Barry Jordan
-
Posts
312 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by Barry Jordan
-
-
Hello all,
our job here is slowly reaching completion, and the flues are almost fully done.
The tuba is going to be a bit of a challenge for German voicers who have never really encountered such a best and have no idea how it should end up sounding. A short excursion to the UK would seem to be the logical way forward.
If anyone has any good tips as to particularly good examples, especially of the heroically ringing (as opposed to the very closed, dark sounding) type, that Matthias Schuke and his crew could hear and see - it is important that they should be able to get their hands on them. please let me know. Contact details would be very helpful, especially of the organ builders caring for the instruments in question.
Thanks
Barry
-
Simon has indeed moved.
B
-
He may well have been 'incidentally German', however Barry, we're both wrong, he's Hungarian, born 1939 in Budapest. The US web site listed him and other possible Europeans (Wojciech Katamarz and René Uijlenhoet) along with many American organ composers and it was rash of me to have inferred they were all the same nationality. As far as answering the original post, a composer's nationality would, in my opinion, be of little importance.
Well, yes of course he is. But he studied in Frankfurt (with Walcha), and after a tenure as organist at a church in Hamburg he was cathedral organist in Bremen, taught at Lübeck and Hanover before becoming Professor in Freiburg in 1978, which was ages ago. He stayed there until he retired, which must have been 2004.
So I'm claiming him as a sort of German. Lest this be construed as jingoism, let me add that I am not one. I just live here.
B
-
Incidentally, in my ignorance, can anyone tell me how you get the double ss symbol in the middle of the term "Grosse Fuge"? And umlauts too? Thanks!
You can also simply live in Germany and have a German keyboard. Then it's what you get when you type a question mark without the caps.
You also have to get used to having the "y" where real people have the "z" though. So that whenever I'm "at home" (meaning, where I come from) and write an e-Mail I end up signing myself
Barrz
-
John thanks! This is the kind of honest, reality based answer that I was looking for. Not that the previous two posts weren't 'honest'.
WM
Vox's American experience more or less reflects the strictly legal position here. A company who refused to complete the instrument would be on shaky ground, but if an organ is dedicated or rededicated publically before being examined by the consultant it is de jure approved by the parish - the position is, that the consultant does not actually accept the instrument itself, but recommends that the parish does so. If the consultant finds fault with the work afterwards, the organ builder can in theory refuse to do anything more, though they might be ill-advised to do so.
We are not allowing the new organ here to be used publically until the 18th May 2008, when it will be dedicated, although it will be recorded before then. But since there is another organ in the building, we can allow ourselves that luxury.
B
-
USA: William Albright, though unfortunately fairly recently taken suddenly dead.
Zsigmond Szathmary incidentally German, not American.
Nobody has mentioned Peter Eben, not perhaps a famous organist, but he is or was one.
In France, Jean-Pierre LEGUAY.
Amongst others, of course..... actually I sometimes wonder if one of the biggest problems with organ music isn't that it tends to be written by organists rather than by composers. Of course a lot of composers who aren't organists tend to display an ignorance about the instrument only matched by that in regard to the harp and the guitar , but nearly all instrumentalists complain at times about the unidiomatic writing for their instruments by composers of newer music. As Beethoven said to the violinist who complained that the "Große Fuge" was unplayable, "What do I care about your stupid fiddle?" Mostly, they just go on and play it anyway..
B
-
==============================
Linda Landowska
Wanda Landowska
B
-
This has happen because the site in which the photos are found have changed their policy for outsiders. If you become a member of Face Book (as countless other organists have - believe me I had no idea that there were so many in Organ-based groups on Face Book), you can access all the photos with no problem. here is the link again in its entirety.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5640276387
Do not be alarmed about Face Book! If you are a member here, then there is difference in many ways. If you do not like it, you can depart its pages as easily as you join.
By the way - three more pictures of the completed main case were put on today. More to follow.......
All the best,
Nigel
Yes, you are right. I was pleased to discover CV Stanford, Julius Reubke (who lies about his age, claiming to have been born in 1934) and even Olivier Messiaen, who has relocated to Newcastle. And I could see the pictures of the Oxford Aubertin. But it still didn't help me with the French ones.
Thanks anyway
Barry
-
My guess: this name (and concept) came on the scene with Detlef Kleuker and the organs he built to Jean Guillou's designs. Certainly the unusual mutations and choruses at l'Eglise du Chant Oiseau in Brussles really make that curious and exciting instrument.
No. The Steinmeyer I mentioned was built in 1937, and it had its Theorbe then.
-
For readers with much time on their hands, they might enjoy perusing this link below, where a large number of photographs chart the progress of the building on the Saint-Louis-en-l'Isle (Paris) organ. It was completed in 2004 and for it Aubertin was given the Gold Medal of the City of Paris. The photos are quite technical too, so there might be something for everyone - even those who enjoy steam railways (because he has built one to transport materials about the extensive grounds of the Priory which is the vast workshop). Aberdeen gave him a Doctorate honoris causa for providing them with their instrument.
http://forumorgue.free.fr/phpwebgallery/ca...t=1&expand=
All the best.
Nigel
All my attempts to look at these pictures meet with a "403: forbidden". Do any of the more computer-literate have any idea why this might be?
Cheers
B
-
Pardon my ignorance, but can anyone tell me what a "théorbe" is?
Rgds
MJF
No. I recently played an organ which had one (St Lorenz in Nuremberg, Steinmeyer 1937) but even after trying it out I wasn't sure what it was - some sort of bundle of mutations, it seemd; but it was only working on about 50% of the notes, and those were so quiet that it was difficult to establish anything at all.
Come to think of it, I have never played an organ with so many stops of which I'd never previously heard. Ever come across a "Lurenbass" before? Or a Meerflaut?
http://www.kirchenmusik-st-lorenz.de/orgeln/haupt.php?nav=2
B
-
And there's St Thomas Church, New York with no punctuation marks at all!
AJJ
They have a Boychoir there too, don't they?
B
-
==============================
What you really need is a new Mander touring-organ.....a bit like that clever folding harpsichord Bach took with him to Bohemia, when he accompanied the Prince of Cothen (I think it was him!) on holiday there.
However, I've found the following links for you, and believe it or not, THEY BUILD ORGANS IN AFRICA.
http://www.elct.org/bangsund/news/jnjarc19c.html
http://www.anglican-cathedral.org.zm/histo...www.saorgans.ws
Potchefstroom University
http://www.puk.ac.za/music/index.html
University of the Orange Free State / Universiteit van die Oranje-Vrystaat
Johannesburg Organ Society
http://www.geocities.com/ankh_sunamin/
http://members.freemail.absa.co.za/aj6/homepage.htm
Organbuilders
Byrne
http://www.byrnepipeorgans.com/
The Organbuilders
http://web.alignafrica.com/edgyhart/
Selway Robson
I'm sure there are lots more, because Kenya and Tanzania have English connections going back a long time.
Other than that, I don't know too much about Africa.........they have lions, girafffe, antelopes, elephants and the Victoria Falls....it's also very big.
Watch out for mosquitoes.
MM
Derek Byrne gave up trying to build organs in Africa after the money run out on the half completed Durban City Hall organ job and vagrants moved into the case. He went back to Ireland, which, as you might imagine, was his point of origin.
Selway Robson is actually a harpsichord maker. His organ in the Priory church in Kommetjie is a bit Heath Robinsonish but I adore the sound it makes.
There are of course organs in Joburg - but the best in Africa are in Cape Town (Hill at his best.....)
Cheers
B
-
==============================
Who, I ask, is Mary Mozelle?
MM
PS: Sorry Paul, I just noticed it was most requested ORGANISTS, not pieces.
Scott Bennett (who?) 216, Peter Planyavsky 5. What a strange world we live in.
B
-
=========================
Which reminds me of the man who wrote to the problam page:-
"Dear Marj, I have so many problems. I enjoy bestiality and sadism in equal measure, but recently I've become interest in necrophilia. Have you any advice that you can give me, or am I flogging a dead horse?"
MM
I haven't tried it, but I hear it's dead boring.
B
Whereas incest is only relatively boring.
-
When I posted the news that there was to be a competition on the organs here in 2008 there were some enquiries as to when details would be available. They are up now and available at http://www.ritter-orgelwettbewerb.de/index_e.html
With a 1st prize of € 7500, this is a good one to go out and win.
Cheers
Barry
-
Apparently to be the largest new cathedral organ in the UK since Coventry - here is something about it. Anyone know any more details?
AJJ
Do you think that Richard Moorhouse really said, "The British organ gives us the repertoire we need for the songs that the choir sings." I do hope not.
B
-
There are quite a few "radio microphone" stories around. There is the one of the priest who got caught short as it were in the middle of Mass and nipped off to the loo but forgot to turn off his microphone ... I'll leave the rest to your imaginations. Another is of a bishop who muttered at the beginning of Mass "is this microphone working" to which the congregation responded "and also with you".
Peter
Wasn't it : "There's something wrong with this microphone...." "and also with you!"
-
Riff-Raff: isn't that the one with dynamic changes every half bar or so which must be done without recourse to expression pedals?
Indeed. On the three manual, not very large organ, there were 478 registration changes. And no combinations. My poor registrants were totally finished at the end.
Barry this is a quote from a previous post of mine about Mad Rush - do you agree with me?Probably. This bar is analogous to bar 22 or 46. so the bass progression is correct. In other cases the chord is always g-minorsomething.
Cheers
B
-
Ill find out his full name but it was the property of his church, he would have to be Anglicanish to be linked to us
B
Not really, we are twinned with Worcester cathedral and we are lutheran. Nothing anglicanish around here!
Cheers
Barry
-
It used to be the thing for organ builders staying away on a contract to be put up into houses of church members. One often came across some most peculiar accommodation and often well meaning, highly religious people who could make life very uncomfortable - it might even be worth a `string' of it's own!
FF
They rented an apartment, but yes, it was property of some parish or church organisation. Well, they are still there. Pastor Michael? Rings no bells, strange, because there aren't that many of them here. In the unchurched East we have no need of them!
B
-
Buxtehude and Langlais - that's quite a pairing, Barry! But delighted to see you are playing Mad Rush - have you played it before in a recital? I played it at a recital a few weeks ago and it went down well.
Peter
It's Langlais' 100th birthday. The 1st Symphony is an excellent piece, I think, but I've never actually heard anyone play it, and I've been to a lot of recitals.
I've never played Mad Rush before. I try to include one piece that I don't think anyone will have heard before. Last year it was "Riff-Raff", went down a treat.
Cheers
Barry
-
I'd just like to draw your attention to the fact that it's just a year now
until the dedication of the new Schuke (Werder) IV/93 organ in Magdeburg
cathedral. The voicers are making very fine sounds already which are
making me very happy....
Why not spend a week with us in May 2008? The preliminary program for
this week is online at
http://www.magdeburgerdommusik.de/html/orgelfest.html
the page should be looking a little better within the next few weeks! Young,
up-and-coming organists should consider the concurrent 4th
August-Gottfried-Ritter Organ Competition, the final round of which will
form part of the festival in the cathedral, and with a first prize of € 7,500, not to be sneezed at.
While you're at it, take a look at the programme for this year's
"Orgelkunst" summer recital series at
http://www.magdeburgerdommusik.de/html/orgelkunst_2007.html
Cheers
Barry
-
The Schuke crews are enormously busy at the moment; hey are also installing an organ in Zamora (Mexico) - http://www.schuke.com/imglib/Zamora_gross.jpg - 51 stops - and have just finished an organ III/34 for the Academy of Music in Poznan. And they have also just completed the restoration of the Köhler organ of the Kreuzkirche in Suhl. One may ask how a 30 man firm turns out well over 250 stops in one year, and restores a bunch of others at the same time.... one answer is, one turns to pensioned-off former employees!
One of the interesting things about the Königsberg project is the reconstruction of the historical case, which was entirely lost. This is however not being done by Schuke or their usual contractor Andreas Klein (who learned the organ builders craft at Schukes but then took over the family joinery, an ideal constellation perhaps). The organ will not however be modelled on the historical instrument.
The trucks left for Russia last week, and installation will begin shortly. All 4 voicers are currently here in Magdeburg; after the summer two will stay here and two will go to Königsberg, but it will be extremely difficult to get the job done by Christmas. The organ here will take at least until the end of September, probably longer.
Incidentally, after a bumpy start, the work here is going very well and I am very pleased with what I have heard up to now.
Cheers
Barry
Desperately Seeking Really Good Tubas
in General discussion
Posted
We hope that that is what we've got or will get, when it is properly finished.
B