handsoff
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Posts posted by handsoff
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I've been sitting at this keyboard for a few minutes trying to think what to say about the new Worcester Organ after hearing DGW's recital today....
Will "stunning" sum it up sufficiently?
[One could start going into detail about the Swell strings, the flutes, the reeds, the beauty of the cases, the split-second timing by the régistrant and of course the quality of the playing etc but I won't.]
It was just a experience I should have hated to miss. And I've nearly forgotten about spending 90 minutes in the the hardest chair in Worcestershire!
P
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Rob Cowan is quite a fan of the organ and an extremely nice and very knowledgeable chap. I have had several short email conversations with him and he has expressed his love of the organ music of Bach and, more especially, Buxtehude. He would like to do a "complete works" feature of the latter. I don't think he's quite so keen as I on more modern French music!
He has quite a latitude with the non-published (i.e. those not in RT) pieces and welcomes requests. More power to his elbow...
P
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By whose definition are they a 'music teacher'? I would be surprised and disappointed if a professional musician of any real worth (even if their primary area of expertise was in a discipline other than organ performance/choral accompaniment) would be prepared to ditch a serviceable pipe organ for a device....or am I being too idealistic?
I asked the lady in the church who was the current organist/choirmaster. She said a local music teacher and his wife....I suspect he's a pianist who's been roped in. I'll go to a service either tomorrow or next week and hear what's going on. I wondered if he wants something more "flashy"?
I'll also contact the vicar, request a play for old times sake and make some comments about the historical worthiness etc and see what comes back.
Thanks also for the PMs - I'll respond later - Mrs T. is waiting to go the Farmers' Market...
Peter
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I yesterday wandered around to the church where I first played for a service (Good Friday morning c. 1965). The lady cleaning the church was more than welcoming and once she knew my connection (chorister, server, deputy organist, both parents' ashes interred under the tree in the churchyard) and recognised my surname, she was quite happy for me open the organ, take some photos, note the specification for NPOR (organ not on site) and finally have a quick play.
I was horrified to learn that his W.H.Hewins instrument, recently expanded by Organ Tuning Services of SonA (not with pipes from Worcester
) is under threat of replacement by a toaster. It gets worse. The "organist", in reality a music teacher rather than a true organist, wants to do the deed! The organ is in good condition with much more nicely voiced pipes than I recall from years ago. I wonder if Nigel Allcoat or Martin Stanley have heard anything more?
As an aside, when I was a chorister there, it was always wise to try to arrange a seat at the end of the stall as the blower wasn't all that reliable then, and there was the chance to earn a further shilling (5p) for pumping the handle in the vestry...
Out of interest, a photograph is here. (I don't think that the proximity of the fire extinguisher to the organ is of relevance...)
The specification is:-
Swell
Gedact 8'
Gamba 8'
Oboe 8'
Great
Open Diapason 8'
Principal 4'
Fifteenth 2'
Claribel 8'
Pedal
Echo Bourdon 16'
Tremulant
Swell to Great
Swell to Pedal
Great to Pedal
Two non-adjustable combination pedals to each manual. Mechanical action and hitch-up swell pedal. Concave and radiating pedal board.
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Sunday afternoon's 4pm prom is devoted to the organ, played by Wayne Marshall. I wonder if anyone has passed on to him some advice on tempi and the length of final chords?
The programme includes Demessieux, Dupré, Messiaen and Hakim with an improvisation by WM to end the prom.
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I liked the idea of getting a free silver plated Georgian (sic) (or sick!) chalice if you spend over £300...
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Stunning! Thank you so much for all the effort in taking and posting the photographs. I can't wait to hear it in the flesh next month...
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From the BBC message board...not posted by me!
"During one of the interminable inter-item chat sessions which marred the opening Prom concert, Charles Hazlewood claimed that the longest pipe in the Albert Hall organ was 64' long.
Are you sure about that, Mr. Hazlewood? True, the pedal department boasts an "acoustic bass", of 64' pitch, but "acoustic" in this context generally means two pipes a fifth apart sounding together and producing the effect of a note an octave below the lower of the two pipes: in this case, the longest one of these would be 32' (or 16' if it was a stopped pipe.)
AFAIK, the only organ in the world which has a true full-length "open" 64' pipe is Sydney Town Hall."
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Apologies - I must have missed CH saying about the derived 64'....I thought I heard him say that the longest pipe was 64' in length rather than a double quint +32' effect.
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It was enlightening to hear from Charles Hazlewood that the longest pipe on the organ is 64' in length.
It was a bit quick - but my big Wharfedales indicated no lack of pedal...
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Don't forget tonight's First Night with Wayne Marshall playing Dieu Parmi Nous at around 21.25. Sound and pictures for an organ solo eh?! The BBC is coming along...I shan't make the mistake of using digital TV for the picture and Radio 3 through the hi-fi for sound though - that "digi-delay" is awful. Thank goodness we still have an analogue TV signal in Warwickshire which at least means all will be in synch... Mrs T. is really looking forward to it!
Olivier Latry features on Monday, including an interview at 20.30. Again it's Messiaen (L'Ascension) and then Saint-Saens No.3
at 20.50. M. Latry is also the subject of Artist Focus on Monday and Thursday at 22.30 on R3. -
Thank you pcnd - I appreciate your time. A PM will follow...
Thanks to the speedy turnaround of Discovery Records, the 3 CDs arrived yesterday. I would add the following to pcnd's list of stunners.
Sortie (Messe de 10h) 30/3/1975, Sortie (Vespres) 18/4/1976, both on SOCD 96; and Var.V of Choral IV on SOCD 95. As an elderly female relative may have said, I came over all unnecessary....
I also much enjoyed the improvisation on La Marseillaise on SOCD 94. I've always thought of the tune as being fairly jolly but PC's improvisation, mostly in the minor key, is immensely dark and powerful with a very quiet resolution to the major right at the end. The whole piece is exactly what I should not have expected.
It was moving to hear PC's last played notes on SOCD 96. The out of tune organ gave it a poignant feel but the overall grandeur of the playing, with brass accompaniment, was tremendous. We should be eternally grateful to M. & Mme Carbou for making the recordings of these ephemeral works. I doubt that there has ever been such obvious chemistry between an organist and his instrument as is apparent with PC and ND de P.
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Many thanks flûte harmonique - another one (or actually 3...) for the collection!
P
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The 3 Breakfast show ended today with PC's recording of "La Marseillaise" from the funeral of Générale Du Gaulle. Not really an improvisation but some wonderul sounds. Well worth a listen on the BBC playback device - programmes are in 15 minutes chunks so go to 2 hrs 45 minutes where the section starts, with Ravel's "Bolero" for 2 pianos.
Later....I've just looked on the playlist for the programme - no mention of it. Does anyone know from which CD it was taken please?
Dame Gillian is on "In Tune" tonight...sometime after 5pm.
I enjoyed a Bastille Day recital by Marcus Huxley in Birmingham Cathedral today with a good spread of French music across the years.
P
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Were they real Brownies?
MM
Virtually
melted in the mouth... -
The good ladies of Holy Trinity, Stratford-upon-Avon offered various freshly made sandwiches (eg cheese and (home-made) damson pickle) along with brownies and drinks before each of the 6 recitals held on Thursday lunchtimes. The last of the series was yesterday - maybe the rather delicious pickle is all used up....
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According to the Three Choirs web site tickets for GW's recital are "Out of Stock", so presumably its a sell out.
Gosh, mine arrived this morning so wasn't I lucky?! I shall have to get there early to get a decent listeningpoint.
P
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The discussion, Adrian's wonderful photographs and descriptions of the new organ at Worcester have fired me up enough to buy my ticket for DGW's recital on 8 August. The last time I heard an organ at Worcester Cathedral was for Jean Langlais' recital in c. 1976 so I must be due for a visit. Does anyone know which is the best car park to use (with SatNav info if available) - I have never enjoyed driving anywhere near the city centre....
Thank you
P
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Are they the same with novels? Do they have to see or hear a broadcast adaptation before they sample any author for themselves?
Sadly, this is all too often the case these days. "Lord of the Rings" became a best-seller after the first of the film adaptations was released. In contrast, I make a point of reading the book before seeing the film, or in most cases not bothering to see it. This way, my belief that my own imagination is better than any screenwriter's or special effects wizard's is continually reinforced...
When I was singing I invariably learned new music by singing along with a recording if one was available and would never have got to grips with the likes of Howells "Take Him Earth for Cherishing" without the Kings College LP. Our shelves still groan with the weight of vinyl.
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Are they the same with novels? Do they have to see or hear a broadcast adaptation before they sample any author for themselves?
Sadly, this is all too often the case these days. "Lord of the Rings" became a best-seller after the first of the film adaptations was released. In contrast, I make a point of reading the book before seeing the film, or in most cases not bothering to see it. This way, my belief that my own imagination is better than any screenwriter's or special effects wizard's is continually reinforced...
When I was singing I invariably learned new music by singing along with a recording if one was available and would never have got to grips with the likes of Howells "Take Him Earth for Cherishing" without the Kings College LP. Our shelves still groan with the weight of vinyl.
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Simon Preston is on R3 this evening, the programme starting at 17.00. The announcement said that he is trying to enthuse youngsters about the organ at this year's Oundle Festival.
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To drift slightly downwind of the topic, I'm surprised no-one has mentioned the march "City of Ely" by Arthur Wills played after last week's Choral Evensong from Ely Cathedral. I've just got around to listening to my tape of it and had to play the closing voluntary twice! What a belter - and beautifully played on that fantastic H & H. It showed off the Solo reeds very nicely...Worth using the BBC R3 playback thingy.
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I suppose that one could adapt an idea of S.S. Wesley and simply hold a C major chord on full organ for as long as it took for the bride to turn up. The threat of this, especially if demonstrated beforehand, could concentrate the hearts and minds of the bridal party most effectively. Of course, there are other chords which could be even more effective.
David Harrison
:lol: ...or how about continually playing the staccato "pom pom pom pommm" from the start of "The Bridal March" until she arrives?!
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A note about two recitals I have attended this week.
First was the final weekly event at Walsall Town Hall on Wednesday lunchtime, given by the Borough Organist, Peter Morris with assistance from his very young daughter as an excellent page turner for the Pierné and Mulet. I had never seen the venue before; a bit unprepossessing from the outside but a revelation when inside. It's a large barrel-vaulted hall with typically early 1900s decoration, the organ being placed at the "east end" above the stage. A very large screen TV was placed to one side at the front with one camera trained on the keyboards and a web-cam on the pedals, fading between the two being accomplished by an assistant.
The instrument is a 1980 Nicholson & Lord, rebuilt in 1937 by Compton with today's version being a further 1988 rebuild by Mander. Helpfully, the specification was reproduced on the back on the programme (linked in my earlier post about the concert). I found it a very pleasant organ to listen to which coped well with the music on offer - Bach, Mathias, Elgar (arranged by Peter Morris), Pierné, Dvorak (arranged Noel Rawsthorne) and Mulet. There were a couple of tuning issues with the one of the great reeds but for the French pieces it added some authenticity! There is a splendid tuba on the Solo, very round and smooth but loud enough to fulfil its purpose and the 32' Contra Trombone is a delight, blending perfectly with full organ. I was slightly disappointed not to have heard the Tibia chorus 16', 8', 4', 2 2/3' and 2' (with its dedicated tremulant!) but the music played didn't really demand its use. I can heartily recommend a visit to hear the organ in its much livelier than expected acoustic. Thomas Trotter is playing at the 100th anniversary of the instrument on 1 October and the weekly series starts again in the Autumn.
The second recital was yesterday lunchtime at Holy Trinity, Stratford-upon-Avon given by Alex Berry from King Edward VI school in the town. He is shortly to take up residence as Organ Scholar at Guildford Cathedral. Alex played a very eclectic programme; Bach, Bohuslav Martinu, Langlais, Caleb Simper and Robert Jones and played it extremely well - he is a name to look out for in the future. In his chat about the final two pieces he was a bit disparaging about the March in F by Caleb Simper ("Enjoy it if you can...") whom he described as a dreadful organist from Devonshire who composed about 5 million pieces! I actually liked the March in F; a thoroughly predictable foot-tapper but with shades of Léfébure-Wely and played superbly to bring out the humour of the piece (which probably wasn't intended by the composer to be there). The final offering was Ménagerie Musicale by Robert Jones - huge fun and with an unpredictable ending.
It was good to meet (or actually re-meet as we worked for the same local company albeit in very different disciplines) fellow forum member Martin Stanley at the recital. Again, I can thoroughly recommend the remaining 2 concerts in the series - Thursdays 12.45.
Peter
) is under threat of replacement by a toaster. It gets worse. The "organist", in reality a music teacher rather than a true organist, wants to do the deed! The organ is in good condition with much more nicely voiced pipes than I recall from years ago. 
at 20.50. M. Latry is also the subject of Artist Focus on Monday and Thursday at 22.30 on R3.
melted in the mouth...![here.](http://www.petertandy.co.uk/St.Andrews_010808.jpg"){kind=link}
Worcester Cathedral
in General discussion
Posted
I was in the front row, south side, right by the tomb of King John - it was quite a strange experience to watch a TV screen over such an edifice!
I'm now looking forward to Choral Evensong on Sunday. Sadly, we're having guests over for lunch so won't be able to go in person but I shall try to escape for an hour...[edit:....which is lucky, as it was recorded on Thursday
]
Peter