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Looking for........


Paul Isom

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I found myself looking through the 'V' section of my music library and found a mis-filed item 'Preludes and Voluntaries for the Organ - Book III' by Eric Thiman.  This is a book that I must have been given as for me I would have considered a little lightweight.  However, curiosity got the better of me and I played through the piece in the book on my organ at home and discovered that the content of the book is rather good.  They're not long pieces, but all beautifully crafted and worth playing.  I'm on the lookout for the rest of the volumes and have drawn a complete blank.  Does anyone have copies that they no longer need and are prepared to part with them, or does anyone know where I might find copies (I have tried the normal routes already).?

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Hi Paul.

I dont know whether you partake of Facebook, but some chap has been posting videos over the last few months of loads of Thiman's organ music (well played too). It has been quite fascinating. Whilst a lot of his output doesn't set the world alight, everything I have heard has been tuneful and well crafted. One or two of the pieces sound very fine indeed. Perhaps someone else has been watching these on Facebook and could provide a link?

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Volume 1 is in Lancashire library collection, according to a quick internet search. This was a very good collection when shelved in Preston until the 90s and I think still intact in boxes. Not sure how you’d get at it though. Contents listed as:
 

Voluntary in F, Sarabande, Voluntary in D minor, Air, Prelude on "Rockingham", Postlude on "Nun danket Alle Gott".

Try internet searches of a few counties and you’ll probably get there. I remember Leeds had a very good collection better than Preston. Cardiff’s was good too. Leeds and Preston were mainly pre 1960 books where I guess the scale of investment declined but Cardiff included some newer publications. These are just places I’ve visited and spent significant library time, far from a comprehensive view.

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On 01/11/2020 at 16:02, OmegaConsort said:

Hi Paul.

I dont know whether you partake of Facebook, but some chap has been posting videos over the last few months of loads of Thiman's organ music (well played too). It has been quite fascinating. Whilst a lot of his output doesn't set the world alight, everything I have heard has been tuneful and well crafted. One or two of the pieces sound very fine indeed. Perhaps someone else has been watching these on Facebook and could provide a link?

Bramwell Bourne is the chap - The Organ Music of Eric Thiman: https://www.facebook.com/The-Organ-Music-of-Eric-Thiman-101812721686630/

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Hi

After I'd left this site yesterday I thought I remembered a couple of Thiman volumes in my collection.  I remembered wrong - they're Alec Rowley!  However, I did discover a copy of Thiman's "A Tune for the Tuba" - Fullscap format, published by Novello, priced 1/6 - with a rubber stamp increasing that to 2s!  Copyright 1947.  In E major  - but there look like some "interesting" chords especially towards the end.

I doubt that I'll ever play it now, so if anyone is inteerested .... (I let Paul know but haven't heard any more from him - yet)

Every Blessing

Tony

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On 01/11/2020 at 13:59, Paul Isom said:

  They're not long pieces, but all beautifully crafted and worth playing.  

One of my ex-colleagues had been a student of Thiman at the RAM.

At Vespers we used to, occasionally, sing, as an Introit, one from the book of 24 Introits published by Novello. They were, mostly, sight-readable, quite short, beautifully crafted and well worth singing

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Many thanks to all who have been responded.  I have been overwhelmed by the generosity of our members - thank you.  Like most things, I am sure that there are other pieces that never made it to the publishers.  Thiman seemed to remain in the  'modest but playable' league throughout his composititonal life.  I wonder if there are larger scale pieces that are lying in a filing box that we don't know about...

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4 hours ago, Paul Isom said:

Thiman seemed to remain in the  'modest but playable' league throughout his compositional life.  I wonder if there are larger scale pieces that are lying in a filing box that we don't know about...

It would be worth a look in Henderson to see what he has to say about unpublished works. I agree with your earlier sentiment that many of his small scale works are little gems. I have only managed to pin down non-Novello Thiman publications in the last few years and I think this is where many of the treasures are to be found. Several of the pieces that Novello wrapped up into the Eric Thiman Collection are a bit on the dull side. 

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