Youtube

[Tony Newnham]

Compton stop-key consoles featured a very useful "double touch" stop-cancelling mechanism, where additional pressure on a stop-tab would cancel all other stops of the same department. I played one like this for a few years, and I can never understand why it didn't catch on, because it made lightning changes of registration possible.

Compton DRAWSTOP consoles sometimes featured second-touch. An extra pull on a drawstop would cancel all other stops on that division. I have heard it said that the H&H console at Kings had this feature many years ago - and that the console carried a nameplate acknowledging a Walker patent for the mechanism.

Maybe someone can substantiate that ?

 

H

 

Hi

 

A 4 unit Rushworth & Draper that I used to play sometimes also had double-touch cancels on all the stop keys (and no way of turning it off IIRC). The problem there was that the 2nd touch springs were far too weak, and it was dangerously easy to try and add, for example, the Great Mixture and cancel the rest of the department (and the same applied to the Sw-Gt coupler!).

 

I've come across DT cancels on a number of Comptons - both stop tab and drawstop - and find it a very ue=seful registration aid.

 

Every Blessing

 

Tony

[AJJ]

Free score here: http://imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/7/74...ie_22_KV399.pdf

 

Except that the organ version seems to have a different ending - in the tonic - whereas the piano version hacks on into other smaller movements ending first in the dominant. I just added a short quasi Mozart cadenza and ended in the tonic when I played it through. A good piece though.

 

A

[Vox Humana]

Perhaps there's an alternative version for organ? If there is, I'd be prepared to bet that it's of doubtful authority, or the piece would surely be far better known to organists. Unfortunately I don't have the UE volume, so can't check the critical commentary.

[tiratutti]

Hello,

Perhaps there's an alternative version for organ? If there is, I'd be prepared to bet that it's of doubtful authority, or the piece would surely be far better known to organists. Unfortunately I don't have the UE volume, so can't check the critical commentary.

the UE-Edition says:

Fragment of a piano suite (Overture, Allemande, Courante, Sarabande). Conclusion (bars 80-86) and organ adaption of the Grave by Martin Haselböck. Organ version of the fugue based on contemporary MS. copies and on the first printed organ version in M. Berra's "Museum für Orgelspieler", III, p. 76.

Composed: 1782 in Vienna

 

Cheers

tiratutti

[pcnd5584]

The Walker I played in London about 20 years ago had tab stops and a double touch canceller was one of the playing aids, as a tab; I suspect this is a Walker innovation since I had never seen one before. I've never seen it as a drawstop.

 

Peter

(Also with referance to an earler post by headcase) : the Harrison & Harrison drawstop console at King's College Chapel, Cambridge has (or had) this feature. This is the only example on an English drawstop console of which I know.

[MusingMuso]

Following on in the tradition, Richard was organ scholar at Westminster Abbey, but I wonder if he ever got to play Tiger Rag there?

 

 

==============================

 

 

The way I was once spoken to by an usher at Westminster Abbey, I sincerely hope so.

 

MM

[Vox Humana]

Hello,

 

the UE-Edition says:

Fragment of a piano suite (Overture, Allemande, Courante, Sarabande). Conclusion (bars 80-86) and organ adaption of the Grave by Martin Haselböck. Organ version of the fugue based on contemporary MS. copies and on the first printed organ version in M. Berra's "Museum für Orgelspieler", III, p. 76.

Composed: 1782 in Vienna

 

Cheers

tiratutti

Thank you very much for that, tiratutti. So presumably Haselböck is hypothesising that there once was (or was intended to be) an organ version of the complete piece, whereas it is presumably just as possible that whoever adapted the fugue for the organ (not Mozart?) did not consider the grave suitable for the organ. To me the video does sound a bit heavy-handed for Mozart - and that is not a criticism of the performance, which is anything but. It really would be very, very interesting to know exactly how Mozart handled the instrument. There was an article in one of the early issues of the RCO Journal which was quite illuminating.

[flûte harmonique]

Thierry Escaich in St Etienne du Mont (Paris)

[Contrabombarde]

========================

 

You've got to resepct the technical facility of course, but it's much more than that with Richard Hills. Underpinning it all is an innate musicianship of very high calibre, and if anyone cares to dig, there is another U-tube clip of Richard re-creating the style of one of my theatre organ heroes, Brian Rodwell, who was just the complete all-rounder as pianist, electronic organ specialist, theatre organist and arranger.

 

Such talent is very rare, and it is especially interesting when it crosses boundaries and genres.

 

.....

 

Some organists, (and others), spend a lifetime trying to get to grips with these beasts, but since the dau they were invented, there have probably never been more than perhaps 20 or 30 absolute masters of them.

 

I'm delighted to say that Richard Hills is one of them.

 

MM

 

Considering that theatre organs were virtually victims of their own success - they were living on borrowed time throughout their shortlived heyday of the 1920s and 1930s since it was inevitable that someone would eventually come up with a means of projecting prerecorded sound into a cinema in synch with the film - it never ceases to surprise me how much of a following they still have both here and across the pond. And they have a technique peculiar to themselves and i would be surprised if there were that many classically trained organists who would feel equally comfortable on a Willis and a Wurlitzer. Last time I tried a theatre organ (a fine Compton) I was utterly clueless as to what was going on all around me...

 

A 4 unit Rushworth & Draper that I used to play sometimes also had double-touch cancels on all the stop keys (and no way of turning it off IIRC). The problem there was that the 2nd touch springs were far too weak, and it was dangerously easy to try and add, for example, the Great Mixture and cancel the rest of the department (and the same applied to the Sw-Gt coupler!).

 

Tony

 

Reminds me of a church that I once played at for a wedding - the organ was an utter nigh mare to play because every time you attempted to make any stop changes you'd end up accidently cancelling the entire division, and the pistons weren't working properly either so you couldn't even rely on those.

 

To make matters worse the bride asked me a couple of days before the wedding if I'd be the official video camera operator too, I don't think she'd quite realised that it's impossible to control an organ - especially one with random auto-cancelling stops - and a video camera simultaneously though I did my best.

 

After the wedding the churchwarden said to me, "you know, the organ needs a lot of repairs and we're thinking of replacing it with an electronic. But not just any old electronic, we'd go for something good". I told him I didn't think there was such a thing and that I'd always prefer a pipe organ.

 

On second thoughts though, how dreadful does a pipe organ have to be before you have to concede that an electronic really is the better option?

[MusingMuso]

Considering that theatre organs were virtually victims of their own success - they were living on borrowed time throughout their shortlived heyday of the 1920s and 1930s since it was inevitable that someone would eventually come up with a means of projecting prerecorded sound into a cinema in synch with the film - it never ceases to surprise me how much of a following they still have both here and across the pond. And they have a technique peculiar to themselves and i would be surprised if there were that many classically trained organists who would feel equally comfortable on a Willis and a Wurlitzer. Last time I tried a theatre organ (a fine Compton) I was utterly clueless as to what was going on all around me...

 

 

===============================

 

 

I don't want to bore the board with things about theatre organs....there are better fora....however.....

 

The heyday of the theatre organ was longer than this, and although it was first seized upon as a vehicle for silent film accompaniment, it soon developed its own following and its own superstars.

 

A few classically trained players did indeed get to grips with the instruments.....Reginald New, Quentin Maclean, Bill Davies, Osborne Peasgood, Marcel Dupre, Norman Cocker etc etc.

 

You must underdstand that during the war years, men had been taken away by military service; leaving the country very short of live musicians....the dance and swing bands being the most popular. The theatre organ was the perfect stop-gap for a whole generation, and some of the exponents were paid large sums of money. I think I am right in saying that some of the top organists, like the pop stars of to-day, were paid 6 figure salaries in to-day's money.

 

The last theatre organ installations were, if I recall correctly, in the mid 1940's, and not for the puporse of providing film accompaniment.

 

Of course, after the war, the dance bands and swing orchestras reformed, and that marked the end for many, but by no means all. I remember the organ being played at the local cinema, and especially the astonishing talent of Brian Rodwell at the Odeon, Leeds. I think the last concert at Leeds was in the mid 1960's, which seemed to co-incide with the death of steam railways.......life was never quite the same again.

 

In America, quite a lot of classical organists still play theatre organs very well, where there isn't the same degree of prejudice. Perhaps the most amazing cross-talent has to be the Argentinian-born Hector Olivera, who is perfectly at home playing anything from Bach to Gershwin....well worth hearing, whatever he does.

 

Anyway, that sets the record straight.....nuff said.

 

MM

 

PS: To play a theatre organ, you need to think like a pianist and an orchestral arranger simultaneously. It's not easy by any means.

[Tony Newnham]

Considering that theatre organs were virtually victims of their own success - they were living on borrowed time throughout their shortlived heyday of the 1920s and 1930s since it was inevitable that someone would eventually come up with a means of projecting prerecorded sound into a cinema in synch with the film - it never ceases to surprise me how much of a following they still have both here and across the pond. And they have a technique peculiar to themselves and i would be surprised if there were that many classically trained organists who would feel equally comfortable on a Willis and a Wurlitzer. Last time I tried a theatre organ (a fine Compton) I was utterly clueless as to what was going on all around me...

 

 

 

Reminds me of a church that I once played at for a wedding - the organ was an utter nigh mare to play because every time you attempted to make any stop changes you'd end up accidently cancelling the entire division, and the pistons weren't working properly either so you couldn't even rely on those.

 

To make matters worse the bride asked me a couple of days before the wedding if I'd be the official video camera operator too, I don't think she'd quite realised that it's impossible to control an organ - especially one with random auto-cancelling stops - and a video camera simultaneously though I did my best.

 

After the wedding the churchwarden said to me, "you know, the organ needs a lot of repairs and we're thinking of replacing it with an electronic. But not just any old electronic, we'd go for something good". I told him I didn't think there was such a thing and that I'd always prefer a pipe organ.

 

On second thoughts though, how dreadful does a pipe organ have to be before you have to concede that an electronic really is the better option?

 

Hi

 

At least the R&D pistons worked - although even that was a problem when the church organists came in and changed the lot in the middle of the week (I was playing for a week of special services) - and didn't even leave a note to warn what had been done!

 

As to theatre organs - I enjoy playing them. Yes, you do have to think in a different way, but that's all part of the fun. It's not that dissimilar to having to think differently when dealing with e neo-baroque organ and a Romantic organ.(But then I'll play anything that's got a keyboard!)

 

Every Blessing

 

Tony

[Pierre Lauwers]

Ladies and gentlemen, here is the best video with Bach I found in 2010 yet:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvdfQ2AVbHs...feature=channel

 

(Post edited)Well, sorry, this video was there since some days and it is already deleted....

 

Pierre

[wczerny]

John Scott plays Bruckner at RAH:)

 

[MichaelDavidson]

This excerpt from John Eliot Gardiner's "Bach Cantata Pilgrimage" shows him visiting the Thomaskirche and discussing the new organ with Ullrich Bohme.

 

Unfortunately for those of us who are linguistically challenged it turns out that Sir John speaks what sounds (to me, at least) like very fluent German ...

[handsoff]

Here's a little something to uplift you all and gladden your hearts.....

 

 

 

Richard Hills FRCO plays 'Tiger Rag' on the Wurlitzer organ in the Assembly Hall, Worthing, UK. The video was taken by David Reed and the audio by John Leeming. The occasion was the Worthing Theatres' 'Open House' day when members of the public wandered in and out of various parts of the building over a period of about four hours. ...

 

I've only just got around to watching this, and what a revelation! Absolutely stunning all round. I have spent the last hour watching several of the "Related Videos" and feel that a new world has opened...

 

Thank you for posting it...

 

P

[Malcolm Kemp]

At risk of stating the obvious, I have no doubt that Richard's expertise and flair at each style of playing helps fuel the other. Until Quentin posted the incredible Tiger Rag clip I hadn't heard Richard Hill play theatre organ but I have heard him play for services a couple of times - and hope to do so again on Easter day. It strikes me that he is equally good at both styles and this shows him to be a better all-rouind musician than many organists.

 

Malcolm

[MusingMuso]

I've only just got around to watching this, and what a revelation! Absolutely stunning all round. I have spent the last hour watching several of the "Related Videos" and feel that a new world has opened...

 

Thank you for posting it...

 

P

 

================================

 

 

I'm genuinely pleased that "Tiger Rag" played by Richard Hills has caused a bit of ripple on the board. Not everyone will aprrove of course, but that's the way of the world.

I very much doubt that Robert Hope-Jones could ever have appreciated where his invention would lead, because it went far beyond the theatre-organ or the orchestral church organ; ultimately leading to an organ such as the "Wanamaker" at Macy's department-store, Philadelphia. John Compton was absolutely on the money in the UK, and using similar technology, he ran parallel with what Wurlitzer were doing in America, right from the earliest days of the cinema (theatre) organ. Hill, Norman & Beard were also notable for such instruments, under the title of "Christie" organs; eventually building the biggest in Europe, at the Regal, Marble Arch, London.

 

I've always been fascinated by technology and engineering, and by any standards, these instruments were remarkable from the technological point of view, and of course, rather well made to say the least.

 

I think organ-builders, as a breed, can take pride in the fact that they were the first to develop the concept of the musical synthesiser; John Compton even incorporating electronic voices on some of the pipe theatre-organs, using sine-wave synthesis. I'm not sure of this was a first, but if not, it can't have been far off.

 

Speaking personally, I always feel privileged in being able to appreciate, (sometimes play), light music and jazz arrangements. I enjoy old recordings of swing bands, brass bands, dance bands of the golden era and a lot of show and film music. Bach to Bacharach and Meyerl to Mahler, I suppose.

 

Of course, the bigger a theatre-organ gets, the more expressive and imitative it becomes, and some of the monsters in America don't have 6 ranks, or 10 ranks or even 24 ranks, but sometimes as many as 50 or more ranks. At that point, they truly become a "one man orchestra."

 

We've recently been discussing the Wanamaker Organ, and mention was made of Virgil Fox and his performance of Bach's "Come sweet death," but in a different genre, there is a "You Tube" video of theatre organist, Walt Strony, playing "Somewhere over the rainbow," with astounding sensitivity and lushness; showing what the Wanamaker organ is capable of in quieter mood and in different hands.

 

 

MM

[Tony Newnham]

================================

 

 

I'm genuinely pleased that "Tiger Rag" played by Richard Hills has caused a bit of ripple on the board. Not everyone will aprrove of course, but that's the way of the world.

I very much doubt that Robert Hope-Jones could ever have appreciated where his invention would lead, because it went far beyond the theatre-organ or the orchestral church organ; ultimately leading to an organ such as the "Wanamaker" at Macy's department-store, Philadelphia. John Compton was absolutely on the money in the UK, and using similar technology, he ran parallel with what Wurlitzer were doing in America, right from the earliest days of the cinema (theatre) organ. Hill, Norman & Beard were also notable for such instruments, under the title of "Christie" organs; eventually building the biggest in Europe, at the Regal, Marble Arch, London.

 

I've always been fascinated by technology and engineering, and by any standards, these instruments were remarkable from the technological point of view, and of course, rather well made to say the least.

 

I think organ-builders, as a breed, can take pride in the fact that they were the first to develop the concept of the musical synthesiser; John Compton even incorporating electronic voices on some of the pipe theatre-organs, using sine-wave synthesis. I'm not sure of this was a first, but if not, it can't have been far off.

 

Speaking personally, I always feel privileged in being able to appreciate, (sometimes play), light music and jazz arrangements. I enjoy old recordings of swing bands, brass bands, dance bands of the golden era and a lot of show and film music. Bach to Bacharach and Meyerl to Mahler, I suppose.

 

Of course, the bigger a theatre-organ gets, the more expressive and imitative it becomes, and some of the monsters in America don't have 6 ranks, or 10 ranks or even 24 ranks, but sometimes as many as 50 or more ranks. At that point, they truly become a "one man orchestra."

 

We've recently been discussing the Wanamaker Organ, and mention was made of Virgil Fox and his performance of Bach's "Come sweet death," but in a different genre, there is a "You Tube" video of theatre organist, Walt Strony, playing "Somewhere over the rainbow," with astounding sensitivity and lushness; showing what the Wanamaker organ is capable of in quieter mood and in different hands.

 

 

MM

 

Hi

 

A couple of points - there were pipe organs in cinemas before Wurlitzer & Compton came on the scene - although not extension organs. It seems to me that these early attempts at cinema organs - often by local firms - are under researched. After all, even Willis had a go (Elite cinema, Nottingham - now a concert organ in Wales). I've come across a number of other references to these instruments by various firms (including a single manual - divided stops - by Forster & Andrews. The mind boggles at that concept!) HNB built a number of cinema organs prior to the Christie range (e.g. Regent, Brighton - replaced by a unit organ), and it seems to me that the Regal, marble Arch was in many ways a transitional design from the older "straight" organs to the unit organ concept.

 

As to electronics, additive synthesis was first demonstrated in the late 1800's - there was a device called the Teleharmonium (IIRC) utilizing A.C. generators and distributing the signal via telephone lines (no amplification in those days as the thermionic valve hadn't been invented!) Compton were the first to use sine-wave synthesis commercially, beating Hammond by a couple of years.

 

Every Blessing

 

Tony

[MusingMuso]

Hi

 

A couple of points - there were pipe organs in cinemas before Wurlitzer & Compton came on the scene - although not extension organs. It seems to me that these early attempts at cinema organs - often by local firms - are under researched. After all, even Willis had a go (Elite cinema, Nottingham - now a concert organ in Wales). I've come across a number of other references to these instruments by various firms (including a single manual - divided stops - by Forster & Andrews. The mind boggles at that concept!) HNB built a number of cinema organs prior to the Christie range (e.g. Regent, Brighton - replaced by a unit organ), and it seems to me that the Regal, marble Arch was in many ways a transitional design from the older "straight" organs to the unit organ concept.

 

As to electronics, additive synthesis was first demonstrated in the late 1800's - there was a device called the Teleharmonium (IIRC) utilizing A.C. generators and distributing the signal via telephone lines (no amplification in those days as the thermionic valve hadn't been invented!) Compton were the first to use sine-wave synthesis commercially, beating Hammond by a couple of years.

 

Every Blessing

 

Tony

 

==========================

 

 

 

Absolutely right Tony, and harmoniums too!

 

In your neck of the woods, Bradford, there is an interesting theatre organ history, in that the Theatre Royal on Manningham Lane, once had a pneumatic-action organ (divided?) built by Andrews (Bradford?), which eventually found its way to Baildon. Whether it still exists, I am not sure.

 

As interesting, is the fact (I hesitate to use this word without first digging deep among some lecture notes), that St George's Hall was one of the very first public buildings to have "lantern shows" and early silent movies....I forget the date, but it was VERY early. The closing years of the 19th century are somehow lodged among the grey matter somewhere, but this is where it all gets a bit obscure from memory. St.Geroge's Hall had, at the time, the original Holt organ, which may well have been pressed into service for these great events.

 

Among the pioneers of early motion film was Bradford's Charlie Wood, and I recall some extremely high quality films of motor-sport events shot by the great man himself. Wood had a studio in Bradford, and a shop, for many years. I don't know what happened to the Wood archives, but there were many, many miles of film held in cans

 

It's no co-incidence, I suspect, that the National Film Museum is located in Bradford; once a very cosmopolitan city with links across the world. (The father of Frederik Delius was a mill-owner in Bradford).

 

Of course, long before the days of film, the organ served in theatres, and Handel would have played a number of them, I suspect.

 

I always start from the concept of the "cinema" organ rather than the "theatre" organ, because the two are very different creations; the "cinema" organ really a development of the Bioscope organs operated by punch-card mechanisms and built by the likes of Gavioli, which in turn were a musical/pneumatic development of the Jaquard loom dating from, if I recall correctly, 1790.

 

If anyone is still awake.........

 

The Bioscope Organs had all the ingredients of the later cinema organs......percussions, traps, accompaniment, solo (called melody) and counter-melody; each having a specific role. If one thinks of the "Liberty Bell" March, the Melody section would thump out the theme, and the counter-melody descant would twiddle away above it, which in a military band is played by Picollos. The accompaniment section would play the underlying harmony, and the Basses (usually just a Bourdon and a Trombone) would provide the depth. This is why the experience which Wurlitzer had in making "band organs" (fair organs over here), and the electrical knowledge of Hope-Jones, enabled them to transform the idea into a useful musical instrument under the control of a single performer.

 

This is exactly why classical-organists struggle when playing a cinema-organ, because they do not think in orchestral terms. (Neither do bad theatre organ performers!)

Pianists had a better chance, because in a lot of piano music, a melody can be soloed out, (the reason for double-touch keys), with the other fingers either providing accompaniment or left hand arpeggios and other figuration. (Chopin's music is perhaps the best example of this). That is exactly what is required when playing a theatre organ, and so, pianists only had to learn how to operate the controls and stop keys, and pick up a basic pedal technique of largely tonic/dominant. However, the very best theatre organists were both pianists AND organists, who could utilise the techniques of each genre to wonderful effect. The great Sidney Torch was always the virtuoso pianist/arranger, but his style was restricted. Quentin Maclean was very different, for not only could he use pianistic figurations, he could switch at will to organ technique. His rendition of "The old man of the mountain" is stunning, because he breaks variously into trio playing, a bit of fugal playing and manages to work in a bit of "Peer Ghynt" for added interest; all the while flashing around with a very pianistic left hand and a snazzy rhythm accompaniment. In that one track, you can hear the father who taught him all about orchestras, (Alec Maclean - Spa Orchestra, Scarborough), Terry at Westminster Cathedral (who taught him organ), Max Reger (who taught him composition) and Carl Straube (who presumably taught him how to play contrapuntal stuff).....it's all there. Unfortunately, many of the cinema organists were rubbish, and that's what gave the instrument a bad name.

 

It seems a strange irony, that in order to be a great theatre organist, it is first necessary to become a good pianist, then a good arranger, then a technician and.....finally...a bit of an organist.

 

Of course.......they can't do what WE do, unless they are called Quentin Maclean or Richard Hills.

 

MM

[Tony Newnham]

==========================

 

 

 

Absolutely right Tony, and harmoniums too!

 

In your neck of the woods, Bradford, there is an interesting theatre organ history, in that the Theatre Royal on Manningham Lane, once had a pneumatic-action organ (divided?) built by Andrews (Bradford?), which eventually found its way to Baildon. Whether it still exists, I am not sure.

 

As interesting, is the fact (I hesitate to use this word without first digging deep among some lecture notes), that St George's Hall was one of the very first public buildings to have "lantern shows" and early silent movies....I forget the date, but it was VERY early. The closing years of the 19th century are somehow lodged among the grey matter somewhere, but this is where it all gets a bit obscure from memory. St.Geroge's Hall had, at the time, the original Holt organ, which may well have been pressed into service for these great events.

 

Among the pioneers of early motion film was Bradford's Charlie Wood, and I recall some extremely high quality films of motor-sport events shot by the great man himself. Wood had a studio in Bradford, and a shop, for many years. I don't know what happened to the Wood archives, but there were many, many miles of film held in cans

 

It's no co-incidence, I suspect, that the National Film Museum is located in Bradford; once a very cosmopolitan city with links across the world. (The father of Frederik Delius was a mill-owner in Bradford).

 

Of course, long before the days of film, the organ served in theatres, and Handel would have played a number of them, I suspect.

 

I always start from the concept of the "cinema" organ rather than the "theatre" organ, because the two are very different creations; the "cinema" organ really a development of the Bioscope organs operated by punch-card mechanisms and built by the likes of Gavioli, which in turn were a musical/pneumatic development of the Jaquard loom dating from, if I recall correctly, 1790.

 

If anyone is still awake.........

 

The Bioscope Organs had all the ingredients of the later cinema organs......percussions, traps, accompaniment, solo (called melody) and counter-melody; each having a specific role. If one thinks of the "Liberty Bell" March, the Melody section would thump out the theme, and the counter-melody descant would twiddle away above it, which in a military band is played by Picollos. The accompaniment section would play the underlying harmony, and the Basses (usually just a Bourdon and a Trombone) would provide the depth. This is why the experience which Wurlitzer had in making "band organs" (fair organs over here), and the electrical knowledge of Hope-Jones, enabled them to transform the idea into a useful musical instrument under the control of a single performer.

 

This is exactly why classical-organists struggle when playing a cinema-organ, because they do not think in orchestral terms. (Neither do bad theatre organ performers!)

Pianists had a better chance, because in a lot of piano music, a melody can be soloed out, (the reason for double-touch keys), with the other fingers either providing accompaniment or left hand arpeggios and other figuration. (Chopin's music is perhaps the best example of this). That is exactly what is required when playing a theatre organ, and so, pianists only had to learn how to operate the controls and stop keys, and pick up a basic pedal technique of largely tonic/dominant. However, the very best theatre organists were both pianists AND organists, who could utilise the techniques of each genre to wonderful effect. The great Sidney Torch was always the virtuoso pianist/arranger, but his style was restricted. Quentin Maclean was very different, for not only could he use pianistic figurations, he could switch at will to organ technique. His rendition of "The old man of the mountain" is stunning, because he breaks variously into trio playing, a bit of fugal playing and manages to work in a bit of "Peer Ghynt" for added interest; all the while flashing around with a very pianistic left hand and a snazzy rhythm accompaniment. In that one track, you can hear the father who taught him all about orchestras, (Alec Maclean - Spa Orchestra, Scarborough), Terry at Westminster Cathedral (who taught him organ), Max Reger (who taught him composition) and Carl Straube (who presumably taught him how to play contrapuntal stuff).....it's all there. Unfortunately, many of the cinema organists were rubbish, and that's what gave the instrument a bad name.

 

It seems a strange irony, that in order to be a great theatre organist, it is first necessary to become a good pianist, then a good arranger, then a technician and.....finally...a bit of an organist.

 

Of course.......they can't do what WE do, unless they are called Quentin Maclean or Richard Hills.

 

MM

 

Hi

 

Thanks MM. Yes - Andrews was a Bradford firm, and they built a couple of other early cinema organs. There's a web site about the history of Bradford Cinemas which includes some info on the various organs - see http://www.kingsdr.demon.co.uk/cinemas/index.htm.

 

Thanks too for the other info!.

 

Every Blessing

 

Tony

[MusingMuso]

Hi

 

Thanks MM. Yes - Andrews was a Bradford firm, and they built a couple of other early cinema organs. There's a web site about the history of Bradford Cinemas which includes some info on the various organs - see http://www.kingsdr.demon.co.uk/cinemas/index.htm.

 

Thanks too for the other info!.

 

Every Blessing

 

Tony

 

 

=========================

 

As a footnote....perhaps an epitaph.....I don't think that a single decent organ was ever made in Bradford. They either sounded ghastly or fell apart very quickly: sometimes both.

 

It's perfectly understandable why the more up-market Bradford churches and chapels bought organs from Leeds, from Walcker in Germany, from Annessens and from the main-stream builders such as Hill.

 

Interestingly, not a single Father Willis to the best of my knowledge. Perhaps they were considered a bit "Southern."

 

MM

[Tony Newnham]

=========================

 

As a footnote....perhaps an epitaph.....I don't think that a single decent organ was ever made in Bradford. They either sounded ghastly or fell apart very quickly: sometimes both.

 

It's perfectly understandable why the more up-market Bradford churches and chapels bought organs from Leeds, from Walcker in Germany, from Annessens and from the main-stream builders such as Hill.

 

Interestingly, not a single Father Willis to the best of my knowledge. Perhaps they were considered a bit "Southern."

 

MM

 

Hi

 

That was the case all over the country - those that could afford to bought from the "big" firms with a national reputation - those that were on a more restricted budget supported the local builders. Apart from the Badford firms, Laycock & Bannister seem to have done a fair bit of work in the city (including the former organ in our previous church building). I can't really comment on the quality of the Bradford firms - I've not seen/heard enough examples of their work - and the few that I have come across have been in poor condition.

 

Every Blessing

 

Tony

[ajsphead]

=========================

 

As a footnote....perhaps an epitaph.....I don't think that a single decent organ was ever made in Bradford. They either sounded ghastly or fell apart very quickly: sometimes both.

 

It's perfectly understandable why the more up-market Bradford churches and chapels bought organs from Leeds, from Walcker in Germany, from Annessens and from the main-stream builders such as Hill.

 

Interestingly, not a single Father Willis to the best of my knowledge. Perhaps they were considered a bit "Southern."

 

MM

I often wonder why we don't hear more about the Bradford Annessens.

 

AJS

[Tony Newnham]

I often wonder why we don't hear more about the Bradford Annessens.

 

AJS

 

Hi

 

It was removed in 1974, having been much altered in the meantime

- details at http://www.npor.org.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi...ec_index=N04823

 

Every Blessing

 

Tony

[OmegaConsort]

Hi

 

It was removed in 1974, having been much altered in the meantime

- details at http://www.npor.org.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi...ec_index=N04823

 

Every Blessing

 

Tony

 

Thanks for that Tony. Do you know what happened to the organ (I see the 32 flute was transferred to the new instrument)? Also, now the church is closed, do you know what the fate of the most recent instrument is?

Best wishes