Continental organs

[ardcarp]

Sorry about the catch-all title. I'm really talking about a very recent experience in Norway, accompanying a choir. It was a lovely instrument, both in appearance and in its werk-prinzip design. It had two manuals (corresponding to our Great and Swell) plus a straight pedalboard. It had suspended mechanical key action, very sensitively regulated so that a sneeze would depress a key. A bit scary. The thing that puzzled me was that whilst it was fine for playing music by the Baroque masters, there was minimal registration for accompanying a choir...which is what I was doing. The enclosed division was over-generously supplied with mutations, but nothing quiet enough on the Great to accompany them with.

It was in a church, so do I conclude that choral music is not a priority?

I think the new monster at Buckfast Abbey has similar problems; strange, since accompanying the rather few brothers in their daily offices must surely be one of its purposes.

The console had stop knobs, but not angled like on a typical British organ. The combinations were worked electrically, but only moved the stop-knobs in and out by a minimal distance, so at a glance it was quite tricky to work out which stops were sounding. I dare say one would fall in love with this instrument given familiarity, but 20 mins before the (English) choir turned up amounted to living dangerously. Such is the organist's lot.

[smittims]

You remind me of a lady-friend of mine who said she could never like driving a BMW as they seem made for speed alone.

Some of my favourite Continental organs on disc are those at S.Jacobi in Lubeck and SS. Peter and Paul in Cappel, played by Helmut Walcha in his mono set of the Bach repertoire. More 'choir-friendly' I guess than the massive beast in Alkmaar he took to later.

[vinteuil]

The thing that puzzled me was that whilst it was fine for playing music by the Baroque masters, there was minimal registration for accompanying a choir...which is what I was doing.

... when Exeter College Oxford chose a new organ in the 1990s one factor influencing their choice was exactly that : the then current fashion for installing 'Bach type' baroque style organs in other colleges didn't always fit in with the choral needs of anglican services. So instead they went for a 'French' style (also well suited to the architecture of the chapel) which they deemed would produce a better blend. I haven't experienced it recently to find out whether it works as intended ...

https://www.exetercollegechoir.co.uk/organ

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[Mandryka]

Sorry about the catch-all title. I'm really talking about a very recent experience in Norway, accompanying a choir. It was a lovely instrument, both in appearance and in its werk-prinzip design. It had two manuals (corresponding to our Great and Swell) plus a straight pedalboard. It had suspended mechanical key action, very sensitively regulated so that a sneeze would depress a key. A bit scary. The thing that puzzled me was that whilst it was fine for playing music by the Baroque masters, there was minimal registration for accompanying a choir...which is what I was doing. The enclosed division was over-generously supplied with mutations, but nothing quiet enough on the Great to accompany them with.

It was in a church, so do I conclude that choral music is not a priority?

I think the new monster at Buckfast Abbey has similar problems; strange, since accompanying the rather few brothers in their daily offices must surely be one of its purposes.

The console had stop knobs, but not angled like on a typical British organ. The combinations were worked electrically, but only moved the stop-knobs in and out by a minimal distance, so at a glance it was quite tricky to work out which stops were sounding. I dare say one would fall in love with this instrument given familiarity, but 20 mins before the (English) choir turned up amounted to living dangerously. Such is the organist's lot.

What was the organ - which church?

[Mandryka]

You remind me of a lady-friend of mine who said she could never like driving a BMW as they seem made for speed alone.

Some of my favourite Continental organs on disc are those at S.Jacobi in Lubeck and SS. Peter and Paul in Cappel, played by Helmut Walcha in his mono set of the Bach repertoire. More 'choir-friendly' I guess than the massive beast in Alkmaar he took to later.

That reminded me of something I read in a biography of Walcha. He said he chose the Alkmaar organ for the stereo Bach because he wanted to present the music as "still, calm and concentrated", like Gregorian chant. That comment triggered my imagination and I’ve enjoyed his Alkmaar recordings ever since.

Peter van Dijk has started what will hopefully be a complete Bach organ release at Alkmaar - so far there’s only CU3, orgelbuchlein and the Leipzig Chorales. I love it because it has that still, calm and concentrated quality.

[ardcarp]

... when Exeter College Oxford chose a new organ in the 1990s one factor influencing their choice was exactly that : the then current fashion for installing 'Bach type' baroque style organs in other colleges didn't always fit in with the choral needs of anglican services.

I've just received the Choir and Organ publication. It looks as if the recent (and highly expensive) instrument at Magdalen College Chapel, built by Orgelbau Eule, was intended to be choir-friendly too. How they tweaked it all onto the screen in place of the modest-sized Mander I can't imagine. They re-used the stone-built (unusual!) choir case which dates from the 1830s.

[smittims]

Thanks for your thought-provoking post, Mandryka. I shall listen again. Clearly Walcha found the Laurenskerk organ rewarding as he stayed with it.

[PeterboroughDiapason]

I see from Facebook that Gloucester Cathedral are scrapping their iconic organ, designed by Ralph Downes. I think it's a wonderful instrument but Nicholsons are building a new instrument which will be more suitable for choir accompaniment.

[ardcarp]

Oh dear. What a shame. A wonderful instrument as you say. I played for visiting choirs on it several times in the past. Whilst it was not like the typical Willis/Harrison, I loved its individuality, and don't recall difficulty in choosing registration to accompany on. I think HN&B built it (as they did the mighty Birmingham University Great Hall organ) though I gather Nicholson have tinkered with it since my time. The scrapped organ at Buckfast Abbey was Ralph Downes influenced too. That was a dream to accompany on, and had a whiff of France about it too. Maybe fashions are changing as a reaction to the ultra-Baroque Oxbridge fad?

This from the intenet:

A contract has been signed with organ specialists Nicholson & Co to refurbish and renew the [Gloucester Cathedral] instrument, with work due to commence in 2024. A digital organ has been loaned to the Cathedral by Mr Paul Vaughan to ensure that the worship and musical life of the Cathedral continues.

'Refurbish and renew' is a bit of an oxymoron isn't it?