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Kenneth Tickell


Guest Geoff McMahon

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Guest Geoff McMahon

It is with greatest of sadness that I have to report the passing of ken Tickell, who was taken ill on Thursday night and died in hospital on Friday, if I understand correctly. This happened completely unexpectedly, with no warning at all.

 

This is a tremendous shock to British organ building. Ken has built some remarkable instruments over the years and was without doubt a leading light in the organ building world. He was the most modest of people, always very happy to assist other organ builders in their work and delight to be with. He will be sorely missed.

 

Our thoughts go out to his family and colleagues. We have lost somebody very special.

 

John

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According to a message from his wife and daughter on the home page of the firm's website he died at home on 24th July (Thursday).

 

There seems to be confusion about date and place of death, both here and elsewhere. Whatever the facts, may he rest in peace and rise in glory.

 

Malcolm

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I am much saddened to hear this news. I remember going to the Sunday Eucharist at Worcester the day after Thomas Trotter's opening recital on the new cathedral organ and it was a thoroughly impressive sound. Also, living in Bristol, I have heard the small chamber organ that KT built for the Cathedral. Fab instrument: great for early music.

 

My Dad tells me he spoke to KT himself over some small matter concerning the Bristol instrument and liked him. May KT rest in peace and rise in glory.

 

Dave

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I have just been talking to Michael Latham, a former colleague of Kenneth Tickell and now with Trevor Tipple, while he was tuning my organ and he tells me that there is to be a memorial evensong for Kenneth at Worcester Cathedral on 4 October 2014, followed by a previously scheduled organ recital by Olivier Latry.

 

I'm sure that this will be a fitting tribute.

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I have just been talking to Michael Latham, a former colleague of Kenneth Tickell and now with Trevor Tipple, while he was tuning my organ and he tells me that there is to be a memorial evensong for Kenneth at Worcester Cathedral on 4 October 2014, followed by a previously scheduled organ recital by Olivier Latry.

 

I'm sure that this will be a fitting tribute.

Thank you for this post. I shall endeavour to go to the recital which, if Mr. Latry has his way, will no doubt be spectacular. I shall try and go to the Evensong as well if time permits. Do you have a time for the start of these please? Also, how much is it likely to cost to get into the recital?

 

Dave

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"In amongst the hurly-burly of Three Choirs, we were saddened to hear of the sudden death last Thursday morning of Kenneth Tickell, who built our fabulous Quire Organ. Our sympathies go out to his family, friends and colleagues."

 

(Facebook page, Worcester Cathedral - posted 29-Jul-2014)

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  • 1 month later...

Just a quick note for anyone hoping to go to the KT memorial evensong at Worcester Cathedral on Saturday 04th October.

 

According to the Cathedral website the service will start, on this Saturday only, at the earlier time of 4:30pm. I am hoping to get there for the evensong and the inevitably superb concert that will follow. A reminder also that tickets are £14.

 

"Sat 4 October, 4.30pm

Evensong in memoriam Kenneth Tickell
please note earlier time for Evensong on this day
Sat 4 October, 6.45pm
Olivier Latry, Notre Dame, Paris,
6th Anniversary Gala Organ Recital
Tickets £14 from the Cathedral Shop
or on the door before recital

Anyone else going from this forum?

Dave

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And the organ music before and after, in case anyone's interested:

 

Beforehand: Clerambault - Suite de deuxieme ton (all of it)

 

After: Bach - Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C

 

Both particular favourites of Ken's - it will be lovely to see lots of you there.

 

The programme for Olivier Latry's recital is:

 

Marcel DUPRÉ (1886 – 1971) :
Cortège et litanie

César FRANCK (1822 – 1890) :
Prélude, fugue et variation

Louis VIERNE (1870 – 1937) :
Scherzetto
Légende
(extraits des « Pièces en style libre »)

Franz LISZT (1811 – 1885) :
Saint-François de Paul marchant sur les flots
(transcription pour orgue de Max Reger)

Interval

Charles-Marie WIDOR (1844 – 1937) :
5ème Symphonie :
Allegro vivace
Allegro cantabile
Andantino quasi allegretto
Adagio
Toccata

 

Plus an improvisation as an encore if we all applaud enough.... :)

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I wish to place on record my thanks to all concerned with the music for the Evensong, as well as M. Latry for his concert. My parents and I were there for the recital and the concert and both were absolutely superb.

 

The scheduled programme of the concert rightly earned M. Latry - who played with no sheet music at all AFAIK - a standing ovation. There was indeed an encore. M. Latry had arrived while the congregation were singing the final hymn of the evensong ("All My Hope On God Is Founded" to the tune "Michael"). After the scheduled programme of the concert, M. Latry said that he wished to "improvise on the hymn we had been singing when he arrived". The Dean of Worcester (The Very Reverend Peter Atkinson) duly passed the hymn book, opened at the right page, to M. Latry who gave some superb improvisations on "Michael". At the end of these, when he gave the tune a final run through, quite a number of the congregation / audience joined in and we did all 5 verses!. A great way to end the concert.

 

For the benefit of anyone who wasn't there, but who may be wondering, the address during the memorial Evensong was given by Dr. John Rowntree (DoM, Douai Abbey) who mentioned his first meeting with Ken and some of the commissions the two of them subsequently worked on.

 

Sorry I didn't get a chance to say hello, Chris. I guess you were doing the music prior to the start of, as well as after, Evensong: if so then well done for the playing of a piece that I had never previously heard.

 

Cheers,

Dave

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Sorry not to get the chance to say hello to all of you on the board who came yesterday to Ken's memorial service and Olivier Latry's concert - thank you for coming. The Quire was full to capacity for both, and they made a hugely moving tribute to the work of Ken and his wonderful team. Olivier's playing will go down as a musical benchmark for me, and I imagine everyone else there too - impeccable technique linked to insightful musicianship. Remarkable and privileged to have been there and experienced him live at Worcester.

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Sorry not to get the chance to say hello to all of you on the board who came yesterday to Ken's memorial service and Olivier Latry's concert - thank you for coming. The Quire was full to capacity for both, and they made a hugely moving tribute to the work of Ken and his wonderful team. Olivier's playing will go down as a musical benchmark for me, and I imagine everyone else there too - impeccable technique linked to insightful musicianship. Remarkable and privileged to have been there and experienced him live at Worcester.

Yes I noticed how full the quire was. My Dad thought the number of people sitting in the Quire during the recital to be about 400. I don't know what the capacity of the seating in the quire at Worcester Cathedral normally is but I noticed how much extra seating was being put out.

 

Dave

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