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sbarber49

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Posts posted by sbarber49

    Easy Organ Pieces & leading a congregation?

    in Organ Music

    Posted

    There is a good repertoire list here, quite entertaining as well! http://www.cumbrianorganists.org.uk/ (Go to "features", then "choosing your repertoire")

    I think the Ann Marsden Thomas book "The church's year" is useful.

    A book I use a lot is "80 chorale preludes" edited by Hermann Keller - most are for manuals, or can be played without pedals: https://www.musicroom.com/product-detail/product450705/variant450705/80-chorale-preludes-by-german-masters-of-the-17th-and-18th-centuries/

    The "24 Pièces en style libre" by Louis Vierne are very good. (and on IMSLP).

    As for hymn playing, excellent advice above. I would get used to having a regular gap between verses - I nearly always go for 2 beats -  just seems natural to me. Personally I don't worry about the metre - after all, no-one is troubled by a pause in music: it doesn't mean the rhythm is compromised.

    You need to listen to the congregation: you may need to give a little leeway at the ends of lines, otherwise it can sound rushed. Congregations do sometimes need to be bullied, but if they are behind it may mean the speed is too fast or that they don't have time to breathe between lines.

    Personally I do sometimes put a little rit. at the end of the play over if it seems unnatural otherwise - not with the more muscular hymns and, in any case, no more than holding back slightly the last chord or two.. Provided the speed is well established at the outset the singers will be perfectly able to sing at your speed when they start. That is a minority view, though, I admit!

    Recitals

    in General discussion

    Posted

    4 hours ago, Vox Humana said:

    The programme for the 2018 Proms season is out. Prom 10 is an organ recital by the Latvian organist Iveta Apkalna:

    22 July -- 11.00
    Iveta Apkalna

    Symphony no.5  -- Widor
    Trois pièces pour grand orgue -- Franck
    Pavane -- Fauré, arr. Apkalna
    Fantasia in G major BWV 572 -- Bach, arr Arnold Bax
    Variations on a Theme of Paganini (A Study for Pedals) -- Thalben-Ball
    Deux Évocations --Escaich

    Also, Prom 17 (27 Jul) includes Parry's "Hear my words, ye people", although since no organist is credited it may be with orchestral accompaniment.
     

     

    Pity it's on a Sunday morning when organists tend to be otherwise engaged.

    Eighteenth century English voluntaries: filling in harmonies

    in Organ Music

    Posted

    On 04/02/2018 at 09:17, Vox Humana said:

    As for John E. West & Co. they saw all music through their own, Romantic eyes. They had little if any knowledge of historical practice and would have had no interest in it if they had. The only thing that mattered to them was pleasing their audiences who were similarly innocent. ................ Whether one regard West's ‘edition’ (actually arrangement) of Greene’s voluntary in C minor as musical depends on your viewpoint. Personally I find its thickened textures and stodgy octave doublings misguided on any organ. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it insensitive or unmusical, but it is very much of its time. Knowledge and tastes have moved on and West’s interpretation now appears unsympathetic and no longer passes muster. Few people nowadays would want to play the allegro section as slow as crotchet = 72.

    Gosh! You certainly have a very low opinion of West (& Co.)! Certainly knowledge of historical practice was not developed in West’s time but, he would he really “ have had no interest in it”? I read that he was a pioneer in the field of editing, especially choral and organ music from earlier centuries and prepared an edition of the Bach motets. No doubt, of course, this would have reflected the knowledge and taste of his time. 


    As for the Greene voluntary arrangement: I am grateful to you for the copy – thank you. I enjoy Simon Johnson’s performance of it on the Priory DVD from St Paul’s - a really sparkling performance to my ears. I think it’s a fine arrangement – well, the Allegro, anyway. Certainly the marked speed is very slow, but all Baroque music was then performed much slower than we do today wasn't it, so I’m not sure I’d want to be so critical of West & Co. I think the part writing is excellent and the doubled octaves only occur in 3 bars I think (though that passage repeats a couple of times). This particular movement seems to  me to suit this treatment and I’m going to play it on Sunday - if my feet are confident enough on my 1865 pedal board. I’ll try not to fall into the trap of “pleasing my audience”, though!


    In general I do agree with you, though: I’d much rather play or hear the originals than these arrangements. However there are times when a fuller sound is required – those trumpet tunes at weddings for example, and other big occasions.
     

    English Voluntaries for the Corno Stop

    in Organ Music

    Posted

    14 hours ago, Vox Humana said:

    Personally I think Romanticised Stanley just sounds wrong whatever instrument it's played on. Chacun a son gout. :)

    I agree about re-arranging 18th century English organ music to include pedals. However I'd make an exception for Simon Johnson's performance of Greene's "Voluntary in C minor (as arranged by West) on his St. Paul's DVD. 

    Decent Vivaldi Gloria Edition needed urgently

    in The Organ

    Posted

    Yes - it's the Casella one that has been altered quite a lot - and some bars excised. The orchestra/accompanist needs to use the same version. I attach a list of the changes a choir using Casella needs to make to match orchestral parts. (The opposite of what you would need but it shows where the problems are.) I also have  replacement sheets for the In terra (Casella to what Vivaldi wrote and visa versa).

    Notes for Vivaldi.docx

    Organists with hearing problems

    in General discussion

    Posted

    The particular problem I am experiencing is an 'out-of tuneness' best described as making the organ sound like a badly out-of tune fairground instrument. A similar effect can be created by turning the 'chorus' effect up to maximum on an electronic instrument. Listening to recorded music sounds as though it is being shaken around in a tin!

    I went to Boots for hearing aids as I wanted ones which didn't distort music and, especially, organ music. I got expensive Phonak ones.

     

    For general use they are great, and the audiologist very helpful. However I found that the higher pitches were being very badly distorted (including the harmonics on reed stops). I downloaded an app (PA Tone) onto my tablet so I could show the audiologist what pitches were distorting. She was extremely helpful but it took ages before she solved the problem. It turned out, in my case, that it was the "whistle block" that was causing the problem and when she turned it off the sound was perfect. It amazed me that she wasn't aware that this might have been the problem as I would have thought others would have experienced the same thing. (It's not just organ music, of course, though the distortion is most obvious with the high frequencies.)

     

    She set up a "Music" programme on my aids and, on that, the whistle block is disabled.

     

    I'm not aware of any problem with delay.

    Nave Booster Organs

    in General discussion

    Posted

    Really? I didn't know that. It would be a good idea. St. Pat's is a glorious instrument, but it is in a high chamber and very much more effective in the Quire than the Nave. Trevor Crowe is a fine musician and organ-builder - I expect the result will be excellent.

    I didn't know that either. Are you sure you're not thinking of St Finn Barre's Cathedral in Cork?

    New Hymns Ancient & Modern

    in The Organ

    Posted

    My church is considering changing from the hymn book we don't mention to this A & M. I wondered if anyone who uses it has any comments to make, in the light of experience. Anything you particularly like or don't like?

     

    Is the music hard to read (the print seems quite small)? Do you need to buy the organ edition - £120!

     

    Do you use many of the huge number of new tunes? And new words, come to that.

     

    Needless to say, any change has got to be good! Does anyone know anything about the New, New English Hymnal supposed to be coming out next year? Just NEH with the contents of English Praise and New English Praise added, or something more radical?

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