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Elgar - Vesper Voluntaries


AJJ

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There are three listed here, including one on the organ that must not be named*. Not heard them myself.

 

I agree that the Vesper Voluntaries are delightful. I know of no finer music for the small village organ.

 

* For those suffering from withdrawal syptoms, a couple of the Elgar voluntaries played on a Hope-Jones in Portland ME are available on this Pipedreams programme at approx. 00:34:05

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There are three listed here, including one on the organ that must not be named*. Not heard them myself.

 

I agree that the Vesper Voluntaries are delightful. I know of no finer music for the small village organ.

 

* For those suffering from withdrawal syptoms, a couple of the Elgar voluntaries played on a Hope-Jones in Portland ME are available on this Pipedreams programme at approx. 00:34:05

 

Thanks for this - interestingly the Ericsson CD looks to have quite an appeal with the other music also included.

 

AJJ

 

PS I may be wrong but I have a memory from somewhere that the Worcester recordings were made on the digital device.

PPS The opening remarks on the 'Pipedreams' programme nearly had my wife carted off to casualty!

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There is another recording, made by Roger Fisher at Chester Cathedral for the German Motette-Label ('Roger Fisher plays Edward Elgar'). He plays both Sonatas, the Voluntaries and Lemare's Pomp & Circumstance-Transcription.

Does anybody know this recording?

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I've just encountered these miniatures and must admit I rather like them - does anyone know of an available recording?

 

AJJ

 

 

======================

 

I think that there is a rather magnificent recording of one of them available for you to hear on the internet.

 

Try a search under Mark Quarmby, Sydney Town Hall.

 

B)

 

MM

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Guest Barry Williams
======================

 

I think that there is a rather magnificent recording of one of them available for you to hear on the internet.

 

Try a search under Mark Quarmby, Sydney Town Hall.

 

B)

 

MM

 

 

These pieces seem to have been written for an organ with a tenor C Swell. It is some years since I looked at the score, but as I recall there is no note below Tenor C in the left hand on the Swell. The original publication was for Organ, Harmonium or American Organ (with optional use of the pedals) and on two staves.

 

Everyone enthuses about the First Sonata, yet the Second Sonata, arranged by Atkins with the composer's approval, is actually finer music. Even so, for pleasing service music these little Voluntaries take some beating. The Intermezzo was originally to have been part of a string quartet.

 

Roger Fisher recorded the Opus 14 Vesper Voluntaries (with both Sonatas, the Cantique and Pomp & Circumstance No.1) at Chester Cathedral on Motette CD 11501

 

Barry Williams

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Guest Roffensis

Vista did a 2 record set of these at Worcester (on RCA), THE ideal organ for it, and Abbey also did them at Worcester (as you quite correctly would, where else!) now reissued on a CD, Regis RRC 1001. This is the one to have, played by Donald Hunt.

 

R

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======================

 

I think that there is a rather magnificent recording of one of them available for you to hear on the internet.

 

Try a search under Mark Quarmby, Sydney Town Hall.

 

 

===========================

 

 

I'm sure I was right about the Sydney Town Hall recordings, but the Elgar seems to have disappeared.

 

However, Mark Quarmby has recorded them on another Hill organs as follows:-

 

http://www.ohta.org.au/Sydney_conf/STAUGUSTINECATHOLIC.html

 

To hear them, click on the actual title of each work as it appears in the text. It took me a while to work that out, and this should save time.

 

MM

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Please could some technical wizard help me out here? Every time I click on the link to the MP3 file on the page MM gives Internet Explorer crashes with the following message: "Internet Explorer has encountered a problem with an add-on and needs to close. The following add-on was running when this problem occurred: QTPlugin.ocx". Some conflict with QuickTime, I suppose... This has happened several times since I downloaded IE7. I'm running Windoze XP Personal.

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Guest Nigel ALLCOAT
Please could some technical wizard help me out here? Every time I click on the link to the MP3 file on the page MM gives Internet Explorer crashes with the following message: "Internet Explorer has encountered a problem with an add-on and needs to close. The following add-on was running when this problem occurred: QTPlugin.ocx". Some conflict with QuickTime, I suppose... This has happened several times since I downloaded IE7. I'm running Windoze XP Personal.

 

Might I suggest changing from Internet Explorer to the excellent and better Mozilla Firefox? It is the answer to many-a prayer.

Happy New Year

Nigel

 

http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/launch/?utm_i...aign=postlaunch

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There is another recording, made by Roger Fisher at Chester Cathedral for the German Motette-Label ('Roger Fisher plays Edward Elgar'). He plays both Sonatas, the Voluntaries and Lemare's Pomp & Circumstance-Transcription.

Does anybody know this recording?

I do -- it's absolutely charming. The sonata especially sounds very, very good in Mr. Fisher's hands, and the organ is fine. Good Tuba, applied as well as possible -- i. e., very, very rarely.

 

Best,

Friedrich

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I've just encountered these miniatures and must admit I rather like them - does anyone know of an available recording?

There are at least two more worth mentioning. First, Tom Murray at the fabulous Woolsey Hall Skinner (Gothic G 49076); then, quite the opposite artistically, Michael Gassmann on a neat south-German instrument near Freiburg (Telos Records TLS 019). The delicate flutes and strings, speaking the dialect of the area, do work charmingly with Elgar's miniatures. Both CDs include the sonata as well, the latter along with the "second" sonata, the "Cantique", and the "Loughborough Memorial Chime".

 

Best,

Friedrich

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Does anyone share my feeling that these essentially chamber music style pieces always sound a overblown on a cathedral organ, even when played in a relatively restrained manner?

 

It seems to me that the ideal instrument would be no bigger than a humble parish church organ. Something like Gt 8 8 8 8 4 4 2 8; Sw 8 8 8 8 4 2 III 8 8; Ped 16 would be more than adequate.

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Does anyone share my feeling that these essentially chamber music style pieces always sound a overblown on a cathedral organ, even when played in a relatively restrained manner?

 

It seems to me that the ideal instrument would be no bigger than a humble parish church organ. Something like Gt 8 8 8 8 4 4 2 8; Sw 8 8 8 8 4 2 III 8 8; Ped 16 would be more than adequate.

 

I agree - that's why they are so useful - they work really well on the sort of village instruments I get to play - yet the music is certainly not of 'village' standard.

 

AJJ

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