33-4 Nov 2012
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November / December 2012 Number 33 Derby & District Organists' Registered Charity No. 510567 Association DDOA Events 2012 21st November - 7.15 pm START Chairman’s Event and AGM at St Werburgh’s, Spondon (See page 6) Concerts & Recitals Wednesday recitals at 8.00 pm St John the Evangelist, Dronfield. 7th November: Ken Ellis (Curbar PC) 5th December: George Parsons (London) Retiring collection. Wednesday recitals at 8.00 pm St John the Baptist, Staveley. 21st November: Eric Singelton (Unstone) 19th December: Ken Ellis, Geoffrey Gratton, Matthew Yeomans Retiring collection. 2012 Outing to Leeds - Tony Westerman Thursday recitals at 12.15 pm Chesterfield Parish Church 1st November: Ian Brackenbury The itinerary of this year’s outing strident; the reeds are very much 8th November: Keith Morgan (Mkt.Rasen) took us to three interesting venues in the English style, blending well 15th November: Frank Berry and equally interesting with the flues, and mixtures add a 22nd November: Ian Roberts (Ranmoor) instruments: the Binns organ (III certain gravitas to the full organ 29th Nov.: Shaun Turnbull (Blackburn) + P 41) in St. Aidan's, Roundhay; sound rather than brilliance. The Retiring collection. the Norman and Beard/Klais organ resonant acoustic of this very (IV + P 49) in Leeds RC Cathedral, large, tall building is aided by Sitwell Singers and the Schulze organ (IV + P 57) having an apse at each end and a Saturday 8 December, 7:30 pm in St Bartholomew's, Armley. As considerable amount of marble and St John’s, Bridge Street Derby ever, Willis Garratt steered our mosaic work. Wherever one transport of delight through the stands in the building one hears Derwent Singers nightmare of the Leeds traffic the full range of organ tone clearly. Saturday 24 November, 7.30 pm system, ably guided by our Organist Peter Brand offered us a Christ Church, Bridge St, Belper, DE56 1BA navigator Derek Fisher, allowing us warm welcome and demonstrated Handel ~ (£10.00) to make regal progress to each the rich palette of colours venue. Saturday 8 December, 7.00 pm available, including the Unda Maris St John’s, Main Road, Smalley, DE7 6DS The striking case and pipework of he has created by having the Choir (£7.00) the Binns organ have remained Dolce tuned flat. The Binns' Derby Choral Union at Derby Cathedral unchanged since 1896, with only patented tubular pneumatic action Saturday 10th November, 7.30 pm the addition of a Tuba in 1928. has recently been restored as part Poulenc ~ Debussy ~ This is a very comprehensive of a rolling restoration project and Puccini ~ instrument, strongly influenced by now provides a consistent the Schultze organ in Armley: response. However, there is still Saturday 22nd December, 7.30 pm choruses are bold, though not work to be done: the Pedal Saint-Saëns ~ Geoffrey Bush ~ Derby Bach Choir at Derby Cathedral Saturday 17 November, 7.30 pm Beethoven ~ & Vivaldi ~ (£17.50, £12, £5) Saturday 1 December, 7.30 pm Photos: Binns organ at St Aidan’s, Roundhay Playing: Tony Westerman (left) & John Hobbs Three splendid and engaging hosts, from left to right: Peter Brand, Organist of St Aidan’s, Roundhay, Daniel Justin, Assitant Organist, Leeds Cathedral and Christopher Newton, Assistant Organist, St Bartholemw’s, Armley Nave and Choir organs in Leeds Cathedral Trombone has been disconnected a revelation. If your experience of did not intrude into the playable due to an ingress of water, though Norman & Beard has been less area of the keys, and the action Peter told us that it was something than fulfilling, then I would urge was pleasingly responsive. This is of a disappointment as it does not you to hear this instrument. a very fine instrument, worthy of speak well from the depths of the On paper, the specification would the beautiful building and the chamber. appear to be typical octopodal- flourishing choral tradition being Leeds RC cathedral proved to be turn-of-the-century. Klais, developed by the cathedral staff. one of the most striking churches I however, have realised all of the The welcome given to us by the have visited. It is not a large latent potential of the original Assistant Organist, Daniel Justin, building for a cathedral, but is of pipework by placing it on the was fulsome, informative and beautiful proportions, the recently- original chests in positions from delivered with humour. Daniel cleaned stonework reflecting light which it can speak clearly into both played three pieces for us to with a warm, honeyed glow. The chancel and nave. The new Klais display the wide scope of the reredos and other Arts and Crafts pipework blends beautifully with instrument's potential and neo-gothic fittings have also been the original and, perhaps most demonstrated that his will be a restored, creating a comfortable, importantly from the player's name to watch – the playing was of welcoming interior that delights perspective, one can hear a very high standard. Subtly rather than overwhelms. During everything one plays, as it sounds, blended organ tone made up for the period when the building was as the console is also at clerestory the lack of mutations normally closed for cleaning and restoration, level. Accompanying must be a found on German instruments, and the Norman & Beard organ, silent delight. the full organ sound was for 30 years, was removed by There are seven divisions everything one would hope for Johannes Klais Orgelbau for controlled from manuals and without the senses being assaulted. restoration. pedals through a clever Our final destination was St The choice of a German organ arrangement of transfer stops. Bartholomew's, Armley, which builder to restore an English Whilst the possibilities inherent in houses one of the iconic instrument was not made without the transfer system took a little instruments of the nineteenth considerable thought. Numerous while to understand, they create a century. Built by the German firm schemes had been proposed over degree of flexibility which is really of Schulze in 1868, following upon many years, ranging from rather fine. The other aspect of their success at The Great interesting to quite bizarre, though the console that delighted was the Exhibition of 1851, the organ was I am pleased to write that the quality of workmanship: everything originally sited in a specially-built instrument now gracing both sides was within reach; the two swell wooden shed in the grounds of of the chancel at clerestory level is boxes were very effective; pistons Meanwood Manor – the size of the John Maxwell-Jones at Armley Gillian Chatto at Leeds Cathedral Andrew Storer at Armley 2 Vierne's Naïades Op. 55 No.4. Mr Recent Events Trinkwon's reputation as one of the leading virtuoso recitalists is Derby Cathedral Organ Recital founded upon his enviable Series 2012 technique and the breadth of his The eight recitalists in this year's repertoire, evidenced in the final programmes presented audiences two pieces Drifting Cloud by Deszö with many works that are not often d'Antalffy-Zsiross and Toccata de heard and some that were new to la Libération by Léonce de Saint- most, if not all, of the audience. If Martin. the variety and imagination It was my misfortune to miss apparent in the programmes this Stephen Grahl's recital, though it year is representative of a wider was clear from several comments pattern amongst recitalists on the made to me that his growing English circuit, then it can only help reputation as a recitalist is well- to broaden the appeal of the deserved. St Bartholemew’s, Armley instrument to a discerning musical public. Peter Gould offered works by organ would suggest that the Bach, Elgar, Hakim and Widor There is something about the first 'shed' was of considerable size, but amongst others. The performance few bars of any recital that either even so, in that environment the of Reger's Benedictus was captures an audience or leaves it organ must have been deafening. particularly fine, capturing the feeling indifferent to the music, or It was removed to St Peter's, complex harmonic weave of even worse, anxious. Jane Watts, Harrogate for a short while before Reger's romanticism and a sense in the opening recital of the series, being erected in St Bartholomew's. of spirituality. Mr Gould's not only established a comfortable Even in the vast space of this formidable technique was more sense of security in the opening church the organ is very powerful than equal to the demands of bars of Concert Variations on 'The – an instrument to be used with Hakim's Hommage à Jean Langlais Star-Spangled Banner' by Dudley some discretion, especially the V and the Allegro from Widor's VIth Buck, but established a formidable rank mixture on the Great. This Symphonie. really is an instrument with which measure against which the other congregations could not argue. performers in the series might be A beautiful interpretation of judged. In works ranging from Bach's Fuga sopra Magnificat Despite its great power, there is Franck to Messiaen, Jane Watts opened David Liddle's remarkable much that is beautiful and subtle displayed a mastery of both organ recital. All of his pieces were in all of the four manual divisions – and music, choosing to memorised; an impressive feat in the fourth manual is an Echo communicate through her itself, more so due to the complex Organ rather than a Solo – and performance rather than address nature of the works by Feliks once more, the position of the the audience. Nowowiejski (Symphony No 3 in A instrument on a large, raised minor) and Frederic Wood (Scenes Daniel Moult's more flamboyant gallery in the north transept allows in Northumberland, Op 25), each approach provided a complete it to speak clearly into the of which was beautifully contrast, as did his programme; building.