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Picking Your Collective Brains


Charles Wooler

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I am giving a recital the first weekend in October this year to celebrate the centenary of the glorious (if a little eccentric)Arthur Harrison in St John the Baptist, Grainger Street Newcastle where I am assistant. http://www.npor.org.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi...ec_index=N04076

 

We have decided against re-creating the original programme that was played by Sidney Nicholson for the simple reason that it is impossible to recreate. The programme booklet has helpful titles such as Concerto in F (Allegro) Handel...... What I'd love to include however is a piece that is exactly contemporary with the organ itself and preferably English. The closest I have come up with is the Stanford Postlude in d minor at the end of the second set which bears the date 1908. At the very least, this would be contemporary with the design of the instrument if not the very beginnings of its construction on the workshops in Durham. Any thoughts anyone?

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Is it tricky?

That rather depends on what your baseline is! :D But if you can play the Stanford you mentioned, you'll sail through this. I have to admit I have never played this piece, but I could sight-read it and from a close look I would say it's around ABRSM grade 5 standard. You need a cool head for accidentals, but, if you have that, the only bits that may need some work are on pages 4-6, where there are three different potential problems:

 

1) the beginning of page 4 where the left hand is playing a chain of quaver sixths above the melody in the RH (and for many this would be the only tricky bit);

 

2) the following passage with the legato right-hand sixths above the LH drone (easier if you have big hands!); and

 

3) following this, the flowing LH quavers with the off-beat right foot.

 

Tastewise some might find the piece suspect, but I bet your audience will love it.

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Thank you for your help and suggestions Vox and tiratutti. Will investigate these but any more ideas are welcome!

 

All the best,

 

Charles

 

If there are any more suggestion, I would be very grateful as it is my church's centenary this year (the organ's centenary is 2011).

 

Thanks

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I'm not sure when it was published, but the 'Grand Choeur' by William Faulkes would seem to me to be a suitable piece for such an occasion (especially as an opening work for a recital). Whilst some of his other works can be somewhat sugary, this one isn't too tiring on the ear.

 

Another in the same category could be the 'Marche Heroique' by Edwin Lemare, which is a very entertaining piece, and I believe it was written around that time. Shame we don't hear it programmed more often.

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I'm not sure when it was published, but the 'Grand Choeur' by William Faulkes would seem to me to be a suitable piece for such an occasion (especially as an opening work for a recital). Whilst some of his other works can be somewhat sugary, this one isn't too tiring on the ear.

 

I confess to a fondness for his Festival prelude on “Ein’ feste Burg” .

 

Peter

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  • 2 weeks later...
Is that the one on 'St Theophilus'?

Hello,

 

the Epilogue in D minor is not based upon an hymn tune. And, I have to stand corrected, one source says that it is from 1909, not 1908, edited by Novello, reissued by Eagan, USA in 1979. The Epilogue on St. Theodulph is from 1956.

One other peace of Healey Willan from 1909 is the Prelude and Fugue in B minor.

 

Cheers

tiratutti

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  • 2 weeks later...

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