Justadad

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the 'Compare and contrast' thread. One entry pointed to the five disk EMI Classics "Orgues et organistes français du XXè siècle" set. Disk five includes a recording a Maurice Duruflé playing his Prelude and Fugue sue le nom D’Alain. Lawrence is playing this in his A2 recital and it (apparently) makes sense to use the same piece in the compare and contrast exercise. (I do appreciate that playing this is silly. The examination board want something of AB grade six level, and I’ve tried telling him that it’s better to play a grade six piece perfectly but … well … he’s playing the Duruflé). So; on the EMI recording Duruflé played his Prelude and Fugue re Alain on the Cavaillé-Coll organ at the Institute for the Young Blind in Paris. Can anyone tell me what the specification of this organ was at the time (I’m guessing around the early 1920s)? Thanks in advance. Best wishes J

Dear Vox I do hope so! Obviously the answers will be very helpful to Lawrence, but I also thought it was the kind of subject the good folk here would enjoy writing about. Best wishes J

For part of his Music A2 exam Lawrence has to "choose recordings of 2 esteemed organists with different interpretations of the same piece for the comparison." Would any of the resident experts like to commend two recording of one piece by different organists that are sufficiently different to merit examination and analysis? All suggestions gratefully received. best wishes J

Lawrence is definitely playing the Jongen at Hampton School on 15th March. As yet (BW) there is no date for him to play it with the Thames Youth Orchestra at Kingston Parish Church (but we live in expectation). A couple of Fridays ago I took L into the Chapel Royal for practice. He had a CD of the Symphonie Concertante with him and once he'd sorted out his music for the weekend he had me put the CD on the chapel's sound system while he played along with it. I can imagine the very idea sending shivers through some purists but I have to tell you it was magical. Anyway ... back to the thread ... Didn't Langlais write some organ concertos? Best wishes J

Hi Richard I thought the topic was "Mass Settings: what is your favourite?" on account of that being what it says in 'View New Posts'. Where did I (and others) go wrong? Best wishes J

Having a .pdf file and having something you can play from are two different things. The day may come when everyone has not just a PC but also a printer that does double-sided printing and a comb binder, but we are not there yet. I watched recently as an organist played from copied sheets held in a folder of clear plastic pockets. Every time he got to the top of a page he had to crane his neck higher to avoid the reflected glare of the console light. On the plus side, comb binding seems to me by far the best way of presenting sheet music. Every page lies flat, even in something the size of Muffat's Apparatus musico-organisticus. Best wishes J

Brilliant news. Well done to your son and well done to you. Stephen Darlington is one of the nicest people anyone could ever wish to work with. Best wishes J

I wonder if the choice of music really matters terribly much beyond attracting or putting off a handful of organ aficionados. There may be two other reasons why organ recitals are poorly attended: 1) Most of them happen in churches where the audience often sits on hard, uncomfortable wooden benches, and 2) The lack of a visual element What is the point of going to see a performer if you cannot see them?. OK, so you get to 'feel' the pipes. Unfortunately, that isn't a good enough reason for most people. The music can be enjoyed perfectly well at home on a decent stereo. Can you imagine going to an orchestral performance only to find all the musicians were hidden behind a curtain? Would you go to an orchestral performance if you knew you wouldn't be able to see anyone? I've been to a few recitals where they had cameras on the console, projectors and screens. That helps a little bit. But it's still weird to go to a concert and look at a screen over the sanctuary while the actual performance is going on somewhere behind you. It's a pity, and I don't know what can be done about it, but the organ is an inherently non-concertgoer-friendly instrument. It would be wonderful if someone could think of a way of changing that because the repertoire itself is really exciting. Best wishes J

How about Langlais' Messe Solennelle - just wonderful for Midnight Mass, or Duruflé's Messe “Cum Jubilo” (baritones only so great when the kids are on half term - but you have to be able to count). J

Hi Lee I hate to break it to you but the fact that you have enjoyed participating in something does not, alone, make it good, or worthy of prime time, public service broadcasting The Big Sing was broadcast in the God slot which, traditionally, featured a service complete with prayers and lessons. Over the years the format has seen the religious element diluted in favour of more universally acceptable gaiety, reflecting similar changes in many parish churches. My concern is that The Big Sing represents a logical extension of this dilution to the point where all the religion has been stripped out of the service and one is left with a hotch-potch of sacred and secular music, performed averagely, in pursuit of the notion that this will get more bums on pews. Well, I suppose it might. All I'm saying is that it will get my bum off the pew and in search of something less likely to rot my teeth, let alone my soul. Whatever next? Candle I The Wind on Choral Evensong? Best wishes Jurassicdad Paul - details here, http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/s...s/20071028.html

On the subject of music in worship, what was one supposed to make of last night's Songs of Praise - The Big Sing, from the Albert Hall? It seemed to me to be all music and no worship; rather like a big participation event loosely themed around something vaguely religious. The authors of the 'bang up to the minute' song-type hymns were described as 'worship leaders' but their pieces seemed mostly like an excuse for a sing-song. I'm not sure what The Hills Are Alive With The Sound of Music (let alone Edelweiss or You'll Never Walk Alone) had to do with enhancing any liturgy. The two 'traditional' hymns, O Praise Ye The Lord and Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer suffered from having every note banged out as if with a mallet, with no sense of singing through a line and were thus no more uplifting than the rest of the 'show'. I have no idea which if any of the performers have any Christian faith and I don't know how many viewers it may have taken closer to God but it left me feeling that whatever it was about was nothing with which I wanted to be associated. And can anyone tell me why it was felt desirable to make 'sing' into a noun? It's things like that that turn nice people into grumpy old men. What was the point of the whole thing? Best wishes J

Handel did OK though. He borrowed part of Buxtehude's G minor Praeludium for "And He shall purify" in his Messiah. Best wishes J

Any chance of anyone demonstrating the correct Russian for OFF TOPIC in Cyrillic, maybe 24pt and bold?

In my ignorance I seem to think that in the past the great composers of organ music have often been organists themselves. I'm having difficulty figuring out who the great organist/composers of today are. As you may know, I am a shameless novice in these matters. I get to Naji Hakim and then, well, I grind to a halt. Stupid, I know. I should be very grateful if those of you who know what you are talking about (i.e., everyone except me) could bring me up to speed on the great organist/composers extant ... please. Thanks in advance. Justadad

So is Col. Bogey 60 (a la Vox) or 120 (a la John Scott via MAB)? Or have I stupidly misunderstood something? J

Dear Peter This is probably the cheapest, being free: http://imslp.net/images/8/8c/Liszt_-_Fanta..._organ_S259.pdf At least you can have a look at it before committing to purchase. Best wishes J (I tried to PM you but, as Cynic said ...)

No. Please don't apologise. I wasn't complaining. I really was looking forward to a techno slug-fest. If I created any other impression I unreservedly apologise. Perhaps I used the wrong emoticon. Best wishes barry

Dear Paul That's OK. The competition re CD collection size and relative processing power looks much more fun Best wishes barry

Dear Paul Thank you for that. I had never understood that all media players should produce the same sound from the same hardware. I find that given a particular file, either .MP3 or .wav ... WMP (11) sounds thin, and distorts at greater volume Creative MediaSource (which came with the soundcard) adds a slight phase effect, and yet Creative Wave Studio and Cool Edit Pro 2 play the same track as clean as a whistle And whilst I can't say for sure that this is true for all files, it seems to be true for most. Given that in each case the rest of the kit is consistent and the only variable (I know of) is the media player, I wonder where the problems are? Best wishes barry ps ... I prefer vinyl but I can't get my 33s in the floppy drive

I have enjoyed greatly listening to the various performances members have provided links to recently and look forward to hearing more. The limitations of compressed, MP3 format files is often referred to but another obstacle to a good listening experience can be the program used to play the file. I am a big fan of Microsoft generally but Windows Media Player seems capable of making anything and everything sound worse than it should. I'd be interested to know of any good alternatives to WMP - especially free ones. Best wishes barry

Earlier today I had a look at the new members awaiting validation, and was astonished to see how many strange souls lurked in pending. Judging by the names, most were going to offer us porn or pills if they got through the net. I had never appreciated how much work Rachel has to do to keep us from becoming tarnished. Thanks, Rachel. barry (If you want to play this game, go to Members and then search by Joining Date in Descending Order.)

Hi Douglas Thanks for the notice. Lawrence, his mum and I went. Lovely venue, wonderful organ, great recital. All in all, a beautiful way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Best wishes barry

I don't know, Vox. I'm ignorant. That's why I ask. After all, various respondants to this thread seem happy to play in anything from Adidas trainers to Dr Martens I don't know whats. Would GTB or Dupré be more or less possible in them? Or slippers? What is it about shoes that makes playing those pieces possible and/or why would they be imposible without shoes? I'm sure you're right (as having read your many posts over the last year I have a great deal of respect for you) but I don't know why you're right. Best wishes barry

I hope you will not mind me exhuming this thread. Is playing in socks really unacceptable? We bought Lawrence a pair of recommended dance shoes (all leather, narrow, hardly any welt, raised heal &c) when he was 12 and going to the Oundle 'Pulling Out The Stops' course because we were told he had to have them. His size 4s cost £50. The next time he needed to wear organ shoes he was size 6. £50 seemed like quite a lot of money for a pair of shoes he wore for less than half an hour. And by that time he was used to playing in socks. He still plays in socks. This brought coruscating criticism from a 'judge' at an RCO Young Organists Performance Festival, and he has again been told recently that he MUST wear shoes! When he was invited to the play at the Paris Conservatoire the professor insisted he wear shoes. On the other hand (or foot) he plays all his services in socks, and took both the Oxford Organ Scholarship Awards Competition (successfully) and ARCO exams (the jury is out but a resit is probably pending) and nothing was said. Should organists wear shoes and, if so, why? I mean, are there real, undeniable, inescapable practical advantages to wearing shoes or is it just 'the done thing'? Best wishes barry

I understand that the prize for Improvisation was not awarded at the St Alban's Festival this year. I don't tknow whether that is because no one entered or no one deserved it (in the ears of the judges). Either way, what does it say about the state of the art of improvisation today?