"ROMANTIC" VERSION

[emsgdh]

Dear Discussion Board:

 

I've been listening lately to some rather large-scale versions of voluntaries by Stanley and Greene as played by Drs. SDB, Marchant and others. Of course they are period pieces in every conceivable way, esp. registration, BUT, I enjoy them hugely.

 

I own the respectable two-stave versions and play them.

 

My questions is - do they exist in these much grander, filled-in, fleshed-out versions or have the above named great men done the job themselves ?

 

In times like these one sorely misses the departed CYNIC. He knows everything. I haven't ruled-out writing him but wonderful if the board could help with this query.

 

Thank you very much.

 

KMW

Staten Island, NY

[Malcolm Kemp]

A lot of them were issued in a marvellous series published by Cramer and a lot were edited by Harry Wall. You get John Stanley voluntaries on three staves with fleshed out chords, full swells and even Tubas indicated. Utterly unhistorical, unstylistic, vulgar and wrong but they can be great fun to play. And useful fodder for sight reading and tranposition practice. You can sometimes pick up second hand copies via on-line music sites.

 

Someone I knew, Leonard Lazell, had his own arrangements of the Minuet & Trio from Mozart's 39th and the Rondeau from Purcell's Faery Queen published in this series.

 

Malcolm

[Vox Humana]

"For close on fifty years organists have played English music of the earlier periods in editions one of whose aims was to provide for the use of pedals. The left hand, which should play the bass, was consigned to a predicament from which it did not always emerge with distinction. It either doubled the right hand an octave lower, clogged the sound with a stream of thick chords, or else provided scraps of counterpoint which continually petered out for want of elbow room, The bass line itself was sometimes modified 'in the interests of modern requirements', especially if a composer had been inconsiderate enough to write a left hand part which could not be accommodated on a modern pedal board. ... There is little point in arranging, for the organ, music which was actually written for the organ." (Sidney Campbell, 1956)

[pwhodges]

Except, of course, for those pieces one would like to play which require an extended bass compass - such as Wesley's Choral Song. But this one, at least, can be arranged with a light touch.

 

Paul

[gazman]

They're also a lot more straightforward to play in their original two-stave form, of course!

 

Does googling the arrangements you seek produce any useful results?

[Guest Roffensis]

I've got a three stave arrangement of Walond's Voluntary No. 6 in d minor plus the two stave, that few if any play in either form . It's a gem, I did it a few years ago in a recital, but did not use the three stave, which is borderline on tasteless thickening up etc, and I think it good generally to stick with the composers intentions?

 

R

[Tony Newnham]

I've got a three stave arrangement of Walond's Voluntary No. 6 in d minor plus the two stave, that few if any play in either form . It's a gem, I did it a few years ago in a recital, but did not use the three stave, which is borderline on tasteless thickening up etc, and I think it good generally to stick with the composers intentions?

 

R

 

Hi

 

I agree - but then the organ that I play regularly does have GG manual compass (but sadly, not the second manual & the Cornet & Trumpet that many early English voluntaries ask for).

 

Every Blessing

 

Tony