Jeremy Jones

It is quite a poser, really, made more difficult in that there is a world of difference between 'favourite' and 'greatest'. Hence, my favourite work would probably be one from the Prelude & Fugue in B minor, the Fantasia in G or the Prelude & Fugue in E flat "St Anne". They are favourites because I was exposed to them at a young age - the first two on a tape of Richard Seal at Salisbury Cathedral (Meridian) and the St Anne because it made such an impression on me when I heard it played on my school's chapel organ. As to greatest, O Mensch has to be right up there for sheer harmonic development: even now, it has the capacity to shock so think what impact it must have had in Bach's time.

My apologies for not being clear that the Trio Sonatas were MMs choice, not mine! I can see why they might be near to the top of the pile, but they leave me cold. Can I humbly ask that those know it all's please include the work's title, rather than just the BWV number. I know what BWV565 is, but that's all. Postcript: I recently purchased the 17CD Peter Hurford boxed set. Last night, having spent 10 minutes flicking through the booklet and, like a child in a sweetie shop riven with indedicion about what to choose, I threw in the towel and put on the utterly unauthentic but nonetheless wonderful Vierne II played by Martin Jean on the EM Skinner in Woolsey Hall, that Carmen Electra of an organ.

Elsewhere on this forum MM posed what I think is an unanswerable question: what is the greatest non-Bach organ-work ever written? I provocatively responded by suggesting MM should first put his cards on the table and indicate what he considered to be JSBs greatest organ work. Answer: the Trio Sonatas. What do others think?

Are you sure? This suggests to me some Roman gladiatorial arena with a bloody-thirsty public who came to see a gladiatorial fight to the death between the organist and Max Reger's music, not caring whether the organist would get the better of Reger or vice versa. No, in my view much of Reger's output for the organ is second-rate, turgid organ music that even most organists steer well clear of. But to say the UK is a Reger free zone is wide of the mark. David Goode seems to be something of a champion and has recently recorded a 3CD set of Reger's organ music on the Klais organ at Bath Abbey. I'm just not sure there's a market for it, though?

The greatest organ work that isn't by Bach? What an impossible question to ask. Before even beginning to come up with an answer that constitutes a single work, I would want to know what the questioner thinks is the greatest organ work that is by Bach. This would make coming up with a comparable response that much easier. There, grumble out of the way and now for the fun part. Without having spent a huge amount of time considering what I think are the greatest non-JSB works, for my money possible contenders could include: FRANCK - CHORAL III I can still recall the sense of awe I felt when I first heard this work, and in particular the feeling of inevitability that Franck brings to the end of the Choral, and indeed his compositional output. It's as good a way as any to say 'That's all, folks!'. I do get annoyed when players rush the concluding bars - they need to give it time to pack its emotional punch. DURUFLE - PRELUDE & FUGUE ON THE NAME 'ALAIN' This was 'the' piece at the Oundle Summer School in 1986. Over the course of the week it was put under the microscope, taken apart bar by bar and put back together again, and yet we never tired of it. But then, I think the same would be the case with any of Durufle's organ works. REUBKE - SONATA ON THE 94TH PSALM The daddy. Nuff said. Some people have mentioned here the Healey Willan Introduction, Passacaglia and Fugue as a possible contender. On a sufficiently heroic organ, it can be a glorious wallow. But great music? Don't make me larf! JJ

Mmmmmaybe not! I got my Preston/Reubke/Liszt/DG CD from eBay for £23.00, albeit without the CD booklet. At the time, I thought this somewhat on the expensive side, but now think I got a bargain. I have repeatedly e-mailed DG to see if they have any plans to reissue the CD, but their answer has always been a resounding "Nein"!

Although a bit further up the map, another interesting instrument is the organ at Rock Parish Church in Northumberland. It's an 1881 Gray & Davison recently restored by Harrisons with 3 manuals and 21 stops. It had an unusual feature for controlling the swell box (not sure whether it is still in use). See the NPOR entry: http://npor.emma.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch...ec_index=N04159

If they are not, I would have thought Richard Morrison at The Times would be a good bet to get the ball rolling, given that he is also an organist at a North London church. I seem to recall he also ran a competition in The Times in which the prize was to play the Royal Albert Hall organ as part of the campaign to announce its return.

I have the Ledger CD, not to mention many others of King's. I haven't been to King's since the ICO in 1987 so would be interested to know which recording Nick (or anyone else) considers to be the closest to what the organ sounds like in the building. Presumably Nick's neighbours (in the vestry!? ) get quite a good effect too...

I was a cherubic treble in The Haberdashers' Aske's School Boys Choir, Elstree.

How could I overlook this wonderful piece, especially as like Lee I also was in the boys chorus at St Albans. I seem to recall we were out of sight in the south aisle and couldn't see Abbado, so Richard Hickox conducted us standing on a chair taking his cue from Abbado via CCTV! The St Albans organ, which sounds wonderful on the DG recording, I think was played by Martin Haselbock. Lee is right that the performance was filmed, but I have a feeling it was not by the BBC but a German TV production company. I certainly don't recall it ever being shown on British TV. John Sayer mentions that Colin Davis and the LSO performed the Berlioz Te Deum at the Proms. I thought it was a missed opportunity as this was during the time Manders were in and the organ used for the performance was digital. Much better to have waited until the Voice of Jupiter was back in full voice before doing this work.

How about The Organ Babes? This could get so puerile very quickly. So instead, whilst remaining within the same subject matter, I'll ask a question. Where are the successors to Dame Gillian Weir, Jane Parker Smith and Jennifer Bate to come from? Will all due respect, all are now well and truly into their middle ages and there is a limit (is there?) to when it is appropriate to wear shimmering sequinned dresses slit down the side (to aide getting on and off the organ stool, of course). As we have seen from another discussion thread, the ladies are now starting to take up positions in the cathedral and college organ lofts, and not before time. But they are a different breed. Of concert organists, the only person I can think of is Dr Carol Williams?

I must agree with Andrew that I did prefer NPOR in its previous incarnation, but that given Tony et al provide such a splendid service, one mustn't grumble and learn to move with the times....

Mention of Janacek reminds me that no one's mentioned the Glugolitic Mass which has a splendid and important organ part. I caught the Prom broadcast from 2004 that Kurt Masur conducted where David Goode created quite a fire storm on the newly refurbed organ.

Personally I do not think one can come to any real judgement based solely on a stop list. I have played a number of instruments which had the most unpreposessing looking stoplists but turned out to be utter gems. 'Big Bourdon' does worry me a bit - it doesn't exactly put you in mind of a builder from the top drawer, but nevertheless I think the ears should have the final say. (Oh dear! )

Parry's Blest Pair of Sirens has a lovely tummy wobbling part for the organ. I used to sing in a choir that mainly appeared in the Barbican (a squeeze) and one of the delights of the time we sang at the Royal Albert Hall was when towards the end of the Parry we suddenly noticed the organ. First of all the floor started to shake and then behind us like from the bowels of the earth swelled this most magnificent sound. After the hateful Barbican, it was just wonderful to have this organ sound underpinning us and really inspired with the confidence to sing out far more than usual.

There's a church in Hendon, North London right next door to a pub I used to frequent. I know what I'd do........

I learnt a very good lesson at a Festival Hall recital given a few years ago by a well known concert organist about the need to start the Fugue in JSB's Fantasia & Fugue in G minor at a slower speed than one might otherwise wish. In the recital, the organist started the Fugue at a speed that simply was not sustainable once things got more complicated. The result was spectacular, rather like watching a car crash in slow motion as you gradually realise the inevitable is unavoidable.

Reviewing the comments made on this thread over the past 24 hour, it is a subject that clearly exercises people to some considerable extent. But even if I and it would seem most others disagree with him, sometimes vehemently, I have to take my hat off to Pierre for his sheer bouncebackability, never seeming to know when he's beaten. The fact that people have got so worked up over Howells organ music is surprising, given that, as Paul said, it is his choral music that has had the most lasting impact.

Beauvais seems to me to be distinctly lacking in foundation tone. It's all teeth and eyelashes!

Pierre might find a new CD of Howells organ music on the Lammas label more suitable. This features three Psalm Preludes, three of the '6 Pieces', Rhapsody No. 3 and the Partita, played by Christopher Stokes on the 1957 H&H organ at Manchester Cathedral. By no means a 'pedigree' H&H, but despite its vintage certainly nothing like Coventry. Information on the Manchester organ can be found at http://www.manchestercathedralonline.co.uk/organhist.html and the CD at http://www.lammas.co.uk

Well it would seem there are quite a few ladies of the organ loft, and certainly more of them operating in our cathedrals and churches than on this forum!

I too am a bit of a Simon Preston fan, currently trying to find copies of his Decca/Argo LPs of recordings made at Hull City Hall, Colston Hall, Westminster Abbey and King's in the 1960s, since the likelihood of Decca ever transferring these recordings to CD is nigh on zilch. I had thought his somewhat underwhelming RFH recital in 2005 to be his last in the UK. However, he has confirmed forthcoming recitals at Symphony Hall, Birmingham (with Hakan Hardenberger, trumpet) on 6 April and Winchester Cathedral on 2 May (check their websites). As for the RAH, it's not much but on page 80 of the current edition of Organists Review under 'Association News', the East Surrey Association lists "June 30 - Simon Preston recital at the RAH". I wonder....

I have heard rumours that Simon Preston is giving an Organ Recital at the Royal Albert Hall on Friday 30 June. Can anyone substantiate this?

I played this CD all the way through last night and have to admit that DGW and Priory have got a winner here. I am not one of DGW's greatest fans, as previous postings here testify, but on this disc by and I large she passes with flying colours. As with the Priory/RAH disc (the Cook Fanfare), there is one lemon - the Grison Toccata. IMHO the great lady just doesn't quite play it fast enough or give it the real sense of elan that I think it needs (Jane Parker-Smith on her recording at Salisbury really nails it). Also unless my ears deceived me, something goes seriously amiss about halfway through. DGW may have simply been doing a Simon Rattle and highlighting a line in the score not usually heard. Otherwise, its a splendid CD and really makes one wonder why no else has been making recordings on it. A missed opportunity as who knows what we will end up with when the RFH reopens next year.