DaveHarries Posted December 25, 2020 Share Posted December 25, 2020 I would like to take this opportunity not only to thank our new hosts for keeping this forum running and also my fellow members for their contributions over this unusual year. I wish you all a Merry Christmas as well as all the best for what I hope will be a brighter and better 2021 for us all. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Cooke Posted December 25, 2020 Share Posted December 25, 2020 Thank you, Dave - and your sentiments are warmly echoed from this little region of Wiltshire. What better way could there be to help us look forward to the future than the splendid Nine Lessons and Carols from KIng's yesterday? The final part of the service went on giving! David Hill's fabulous extra descant for verse 7 of O come, all ye faithful was masterful and it followed Christopher Robinson's verse 6 stunningly. Then, after the blessing, we had the Chilcott Still, still, still followed by a spine chilling improvisation (?) that led into an a capella first verse of Hark! which was pure magic. And, there were, of course, many scintillating and delightful moments along the way - the VW Sussex Carol, for example and the Philip Moore. Happy Christmas, everyone. Martin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Newnham Posted December 25, 2020 Share Posted December 25, 2020 May I echo the Christmas greetings from Rugby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic DAVIDSON PORTER Posted December 25, 2020 Share Posted December 25, 2020 Happy Christmas from Cardiff, everyone ! Hats off to anyone who was involved in the tv Midnight Mass from Clifton; it was very uplifting after such a stressful year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Cooke Posted December 25, 2020 Share Posted December 25, 2020 52 minutes ago, Nic DAVIDSON PORTER said: Happy Christmas from Cardiff, everyone ! Hats off to anyone who was involved in the tv Midnight Mass from Clifton; it was very uplifting after such a stressful year. Which organ did they use? Pipe or digital? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowland Wateridge Posted December 25, 2020 Share Posted December 25, 2020 The Rieger, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by how well it sounded both in accompaniment and in the Vierne I Final (my only previous experience of it being in a masterclass during the IAO Congress in Bristol 20+ years ago). The singing was of a very high standard; a bold move to use a challenging mass setting ‘Missa Universalis’ composed jointly by the director of music Jeffrey Gray and the organist Stephen Bryant. A very appropriate welcome and homily by the Dean reflecting present circumstances, and the whole service had dignity without unnecessary pomp. It was ambitious of the BBC to fit the service in a slot of only one hour, so inevitably the Vierne was faded out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vox Humana Posted December 25, 2020 Share Posted December 25, 2020 Merry Christmas, everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sesquialtera Posted December 25, 2020 Share Posted December 25, 2020 Merry Christmas, everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveHarries Posted December 25, 2020 Author Share Posted December 25, 2020 8 hours ago, Rowland Wateridge said: The Rieger, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by how well it sounded both in accompaniment and in the Vierne I Final (my only previous experience of it being in a masterclass during the IAO Congress in Bristol 20+ years ago). The singing was of a very high standard; a bold move to use a challenging mass setting ‘Missa Universalis’ composed jointly by the director of music Jeffrey Gray and the organist Stephen Bryant. A very appropriate welcome and homily by the Dean reflecting present circumstances, and the whole service had dignity without unnecessary pomp. It was ambitious of the BBC to fit the service in a slot of only one hour, so inevitably the Vierne was faded out! I hadn't noticed that the BBC's broadcast of Midnight Mass was from Clifton Cathedral (which is not far from me). I had lessons for a time on the organ there and my teacher was someone whose name I decline to mention on this forum (I haven't seen the person in question on this forum for a considerable time but they were, IIRC, a member of it). It was an enjoyable instrument to play and I am glad it is being kept in good order. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richardjg Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 On 25/12/2020 at 11:59, Nic DAVIDSON PORTER said: Happy Christmas from Cardiff, everyone ! Hats off to anyone who was involved in the tv Midnight Mass from Clifton; it was very uplifting after such a stressful year. Many thanks - Richard Jeffrey-Gray here, DoM at Clifton. We had to make the whole thing do-able by a solo so it was a fair challenge - as well as the 12 musicians spread over 36 feet with no artificial aids (foldback, monitors etc.). The Mass was a collaboration with David Bednall, but we both wrote our own to be clear (see attachment). Just to report that the Rieger is in good fettle at the moment, a new heating system has made the atmosphere more stable. A consideration when listening to or recording it is that it is of course voiced for the Nave. Organs on a screen or aloft do not have this problem since they are already removed from the listener, but with ours people stand next to it and there it is harsh. So would any organ be at that distance! I'm a Howells man so enjoy other organs in the city, but bring his work to Clifton with the clarity of line and, yes, touch sensitivity of the action which offers an alternate Austrian voice, just as Harrison/Willis offer the Baroque masters an English one. Recording a Mander soon in Westminster and will be pleased to compare it to the my home G P England instrument in Stourbridge. I have long wanted to record my thanks to Manders for taking the time and trouble when I was 16 (in 1982) and researching this organ to produce a booklet for the rebuild of it. Their time and trouble in copying and sending relevant parts of the England notebooks is still appreciated, and welcomed me as a teenager to the friendly collegiality of the organ world. I hope Manders flourish with their new arrangements and look forward to some distinct English choruses both in restoration and in new instruments as time goes on. About the Missa Universalis.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S_L Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 And, belatedly, from me too! I spent Christmas and the New Year in the UK, made three attempts to get home! I was thwarted by covid restrictions prior to Christmas and, a week later, my almost new car breaking down at 02h00 in the morning on the M40. Today I, finally, at last, arrived back home! I wasn't able to 'log-on' in the UK so no greeting from me until now! Let us hope that 2021 brings with it more joy than 2020 - which, as far as I can see, was a miserable year. Good wishes to all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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