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Puzzle Time


Justadad

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Hi Sean

 

Thanks for your kind wishes.

 

It went very well. There was indeed a good 10 seconds reverb at the end of the Walton, but the congregation did make a big difference to the acoustic. On Sunday, in an empty cathedral, parts of Fete (especially the main theme) were just walls of sound but the addition of all those bodies dried the acoustic just enough to make everything crisper and distinguishable.

 

J

 

You are welcome!

 

I am glad that it was an enjoyable occasion.

 

:unsure:

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Greetings Justadad and Lawrence. Glad to hear all went well at St. Paul's. In the absence of other informantion is there any chance that either of you might reveal what the state of play is with the rebuilding of the organ? There doesn't seem to be any sort of announcement anywhere and it would be good. If by any chance Mr Mander hinself spots this posting, could you possibly publish a full briefing in the way that one was available in 1972? Are there to be any tonal changes?

Martin

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The Dorian and Crown Imperial should be good selections. I go to St. Paul's School and as a result we have our founder's day service at the Cathedral every year; not once have I been allowed to play at these, even though I know people at Westminster who play at the abbey on a daily basis!

 

Unfortunately not jonathan! I get max 2/3 services a term and never any practise time... and the organ in the abbey isn't great...

You know my name!!! Although I don't think I know yours...

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... Unfortunately not jonathan! I get max 2/3 services a term and never any practise time... and the organ in the abbey isn't great...

 

Really? I have only had the pleasure of playing it once but I thought that it was superb. It has a large palette of colours, some excellent choruses and a majestic tutti. As far as I am able to discern, it appears admirably to carry-out the task for which it was designed. If there is ever a service for which you just do not feel like playing, please let me know.... :lol:

 

Admittedly, it probably cannot be made to sound like the Müller/Marcussen instrument in Sint Bavo, Haarlem, but then, I would not wish to accompany a choral evensong on this organ - or, for that matter, use it as a vehicle to perform Vierne symphonies.*

 

 

 

*Despite assertions from MM as to its surprising versatility and the fact that I possess a CD of Jos van der Kooy playing large-scale Romantic works.

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Hello Martin

 

I wrote to John Pike Mander in January and he kindly told me that if everything went according to plan the Swell and South Choir would be out of commission as at 7th March.

 

I wrote to John again last Friday morning and had a reply within 5 minutes (literally) confirming the above and adding that the North Choir was out too. Lawrence was devastated when I told him. He'd worked all his registrations out according to the stop list and didn't know how he was going to be able to make anything work. Fortunately (and here I'm getting well out of my technical depth) it's possible to split the dome reeds from the rest of the dome pipes and that, somehow, saved the day.

 

All the manuals work at the moment - and the couplers. It's just the stops that don't.

 

Despite that, the end of the Crown imperial managed to silence the 2,400 congregation, and Fete went down a storm, though some Elgar played by another boy before the service was completely lost to chatter.

 

Best wishes

 

J

 

 

Greetings Justadad and Lawrence. Glad to hear all went well at St. Paul's. In the absence of other informantion is there any chance that either of you might reveal what the state of play is with the rebuilding of the organ? There doesn't seem to be any sort of announcement anywhere and it would be good. If by any chance Mr Mander hinself spots this posting, could you possibly publish a full briefing in the way that one was available in 1972? Are there to be any tonal changes?

Martin

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