Jeremy Jones

I think this is a fair point. Lincoln's series of Celebrity Organ Recitals often fields a number of players from France and Germany and the results tend to confirm Alsa's point. There are a small number of top European players such as Daniel Roth, Olivier Latry, Lionel Rogg, Hans Fagius who know how to handle a British organ. Otherwise, though, for somewhere like Lincoln your best bet is go when Colin Walsh is playing. That's what you might call a 'home run'!

The next RAH organ recital is an Organ Prom on Sunday 6th August at 4.00 pm that is being given by David Goode. The progamme is: Mozart: Fantasy in F minor for mechanical organ, K608 Shostakovich: 'The Gadfly' - Credo; The Cathedral Service Gliere: Fugue on a Russian Christmas Song Glazunov: Fantasy, Op.110 Böhm: Chorale Prelude on 'Vater unser im Himmelreich' J S Bach: Chorale Prelude on 'Dies sind die heil'gen zehn Gebot', BWV678 Liszt: Fantasia and Fugue on 'Ad nos, ad salutarem undam'

Some interesting comments here. Perhaps as someone who plays the organ for fun, but takes seriously the issue of listening to organists play both live and on CD, I can offer a different perspective. D'Arcy Trinkwon gave a recital on Saturday at Canterbury Cathedral which seems to have been a success. For me, there is no issue as to whether an organist works for a living as a concert artist or in a cathedral. I simply want to know - is he/she any good? And for Mr Trinkwon, there isn't much to go on. To my knowledge, he has yet to make a CD recording, and he is not yet a name like David Briggs, Jane Parker-Smith, Thomas Trotter, Wayne Marshall or DGW, who are all known quantities (clue: they have all burned a CD or two). So most of those making the pilgrimage to Canterbury are doing so on the basis of blind faith, or the hope that David Flood knows something the rest of us don't. Which leads me to my second point, and a personal bete noir. We can be sure that there is at least one thing David Flood knows that the rest of us don't - the programme! Now there are some artists, not just organists, where the programme is a secondary consideration - the Alfred Brendels, Maurizio Pollinis, Itzhak Perlmans or John Scott's of this world are a sure thing. However, for the rest, who are mere mortals, what they are playing will always be a major consideration as to whether you feel the investment in a night out is worthwhile. And yet, all too often the programme for organ recitals remains a big secret right up until after you've stepped over the front doorsetp and paid the admission fee. In this age of home entertainment, everyone needs to do a bit more to entice people out of their digital age homes.

I honestly cannot remember. It wasn't the playing that was exceptional, it was the Grand Organ.

Lionel Rogg is playing at Chichester on Sunday evening (8pm) and I would go were it not such a difficult journey from Eastbourne by train. Sweelinck: Fantasia Chromatica, 'Dorian' De Grigny: Gloria, Récit de Tierce en Taille from 'Livre d'Orgue' Bach: Fantasia and Fugue in G minor, BWV542 Bach: 6 Schübler Chorales, BWV645-650 Franck: Chorale No 3 in A minor Liszt: Prelude and Fugue on BACH Rogg: Nuées; Tétracordes Insistants Duruflé: Prelude et Fugue sur le nom d'Alain

No, you are right. The Toccata section should be played quickly but I do wish players would take their time on those final chords and in particular the last one held over the lowering pedal line, which for me, doesn't really work without a 32ft reed. I once sat through an interminable performance of La Nativite at Westminster Cathedral on a Sunday afternoon that was completely redeemed by a splendid Dieu Parmi Nous, capped by a remorseless spine-tingling 32ft pedal descent at the close.

I must admit a preference in general for works such as the Widor Toccata, Final from Vierne I or VI to be played at a more moderate speed. It seems to allow the music to swing, and for so much more of the detail to be revealed. However, there are a few works where you want the organist to positively explode out of the blocks - I'm thinking of the codas of Die parmis nous (Messiaen La Nativite), the Durufle Toccata and Dupre's Deuxieme Symphonie. To plod or not to plod, that is the question!?

Just what is a 'virtuoso' anyway? I was listening last night to Colin Walsh's new Lincoln recording of Widor V and VI, and what really made me sit up was just how measured was his performance of the infamous Toccata, coming in at a stately 6 mins 56 secs. I have also heard Colin perform live other works by Franck, Gigout, Widor, Vierne where his tempi have been, compared to most others, also on the slow side.

Most Sunday afternoons used to find me on a pilgrimage down Victoria Street, starting off with the 4.45 pm recital at Westminster Cathedral and then moving on down to Westminster Abbey for the 5.45 pm recital. The cathedral recital is always a bit frustrating as it is treated as the prelude to the 5.30 pm Mass, and there are always a multitude of people either walking around gawping (tourists) or those wing a singled minded step making their way down the central aisle with a look of serenity in their eyes (Mass celebrants). Whereas at the Abbey, all visitors are ejected at 5.30 unless they wish to stay for the organ recital, and the recitalist therefore gets the undivided attention of a sizeable audience. Unfortunately, I don't go so often nowadays, mainly because the quality of recital at both venues can be so variable, and I've had my fill of sitting through poorly planned and rehearsed programmes played by organists who are unfamiliar with these huge organs. Best bet is to go along when present or former members of the home team are playing, e.g. Robert Quinney, Andrew Reid, Martin Baker, Daniel Cook, Ashley Grote, Ian Keatley, James O'Donnell, Matthew Martin.

On the Westminster Cathedral website it says: "Last year these improvements were continued with another overhaul of the action and with the installation of a 256-level capture system with a cross-channel advancer making registration changes much easier. The 1996 work also enables much fuller and more comprehensive use of the Grand Organ from the (2 manual) Apse console." Not sure about control of the Swell boxes, though. In addition to Stephen Smith's comprehensive history to this organ at http://www.organrecitals.com/westcath.php there is a photograph of the original 4 manual Apse console. This appears to have 4 swell pedals, presumably for the Swell, Choir and Solo on the Grand Organ and the enclosed division on the Apse organ.

Yes, the Colston Hall organ did spring to mind when I read the Harrow spec. Having both had the opportunity to play this organ (albeit with the curtains shut - apparently they are really difficult to open and close) and heard superb recitals on it by Peter Hurford and Carlo Curley, I must say that this really is a favourite organ of mine. It's mainly due to the voicing of the diapasons, which are surprisingly lively and give the choruses some bite. Well worth hearing live, as the recordings don't do it justice.

No one has mentioned the 72 stop 3 manual organ Harrison & Harrison built in 1955 for the Speech Room at Harrow School which they recently restored. NPOR indicates this instrument is in 2 chambers at either side of the stage, with the Swell, Great and part of the Pedal on the right and the Choir, Solo, and rest of the Pedal on the left. The 32ft Pedal Bombardon is sited separately behind panelling at the back of the stage. The console is built into the centre of the stage but can also become mobile. NPOR: http://npor.emma.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch...ec_index=N15719 The photo of the Speech Room here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:HarrowSpeechRoom.JPG helpfully demonstrates just how far apart the LH and RH chambers are. It would be interesting to hear whether the sound manages to come together as a convincing whole in the building. Nonetheless, I think it is wonderful that Harrisons were still producing such gloriously anachronistic organs as this at the same time as being involved in producing such forward-looking instruments as those at the RFH, St Albans, Windsor, Coventry etc.

Never heard this organ live yet, and as a Londoner, I should really. But I'll be giving this Saturday a miss as DGWs undoubtedly superb playing seems to always put my teeth on edge. My dentist has now forbidden me from going to any of her recitals and is even threatening a house visit to do a spot check on my CD collection. Never mind. I'll probably pop along to Duncan Terrace on 29 July when ....... now, let me see who is playing .............. oh, really!

.... and with the exception of the Schmidt work, you can hear Simon Preston play his 30 June programme on the RAH organ right now on a new CD from Signum Records called "Royal Albert Hall Organ Restored". On the record label's own website it says the CD is being released in July, but you can get hold of a copy now by going to http://www.mdt.co.uk/MDTSite/product/NR_July_06/SIGCD084.htm where, although it too says the CD is released on 10 July, my copy was delivered on Monday and I was able to listen to it last night. And it's a superb recording. Preston's playing still has that rhythmic snap about it and Mike Hatch's recording of the organ is very good indeed, better than DGWs on Priory. I still found the 6 Schumann BACH fugues too much (I'd had enough after 3) but otherwise it's a great CD, with a really bravura performance of the Jongen that made this listener, at least, want to stand up and cheer at the end.

I just like the whole idea of Choral Evensong taking place every day, come what may, regardless of how many people attend. I still remember with awe the day my school choir went to Winchester to sing Choral Evensong there on a dark mid-Winter's night. This really was the case where only the proverbial one man and his dog had turned out on what was a filthy night, but it didn't seem to matter. What mattered was ensuring the daily ritual was maintained.

St David's in Pembrokeshire seemed a pretty remote place to get to in order to hear the rebuilt cathedral organ there. Kyleakin on the Isle of Sky seemed pretty remote too as I watched the bus I had just missed head off into the hills. Wick right up at the top of Scotland, though, would seem to take the biscuit. It's the sort of country up there where if, as happened to me, the train driver forgets to stop at a station, he can just slam on the brakes and reverse back up the line, confident in the knowledge that the next train isn't due for more than 12 hours.

I must admit my reaction upon hearing the Wimborne chamade reed on a CD of the organ I recently acquired was not that different to Frank's discerning pet dog. Having not heard the Wimborne organ live, the CD could be misleading, but I thought beneath the recently added bells and whistles I could detect the core of what sounded like quite a fine instrument.

QUOTE(pcnd5584 @ Jun 1 2006, 10:54 AM) The deadening blanket of sound which is usually present when a tuba is inartistically coupled to the tutti I find oppressive and un-musical! Well, yes and no. Willis Tubas such as those found at Lincoln, Salisbury or St Paul's could never be said to be oppressive and un-musical when added to the tutti, whereas no one in their right mind would or should add Harrison Tubas like those at King's or Durham. Their addition would certainly justify pcnd's statement. Since we have strayed on to Tubas, aren't the York and Norwich examples en-chamade?

I know it's off subject, but I'm hoping to stop off at Lichfield in June to hear Roy Massey's recital en route to Glasgow for Paul Hale's lecture recital on the refurbished Willis in the University Memorial Chapel. So I would be interested to hear your views on what is wrong at Lichfield. I have a couple of CDs at home of the post-Harrison organ played by Philip Scriven and Alex Mason and it sounds superb, but I do recall someone saying that the acoustic was poor due to the type of stone used to build the cathedral. Is this true?

I first heard this work at the youthful age of 12 on a recording by Richard Seal playing the Willis at Salisbury Cathedral (the Meridian label I think). For good or bad, it set the seal on the way I like the 'piece' to be played. Straightforward opening section played quickly on flutes, central section (measured pace, e.g. like opening of Elgar Sonata in G) beginning with near full organ with pedal reed then scaling down to Great to Mixtures and Swell box shut, then when music starts to go up the scale towards the end of the central section, pedal reed on and swell box gradually opened till you get to full organ on the diminished seventh, and final section fast on full organ, tubas added for the final few bars. The writing is so majestic that players who use twee registrations for anything other than the opening section to me just don't seem to get the point of the work.

I take all 3 magazines and tend to agree with the tenor of most comments concerning them. Choir and Organ is undoubtedly the most professionally produced of the three. The current edition of OR is undoubtedly better than the previous ones under the new regime, but I do not understand this centrefold stuff and an aversion of putting an instrument on the cover. Since OR is only available by subscription, I don't see why they should be afraid of putting people off buying it if they put an organ on the cover, given that it will not be gracing the shelves of newsagents and having to fend for itself against the likes of "Big and Bouncy" and "Fishing for Fun". As for The Organ, I would love to have the opportunity to get my hands on this magazine and kick it into shape. They review organ CDs that were released more than a year ago and their concert reviews section tends to feature whatever event "The Editor" has been to. In the latest issue, only 2 out of the 10 reviews are organ related. When there are more reviews of organ recitals, there can sometimes be a particular focus on those given on the small Father Willis at All Saints, Hastings, which just happens to be 5 minutes down the road from where "The Editor" lives. There also seems to be a fixation about the Buxton Festival, that noted organ Mecca, seemingly because "The Editor" visits it most years. There is a particularly mournful note in the current issue informing readers that "The Editor" will unfortunately not be able to visit the Buxton Festival this year as he will be in Iceland instead. I look forward to reading the article on the organs of Iceland in a forthcoming issue. I believe all 3 magazines are still worth subscribing to, as there are always some interesting articles worth reading. But The Organ really does need to get its act together. It seems rather amateurish and focused on "The Editor", and this isn't helped by the fact that each issue is always published 3 weeks late, eg the current May-July issue arrived the other day, and it it has always been like this!

I find http://crotchet.co.uk pretty good as on the home page it has links to pre-release and newly released organ CDs. Also on eBay on the "Classical" CDs page organ CDs has a sub-category all to itself at http://music.listings.ebay.co.uk/Classical...ListingItemList Even living in London, which has more choice than Liverpool, there is no shop that even begins to do justice to the wide variety of organ CDs available.

The performances were, as you would expect of David Hill, of superb quality. No, it was a case of too much melancholic Mendelssohn. Music needs its sturm and drang and this wasn't the case here. I don't think it is necessarily anything to do with single-composer collections - I don't have this problem with discs wholly devoted to sacred choral music by Stanford or Howells, for example. As far as my comments on the length of tenure, these are simply my own observations on the matter and Stephen's comments, based on his experience, undoubtledly shed light on the issue. David Hill was probably night the right person to use as an example, given that on any one day you might find him directing his college choir, giving an Symphony Organ Concert in Birmingham's Symphony Hall or conducting the Leeds Philharmonic Chorus and BBC Philharmonic in Berlioz's Te Deum at Leeds Town Hall. Quite a guy!

I'm beginning to incline towards the view that an incumbent organist can stay for too long in one post. I know the usual response to this is to trot out the names of people such as George Thalben-Ball, F G Ormond, George Guest etc. but I just can't help feeling that after so many years in the same post they had become jaded and set in their ways. I think David Hill had the right idea in moving on from Winchester after 15 years, taking a year off and then facing a fresh challenge at St John's College, Cambridge. I just think it keeps things fresh, for both organists and the instutions involved. Mind you, having said that, I listened last night to Hill's first CD with the St John's choir of Sacred Choral Music by Mendelssohn and was bored rigid by it.

Does anyone know whether the planned refurbishment of the St Paul's organ has started yet?