September / October 2011 Number 26 Derby & District Organists' Registered Charity No. 510567 Association DDOA Events 2011 24th September Outing to Oakham churches and Peterborough Cathedral. 24th October Composers’ workshop with Paul Fisher 22nd November Chairman’s Event and AGM Concerts & Recitals Saturday 3rd September, 7.30 pm St.John the Evangelist, Derby Chris Johns (Director of Music at Leicester Cathedral) Friday & Saturday 9-10th September, 1-5 pm English Heritage Open Day at St Andrew’s PC, Barrow Hill, Chesterfield Displays, talks, tours and demonstration of the historic Holt organ recently restored by Ed Stow Wednesday 21st September 7:30pm Organ Recital by Malcolm Archer (Winchester College) on the 1867 Holdich Organ. Hinckley United Reformed Church, The Borough, Hinckley, Leics. LE10 1NL Admission £8:00 Under 18s Free Musical Life in a Royal Castle Thursday 29th September, 12.15pm Organ Scholar Ben Bloor at Windsor Chesterfield Parish Church Organ recital by Peter Williams Works by Bach, Travers, Alain, Gigout, Observers of the Derby organ To the main business of making Vierne & Mathias scene will instantly recognise the music, Ben soaked up most of his daylight hours either practising, organist in our cover picture this Saturday 8th October, 7.30 pm. rehearsing or performing. month. Ben Bloor has been a Harvest Concert presented by David Satisfying his appetite for learning rising star since his days as a Wells. Radbourne Church chorister and Organ Scholar at new music, whether Derby Cathedral and during the accompaniments for choral works th past year has been living in or free organ works, was a daily Weekend 29-30 October Windsor Castle where he has been preoccupation. On the day that Festival at St Oswald’s, Ashbourne, celebrating the newly restored organ. Organ Scholar at St George’s we visited, he was putting the Saturday 2-5: Exhibitions & activities. Chapel. Ben kindly invited my wife finishing touches to a Rheinberger 7.30 pm Choral concert with Peter and me to visit him earlier this sonata and Stanford in G Mag. and Harrison (Clare College, Cambridge) year and we spent a delightful Nunc ready for Evensong later that Sunday 2.30 pm Opening Recital by morning with a young man who afternoon. Ben lived in one of the Paul Hale (Southwell Minster). was clearly living his dream. cluster of apartments known as Living within the castle itself was the ‘Horseshoe Cloisters’ within Recitals at the Albert Hall, very near the top of Ben’s list of the western wall of the castle. Nottingham things that he really loved about Essential equipment in his three- Sundays at 2.45pm. Free admission his appointment and we room flat was of course a piano, th appreciated very much his guided half buried under several piles of 4 September – Nigel Ogden (BBC) tour of the State Rooms which he music. His neighbours were 2nd October – Daniel Moult (London) conducted with relish. mostly lay clerks of the choir and 30th October – Carlo Curley [Anniversary Ben spoke warmly of the friendly Recital – Admission £8] tight-knit community there, indeed, finest Harrison organs and, of he offered the opinion that the course, living in a royal castle! strong bonds within the community My wife and I are very grateful created teamwork which so to Ben for sparing a morning with benefitted the quality of music us amidst a hectic schedule, just a making. few days before the Royal Garter The weekly round of services at service, when the Queen would the Chapel was very similar to that definitely be present. of a typical cathedral; three Laurence Rogers services on Sunday, four full choral evensongs on weekdays and a lay clerks’ evensong on Saturday. Ben Recent Events shared about 50% of the playing with the Assistant Organist, Visit to organs at Newton Richard Pinel. He declared that he Solney and Willington had learnt so much about his art from Richard and described his Parishioners at St Mary’s, playing of Bach as “sublime”. The Newton Solney turned out in Director of Music, Timothy Byram- strength to welcome members to their church on a June evening. Wigfield, played occasionally, but in Ben at home in Windsor Castle the main was ‘directing’, as his title Although rather tucked away in This has been a fruitful year for dictates. These were key people in the north aisle, the organ was a Ben expanding his repertoire. His mentoring Ben and their trust and delight to the eye and ear. For its previous experience at Derby confidence in him was apparent small size, the two- Cathedral had given him a demonstrated by the numerous manual Bevington had a lovely grounding with a whole range of opportunities he was given to take range of resources, including two service settings which stood him in responsibility. At the time of our reeds and a mixture on the Swell. good stead at Windsor, so much so meeting he had already conducted Playing members demonstrated its that he has been able to devote the lay clerks on several occasions versatility with a variety of more time to learning free organ and was shortly to conduct the full baroque and romantic pieces. works. He greatly appreciated the choir at an evensong. Each amount of spare time he had for Another warm welcome awaited morning he was on regular duty at practice – much more than when us at St Michael’s, Willington. 6.30 am in St George’s School, he was still at school and, in all Here the instrument spoke boldly supervising the instrumental probability, more than when he will into the small church with a power practice of junior choristers before begin university studies in the that easily matched the needs of a breakfast. He related how valuable coming Autumn. He described the rather dry acoustic. In particular this experience was in establishing Harrison organ as a wonderful we enjoyed the sweet tones of the a rapport with the boys in the choir instrument and briefly flutes, but David Shooter’s context and recognised its value in demonstrated this to us with the rendering of ‘How great thou art’, the subtle art of communication opening bars of the Bach G minor with octave couplers blazing, which any choir trainer must Fantasia. Although the instrument stirred unanimous approval. As at acquire. bristles with modern electronic our first venue, there was a very He was very keen to dispel the registration aids, Ben prefers to friendly atmosphere with much myth once propagated by a local meet the challenge of manual stop comradely banter. We are newspaper headline that he “plays changes so that he can more easily grateful to our member Dorothy for the Queen every day”. In truth handle registration on less Cope for helping with the he had played for the Duke of sophisticated organs. Fortunately arrangements. Edinburgh, but the visits of the he has a good memory for Laurence Rogers Queen and Duke to the chapel registrations. He has made a point were occasional rather than regular of developing this manual skill occurrences. especially in accompanyingStephen Johns psalms, aiming to play every verse with a different registration. Originally it was Peter Gould’s suggestion that, having already secured an organ scholarship to study at New College, Oxford, Ben should take a ‘gap’ year to gain a broader musical experience before taking up academic study. Ben was very grateful for this advice and feels that the experience has made him a better all-round musician. Ironically, ‘gap’ seems the complete opposite of what Ben has experienced this year – a life brimming full of music-making with a wonderful choir, congenial A basement for Ben, but rooms with a view colleagues, one of the country’s Beautifully decorated facade at Newton Solney 2 IAO Congress 2011 perhaps envied a little their gallery organ speaking boldly into a community pride in cultural cavernous acoustic; on the other Since the first IAO Congress in achievements. One such example hill, a squat medieval cathedral 1920, this was the first year the was the St.Peter’s Cathedral (St.Patrick’s again, but this time annual event has been held in Schola Cantorum Boys Choir whose Church of Ireland), with a superbly Northern Ireland. For many of us sublime singing, directed by Nigel refined organ in two sections facing attending it provided an exciting McClintock, echoed around the each other across the chancel. The opportunity to explore a land of dome of the Belfast City Hall. recital in the former cathedral was organs where tourism has been given by three young men aged 21, inhibited by politics for too many Each venue offered an experience 15 and 12 who gave accomplished years. What we found was a of unique personality in terms of performances of works by Bach, vibrant organ scene; amazing players, instruments and Franck, Howells, Boëllman and instruments in beautiful cathedrals programmes. The mighty William d’Atanlffy. In the latter cathedral and churches and a community of Hill organ at the glorious Ulster David Adams gave us beautifully organists justly proud of their Hall was the perfect instrument for crafted performances of less heritage and achievements. a performance of a transcription of frequently heard works by Liszt, Beethoven’s Egmont Overture by An action-packed programme Stanford, Alain, Litaize and Colm Carey a brilliant player who took us to no less than eight Duruflé. later gave an inspiring masterclass cathedrals in five days, treated us on another Hill organ in St.Thomas’ On following days visits to to twelve recitals, a masterclass, Church where we heard the Elgar Londonderry and Dublin each civic receptions at Stormont Sonata.