I was inspired by Percy Scholes' question "How could the Bach 48 have been played on Dr Burney's piano?". In the late 18th century pianos in England were tuned to Meantone. How long did this endure? My researches into Mozart suggested that Meantone was important to interpretation of Mozart's music.
What about Beethoven? A friend visited and kindly recorded The Tempest https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oV0bkcSr_Kg . In my view it adds to the magical atmosphere alluded to in the presumed association with Shakespeare's play.
The apparently increasing decline of interest in organs is depressing. I think it's associated with a lack of familiarity and a failure of the Church, which is why in the pasty I have encouraged philosophical contemplation of theology and a rebellion against the evangelical simplitism of the 1970s to encourage something deeper. Such, indeed is encouraged "When we are a child we see as a child . . . etc . . . but then we put away childish things. . . . We see as through a glass darkly but then face to face."
The problem is that because none are encouraged to grow from the child view and the child view doesn't measure up to really what is the source of creation of all, it's rejected. For this reason the modern church is empty, barren of meaning in common sense and experience, and dying.
This instrument is for sale on account of the passing of its builder. Originally working with a pipe-organ organ builder he went on to become a connoisseur of instruments and of French Baroque in particular and the console is constructed to perfection.
Anyone interested please contact me and I will put you in touch with his widow.
I've recently completed research which led me into writing a paper to be published shortly in being asked to talk to the Friends of the London Mozart Players about "The Colour of Tuning in Mozart's time"
A video of the lecture is on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bt-ttLY5ex8 . It was as a result of Arthur Ord-Hume writing in respect to 18th century barrel organs that the tuning made one wince, and that it was intended to, that the penny dropped that Mozart should be auditioned in no less than 1/4 comma meantone. Upon doing so, his piano sonatas revealed most interesting results - it was like developing a photograph, and Mozart's Fantasias in F minor made more sense on two ranks of pipes, as written for, rather than the muscular interpretation we've all enjoyed on full organ with equal temperament.
According with and making audible Schubart's description of the character of each key, written in 1787, I wondered if we might have got the wrong end of the stick with regard to Bach's 48 preludes and fugues for well tempered clavier. The lecture includes demonstrations and those with meantone tuned organs might experiment starting in C with a plain diapason, registering the keys known to Schubart for increasing brightness, and registering the dark keys as in the lecture demonstration, with a mournful Stopped Diapason or Leiblich Gedakt. The cycle of compositions seems to make sense and to work, indicating that it might not have been written to celebrate new tuning but actually to exploit the emotional "Affekt" of each key.
I've recently completed writing a paper for a lecture about "The Colour of Tuning in Mozart's Time" and made some interesting discoveries.
The Mozart Fantasias written for Mechanical Organ are usually given an enjoyably muscular treatment in performance on the organ and no doubt we've all enjoyed them that way.
However, they were actually written in F minor, as most things of the period were written in F minor, on the subject of death, death of a Hero. He'd been valiant in the Battle of Belgrade and an art installation was created to commemorate his death and life, rather in the nature of what one might see at the Tate Modern. He was to be seen encased in a glass coffin, surrounded by mirrors asking for our reflection upon the scene, a mourning Turkish woman and guards, mournful, standing to attention. Surmounted by a clock, the inevitable issues of time were to come to mind, eternity, truncation of life, marching on of events, of soldiers marching.
How much of this scene does a conventional interpretation evoke, or rather if you can imagine the scene, how would a conventional interpretation add to the melancholy and to the reflection upon the sight before you?
The secret was in the tuning of the organ pipes to Meantone. Only then could the F minor evoke all the passions of
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Deep depression, funereal lament, groans of misery and longing for the grave
And the next secret was to register the performance on the ranks of pipes which would have been used by the mechanical organ of a mechanical clock.
Contemporary accounts referred to the sound of flutes and a bassoon. So a Stopped Diapason and a reed with truncated resonators, not taking up much space in the clock organ, for the bass.
The performance was said to have taken 8 minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJVisln4ghM goes some way to that. But even that performance on a mechanical organ doesn't quite convey the emotion which a performance in Meantone has automatically inherent.
Playing Mozart piano sonatas on a piano tuned . . . to Meantone . . . is particularly revealing.
So I decided to go for the jugular to prove how ghastly playing the Well Tempered Clavier on an organ tuned to meantone is - and I discovered that it's not the tuning that's ugly - it's the registration. In the "bad" keys Bach wrote quite differently and if you register them on a sensitive stop with suppressed harmonics such as a Stopped Diapason or Lieblich Gedakt . . . the pieces in Ab major and Bb minor and all the rest are not only playable but make sense in the emotional Affects recorded by Schubart.
Those with access to Hauptwerk or another meantone capable organ please try it. What do you think?
Start in C major with registration on a simple plain Diapason and then in the major keys add registration according to Schubart's scale of Affekt.
And if you perform or record them please give a link and credit to this post!
Nous sommes ravis de vous annoncer l'édition 2018 du Festival International d'Orgue de Lille. Cette année encore , tous les dimanches après midi (16:30), du 01/07 au 27/08, et le 15/08 , nous accueillerons le fleuron des organistes européens, autour de l'orgue, de st Martin d'Esquermes à Lille . Quartier de Vauban Esquermes.
Sur la console ( lieu où joue le musicien) mobile dans la nef, les auditeurs découvriront la virtuosité des musiciens, en temps réel. Français du nord, de Paris , Belges, Américains, Italiens, Anglais et autres Canadiens viendront défendre leur talent dans des programmes éclectiques et virtuoses. Une occasion 'facile' de se familiariser avec l'instrument, la musique classique, et découvrir de nouveaux horizons artistiques.
The Silk Road from China to the west has received a lot of attention recently with the publication of Peter Francopan's book on the subject linking the dots of the routes in the rise of production of and export of silk in the second half of the first millennium BC.
For some time I've been saying that the Gospel of Thomas is Buddhist in its spirit with a sprinkling of Confucius, and others say that John shows origins in Zoroastrianism.
The reason why the Church isn't mainstream any more is that people are seeing that its singular approach to the Divine isn't the whole picture, not relevant to the real world and for many I believe the Cross and the figure of Jesus is an idol.
Only when the Church moves in a more holistic approach to the Divine will it find relevance, and the future of the Organ survive.
We don't give credit to the ancients, their facility for transcontinental trade, communication of goods and communication of thought in any way as different brands of a common currency. It was with this, perhaps that Jesus gave in a reform to Judaism.
"Sacred by thy Name"
In other words - it should not be pronounced. In the Name of Jesus, we replace a name that should not be pronounced by another Name, and it should not be pronounced, uttered.
The Tao that can be trodden is not the enduring and unchanging Tao. The name that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging name.
"I am the Light. I am the Way" says Jesus. Was he usurping competing religions? Or was he bringing them together? Not to replace but be part?
Those "pagan" religions oh so to be derided . . . In the wisdom of Apollo, again representative of light, the Name was never to be uttered. Light not of the world but of the mind. Holman Hunt's painting is misleading in so far as depicting a light of material form.
Ideas of the ancient world were much more universal perhaps than we give credit for, and now to be shown up as such in the universalism inherent in a World Wide Web. We think that modern technology is so much more effective than that of the ancients but perhaps in the days of old our ideas were bound by the communication spawned by a web of silk.
Perhaps let this joyous day to come be a celebration of the idea of the Creator which can echo in us the power of creation even when others don't understand how to create.
Not the Creator known by Religion.
By Creator I don't mean that person who people ask about external to the cosmos who created the cosmos, but that power of creation within the cosmos of which the cosmos is its own mind, and of which we are part.
Quarks come together to make protons. The ones that haven't aren't here.
Protons come together to make atoms. The ones that haven't aren't here.
Atoms come together to make molecules. The ones that don't aren't here.
Molecules come together to make . . . etc etc etc
That ability to work together to Create is the Creator.
When we understand that then we are part of the work of the Creator creating.
Today, if you're alone perhaps see if you can find other people who celebrate the birth of the idea of the son of the creator, who understand. Those who don't understand cause troubles because they don't know how to create.
They cause the pains of others and most of all themselves - but they don't understand that.
Only when people have discovered pain do they really understand the Creator better. Unfortunately some people cannot get enough pain and so create it themselves. It's best to avoid them and instead find people who understand.
Working together - the cosmos is self fertilising - if it can happen it will happen and what produces produces more than what creates less and what creates less produces more than that which produces nothing at all. So what creates nothing at all isn't here - or it dies. What doesn't work with the rest of creation and doesn't create becomes irrelevant.
There are many who believe time for the human race is short. That's because humans who have only the understanding of animals will be victim of their own uncreation. But if humans understand their part in creation and create in harmony with all else created by the process I've described above, then humans will flourish as part of the mind of the cosmos.
For anyone interested, the little baby whose birth we celebrate was visited by three Magi. It was Hermes Tre-Magistus who taught that the universe, cosmos, was - eternal - self fertilising - itself the mind of God
So today perhaps we may find somewhere to sing praises to the power of creation, working together, love in the real sense. And in doing so, goodness knows who else we might meet who also understands. And we might find transformation.
We're made of the stuff that at every level of sophistication has followed the spirit and power of working together - quarks, protons, atoms, molecules, proteins, DNA, genes, species . . . . but so many people have forgotten what we're made of.
Even though some people might feel having been kicked in the teeth this year, to compost are those who don't understand how to create, mere raw materials to be used by that which understands how to do it. And a rather wise bloke whose birth we celebrate today talked of the mathematics of it all. So in life we don't need to be that compost to feed what creates most, that talent buried in the ground.
Praise to the invisible, all powerful and everywhere, that process of creation of love and working together that brings us about. May we recognise all our part in it.
Today's the day to find the other people who understand. Forget those who haven't understood - go find those who do.
That's what Christmas is about, and all the more to rant about!
The local church has been declared redundant . . . but there's still demand for a carol event in the Village Hall. We thought of accompanying carols on a strident Sperrhake harpsichord . . . but perhaps it might not support singing if there are enough people.
So I resurrected a Viscount CM100 expansion unit and found an old Midi keyboard and from the library of stops set up 16 Gamba 8 Gamba 8 Viol D'Amour 8 Principal 8 Stopped Diapason 4 Principal 4 Flute 2 2/3 Twelfth 2 Fifteenth Sesquialtera II Mixture 8 Trompette
Of course the effectiveness is governed by voicing and relative balance between stops but after a little work on this the result of the unit working just with one manual is remarkably impeccable. Much better than ever I expected and actually better than many more complete electronic instruments I've heard.
If anyone's thinking of selling a CM100 I'm possibly a willing buyer!
H J Nelson 1921 East Stanley Methodist Church Chester Road DH9 0TU Grid ref: NZ204531 NPOR G01406 2mp/12 Tracker/Mechanical action Dimensions Width: c.13 ft Depth: c.6 ft 8 ins Height: c.16 ft Approximate sizes Front to back wall = 80" Height above center peak = 105" Width of peak (lefthand side) = 29.5" Width of peak (righthand side) = 30.5" Floor to base of peaks = 89" Footwell = 105" Wide x 36" High x 15.5" Depth Keyboard window = 48" Wide x 33 " High Each side from keyboard window to outer edge = 25.5" Organ stool = 53" Long x 30" High x 10" Wide The Church is closed and the organ is immediately available. Department and Stop list Pedal Key action Tr Stop action Me Compass-low C Compass-high f1 Keys 30 1 Bourdon 16 2 Bass Flute 8 Great Key action Tr Stop action Me Compass-low C Compass-high a3 Keys 58 3 Open Diapason 8 4 Hohl Flute 8 5 Dulciana 8 6 Principal 4 7 Gedact Flute 4
Swell Key action Tr Stop action Me Compass-low C Compass-high a3 Keys 58 Enclosed 8 Lieblich Gedact 8 9 Voix Celeste 8 10 Viol D'Orchestre 8 11 Gemshorn 4 12 Oboe 8 13 Tremulant Console Console type Attached Stop type Drawstop Pedalboard Radiating Concave Couplers Swell to Pedal Swell to Great Swell octave Great to Pedal The buyer is responsible for removal. All enquiries to the contact below please. Church Contact: Mr Cyril Robinson Woodlands, 3 Park Close, Annfield Plain, Stanley, Co Durham, DH9 7UW Tel. 01207 234215 Email cyrilr@talktalk.net
I'm wondering if with the new figures showing the dead end of the Church of England with so few children attending church that the organ is now finally a dinosaur . . . ?
I'm wondering how many people have enthusiasm having built their own organs fir home?
Sometimes I hear of people talking about having a spare rank of pipes or a soundboard or two. . . And wonder the extent of home enthusiasms for pipe organs? And how many have built or are building a software virtual organ?
I'm wondering if the drop-off of interest in organs, expressed in this forum and according to others in Organ groups on Facebook, and the lack of response to Martin Renshaw's call to action is indicative of something else.
When I was growing up, church services rarely touched on the Acts of the Apostles, and focussed more upon Jesus' teachings about God. It was murmured that the Acts of the Apostles were in some way troublesome and not talked about much. Likewise much of the Epistles.
Now wherever I look the Church seems to focus upon the Church and its supremacy and upon worship of its teacher, rather than upon worship of God.
To those not involved in Charismatic nor Evangelical movements I wonder if that is seen by most, and rejected, for what it is.
It is no surprise therefore that demand for organs in Churches in worship of God is declining with the passing of those generations whose focus was upon God rather than the Teacher.
So for these reasons and many more, organs are increasingly finding themselves ‘unwanted’. Everyone ‘in the business’ knows about this but must the present decline continue ? Are the systems that exist to advise on organs, set up when organs were not only ‘wanted’ but seen as normal and good in themselves still really capable of protecting them in the new situation we are in ?
The second reason for calling a conference has been the experience of surveying over 800 medieval churches since 2012 for a research project under the general title of ‘soundsmedieval’. While doing this work, to look for – and find – the surviving physical infrastructure of extensive daily musical activity in medieval churches, we met many people who are responsible for their upkeep. They see their congregations diminish every year, but are determined to try to keep their churches open. We did see and hear some well-loved and cared-for organs, but we also saw instruments, some very good ones, that were not used, and we were often told that finding an organist had become a serious problem. It was clear that maintaining these instruments was a cost whose position in the order of priorities in overstretched budgets was slipping or even non-existent.
Meanwhile, the Church of England has commissioned a number of reports in recent years which show that in most places further decline seems to be inevitable. Last year the Department of Culture, Media and Sport launched an enquiry-review into the Sustainability of Churches. This asked if local communities - whether they attend their local Church of England church or not – might have a ‘responsibility’ for the preservation or upkeep of church buildings. It also asked for suggestions over what churches need to offer in order to be attractive as venues for wider events and ventures. The results of this review, which closed for submissions early this year, were originally supposed to be reported by the receiving committee before Easter, then by early July, but now are due to be revealed ‘in the autumn’. By all accounts, the DCMS was overwhelmed with ideas and reactions.
For organs, though, unless a well-thought- out new approach to the problem is found, the picture could be bleak. One recent suggestion has been to designate many rural churches as ‘festival churches’. This sounds good until you realise that this means they will not be used for worship more than a few times a year, just at major festivals or for funerals. No doubt many churches in small or remote communities may go that way, but it doesn’t need much imagination to see that organs in such places will deteriorate to the extent that they cannot be rescued at affordable cost. To ask an organ to perform perfectly after a long silence is obviously unreasonable, as it would also be to ask an organist to play an organ which might inevitably have become unreliable. If churches themselves become community assets, will the maintenace of organs be shouldered by the community as well, unless they see that it has a useful cultural or educational role ?
Venue : St Stephen’s church, Rosslyn Hill, Hampstead, 5 minutes’ walk from either Belsize Park Underground station (Northern Line, Edgware branch) or from Hampstead Heath Overground station (Richmond-Stratford section)
Date : Saturday 23 September 2017, doors open at 10 a.m.
Aims of conference :
- To see what systems are currently in place in the various ‘exempt denominations’ to safeguard organs, and how well these systems are working.
- To share good and bad experiences, - and to see if, in the new era of Sustainability, organs can be better protected.
- To discuss how they might be maintained in playing condition - and to see how they might be used more widely for cultural purposes and teaching.
- To explore what might be done with good organs that need to be moved – do they really have to go abroad ? What organs need to be kept in the UK ‘at all costs’, and what systems are in place to achieve this aim ?
Chair : Peter Burman
Special guest : Judith Weir
Composer-in- residence : David Loxley-Blount ; a new piece by him will be premièred
Organ players : Timothy Roberts, Paul Nicholson
Films about ‘unwanted organs’ specially made by James Dawson
There is no charge for the conference, but conference registration and tickets for the ‘Pipes and Strings’ concert will need to be booked via the link on the www.soundsmedieval.org web-site. (See below for more details.)
Proposed programme for the day :
Open 10 am ; tea & coffee
1st session starts at 10.30 with introductions from the Chair and Martin Renshaw. We then will hear up to 8 representatives, including those from the five English exempt denominations, the Churches ConservationTrust and the
Church Commissioners. They will speak about their advisory systems and their engagement with the safeguarding of organs for about 10 minutes each.
Lunch from 1 – 2.30 (sandwiches, soup, cake, fruit, tea/coffee) with live music and films, posters, power point shows etc
2nd session 2.30 – 4 : round-table and open discussion : Where do we go from here ? How can systems be improved and will denominations work together ? What impact will there be from ‘sustainability’ issues?
4-4.30 : tea and entry of those coming just for the concert
4.30-6 : ‘Pipes and Strings’ : a concert to include music by Purcell and Bach, with organ concertos by Mozart, John Stanley, JohnWorgan and others, and the première of a new composition by David Loxley-Blount.
Organ player : Tim Roberts
String players : Conor James Gricmanis, James Orrell, Hatty Haynes and Bill Hunt
Organs : formerly unwanted organs of 1750, c1790 and 1829
The concert ticket will include a choice wine reception at 6 pm, the wine coming from places where English organs have gone to, or soft drinks.
Booking will need to be made through the soundsmedieval web-site for the conference (10 am to 4 pm) and concert (4 to 6). Please register in advance through this site, even though entry to the conference itself (10 am – 4 pm) is free. We are asking for a £10 donation on the day towards conference tea, coffee and lunch. Concert entry (and drinks) will be £10 if booked in advance through the web-site, or £12 on the door. Full-time student concert advance tickets are £8 ; the concert will be free for children who are 12 and under if accompanied by a responsible adult (maximum 2 children per adult).
It's a real pleasure to hear Radio 3 devoting time to an organ recital - and with David Goode playing Bach on the Metzler at Trinity there's real inspiration.
I saw reference to its "idiosyncratic" tuning and this was music to my ears. Bach really comes alive on the Metzler and http://www.cambridgeorganacademy.org/bachand.htm relates that it's tuned to Werkmeister. If only more instruments were tuned to systems with perfect fifths . . .
join us in Worcester in the Georgian tranquillity of St Swithun’s Church for cantantibus organis exploring the unique musical landscape of the late mediaeval organ - FRIDAY 16 JUNE at 2.30pm St Swithun’s Church, Worcester WR1 2RH with KIMBERLY MARSHALL Goldman Professor in Organ, Arizona State University featuring THE WETHERINGSETT ORGAN
Kimberly will coach organists of all ages in repertoire of the English pre-Reformation: apply to play in Kimberly’s masterclass (five places available for organists of all ages) or apply to observe - ONLINE BOOKING AT https://www.rco.org.uk/events.php?eventid=492 (concessions for RCO Members)
Topics - David Pinnegar
