Davidb

If i was going to go to one, i would go to Latrys' recital, purely on the basis of his fantastic recordings of Messiaen. Kings is of course doing the complete works of Messiaen over a 2month or so period, with various present and past organ scholars doing 'a work a week' if i remember correctly

I have emailed Mr. Briggs about purchasing a copy - and he said that it is avalible for £12.50 from him

indeed it is. Sadly its the only letdown on the webcasts

Listening to their daily webcasts can make one excedingly jealous of what new-yorkers have definitely. They could definitely 'sing-off' against any of our major choirs

Ok it seems that it is more trouble than its worth to put a copy of the Sortie on In Dulci Jubilo on here, so i think it is best that i take back the offer. However if anyone wants to PM me..

as it is avalible online, would it be illegal for me to post an MP3 of the briggs?

Looks good nick. If it was any other text i would probably be even more complimentary. On 'O Magnm' i have a total mental block at getting past the Laurdisen, which to me is an early view of heaven

What about the version of Ding Dong merrily on high used during Carols from Kings? The first four pages are avalible as a free pdf on the net, but arranged for two pianos rather than organ. Later watching on TV, it was clear that Peter Stevens was playing by himself, so it is definitely possible!

Paul, do you know where i can obtain these? I'd be very interested in this, being a big fan of 'the planets.'

My personal though Oliver is that much Bach is played too quickly. A semiquaver does not have to be played quickly, and the best performances, to me, have always been slower ones that find beauty in each note

at the risk of venturing off topic, but does anyone have former organ AB-lists they would care to share (esp G6-8) just out of curiosity at how the syllabus' have changed, and if they have gotten harder/easier

According to his website he has his own publishing company now. It's slightly out of date though - there are works promised for the mid part of 2007 that have not yet been published, such as the T&F on i vow to thee my country, that sounds very interesting. A nice modern in dulci jubilo would be nice though. I equally enjoyed last years Kings commision of 'in the bleak mid winter.' Is this to become a regular thing i wonder?

There are also organ recital dvd's on prestoclassicals website. I have no idea about the quality though

I know of one cathedral where the congregation on a Sunday afternoon for evensong dropped by a third upon the introduction of a sermon

Sadly Peter, you are totally right. Outside of choir schools, and i assume faith schools, there is no mainstream Christian teaching. Without wishing to come across as racist, we are so scared of offending those of other cultures that we have stopped teaching anything that could possibly be remotely offensive to anyone. Does your town have a high school carol service? Go along to it this year and see how many students go that aren't involved, and furthermore how many sing the carols. YOu'll be very upset

Wholly deserved. I've always been impressed by Sarahs' playing when i've heard it previously. Well done

Fingerless gloves are my 'solution of choice' its also worth practicing with them ON... i find that slower pieces, or hymns etc can be accomplished with them on, taking them off for voluntaries or more technical accompniments..

A very nice piece, yes its totally worthwhile (If only to provide a viable alternative to Karg-Elert next Harvest) From what i can remember without hunting the copy out, as long as you play a relevativly dissonant selection of notes inside the black blob section (including accidentals in that) then you've got a good hint of what the composers after. Perhaps though it is the sort of thing that can be worked out 'too much' and a quasi-improvised nature at this point can sound refreshing

Hi guys, Me and a friend of mine are looking towards putting together a program of 'organ and trumpet' music with a view to touring it around East Anglia in 2008. However, there doesn't seem to be much repertoire for this combination avalible at first glance (we have already considered the trumpet tunes by Purcell, Clarke, Charpentier and Hollins, in arrangments) but were hoping to find some (have heard about the Hakim sonata) So any suggestions of music that could be performed (And indeed potential bookings!) would be very gratefully recieved db

You're not the only one to think this Peter. I've been looking at both recently, and found them to be quite similiar pieces, at least in the preludes.

Without knowing anything about your CD (perhaps some details David?) I always thinkt he best booklets are those that include information about the music performed, the instrument ( a specification, perhaps when it was put into that state, How long the instrument has been located in its present position) and a little about the performer

As a treble (trouble?) i have sung (in a rough alphabetical order) Darke in E Darke in F Harwood in A Flat Howells 'Col Reg' Ireland in C Ley in B Flat Oldroyd MOTQH Staham in D (probably a norfolk perculiarity this one) Stanford in C&F Sumsion in F Trant Missa Brevis Wood in the Fridge and probably some more that escape me at this time Sadly i have accompanied very few of these due to the state of choir these days, and vicar deciding that Thorne in D every week is far more 'exciting' (Quote) My favourite out of these? Darke in E, or possibly Harwood for the totally vulgar benedictus (Thoguh the Faure Requim 'mass' bit is a worthy contender)

Darke in F is far nicer musically though... now Darke in E. THAT is a mass setting

Some very interesting points made there MM, which i will attempt to provide my thoughts upon. Firstly, as an aside, Napster re-invented itself in 2005 as a legitimate service, where for £15 a month you can download as much as you want, where many of the major labels are on the site, including the entire output of Naxos, among much other organ music (of a good quality.) There is also a website, www.theclassicalshop.net , which is the digital arm of Chandos' output, which also features some works by Priory amongst others. As far as i know Regent and Hyperion have yet to go digital. (And i doubt hyperion will) The downside of the pay-as-you-play system, perhaps not one recognised where much of my fellow youths' music taste is shaped around Music TV channels and popular radio stations, is that you only download the tracks that you have an interest in. In the past i have found that some of the best music i have ever come across, in a wide variety of genres, is that which is tucked away in the middle of an album. This can lead to the shaping of musical tastes by factors around us, rather than our own minds being made up. The same is true of sheet music. How many of us have brought a book, or even just a symphony by a French master, to find a movement in there which we did not know prior but find beauty in? If sheet music was avalible on a pay-as-you-go basis, how many people would just obtain, for example, the finale to Vierne I, without encountering the equally beautiful prelude? This wonderful opportunity would be lost, as would you pay £2 (to quote MM) for multiple pieces you had never heard of before? Though i suppose you could stream them from itunes first to see what you think.

Good book. nice to see some quality contempory organ music. Phillip Moore / Andrew Carter / Allan speeding look like the best pieces at the minute