DouglasCorr
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Posts posted by DouglasCorr
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I have always found Buxtehude's Passacaglia in d min an interesting, beautiful, but mysterious piece.
It seemed to lack any obvious development; however it has a strict structure. There are 4 sections in which the pedal theme is repeated 7 times in each; and there are short transposing interludes between each section. The first section is a melancholic void; the second, in a major key, just slightly optimistic; the third majestic and the final section a rather sad goodbye.
At the St Albans Organ Festival Lodger Lohmann introduced the pieces at his recital, which included the Buxtehude passacaglia. He said that Piet Kee had told him that he thought the composition might have been influenced by the astronomical clock in the Totentanz Chapel at St Mary's Lubeck - because, in total, the pedal theme enters 28 times!
But what he didn't suggest is the obvious idea (once one has made the connection to astronomical clocks) that the four sections correspond to the phases of the moon, as I suggest below!
First: New moon d min
Second: Waxing first quarter F maj
Third: Full Moon a min
Forth: Waning third quarter d min
This would seem to me to go a long way to explaining why the piece is the way it is, and how the third section would appear to be the climax! The forth section doesn't need to reach a real conclusion, as the lunar cycle will simply repeat again! There should therefore be no temptation to play the conclusion loudly, as is the norm!
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For those that like comparing organ specifications an encyclopedic approach can be made using the excellently produced books by the Positif Press on the Classical organ in Britain.
Vol 1 1955 - 74
Vol 2 1975 - 78
Vol 3 1979 - 90
These well illustrate the development of organs for the home, as well as for the concert hall or church.
A shame the series didn't continue.
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Anyone in the UK seriously interested in small organs should attend the exhibition and demonstration of small organs at the St Albans Organ festival. The last demo this year being on this Saturday (21st Jul)! These demos have been provided by the organ builders, at no insignificant cost, at the Festival over the last 30 years.
One could see an evolution in the quality of the demonstrations and the organs presented.
From picking scores at random, to a careful selection of music suitable for each instrument. A wonderful series of improvisations was also performed by David Briggs a few years ago with the style changing from instrument to instrument over the periods 1600 to 2000.
The quality of the small organs has also changed, and much for the better. Some of the organs in the earlier demos had an unsubtle strident quality you would not like to live with in your home- they were more suited to a small chapel.
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In the 1960s many London churches charged 2/6 per hour (large 3 manual organs), which equates to about £2 per hour in current terms.
I thought this was a reasonable scale of charge.
One needs to think of things from the student's point of view - how many hours does he need to practice a week? I would have thought upwards from 4 hours a week. Otherwise progress will be very slow or non existant. Therefore at £2/hour the pratice bill would be £8 per week. In one of the earlier post someone suggested £10/hour, well £40 a week is a significant outlay!
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If one looks at Alkmaar for instance, you will find a Pedal 8 rks Mixture, with the following composition:-
Ped Mixtuur VIII:
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"Ridiculous" though it may seem, I have never heard anyone complain about it yet!!!!!!!!
MM
I've just come back from the "Buxtehude Weekend" at Alkmaar - and think it pointless drawing any paper specification comparisons - Selby is obviously a fundamentally completely different kind of organ.
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Getting back to the original question - I think one needs plain speaking step by step books with lots of examples as a guide. Begining from level zero.
Kenneth Simpson: Keyboard Harmony And Improvisation (covers similar ground as Dorothy Pilling but with more examples).
Making Music: Improvisation for Organists
by Jan Overduin covers all the starting steps suggested in this thread.
Melody and Harmony by Stewart Macpherson (Book 2) provides complementary background on harmony.
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Re Selby - there was an amazing LP of Germani playing there in 1962 in its former incarnation - 'made it sound very fine. It was one of the first organ records I heard - Liszt: BACH, Franck: Piece Heroique, Reger: Hallejua ! Gott zu loben and Widor: Toccata.
AJJ
The 1963 recording has the three Franck Chorales and the Pastorale...and is well worth listening to for both the playing and the organ.
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The Peeters Passacaglia and Fuge used to be played a lot - but I haven't heard it for some time now.
About Lemmens - the 5 part prelude in E flat - is easy listening for one and all
and something to practice your legato on. -
Unfortunately, the music department has very little to do with the running of the concert hall and the organ. The concert hall is run as a separate business, so the music department has to book and, I believe, pay for, time in the hall. The organ is pretty hard to get on - I worked 2 floors above the music dept for a number of years, and I was only able to get in to practice on that organ twice, despite playing for university carol services, chamber choir concerts, etc.
Surely the whole point of the concert hall was originally to support the music department by giving the students a realist platform for performance. The organ was clearly seen as an essential part of that purpose. Other public use would be to defray the cost by making a wider use of the facility. The purpose of the organ seems to have now been lost.
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I've not played or heard it since I left so it might sound different to me now also more than 30 years on.
AJJ
Unfortunately the organ hasn't been featured in the Turner Sims music programmes for several years now; I suspect it will not be heard again.
Professor Sims somehow managed to obtain several harpsichords and pianos as well as the organ! Would that his successors were equally energetic.
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My understanding of "gathering notes" is to prolong the first chord rather than a treble note. I may be wrong.
These prolongued chords were what I was originally referring to in
For starting hymns gathering notes
were once widely used and effective with large congregations in large buildings.I think the pedal or treble bumps were called door knockers !
We always had these at primary school for the morning hymns with the piano - at grammar school we always had gathering notes on the organ. Gathering notes were widespread, even in smart churches and cathedrals 1950s & 60s. 
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When I were but a lad, one often heard (especially in the free churches where I was brought up) a preliminary treble note to start every verse. Indeed, I was "taught" to do this when preparing for my first service!! I heard it done when eavesdropping on a nonogenarian "family friend organist" doing me out of a funeral fee at the crem a year or so back. Anyone else come across it recently, or remember it?
The "For all the Saints" tune (Sine Nomine) begins with a composed bump on the pedals!
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Too true - and as one who was lucky enough to be able to spend a fabulous hour at S.Louis in the Autumn with the opportunity to play and watch/listen to an organist familiar with this instrument fom recital work and recording I can testify that for me it was like playing no other organ I have ever experienced. In a sense it was like playing Baroque music on any other instrument designed for the purpose - even with my decidedly dubious technique it all started to sound really quite promising. As far as I was concerned the console felt like a natural extension of the whole playing experience.
AJJ
I've just got Margaret Phillips’ next installment of the organ works of J S Bach recorded on the Aubertin organ in Saint-Louis-en-l’Île, Paris. - Regent records. And what an interesting recording it is - there are endless varieties of tone colour - this is an organ that you don't hear all in one go! Fine playing too.
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For starting hymns gathering notes
were once widely used and effective with large congregations in large buildings.But this practice has died out since the late 70s. Why is this?
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I'm just over 6ft 2 ins. I always used to carry around 1ins wooden blocks to fix the unadjustable benches.
Although sometimes I found that foot pistons dissapeared from view.
I found Harrison consoles were always easy to sit at; 4th manual easy to reach.
I never had any sitting problems except for Bath Abbey...!!
Suitable organ shoes are a problem for big feet (see shoe thread) and low heels essential - probably parallel pedals are easier to play cleanly.
I think more of a problem for player's posture is the absence of music racks on most modern upright pianos (and all the electronic keyboards) -there is the nasty little thing inside the lid to put the music on - you cant help sitting round shouldered and hunch backed!
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Clearly the stations become
Bach, Listz, Widor and Franck.
Obviously St Sulpice is Mayfair
Houses become Assistants
Hotels become Co-Organists
Money is pages of scores e.g. £500 page of Bach; £100 sheet of Listz; ... £1 sheet of Elgar etc
If you should land on St Sulpice with 4 co - organists your music will be totally cleaned out and you will have to retire from the game with good grace.
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I suppose if you are just entertaining people you can do whatever you like.
But if you are playing to an informed audience, would you like to be remembered as the player that funked the difficult bit.
I remember a recital at Eaton where the recitalist (who had often been described as a leading teacher of organ) had chosen a programme of generally of modest difficulty - but when he played the Sei Gegrusset variations he left out the more challenging one! I wonder if he suggested this to his students....?
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There was a large Hammond organ in Canterbury Cathedral - I think on the South end of the screen- around 1977. This sounded OK - if played realtively quietly.
A friend of mine has had a Johannus organ at home that he has pounded daily for the last 25 years - still going strong!
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I'll be a Quintandena - mysterious and Holy...
But as a combination of stops I would be a Tierce en taille
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Not negelected everywhere! link to St Sulpice:
Samedi 27 octobre – 20h 30 (Saturday, 27 October at 8:30PM)
Récital d’orgue en Hommage à Rolande Falcinelli
Daniel Roth
Roth, Dupré, Falcinelli
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I think Cavaille Coll uses colour on the stops knobs at St Sulpice. However when I tried to check this I came across the more interesting news that Daniel Roth had recently been awarded the Legion d'Honneur!
In the award he was quoted as having said "à Saint Sulpice, vous étiez au ciel"! - but we really new that already...?
See details for further information and a nice photo.
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Although I have enjoyed the DVDs. At first I looked for the A minor and B minor.... I was somewhat miffed to find that only about one third of the organ works are actually recorded - It did say on the front "Complete Works of Bach"!!
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Jean Langlais was also unforgettable - I remember at the RFH 5.55 - an incredible recital and improvisation.
I noticed how he sat so far forward on the edge of the seat it was amazing that he didn't slip off!
Another great London recital of his was at St Mary Magdalen Paddington - I remember how he did manual stop changes in the Carillon De Westminster - the stops were the Compton luminous stop touch!
A memorable feature of his playing was the final chord of pieces.... they lasted for ever....!
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Sorry about the blank reply (haven't worked with computers for 30 years for nothing.....
)I was going to say I heard an unforgettable Franck Chorale I played by Germani in St Pauls.
I've also been listening again to my 1967 Selby Abbey Germani recording of the Chorales - they are well worth listening to - and the organ sounds fantastic - very convincing and musical sound!
Another famous organist, seldom mentioned in these pages, was Flor Peeters - his London recitals were full - I remember St Mary the Boltons and the Walker Organ in Ducan terrace Islington. At St Mary's I was astonished to see people turning up in taxis and ladies in fur coats!
Although appropriate to another thread on how to practice - I also remember a master class by Flor Peeters - he strongly recommended really slow practice.
and something to practice your legato on.
were once 
were once 
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Buxtehude Passacaglia
in The Organ
Posted
PS I’m truly embarrassed!
What do I see on opening Organists Review? …. A full article on just this subject……I can’t believe it- Telepathy? Coincidence? .... I thought about it all night after the Lohmann recital too...
Anyway I think it is really exciting to read about this in full detail
in the Review.
Lee Blick - I like the ticking clock idea ! One could add more on the same lines of mechanistic clock noises - the scales in the last section and the alternating notes in the second section. - Clearly a forerunner of the Carillon de Westminster!!