage tradition.
  7. That is ORYX EXP 5. Three anon faburdens and a Tiento by Peraza at Covarrubias, Spain. Scheidt at Frederikborg Palace, Denmark. Louis Marchand on a Cliquot at Souvigny Purcell at Adlington Hall. Handel on a claviorganum Samuel Wesley at Rotherhithe, Pachelbel at Trebel. Buxtehude at Steinkirchen. J S Bach at Neuenfelder. J S Bach at Arlesheim. Played by Chaplet, Chapuis, Jackson, Michael Thomas, Danby, Helmut Winter, Saorgin, Schonstedt, and Rogg. It probably cost me at least £1.
  8. When I posted that comment it must have been an unconscious quote from "Organ-isms", Jenny Setchell's book. 'the Vicar told the organist: "The trouble with you is you are a perfectionist - your music is too good. How do you think it makes the man in the pew feel?" ' The organist joked about making some mistakes, and the Vicar replied, "Well, yes, actually, that would help. Yes, a good idea - play some wrong notes."
  9. BBC South East News today has shown a piece about F H Browne and Sons which celebrates 140 years in business. Perhaps that item will be repeated at 22.25 - 22.35 this evening. The workshop is open 10am to 4pm, Friday 2nd and Saturday 3rd September, demonstrating various techniques including pipemaking, voicing and restoration work. Refreshments available to all. The Old Cartwright School The Street, Ash, Canterbury CT3 2AA
  10. davidh

    Descant search

    Re another descant. Several have been published for "Westminster Abbey" (Christ is made the sure foundation). Does anyone know which was the one used at Princess Margaret's wedding - and perhaps for other royals since?
  11. T P asked for "the rule". There are many explanations for particular ways of pronouncing words, with so many inconsistencies that it is difficult to speak or "rules", but in this particular case the word originated with the Spanish (or possibly Portuguese) and their pronunciation might have been carried over. The Oxford English Dictionary recognises that both the "ee" and "eye" pronunciations have been used by English speakers.
  12. Perhaps that was an invitation to play a lot of wrong notes - but would he have noticed the difference?
  13. I have been embarrassed (in a capacity other than that of organist) of receiving a cheque from undertakers who had neither tried to negotiate a fee with me nor to check and find out that it is not the custom of my denomination for anyone to accept payment for assisting at a funeral. The family did not want the money back, so I passed it on to the charity of their choice, not realising that I should have informed the tax inspector that this was technically my income. If the same situation were to occur again, I would return the cheque to the undertaker, informing them that they did not have my permission to collect fees on my behalf, and suggesting that the fee should be returned to the family.
  14. May I, without undue irreverence, wonder what God prefers to hear at His services?
  15. I attend a bi-monthly group at which people share their choice of recording, and on each occasion I find it difficult to make a choice from my collection of more than 1,000 CDs. Choosing eight to last me a lifetime would not be easy, but the first would have to be Piet Kee playing the Buxtehude D minor Passacaglia at the St Laurens Kerk, Alkmaar. Orchestral records would be a much harder choice, and at one time I would have taken the Oistrakh's recording of the Bach Double Violin Concerto, in spite of its unhistoric approach, but I grew tired of its mannerisms, and couldn't settle on any other recording, so I would take the score and enjoy perfect virtual performances. The Chaconne from Bach's solo violin Partita in D minor is another essential, and I think that there is at least one recording that I could live with. Sorry, I have rather a thing about D minor - but a wonderful thing about the island is that I would never have to hear the dreaded BWV565 ever again!
  16. I couldn't resist the temptation to rewind the tape tonight, and the organ is clearly the one in the Protestant church.
  17. The picture just flashed by, and I must have a look at the recorded programme tomorrow, but if I remember correctly, the organ looked like this: http://fleury2.free.fr/temples/temples/brumath.htm
  18. This was an improbable project! By its nature, improvisations did not use written music, and only occasionally were organ improvisations written down afterwards. Recording only started at a time when, with a few exceptions, improvisation was only for filling in. The organist is a young Bavarian, so how can he be well informed on the history and techniques of improvisation in England over the last 500 years, and does he speak intelligible English? So how did the project succeed? Brilliantly on all counts! Ronny Krippner talks about and demonstrates improvisations in the style of Tallis, Byrd, Purcell, Handel, Sawyer, Howells, Mathias, and Leighton, using appropriate organs. The project would be just as useful as a history of the styles of English organ building, using the Wetheringsett organ, Adlington Hall, St Lawrence at Little Stanmore, Bristol Cathedral, Liverpool Cathedral and Kingston Parish Church. The DVD contains an 85 minute film, with the talk inevitably containing only parts of some improvisations, but there is another 35 minutes at the end with the improvisations complete. This is one of the new style DVDs, without the usual style of label - both sides look as though they are the wrong way up! In fact it is dual sided; put it in the player one way up and it is PAL, and the other way is NTSC. The music is also included on a separate CD. This project was up against some stiff competition. Michell Chapuis' DVDs on French Baroque, French Romantic and German Baroque are exemplary, while the previous Fugue State Films have been of exceptionally high standards. The set on English Improvisation is not inferior to the others. My one complaint is about the packaging. Dozens of DVD producers have designed different ways of fitting two disks into a box. This set uses yet another, the worst that I have seen. It's not unusual for disks to be very tightly held on their pegs, but in this case the CD has to be levered off to get to the DVD - any attempt to remove the DVD on its own is likely to scrape the lower playing surface. They cost £28.50, and full details can be found at http://www.fuguestatefilms.co.uk/extempore/default.html
  19. My thanks to various contributors for suggestions. I will follow them up and see what I can buy. David
  20. I should list a few that I do know about: Den Hertog http://www.hertog.nl/ Boeijenga http://www.muziekhandel-boeijenga.nl/ de Pelgrim www.depelgrim.nl Gebr. Koster http://www.gebrkoster.nl/ Con Passione www.con-passione.nl (foreign orders are handled by Den Hertog) Wim Zwart http://www.wimzwart.nl/ http://www.stolkorgels.nl/bladmuziek.php The Vink Music Store in Groeningen is no longer trading. http://www.feike-asma.com/ http://www.jaapkroonenburg.nl/ http://www.garrelsorgelmaassluis.nl/ http://www.muziekuitgeverijwillemsen.nl/ The following site is working, but doesn't deliver anything www.martinmans.nl and info@martinmans.nl
  21. Partly because of encouragement from http://www.musicareligiosa.nl/ I have been trying to buy more Dutch organ music. The first problem is finding an on-line stockist. Then care is necessary to make sure that one orders "notation" rather than "Klavarskribo". After that comes the problem of paying. Many sites don't deal with credit card orders, expecting payments by bank transfer (cheap in Holland, but expensive when done from the UK) - but most are willing to accept payment in Euro notes, and after buying many CDs and pieces of sheet music that way, and sending money by ordinary post, none has ever been lost or stolen. Not all orders placed get any response. One popular composer has a website which takes order details and delivery address - but nothing happens, and emails to the composer don't produce any reply, either. However, the biggest problem is finding the websites of as many suppliers as possible. Can forum members suggest sites which they are aware of - or even better with which they have had successful dealings?
  22. It reminds me of the prize-winning caption to a photo on "The Ship of Fools" website, "Stoke it up, Father, there's a guy at the back who isn't wheezing yet."
  23. You will be very welcome, but be aware of the limitations:- "In calm and cool and silence, once again I find my old accustomed place among My brethren, where, perchance, no human tongue Shall utter words; where never hymn is sung, Nor deep-toned organ blown, nor censer swung" No hymns with diabolical words and tunes, but no organ either. The words quoted above, paradoxically, come from a long poem by John Greenleaf Whittier, from which "Dear Lord and Father of mankind" was extracted, and is sung frequently in most denominations except JGW's own - the Society of Friends.
  24. For the sake of the few people who are not aware of it, see "The Elusive English Organ" from Fugue State Films. http://www.fuguestatefilms.co.uk/shop/prod...lish_organ.html A Documentary film and recording featuring Daniel Moult. Between about 1550 and 1830, some of the most beautiful English music was written for the organ, by composers such as Byrd, Purcell, Handel and Stanley. In the documentary The Elusive English Organ, Daniel Moult sets out to perform this repertoire on appropriate organs of the time.
  25. Here is a useful book by Eaglefield Hull on the way things were done in 1911: http://www.archive.org/details/organplayingitst00hulluof and sad to read of the author's suicide at Huddersfield station on Wikipedia. The link as given doesn't work. Try http://www.archive.org/ and then search for "Hull Organ"
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