Organ matters - Organs matter!

David, I intend to burn this edition of mine. Not only has it made me look a complete berk but I have wasted a lot of time and energy learning an unauthentic version, when I could have learned the simpler original much quicker.

Thanks for the kind words, Tone. My mistake was being born. I feel that more than ever these days.

Best wishes,
Paul.

Hello Tony,

It appears I have an unusual version which adds an accompaniment to Bach's writing. No wonder it was bloody hard to learn!

This whole topic is thus rendered pointless. What an idiot.... ::)


Paul.

[Apologies to those who already know what follows. I am a bit slow on the uptake and have only just worked this out!]

Bach's famous Chorale Prelude on Wachet Auf is clearly written for a three-manual instrument, which is why I have always steered clear of it. Rummaging through some old music the other day, I came across the piece and decided to find a workaround for a two-manual organ.  At first I thought I could pull it off by switching stops on the Swell from string accompaniment to oboe for the chorale melody. This didn't work and disrupted the flow of the music. Playing the opening melody and accompaniment on the same manual didn't work either, but I discovered that it would work if I moved the melody line up an octave, returning it to the original pitch when the chorale melody comes in on the Swell. It's not perfect, but it is better than not playing it at all!

Best wishes,
Paul

"As long as the problems of the poor are not radically resolved by rejecting the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation, and by attacking the structural causes of inequality, no solution will be found for the world's problems, or, for that matter, to any problems. Inequality is the root of social ills."

This appears to be at odds with something the Pope's predecessor said back in 2009:

"Society does not have to protect itself from the market, as if the development of the latter were ipso facto to entail the death of authentically human relations...Therefore it is not the instrument that must be called to account, but individuals, their moral conscience and their personal and social responsibility." (Caritas et Veritate, Benedict XVI, 2009, #36).

Interesting.

Best wishes,
Paul.

David, I am grossly insulted by your implication that I swallow the crap churned out by the Daily Wail. I don't read newspapers. If you don't think unfettered immigration will have an effect on energy consumption that's your business, but clearly it is the 'elephant in the room' because we can't have a sensible debate about it in this country. And bringing the 'night of the broken glass' into this discussion proves it. Nobody is suggesting we pin yellow stars on immigrants.

Best wishes,
Paul

I think power shortages are about to become a serious problem in Britain. The 'elephant in the room' seems to be immigration. We just don't know how many people are going to come here next year. The LibDem attitude seems to be: "lets hope for the best, perhaps these people won't come here". Everyone misses the point on immigration: it's either about people taking British jobs and school places or even about culture change. But no-one seems to ask: "where are we going to put them all?". Even with the existing housing the power stations are struggling with demand, so that's why the Government have decided on the bedroom tax/spare room subsidy as a short term fix. They know their hand is forced by European rules, but they equally realise that embarking on a massive house building program without adequate power supply is sheer lunacy.

The American TV series 'Revolution' is perhaps an interesting foretaste of a possible future. At some point we WILL have to contend with power cuts a la 1970's again in Britain. Luckily, the pipe organ I play still has its bellows pump in place, and I have an acoustic piano at home, so I'll still be able to make music come the Apocalypse!

Best wishes,
Paul.

Hello chaps,

Here is another piece wot I wrote. It features Basil Harwood's tune 'Luckington' which normally accompanies the hymn 'Let All The World In Every Corner Sing'

http://musescore.com/user/118847/scores/138938

Best wishes,
Paul.

'I will refer to another topic here briefly, and suggest a thought experiment:  What happens to "civilized society" if we "kill all the organs?"'

One wonders if society is truly 'civilised' anymore. I vaguely remember some film in which Tommy Lee Jones remarks to Samuel L Jackson that civilisation died in the gas chambers of Auschwitz. Looking at the world today it would be hard to disagree with that statement.

Best wishes,
Paul.

Cheers JB! I appreciate your input. Writing anything for the organ can seem frustrating at times, because, if we're honest about it, the instrument is in a bit of a backwater in relation to the rest of the musical world. But gaining appreciation from a fellow musician more than makes up for this, so thanks.

Best wishes,
Paul.

Never mind Tony. Thanks for taking a look at them.

Best wishes,
Paul.

Hello everyone,
I have been hard at it writing more music for the organ. Here are movements I and III from a suite which I have composed for Advent. Movements II and IV to follow soon.

I. Chorale:
http://musescore.com/user/118847/scores/134846
III. Expectation:
http://musescore.com/user/118847/scores/134848

Best wishes,
Paul.

David,

I think perhaps the Church can sometimes get in the way of Christ's teachings. I am thinking particularly of man-made rules which were established a long time ago. It is these things which makes the Church lose relevance with people. But, how far do you take it? To make churches more relevant, should we make them like pubs and nightclubs because that is the culture with which the populace seems most comfortable? If I thought that would truly work, I would happily give up my place at the pipe organ and see it scrapped in favour of a DJ's set-up. Perhaps the Church should inculturate DJ equipment into its liturgy in the way it did with the pipe organ after its years of use as an accompaniment to slaughter in Roman amphitheatres!

For a highly intelligent man, Richard Dawkins behaves like an idiot. I don't think he believes his own hype. He goes out of his way to ridicule the beliefs of others but then says Grace at his old college at Oxford. If you are going to be atheist, at least be consistent.

From the Girl Guides to council prayers and the court oath, God is slowly being airbrushed out of public life. (It will be interesting to see how the Almighty is removed from the National Anthem though!) I don't agree that people are turning from God as a concept because of 'anthropomorphisation', it is purely from a standpoint of image. This turning away stems from embarrassment, because the current generation does not want to appear old fashioned. When I joined the Air Training Corps as a youngster, I had to swear an oath of allegiance and to promise to do 'my duty to God, my Country and my Queen'. I can honestly say that there was no embarrassment on our part, it was an accepted part of joining. There was no 'image problem' for us. Not so now, and it is why I feel our culture is changing, and may disappear completely one day. There is also a complete lack of a sense of occasion on the part of many people today, which is why I had to witness foul language in the hallowed cloisters of Chester Cathedral recently. I did nothing apart from mutter under my breath, but with the ugly behaviour of people these days you have to weigh up the consequence of complaining with the risk of ending up in A&E!

'Don't do harm to your neighbour' actually does harm, because it results in people passing by on the other side of the road. On the other hand, as you have mentioned in previous posts, some people commit terrible atrocities because of their warped view of God and their misplaced beliefs. But, as I understand it, Christ is all about a four-letter word which means far more than just a grotty Valentine's card. And that is why these idiots who gun down children at a cooking contest will never meet Him.

Best wishes,
Paul.

Remind me never to argue with a Yorkshireman.....

Dear God, no wonder the Plantagenets fell out!

Best wishes,
Paul.
(Dumbstruck Lancastrian)

David, as a church organist I have to say that Christianity is certainly NOT a comfort zone anymore. We're a minority. We are swimming against the tide, but perhaps we are standing up to be counted, as was Alan Greaves when he was murdered last Christmas Eve. Because I believe that Christianity is under real threat in Britain, apathy being the main problem. Apathy will ultimately create a void into which other faiths that are not of our culture will move into. The time of Christians practicing their faith in caves once again may be many years into the future, but the seeds are being sown now.

If I may say so David, you still seem a little confused on matters of faith. Perhaps you have heard the following statement: "if you are not with me, you are against me". People often get the source of this quote wrong and think Nixon said it. Well, maybe he did, but I don't need to tell an intelligent chap such as yourself where it really originated from. For me, it is a clear-cut, uncompromising statement. It says, like the old union song, "which side are you on"? I don't think you have quite decided for yourself yet, David.

When it comes down to it. Faith is a matter of trust.

Best wishes,
Paul.

I have to accept that Yorkshire has an impressive record of championship wins.

However, here are some things which Lancashire has given to the world:
The kilt, the torpedo, the co-operative movement, the jelly baby, tide times, the police force, Meccano, white road markings, the suffragette movement, the theatre organ, (Yes, Mr Hope-Jones was born on the Wirral, but he did work for the Lancashire and Cheshire Telephone Company which allowed his creative genius to come to light.) Lancashire hotpot, Blackpool rock, the world's first overhead electric railway, electric lights (Blackpool's first illuminations preceded Thomas Edison's patent of the electric light bulb by twelve months), Britain's first electric street tramway, the world's first passenger railway, the world's first passenger railway viaduct, the world's first skewed bridge over a railway line, The Beatles, St Patrick (his grandad may have originated in Ravenglass, once part of the county Palatine, so we'll assume he's one of us. It's tenuous, but it works for me!) the world's first children's hospital, the spinning jenny, Stan Laurel, Eric Morecambe, Patrick Stewart... I could go on, but I think you get the idea.

Not bad for a county of primitive Lancastrians.....

Best wishes,
Paul.

Ahh! yes, lets talk cricket!

County championship winners in the last ten years:



Year Winner                     Runner-up
2003     Sussex                  Lancashire
2004    Warwickshire             Kent
2005     Nottinghamshire       Hampshire 
2006     Sussex                  Lancashire
2007     Sussex                     Durham
2008     Durham                   Nottinghamshire
2009     Durham                   Nottinghamshire
2010     Nottinghamshire       Somerset
2011     Lancashire!!!      Warwickshire
2012     Warwickshire            Somerset
2013     Durham                    Yorkshire

Congrats JB. God's own county managed one runners-up place in ten years. Perhaps it's time  boring, blocking, Boycott made a return to the crease!

Best wishes,
Paul.

This landslide of redundant pipe organs is fast turning into an avalanche.....

Best wishes,
Paul.

Quote from: JBR on October 09, 2013, 07:16:46 PM

You're all Lankies!

Yorkshire born, Yorkshire bred. Strong in the arm........... ;)

Best wishes,
Paul.

Thank you kind sir!

By the way, I see you are a Manc. I live in St Helens, not too far (but far enough ;)) from Scouseland. It's a strange place, St Helens. Everyone east of the M6 thinks we're Scousers, and Scousers think we're Wiganers (the ultimate insult!)

Best wishes,
Paul.

Cheers Tony.

Paul.