News:

If you have difficulty registering for an account on the forum please email antespam@gmail.com. In the question regarding the composer use just the surname, not including forenames Charles-Marie.

Main Menu

Documentary researcher seeking people enthusiastic about Pipe Organs

Started by organforumadmin, July 11, 2011, 12:38:48 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 3 Guests are viewing this topic.

pcnd5584

Quote from: comptonplus on July 23, 2011, 02:15:41 AM
Quote from: comptonplus on July 23, 2011, 12:24:02 AM
Other countries in Europe seem more willing to embrace other types of music than we do here in the UK! If it doesn't blast your brains out for the vast majority of youngsters and some well into theit 40's and 50's, forget it!

Back to the Howard Goodall bit, I was still at School when that was on and I remember mentioning it to quite a few friends who to the mick, I wonder if they would watch it now, however?

Indeed - times do change. Look at Helen Mirren....


Not sure I like how admin seem to be able to add into my posts making it liik at first glance that I typed it, I refer to the Helen Mirren bit!

My apologies - this was an error, which I have corrected. At least it was written in a different type-face....

This board appears to function slightly differently to the others on which I write - in terms of cutting and pasting.
Pierre Cochereau rocked, man

revtonynewnham

Quote from: Voix Cynique on July 22, 2011, 11:44:36 PM

What I'd like to know is where Hope-Jones learned to voice - apparently his Tubas are very much like those of Fr Willis.

Hi

H-J was based on the Wirral - Willis' had a factory in Liverpool, so it's not beyond the realms of possibility that he learnt from a voiced at Willis (or persuaded one to come and work for him).  Just supposition, obviously.

Every Blessing

Tony

Jonathan Lane

Quote from: pcnd5584 on July 22, 2011, 10:24:22 PM
Quote from: Voix Cynique on July 22, 2011, 05:07:54 PM
.... I recall PCND saying that he'd heard superb Vierne on a cinema organ and I have to say I'd much rather listen to Vierne or orchestral symphonies in transcription - anyone brave enough to take on the Havergal Brian Gothic?  ;D - than 'Oh I do like the be beside the sea-side' and the rest of the sentimental twaddle that seems to be the stock-in-trade of too many theatre organists. For God's sake we want something with some weight and profundity to dig into intellectually, not just to appeal on a totally superficial level!

Not quite. I was referring to an item which I saw on YouTube, in which Ken Cowan was playing (form memory and in a public concert) Healey Willan's monumental Introduction, Passacaglia & Fugue, in E-flat minor. Having said this, I actually only liked it for two reasons: firstly, his performance was excellent - both accurate and thoroughly musical. And secondly - he somehow managed to make whatever Wurlitzer he was using sound like (for want of a more precise description) a cathedral organ. That is, apart from one brief moment in the middle, when it sounded exactly what it was - a theatre organ. Whilst barniclecompton may disagree (which is his privilege), I simply did not like the sound at this point - and cannot see any point in pretending that I did.

The point about the Wurlitzer sounding like a cathedral organ is very interesting.  I used to play, from time to time, a Compton organ in a church in Surrey.  The organ was built for a cinema, but right at the end of the programme of installing cinema organs, and consequently was never installed.  This church bought it, and installed it pretty much as was built, even with the horseshoe console with coloured stop tabs.  The only alteration was the removal of the heavy tremulants.  The resultant sound was amazing, and very cathedral like, in a building which was relatively small with a pretty nondescript acoustic.

Jonathan

KB7DQH

Diane Bish here in the USA has been presenting the "decadent music of our forebears" for a quarter century on her weekly television program "The Joy of Music"... See www.thejoyofmusic.org for more information ;)

The current choice of "decadent music of our forbears" coursing through the home audio reproduction equipment is a rather poorly produced Deutch-Grammaphon CD of the Faure'
Requiem ;D ;)  My parents and friends of theirs participated in a local presentation of same well over a quarter century ago.   Its amazing how a piece of music can stick in the brain cells for so long a period of time and when heard again one is able to recall so much of that period...  What's upsetting about this recording is the microphone placement favors the orchestra and choir but
only occasionally does the organ make its presence known...   :(  I guess being in the choir loft during all the rehearsals (near the pipework) tends to color my perception of how "I" think
the piece should be presented.  In the same way that my first exposure to Victimae Paschali Loudes (transcription from a Tournemiere improvisation by Maurice Durufle', performed by J. Melvin Butler on the Flentrop organ at St. Mark's Cathedral, Seattle)  will always be the "measuring stick" for which I  evaluate other presentations of the same piece.  (A stunning example of "playing the room"... as well as the organ ;) 

If one is "seeking people enthusiastic about pipe organs"-- this forum is certainly a good place to start ;)

Eric
KB7DQH
The objective is to reach human immortality—that is, to create things which are necessary to mankind, necessary to the purpose of the existence of mankind, and which have become the fruit that drives the creation of a higher state of mankind than ever existed before."

KB7DQH

 :o "Cinema organs" installed in Churches ???

Yes indeed!  One of the featured instruments in the 2010 ATOS convention in Seattle was a Rogers electronic "theater" organ, installed-- in a college chapel!

I discovered this "anomaly" in my earlier research on the Organ Historical Society website...

Not surprising, as cinemas no longer needed these instruments and with the depression economy shortly after sound was introduced to film, a church looking for a pipe organ could rehouse a redundant cinema organ and many did.  Generally this type of instrument was favored by more "contemporary" style worship traditions ;D

Another case which I discovered was a Kimball which was purchased by the Seattle School district and installed at Queen Anne High school.  After that building became redundant the organ was "restored" by a local organ firm, and the instrument, complete with :o a new, 3 manual drawknob console :o  and is currently installed at Franklin High school.   And to thicken the plot a bit, the cinema from which this organ was originally installed once again  has a cinema organ installed in its chambers!  What goes around comes around...

Eric
KB7DQH
The objective is to reach human immortality—that is, to create things which are necessary to mankind, necessary to the purpose of the existence of mankind, and which have become the fruit that drives the creation of a higher state of mankind than ever existed before."

diapason

The oldest playable Wurlitzer in  England is installed in a Congregational Church in Beer, Devon.  It is used regularly for services and is being restored by a group of enthusiasts who arrange regular concerts.

Nigel

revtonynewnham

Hi

A quick search on NPOR for Compton's in Surrey returns 17 current or past installations - although to be fair, several of these are in what is now Greater London (a quirk of the County definitions on NPOR being based on "historic county") - but that doesn't include many cinema organs (yet!) - and I suspect may well omit a number of small organs, especially the Miniatura range.

The Wurlitzer now in Beer is only a few months older than that now in Thomas Peacocke school in Rye - an organ that I used to play at least annually when we were in the area.

Every Blessing

Tony

revtonynewnham

Hi

Many You Tube posts are spoled not so much by the audio compression that You tube apply, but by the over-enthusiastic automatic level control on most consumer camcorders which tends to even out any dynamic variation (and not helped by the relatively poor nature of the microphones).

That's once reason why my last couple of you tube posts are stills over a recording initially made on Minidisc - and I'm planning to try running both camera and decent audio straight into the laptop for the next recordings that I'm hoping to find time to sort out soon.

Every Blessing

Tony

Jonathan Lane

Quote from: Voix Cynique on July 23, 2011, 01:55:11 PM
I know of one in a United Reformed church in Ipswich too. Jonathan, which church in Surrey was that with the Compton? I know of two large ones, one in Albury PC and one in Richmond-upon-Thames RC, but there may be others.
St Peter's Hersham, http://www.npor.org.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi?Fn=Rsearch&rec_index=N13838

Ignore the Brindley and Foster reference, I think it is misleading.  My understanding from local sources was that the Compton was installed straight from the factory.

Jonathan

revtonynewnham

Quote from: Jonathan Lane on July 23, 2011, 05:05:14 PM
Quote from: Voix Cynique on July 23, 2011, 01:55:11 PM
I know of one in a United Reformed church in Ipswich too. Jonathan, which church in Surrey was that with the Compton? I know of two large ones, one in Albury PC and one in Richmond-upon-Thames RC, but there may be others.
St Peter's Hersham, http://www.npor.org.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi?Fn=Rsearch&rec_index=N13838

Ignore the Brindley and Foster reference, I think it is misleading.  My understanding from local sources was that the Compton was installed straight from the factory.

Jonathan

Hi

If you look further down the page on NPOR you'll see that the B&F is well documented (and hence not really misleading!) - but I agree, it could be an earlier organ, or COmpton's could have re-used the pipework, as they did elsewhere.  You'd have to delve into the records (if they still exist) to find out.

Every Blessing

Tony

revtonynewnham

Quote from: Voix Cynique on July 23, 2011, 06:14:56 PM
Hmm... Compton was trained by B&F... is it possible that there's a nucleus of B&F pipework in it? Would one be able to tell the difference?

Hi

I don't know where your info came from, but according to DBOB, John Compton was apprenticed to Halmshaw in 1893.

Every Blessing

Tony

Sixty by Sixty

I'm enthusiastic about Pipe Organs.  Playing them has become the love of my life.  I didn't set out to be an organist.  I had a rather circuitous route to becoming one and now it has changed my life.  I started taking pipe organ lessons prior to having a pipe organ installed at our church and during the installation process I practiced at other churches for 3 weeks.  It was such a cool experience to play in different churches and different organs, that I decided to embark on a pipe organ project where I'm playing 60 pipe organs before I turn 60. 

I call it Sixty by Sixty a musical journey.  I have played 32 so far as part of my project and have met many wonderful and encouraging organists, visited many beautiful churches and played some lovely instruments.  I played all the pipe organs in Battle Creek, Michigan, as a sub-goal, and some of those instruments were not so great and sadly in serious need of repair.  So the second half of my project I'm hoping to play special instruments and continue to grow as a musician and in my knowledge of organs and organ music. 

Check out my blog at http://sixtybysixty.tumblr.com

Ellen
Sixty by Sixty

revtonynewnham

Keep it up Ellen.  It does become rather addictive.

Every Blessing

Tony

David Pinnegar

Dear Ellen

I had noticed your project and was very admiring.

It's interesting the way in which organs all being different require one to embark on pilgrimmages . . .

One organ that should be visited it St Giorgio Maggiore in Venice. In a pure Palladian church it is sited on the altar reredos with the monastery chamber behind, so putting the instrument probably at the Golden Section proportion of the building and the silver sound penetrates in all directions in a perfect acoustic.

Two more, mentioned before, are Albi and St Maximin - but one does need a handle on the appropriate repertoire to do justice to the instruments. The Giorgio Questa CDs are very interesting in this regard. I thought the registrations very dull at first until I noticed accompanying pitches of very high ranks.

Another interesting instrument looks to be at Bordighera
http://www.alessandrogiacobazzi.org/event_eng.html
http://www.musica-classica.it/forum/index.php?showtopic=11342
http://www.alessandrogiacobazzi.org/txtIncorsoDopera/Sceda%20tecnica%20Organo%20Bordighera.htm

Best wishes

David P

KB7DQH

The objective is to reach human immortality—that is, to create things which are necessary to mankind, necessary to the purpose of the existence of mankind, and which have become the fruit that drives the creation of a higher state of mankind than ever existed before."

KB7DQH

For someone considering a documentary of some sort on the future of the pipe organ, the following event

http://www.organmatters.com/index.php/topic,878.msg4216/topicseen.html#msg4216

would certainly be "worth more than the price of admission" ;)

Even if you could only get to the concerts 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

Eric
KB7DQH

The objective is to reach human immortality—that is, to create things which are necessary to mankind, necessary to the purpose of the existence of mankind, and which have become the fruit that drives the creation of a higher state of mankind than ever existed before."

KB7DQH

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkuVZ1n1IpE This is a local Television news clip, reporting on the newly-installed Casavant pipe organ in a new concert hall... The enthusiasm expressed by the reporter is infectious ;) 8)  and in the background audio one can get a "taste" of the instrument...

The only other Youtube clip of this instrument was produced by the Kauffmann Center, and could be found in the "suggestions" column from the previous clip.  This was a brief "test" of the instrument with volunteers sitting directly in front of the case in the "choir" seating area, around 200 enthusiastic individuals ;)

Currently the Kennedy Center is getting a New Casavant instrument installed in their concert hall also ;)

Eric
KB7DQH
The objective is to reach human immortality—that is, to create things which are necessary to mankind, necessary to the purpose of the existence of mankind, and which have become the fruit that drives the creation of a higher state of mankind than ever existed before."

darkroom000


David Pinnegar

Quote from: darkroom000 on June 16, 2012, 02:53:23 AM
The photos and information of the secretaire organ are available again here: https://sites.google.com/site/secretaireorgan/home

Interesting to see the photos of that organ and the simple 8842 specification clearly on a divided manual. But the page is quite hilarious in reference to a 1795 HammerKlavier:
QuoteOriginal strings, may need tuning. (Last tuned shortly before World War II.)

!!!

Best wishes

David P