handsoff

Ah, the other Widor VI. The one of which the Radio Times was not aware. :D

Please don't misunderstand me. I do not resent for one moment the fact that KCC can and will spend this sum on the organ and I will doubtless enjoy and applaud the results of the work along with countless others. From speaking to the congregation at my church, averaging fewer than 12 souls, I do get the impression that they do not think that the diocese necessarily spend the money well. It is entirely a one-way flow with ludicrously restrictive rules on what we may and may not do in our own parish and this will force our closure within 3 or 4 years. By then the organ will have died so I shan't be involved. This is not the place for such a discussion and I was wrong to vent my feelings here. We should stick to the topic and I shall refrain from further comment unless I wish to add to the discussion about the organ in KCC.

Indeed it is a lot of money. My church couldn't afford to have "my" 7 stop single manual and pedal organ tuned this year... Gloucester diocese still insisted on a 17% increase to the £4000+ "contribution" paid in 2014. What a way to run a business.

I understand that the 9 Lessons and Carols is the last service with the organ. I don't suppose that there is a Christmas morning service at a collegiate carol although I stand to be corrected.

On Radio 3 tonight, 11/11/2015, at 19.30. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06ns078

Vox, I bought a copy a few years ago and although it is in NTSC format the disc is playable on most DVD machines which presumably have a PAL/NTSC convertor buit in. My machine is fairly elderly but played it without any additional set-up work. I forget from where I bought the disc... If you have any difficulty obtaining one it I'd be more than happy to lend mine. P

Indeed David, That was one of my earliest choral recording purchases. Over the next few years I bought virtually every LP that Sir David had recorded. With absolutely no disrespect to those following him at King's I think that the sound he produced from the choir has not been bettered. To name just a few example recordings that spring to mind; Messiah, (the only recording to which I will listen without protest!) William Byrd and John Taverner - the Masses, but especially the Taverner where the vocal homogeneity is simply amazing, The Psalms and of course Anthems from King's. I do not, as a rule, like descants but his Christmas set make the festival complete for me ( I would find it hard to choose between his for "Hark! The Herald" and that by Andrew Fletcher though...). I think it right to say that he was one of the most important church musicians of all time and we all should be grateful for and humbled by his life-long contribution. As I type this, Radio 3 is appropriately playing his recording of Zadok. It was probably not intentional but what a wonderful and fitting pun to choose this anthem. RIP

The venue is quite an attraction in the area and according to an online review the organ is played to visitors by a member of staff. It might be worth having a look at the Abbey's website and giving them a call or email asking for details.

I echo, sadly, the sentiments expressed here. How I wish now that I had gone to John's recital at Hereford Cathedral during this year's 3 Choirs Festival. It was a date which was mildly inconvenient for me and to my regret I gave in to laziness. We are fortunate to have many recordings and his Dupré and Duruflé discs from St. Paul's Cathedral for me represent the pinnacle of the organist's art, especially the former which is accompanying this keyboard as I type.

Mmm, that's a thought that hadn't ocurred to me. It's not a loud stop so I think that it would work well as as 1'. As far as I know it was always a 1 1/3 but the organ is a real hotch-potch of bits from several redundant organs in the Birmingham area. This does make establishing a provenance a bit tricky! Thanks very much for the suggestion; that is certainly well worth investigating. P

My single manual organ has the following... Open Diapason 8' Stopt Diapason 8' Principal 4' Flute 4' Piccolo 2' Larigot 1 1/3' Pedal Bourdon 16' Everything except the Bourdon.is under expression. Both of the 2 mini-choruses are quite effectively topped-off with the Piccolo but the Larigot doesn't add much other than a fairly unpleasant shreek. If used to play a solo with the just the Stopt Diapason it sounds quite pleasant but having just the one manual makes its use in this way limited. The Larigot, therefore, is close to pointless. The sound produced by using the Principal, Piccolo and Larigot played down an octave is much more attractive. I am therefore tempted to go inside and put the pipes down an octave producing a Twelth; I could live without the bottom octave. Ignoring the fact that I would probably need a faculty to alter the organ and my excuse for ignoring it would be that no-one except me would ever notice, is there anything I would need to be aware of? I have never mucked about with the innards of an organ but know not to wear a loose and heavy coat etc! Would a tuner be prepared to do the work "on the quiet" does anyone know?

Wouldn't that be fun with a wireless connection?

Thank you very much SL, that's really interesting. It just shows that one shouldn't make assumptions based on a single hearing! I did get the impression that the organist on this occasion was a perfectly competent keyboard player but maybe not a player used to using the pedals as the "single pedal stop" I heard was used only infrequently and not at all in the hymns or post-service voluntaries. There were no registration changes between verses of the hymns and only 8' stops were used on the manuals; hence my incorrect impression of the organ's size and colours. My wife does have connections with the establishment in that both her parents are interred in the adjoining cemetery so I may enquire if it might be possible to pay a private visit to see and perhaps play the organ.

I attended a funeral at this... http://www.oltonfriary.org.uk/ very attractive Roman Catholic church earlier in the week, my first visit there for some 20 years. The organ is in a gallery at the south-east end of the nave with just half-dozen display pipes on view. The deceased was an aunt of my wife's so it wouldn't have been appropriate to go poking around to find the console and have a look at the specification, there being no record on the NPOR. On first arrival I was concerned to see a keyboard of the Roland variety on view but was happier when a very nice string stop came into use from the gallery. It sounded to be a modest 2 manual organ with a single pedal stop but wonder if any local members have any more information or knowledge. I'll thank in advance for any replies as we're away for a couple of weeks from tomorrow.

There is some footage of the organ here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsq1UFHoAbQ

This is the Q of S which I used recently. http://www.free-scores.com/download-sheet-music.php?pdf=27378 My instrument does have a pedal board but the action is intrusively noisy.. Best regards H

It actually works quite well with good balance and closes tightly with good graduation when opened. It's just the location that renders it difficult in practice. I think that the original kick-stick would have been more usuable as it would have been closer to the organist's right leg and foot. A couple of extra notches in the stick would have been easy to arrange. The pedal organ was restored in 1993 when electric action was added but the manual to pedal coupler is still tracker which obviates a move to a central position. In any event, the organ is on its last legs with sagging pipework: the metal pipes are becoming very fragile and therefore difficult to tune. There is, of course, no cash for a replacement and no prospect of any becoming available. We are a church with an average congregation numbering 14 souls and with an annual contribution to the diocese in excess of £4000 taking virtually everything coming in there isn't a lot left. Good job I don't take a salary...

The swell (actually the whole organ except the pedal Bourdon) pedal on my organ is stuck out to the right-foot end of the pedal board and is difficult to use because of the angles my joints need to pivot through to reach it. It also had too small an aperture for a normal-sized foot to get into but a few minutes with a rasp file cured that. I imagine that it was converted from a kick stick at some point in the past. The pivot rod with its large iron balance weight to the box has to be undone to allow the tuner access to the pipes such is the location of it. The pedal can just be made out in the avatar to the left.

There's a chance to hear David Goode play the KCC Harrison next week without travelling as the BBC is to broadcast http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/events/organ-recitals.html a live recital.

Just out of interest, what would the chances be of a first-rate organist from, say, a British cathedral be considered for such a post? This assumes, of course, that he or she had the improvisational skills required for a large RC church and that the technical skills and musicality were on a par with the home-grown organists.

Popular too - only 1 copy left...

Thank you Paul for a brilliant recital. The choice of music showed off the new organ exceptionally well and demonstrated how easily it copes with a wide repertoire. It was a pleasure to meet you and see some familiar faces amongst the audience. PT

That caught me out too for a brief moment! I should very much like to see the whole service, minus the spoken and unaccompanied bits, as recorded in the organ loft. Perhaps the BBC should sell a DVD...

For those who don't read "The Church Times", me included... http://www.cartoonchurch.com/content/cc/the-christian-conference/ Follow the links on the right for more. Happy Christmas and a festival without stuck trackers. The last bit has already happened and will again, I know. Again and again an......

Well, they are better at looking beatific! The men seemed to have more of a beetle-eyebrow frown with a solid " I don't need the hymn book" expression.