French Alternatim Organ Music

[Vox Humana]

https://www.voxhumanajournal.com/mccroskey2021.html?fbclid=IwAR16FiVQTgKMUrBCBSE3kWpYknBTRTCaxnyaHZmYiAWOCNGCi8goP2K0z40

[NB: Nothing to do with me!]

[S_L]

Interesting reading.

There was much discussion on here of this in 2015 with reference to Couperin Masses. Both Vox and I made a quite substantial contribution to that discussion - in my case, probably muddying the waters!!  As I said at the time, it's not my area of expertise!

Couperin Organ Masses - The Organ - Mander Organ Builders Forum (invisionzone.com)

[Rowland Wateridge]

Apologies for this digression.  The extract of Charles Wild’s painting (water colour I think) “The Choir of the Cathedral of Amiens” should be of interest to S_L as the full painting shows a serpentist on both sides of the ‘choir’.  The one on the left, on the north side in the illustrated extract, is playing: the other on the south side is not.  A remarkable picture: a concelebrated Capitular High Mass in progress, green being the liturgical colour.  I’m not sure that there is a choir, as such.  The back row on both sides consists of the Canons in choir dress, I think, of rather more sobre type than the present-day style.

A church where I used to play has preserved in a glass case its serpent, the sole survivor of the west end church band.

VH may already know, but Charles Wild made a beautiful, and very detailed, painting of the choir (or quire) of St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

[S_L]

Thank you Rowland for that picture of Amiens, which I know well, complete with serpents! 

I think we had this discussion before but I wonder how many there are still lurking in cases and cupboards up and down the country. I know of one at Berkswell near to Coventry and at Selby Abbey and I've seen one somewhere else - but I can't think where! Is there an Anaconda anywhere around? 

But, as usual, we digress!

[Rowland Wateridge]

The serpent which I mentioned is in a Hampshire village.  

There’s an anaconda in Edinburgh University’s Musical Instruments Collection.  Although John Kitchen is in charge of the keyboard instruments in the Collection, I’m sure he must know it.

 

[Vox Humana]

2 hours ago, S_L said:

I think we had this discussion before but I wonder how many there are still lurking in cases and cupboards up and down the country.

There is a church in south Devon that has a serpent affixed one of the pillars in the nave.  At least, it did have last time I visited the church.

6 hours ago, Rowland Wateridge said:

VH may already know, but Charles Wild made a beautiful, and very detailed, painting of the choir (or quire) of St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

I do indeed.  Wild did paintings of some of the royal apartments too.  They are all wonderful.

[Andrew Butler]

There used to be a serpent at Westerham church in Kent. There was also a bassoon at Dean Row Chapel, Wilmslow in Cheshire

[Tony Newnham]

The Early Music Shop sell reproduction serpents if you want to own your own!

[John Furse]

I’m a bit of a herpetophobe (bad experience with a Green Mamba), but did participate in a wonderful Lacock course, run by one third of The London Serpent Trio (Andrew van der Beek).