The Organ Manual: Issue 6 June 2023

E D I T O R ' S N O T E S

Welcome to Issue 6 of The Organ Manual 2023. It is my great delight to welcome you all to this issue.

My team and I have taken on The Organ Manual and firstly want to wish both Anna and Alex our best wishes as they move into other areas and thank them for the superb job they have done in getting The Organ Manual established.

It is a great pleasure to announce we are trialing The Organ Manual as a Printed, paid for, Magazine too. Issue 6 will be the first printed magazine going out to selected readers for review.

I am keen to ensure The Organ Manual is accessible to those who prefer a printed version too as many folks do not read magazines, books and articles online.

If you would like to support the development of The Organ Manual then please consider donating to our work. If you don't already then please Share, Follow and Like The Organ Manual on Social Media platforms.

E D I T O R ' S N O T E S

You may know me as The Girly Organist, if you don't already then give me a follow on Instagram/Youtube. The Organ Manual back in 2019 lead to me 'building' an 1864 Walker pipe organ at home, and here we are 4 years later, writing to its audience as editor.

I am keen to hear from Organists around the World, if you have something interesting to share about the Organ World then we would like to hear about it. I look forward to going on this journey with you all.

Finally, it is important to highlight the changes you will see in the coming issues. These changes are to develop The Organ Manual into the best version of itself. You can expect to find some inconsistencies in layout. This is intentional. To date we have been an online magazine and most of our readers engage online with the magazine via personal devices.

This means that layout and ease of navigation are of the utmost importance to keep you coming back for more, with that said we will be hosting Polls online over the coming months to determine what you, our readers, prefer so that by the end of 2023 we will have a longterm format in place.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Inspired by Janette Fishell

Meet the Organ Scholar

Helen Lunn

Organ Outreach by Nathaniel Davis

The English Organ with William Mcvicker

Saphonnix Collective

Critical Review Essay

The issue of Colonial Conquest and Hymns by Lydia Solodiuk

Bach& Expression by DrRebekah Okpoti

Parish Music- Changing

Times by Mel Plumley

Critical Review Essay

Whitlock - Harvey

Stansfield by Prof. David Baker

“From the moment we decided to hire a Viscount organ through to its eventual purchase and bespoke voicing, Tony Packer and his specialised team made the entire process effortless The care given to ensure every aspect of the instrument was to our design was impressive and we very much enjoyed having them at West Buckland School for the three days of its installation. We now have a wonderful instrument which far outstrips any digital organ we have tried and rivals many pipe organs with the same specification. Thank you Tony for making it so affordable and for making it possible in such a short space of time ”

Nicholas Smith Director of Music West Buckland School

Trusted to supply instruments and service throughout the UK since 2008

INSPIRED WITH JANETTE FISHELL INDIANNA, USA

I am Professor of Music and Chair of the Organ Department at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. It has been a special joy to join this faculty since it was where I earned my first two university degrees. Bloomington is one of the best college towns in the nation and, while I love traveling all over the world for my concert career, it is a charming place for my husband, Richard, and I to call home.

Describe a typical day in your life as an Organ Professor:

I do most of my teaching between 8 am - 12:20 pm, which is the timeframe we can access the Fisk organs in our two concert halls. Practice, administration, and meetings take up the rest of the day. Saturday is usually some kind of catch-up on projects and practice. It’s a busy life but I am happier when my plate is full.

What was your proudest moment as an Organist?

I would say being named “Young Organist of the Year,” by Keyboard Arts during my third year of undergraduate study. I wasn’t really sure what the award was until my teacher explained it but it was the turning point that launched my career.

What do you look for when auditioning young organists for your programme?

The obvious things - confident playing that shows a solid technical foundation, careful preparation of the score, lack of obvious imbalance or tension in the body, and projection of the music’s drama. We also give keyboard skills tests which can show us how to shape their course of study in areas like improvisation and service playing. No matter where they are when they enter, our goal is that all students leave very competent performers, church musicians and budding teachers - it is so gratifying to work with a student who grows into their potential.

INSPIRED BY

Describe your own practice regime:

The key is consistency - practicing 5-6 days a week keeps my hands, feet and ears “well tuned,” and disciplines a mind constantly bombarded with distractions. It also keeps me connected with music as a participatory act. With practice, absence does not normally make the heart grow fonder- just like in human relationships, you may begin to fall out of love with your instrument if you don’t invest enough quality time on a regular basis.

I believe piano practice strengthens manual technique and invites other ways of listening - the piano often reveals what we are, or should be, doing with our fingers, wrists, arms and torso in ways the organ cannot. There are thousands of ways to practice and I enjoy exploring new and old methods. It’s fun to still find new ways to engage music at every stage of its development! When I’m tired I focus by doing some memorization. I record and mark my score when reviewing the recording - a painful but necessary step - and play through for others many times before a “big” event. I keep myself on track with a detailed monthly practice plan - meeting each small goal takes the worry and guess work out of meeting the large goal.

I would add that teaching my students to practice healthfully, effectively & creatively is the most important thing I do, because that is how they stay in love with the organ and become their own teacher.

Current projects?

I am nearing the completion of a complete recorded cycle of Petr Eben’s solo organ works, Velvet Revolution, distributed by Brilliant Classics. Disc 1-3 are available as volume 1 and the remaining 3 discs should be completed by December. I am also producing a teaching video which will be available free online. It’s a labor of love made possible by a generous grant from my university that is really pushing me because I am performing recitals featuring other music whilst I am recording all of these highly intricate and difficult Eben works. Great expectations are necessary for continued growth throughout one’s life.

Why Petr Eben?

I was able to collaborate with him throughout the writing of my dissertation on his organ works, and we remained in contact the rest of his life. He was an amazing man who had been through so much adversity in his life but he exuded warmth, optimism, humor, and a remarkable spirituality.

What is your advice to young organists wanting to explore Eben’s organ music?

Some “gateway” pieces are Versetti, the Partita and easier movements from cycles such as Faust, Job and Labyrinth. If you are fluent with Baroque performance practice look at his Homage a Dietrich Buxtehude, which is one of his best pieces. It can be helpful to get an “Eben roadmap” for your hands by starting pieces on piano before you tackle complex manual & registration changes. Learn his music very slowly and carefully and, once under control, its inherent drama, lyricism and dance will invite you in.

What are some trends you see in the Organ world?

I am optimistic. I believe there has never been a time in history when there were so many wonderful organshistorical and modern - and skilled and knowledgeable organists to play them. Although we have far to go, the concert field is beginning to look more like society in terms of ethnicity and gender. In the US, career opportunities are still there, but require an entrepreneurial spirit. My successful graduates make their successes and don’t count on a concert agent to get them recitals. They expand their concept of what a recital is - new repertoire, improvisation, collaboration with other artists. Be flexible, creative and diplomatic, and expect to put in long hours - work until the job is done, and done well.

INSPIRED BY

Your advice to a young organists?

Keep practicing piano (& harpsichord) throughout your life.

Keep singing with, and accompanying, fine conductorsabsorb lessons learned, especially the art of embodying musical gesture.

3. Biography

Never waste a moment being embarrassed or upset about what you don’t (yet) know, or can’t (yet) do. Don’t be afraid of failing. Stumbling is just evidence of forward momentum.

A regular performer in many of the world’s greatest concert venues, published author of numerous articles and a book on service playing published by Abingdon Press, a composer whose choral and organ music is published by Morning Star Music, St. James Press and Wayne Leupold Editions, and recording artist, she is widely recognized as a leading authority on the organ music of Czech composer Petr Eben, the subject of her doctoral dissertation and the first study of his organ works in English. She has begun a decade-long cycle in which she will record the complete organ works of that composer with a companion video series entitled Velvet Revolution.

In addition to a multi-year performance project in which she performed the complete organ works of J.S. Bach, her recent recording of Beethoven’s organ works was recently released by NAXOS as part of their opera omnia collection of that composer’s music.

1.

2.

MEET THE ORGAN SCHOLAR HELEN LUNN LIVERPOOL, UK

My name is Helen Lunn, and I have been involved in music since 2010, when I joined my local parish church choir in Richmond, North Yorkshire. I sang with a number of organisations whilst at school, including my local Operatics Society, and the Durham Cathedral Young Singers. Most of my time was spent in the parish church though, and I sang with them for just over a decade, including a brief stint as Head Chorister, leaving in 2021 to study at Liverpool Hope University (LHU). I joined university not intending to have music as a large part of my life, but when I turned up to university and found an organ with no one who would play it regularly, that changed quickly. In my second year, I started singing with the university’s chamber choir, Voices of Hope.

MEET THE ORGAN SCHOLAR HELEN LUNN

I started playing the piano around ten years ago, and progressed through a few grades, playing at my school for services when the music teacher left. In 2018, I was asked by the vicar at Downholme village church if I would consider playing at their services once a month. The church is a beautiful small church, with a rather run-down one manual organ, and is surrounded by miles of picturesque hills and valleys. I played there for three years, a wonderful opportunity to improve my performance skills, and I was sad to leave there at the same time as I left the parish choir for university.

When I started second year, it was suggested that I should apply for the university’s organ scholarship. This appealed to me, as I had been playing the organ for a while by this point, with no formal guidance, so I felt that it would be useful to have someone give specific techniques and tips. I went for an audition on the university’s Willis organ, with Rebekah, during which I played one of Stanley’s Fugues, and a hymn. I was asked to do a bit of improvisation on the hymn - not a strong point of mine!

MEET THE ORGAN SCHOLAR HELEN LUNN

The scholarship is a wonderful opportunity and offers me a number of organ lessons every year with Richard Lea, organist at Liverpool’s Metropolitan Cathedral. These have been a fantastic experience so far, being introduced to a number of new pieces and techniques. It has been very beneficial having the experience and guidance of Richard, pointing out things that I would have otherwise missed or wrongly disregarded, though it can be a challenge trying to unlearn bad habits (of which there are plenty)!

At LHU, (perhaps unusually), I don’t study music, rather Politics with Accounting and Finance! It can be a challenge juggling the three subjects, but there is a bit of overlap, my Politics lecturer being the coordinator for the Anglican services I play for! Though I am not a student of the music department, I am often involved with them, as mentioned, primarily singing with the university’s chamber choir. I had stopped the majority of my singing when COVID hit in 2020, and never properly got back into it before I left for university. I hadn’t fully appreciated just how much music meant until getting involved with the chamber choir. The choir is a lovely group of eight, and we sing a wide variety of music, in a wonderful selection of locations, most recently at the Metropolitan Cathedral for a performance of Vivaldi’s Gloria. I am involved in music in a number of places outside of the university. As I have mentioned, I am the organ scholar at St Mary’s, West Derby, and Deputy Organist at St John the Baptist at Tuebrook.

MEET THE ORGAN SCHOLAR HELEN LUNN

I sing in a number of places, most recently, as part of the choir for Liverpool’s Passion Plays at the Anglican Cathedral, a building I have wanted to sing in for a number of years. I am a particular fan of Choral Evensongs, and I will often join ‘local’ choirs in Wigan and Southport for their evensongs, with an evensong at Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral to look forward to soon.

I have found the music world to be a very friendly and welcoming place, and it is an often-needed distraction from studies! I am looking forward to seeing what further opportunities this scholarship has to offer, and how I can further get involved in the music world.

I play in a number of places in Liverpool, primarily as the organ scholar at St Mary’s in West Derby, for the Anglican Community’s services at LHU, and occasionally at St John the Baptist in Tuebrook. All have wonderful organs, all very different from each other, and it is a useful experience playing a wide variety of styles.

SAPPHONIX COLLECTIVE CANADA

What is the Sapphonix Collective? (SC)

Sapphonix Collective is a Montreal-based queer arts collective, focused on recontextualizing the organ and introducing it to new and more diverse audiences, and promoting minority composers

What are the SC aims and objectives?

To create a safe space for queer, minority, and racialized classical musicians to share thoughts, ideas, and musical collaboration; to promote works of minority composers from the past and present; to make classical music more accessible, especially to younger generations; to celebrate the femme and sapphic experience through music and artistic collaboration.

SAPPHONIX COLLETIVE

Who is it for?

Sapphonix Collective is primarily for women, femmes, and non-binary identifying people, although allies are welcome. Our concerts cater to a younger and more diverse audience than traditional classical music events.

How did it come about?

Sapphonix came out of a desire to create a space for ourselves in the classical world. Last April we were talking hypothetically about projects that are important to us, and what kind of community we would create IF we had a collective. The more we talked and dreamed, the more excited we became. We made an instagram story announcing that we were starting a queer collective, and after the fact realized we’d just come out publicly as queer. Then we dreamed up a long list of projects and goals, and dove right into making them a reality.

What does your name mean?

Our name comes from a chapter by musicologist Elizabeth Wood, titled “Sapphonics”, in the book “Queering the Pitch”. Wood explains that “sapphonics” is “…a mode of articulation, a way of describing a space of lesbian possibility, for a range of erotic and emotional relationships among women who sing and women who listen.” For our collective, “Sapphonix” refers to the sapphic experience, and reflects that our collaborators are mostly queer-identifying femmes and non-binary people.

SAPPHONIX COLLETIVE

17th to 20th centuries in which art, music, poetry, ideas, and conversation were shared. Often, they were hosted by wealthy women; making these salons one of the few places where women held power. In the 21st century, while women and queer people have come a long way in the quest for equality, classical music spheres are sometimes still lacking in diversity and inclusion, isolating musicians who are of minority race, gender, or sexuality.

SAPPHONIX COLLETIVE

With the “Salon Nights”, Sapphonix creates a performance atmosphere that is safe and accepting, in which musicians can perform in the manner most affirming to their personal identity. Mai/Son, the venue that we partnered with for these Salons, contains three floors, with different rooms on each floor. The main music recital takes place on the ground floor, while the upstairs rooms host rotating lists of artists and musicians (such as local tattoo artists, sculptors, harpists, visual artists creating live), so that audience members can wander around the mansion and experience different art from Montreal artists. The basement staircase contains a large windowsill, which serves as a tarot-reading nook. An example of a “Sapphic Salon” program includes works from composers and poets ranging from Sappho (c. 630-570 BCE), to Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179), to Amy Beach (1867-1944), to Hania Rani (b. 1990). This program celebrates artistic works by women throughout the millennia, presenting them to an audience mainly composed of queer youth under 30. The performance venue provides a warm, homey atmosphere, reminiscent of the original salons; sharing art amongst friends, and building community.

The Nuit Blanche event

Nuit Blanche is an annual event in Montreal where cultural institutions keep their doors open all night long, and there are all night performances and activities, often featuring experimental art. We created a performance in the neo gothic space of Christ Church Cathedral exploring the experience of living in queer bodies, and anthropomorphizing nature (especially water) through a queer and sapphic lens.

SAPPHONIX COLLETIVE

Blending organ, electronics, sculptures, lighting, projections, and dance, we created a fluid, immersive experience. We collaborated with another experimental organ group, Earth World Collaborative. They took a different approach to the theme of bodies to create continuity, and we shared lighting, projections, and electronic set up. Together, we created multiple circular screens out of shower curtains and pvc pipes and hung them at the front of the church. A professional projection artist projected footage we had shot over the period of months onto the constellation of hanging screens. Dancers performed in three different stations in the cathedral, gradually emerging to change stations, or dance together in the front. We each played an original composition, as well as works by Olivier Messiaen, Hania Rani, Florence Price, and Philip Glass. We were very excited to create a very alternative experience to the average organ concert, which appealed to both seasoned organists, young queer people, and many others - almost 3000 people attended throughout the night.

The Dancing down the aisle event (Becoming)

Our launch concert, “Becoming”, took place last August. We structured this concert into three sections, meant to represent the journey towards self-acceptance and self-love, especially through the lens of a queer person struggling with their identity. These three sections were “Youth”, “Adolescence”, and “Maturity”.

SAPPHONIX COLLETIVE

We selected poetry for each section, moving from poems about shame and guilt in the “Youth” section, to poems about navigating homophobia and falling in love for the first time in the “Adolescence” section, and finally, poems about love, tenderness, and self-acceptance in the “Maturity” section. We matched musical selections to the poems, and improvised on the texts while our collaborator (a local theatre student) provided a dramatic reading of the poems. During the more uplifting musical selections, another collaborator (a local dance student) danced through the church aisles.

What trends are you seeing in the organ world

We see a lot of traditional organ concerts, which are important to maintain, but we often find that at least in Montreal, they are primarily attended by other organists. We are inspired by trends which are gaining traction with a wider audience, such as the experimental uses of the organ explored by organizations and people including Orgel Park, Earth World Collaborative, Kali Malone, Kara-lis Coverdale, and FUJI||||||||||TA (FUJITA Yosuke). We also see the rise in the usage of social media among young organists, and we are inspired to use different platforms to connect with others and share snippets of what it’s like to be a working organist, and to run an arts collective.

How does Sapphonix collective marry itself up with sacred music and sacred spaces?

The church has historically had a difficult relationship with queer people, and many queer people we know have had painful experiences related to religion.

SAPPHONIX COLLETIVE

We have been lucky to find affirming churches which celebrate and uplift the work we do by allowing us to use their spaces. Often, queer people attending our events will talk about their surprise to see a rainbow flag hanging in the back of the church, and express relief at being accepted. We have used some sacred music in our programming, but we also aim to brand the organ as an instrument that can exist within both sacred and secular settings.

What has the reception been to Sapphonix collective?

Initially we had some pushback from people who thought we were being sexist by primarily catering to femmes. However, we explained that allies are welcome, and since then the reception has been widely positive. After our events, our collaborators frequently come to us with gratitude that we have created this space in which classical musicians can perform their favourite works, in a space and in front of an audience that affirms and celebrates their identities. After years of performing in churches and concert halls, in front of an audience that often does not care about who we are personally, it is really special to be able to share classical music with other young people, dressed in creative ways far from the traditional “concert black”, in more intimate venues and settings. Audiences have also approached us after events, thanking us for introducing them to classical music, explaining how they always thought classical music was “boring” or “stuffy” until seeing it performed so youthfully and passionately, juxtaposed with dancers or visual artists, and asking us about various pieces so they can download it onto their phones!

WHAT SHOULD WE DO WITH OLD HYMNS ASSOCIATED WITH COLONIAL CONQUEST?

LYDIA SOLODIUK USA

A Brief Disclaimer: Not all organists select music, not all organists even play in a religious context. However, I do think it is a valuable exercise for church organists to consider the music you are playing on the organ (either for congregational or choral singing) and the history behind that music. Also, I’m writing from a North American (United States really) mainline Protestant context as a white middle class woman so I’m definitely still learning about these issues as an outsider myself.

COLONIAL HYMNS

In my personal experience, hymnals from the United States and Canada demonstrate a recent trend in the past 50 years to include ‘multicultural music’ which often comes from former colonies in southern Africa, east Asia and South America. These faraway locations are often connected to a particular denomination of Christianity because that denomination used to partake in missionary work in those locations centuries ago. These ‘multicultural’ inclusions are made in an effort to present a more diverse hymnody, especially as communities of color and those former colonial spheres overseas are some of the places where Christianity is thriving and congregations are growing. According to a recent survey by Pew Research Center, 70% of white adults identify as Christian, but 79% of Black adults, 77% of Latino adults, and 64% of “Other/Mixed” race individuals identify as Christian. This survey from the United States indicates racial and ethnic shifts in who identifies as Christian (and presumably who is more likely to show up in a pew).

While intentionally incorporating diverse hymn composers and writers is a worthy endeavor, it is also important to consider which hymns likely have ties to imperializing missionary work. Instead of recycling older music entwined in colonial conquest that often perpetuate ethnic stereotypes, the ideal solution would be to include more contemporary composers of color when redesigning hymnals or selecting choral music to ensure that diverse Christian music is represented respectfully.

COLONIAL HYMNS

In the United States, November is Native American History Month. As a not-employed organist, I use Instagram to share my music so I wanted to post a fragment from a hymn written by a Native American composer for an Instagram Reel/post at the end of November. Since it was approaching the liturgical season of Advent, I immediately thought of the “Huron Christmas Carol” (AKA “Twas in the Moon of Wintertime”).

While decades of hymnals in Canada and the United States Have represented this text as being Native American in origin, the actual history complicates that. In the 1640s, the French Catholic missionary Jean de Brebeuf was dispatched to the Wyandot people in the area that would become southern Quebec, a province of modern Canada. As part of his missionary work, he made the native people learn French hymns and basic Christian theology. The hymn “Twas in the Moon of Wintertime” has French Catholic elements tangled up with native references. Centuries later, in 1923, it was translated into English by Jesse Edgar Middleton who took the creative license to add more native words and imagery. Obviously a complicated history, that seems to suggest minimal native contributions to the hymn itself.

In addition, Jean de Brebeuf is a complicated character himself, while he seemed to befriend and was accepted by many Wyandot people, he was also participating in a systematic effort to strip them of their cultural beliefs. Because various denominations of the church were associated with state government in the 18th and 19th centuries, colonial conquest became forever associated with the Christian faith.

COLONIAL HYMNS

To learn more, read this brief historical overview of Christianity and Colonialism or read this powerful article about the church’s connection to indigenous ‘boarding schools’ that stole Native children to convert them to Christianity and force them to adopt Western customs.

Once I discovered the misleading history behind “Twas in the Moon of Wintertime”, I knew that I needed to select a new hymn for my Instagram reel. I settled on “Many and Great, O God, are your works”. This hymn text was written by Joseph Renville, a Minnesota businessman whose mother was from the Wahpeton group of the Santee Dakotah tribe. It is unclear where the music emerged from, but the melody is likely of Native origin. During the 1840s, they wrote their own hymnal the Dakota Odowan which offered this community the opportunity to worship in their own language using traditional music. The hymn “Many and Great, O God, are your works” entered mainline Protestant hymnals after 1930 when Philip, a Dakota pastor translated the words into English. I was glad to feature a hymn in my Instagram reel that had stronger and more genuine connections to a particular Native American community.

A few decades after the hymn was written, the group was forcibly relocated to South Dakota after years of conflict and multiple treaties broken by the Minnesota (state) and United States government. Today, 90% of Dakota people live outside their ancestral homelands that became the state of Minnesota.

COLONIAL HYMNS

I hope this example was illustrative in how hymnody and the colonial past of the church can collide in surprising ways. A little research can go a long way!

Key Points to Consider

-The universal Church as well as most major denominations/branches of Christianity have connectional to a colonial past where music and language were used to forcibly convert people, often people of color. Depending on where your community is located, this can be easily forgotten or overlooked. Educate yourself on colonialism that your denomination perpetuated or colonialism that happened in your region.

-When using hymnals or other music collections published decades ago, it is important to consider what Christian music is underrepresented or not included or included in a manner that perpetuates ethnic stereotypes.

-Double-check any historical or contextual information provided in older hymnals. Does that group of people still prefer that name? Has that place been renamed? (For example, many common names for indigenous tribal groups in the U.S. and Canada are now considered inaccurate or offensive.)

-If you are going to verbally announce the title of a nonEnglish song or (more generally) sing in a foreign language, work to verify the proper pronunciation.

-Consider the performance and ensure that certain accompaniment doesn’t perpetuate ethnic stereotypes. (For example, a lot of older hymnals suggest randomly adding drums to non-Western hymns.)

PARISH MUSIC, CHANGING TIMES

MEL PLUMLEY, UK

I was first engaged to play for church services in 1970. It was a Roman Catholic church, coming to grips with music under Vatican II and I was a teenage Anglican and a member of the local organists’ association. Almost all of its members were elderly men. Half a century later, many organists’ groups still seem comprised mostly of elderly men so what’s new? In 1970 most churches with music groups that led singing had an SATB choir with organ accompaniment. Today a large number of churches of all denominations have lost SATB choirs. Those that existed at the start of 2020 have had to adjust to the damage done when singers were excluded from services during plague lockdowns. Church finances that funded organ maintenance have also come under stress.

CHANGING PARISH

During the Covid pandemic churches with music leaders willing and able to embrace technology found ways to sing together from their isolated homes and diverse buildings. Many crematoria that were already not huge supporters of live music removed organs, often electronic, to create space for socially distanced seating. Many of those instruments have not returned. All this creates a different scene for organists.

A traditional task for the organist has been to provide hymn accompaniments that encourage singing. During the pandemic we had to devise new ways to play hymns as meditation backgrounds that made them recognisable but impossible to sing to. Tricks such as playing them in impossible keys for singers or dropping bars, repeating sections or adding interline sections could be effective at defeating any would-be singer from unauthorised vocalising.

Some of us who derive a significant part of our music income from freelance playing have acquired our own ways of providing organ sound where there is no longer an organ. This helps in crematoriums that have removed organs. It is also useful in those churches where Sunday worship is led by a music group who are not available to play for midweek funerals and weddings.

The music group trend has also shaped the music repertoire and not always in directions every organist finds comfortable. For example, the piano parts of hymns and songs written for guitar and drum accompaniment do not always work well if played on an organ just as written in the hymn/song-book.

CHANGING PARISH

The organ is as hugely versatile instrument and if played creatively using only the melody line from the book and the named chords to guide a harmonic shape, organ derivations can sound perfectly in order. A big problem can be our attitude toward such music. If we choose to judge it unworthy and complain, there is a huge risk it will be selected for use anyway and the organist gains, or perhaps enhances, a reputation as a grumpy uncooperative individual and no one is happy.

It is good that we have and can contribute our musical discernment, but collaborative approaches more often keep the blood pressure down than confrontational ones. Another aspect of change is the growing use of pre-recorded funeral/wedding entry and exit music. In some denominations, highly secular music might be ruled unacceptable, but not all parishes follow the guidelines of their hierarchies. When there are no diocesan or higher directives almost any music ever devised by man, woman or machine can be found scheduled.

Organists have a choice to accept or reject involvement with it. If clergy or others have a strong desire for a particular item, rejection of involvement from the organist only reinforces a trend towards pre-recorded music. One of the great benefits of a competent organist is their ability to make music just the right length when it is there to support movements of brides, coffins, or other elements and pre-recorded material is rarely the right length to provide happy integration with other parts of the service. When the music replay is managed by someone without musical awareness, there is a great risk an auto-repeat function gets used to make music last longer or a sudden stop button pressed when it needs to be shortened.

CHANGING PARISH

If organists are not busy playing our instrument, we can be deployed to give a more sensitive musical adjustment to prerecorded music than many sides-people or others. Digital pipe-less organs are commonplace today and while they all try to emulate pipe organs, it is inevitable they achieve differing degrees of success. While some of us might yearn for organs powered only by wind, it isn’t always what we get today. Too many of us are guilty of applying unhelpful labels stolen from kitchen appliances and dismissing them as unworthy facsimiles.

The modern digital organ has a place for home practice and is also the only type many churches will install. It can be challenging when we encounter a church or crematorium with a menu driven style of instrument that was never designed for liturgical accompaniment, even if it offers options of ‘Chapel Organ 1, 2 and 3’, ‘Hymn Organ’ and ‘Grand Organ’. Such ‘organs’ and keyboards do get deployed in churches and can be used to lead worship. Flipping between sounds for different hymn verses requires new skills, and watch out for the ‘Demo’ and ‘Bossa Nova’ buttons!

The watchword for today’s organist has to be versatility, whether it is spotting mischievous players who have left the transpose function activated, facing a different shape or compass of pedal board, or using a trigger swell pedal. Difference is a major reason I enjoy working in different places!

CHANGING PARISH

Melisafreelanceorganistnowretiredfromherprofessional lifeinbroadcastengineering.Inthisarticlesheaimsto provoke!Shepeakedasanorganistafewdecadesagoand nowdeploystheyearsofexperiencegainedtoconcealher playingerrors.

April2023@organist55melanie@phmusic.co.uk

NATHANIEL DAVIS, LONDON

SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST ORGAN OUTREACH

A Bit About me

As a child growing up in the Adventist faith, it was encouraged for us to learn an instrument or sing. This was no different for me as I was enrolled into the children’s choir under the direction of Robert Carr where we learnt a mixture of anthems, gospel and negro spirituals. My home church “Hampstead Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church” has a strong classical tradition which is fairly unique to the other Adventist churches in London. Within the Adventist Church music style varies from the more traditional right through to contemporary music but in all of its forms the goal is that music gives glory to God.

My entry to actually playing the organ was rather late. At the age of eight, I asked my parents if I could start piano lessons. My mother was in favour, however, she worked full time and could not take me to lessons. My father, who was a country musician playing guitar and steel pedal guitar, refused to take me to lessons as he wanted me to follow in his footsteps.

10 years later, after the passing of my father I was encouraged to join the church choir. Being a member of the choir taught me basic music theory and one member in particular, Sister Matthews, took me under her wing and taught me basic piano and music theory. Once she realised that I was succeeding her, she then encouraged me to take up piano lessons with the main church organist Ms Fiona Pacquette. I attended weekly lessons at church and within a year I progressed to playing the organ after pleading to play one particular hymn which I was confident in playing which turned out to be a sort of audition. This move became very controversial as some felt that I was not ready to be playing for main services and some would actively discourage me. Over the time my playing continued to improve and became assistant choir leader and eventually choir leader and director of music.

ORGAN OUTREACH

I have been very fortunate to have now played across a number of different churches and denominations across the UK. I recall even being allowed to play the Rushworth & Dreaper my alma mater ‘Goldsmiths’ back in 2012. In 2021-22 I received tuition from Nick Morris with the support of RCO who had been sponsoring the training of organists at the East London School Of Music (ELSOM).

Growing up in church the sound of organ and piano playing in duet was a staple in our services. Our church was very blessed in the music apartment. We had a number of organists and pianists within the congregation, we even had an organ builder in the congregation. We had a strong choir with a number of the members who could read music and play piano to some extent. At a young age I can recall looking over at the organ console (which used to have panels surrounding it) and just about being able to glimpse the organist. The main method of telling who was playing was simply listening to the music as each individual had their distinctive sound. It was this sound of music and our location on the main road that would draw the listening ear of passers by into the church even for the duration of a hymn.

Changing Trends

In the Advenist church department leaders are selected for office every 2 years therefore unless re-elected the music director can change. Over the years there have been attempts to change the style of music and to make it more inclusive.

ORGAN OUTREACH

This has been in the form of:

● Inviting external musicians

● Changing the type of songs sung

● Purchasing a Hammond, without the full support of the music department.

These incremental changes were brought in however the church members always pushed for retaining the traditional elements.

In 2021 in the wake of church building reopening after the pandemic we discovered that the digital organ was not working. Upon inspection from the technician, we were told that the instrument would not be viable for repair due to its age and we as a church should replace the instrument. For the best part of a year the church was just using the piano and sometimes with the Hammond. While we had this option something was missing. Individuals near to the Leslie speaker would complain that the organ is too loud while others around the back of the building would complain that the organ was not loud enough. Musical pieces that would’ve been played on the organ just did not sound right on the Hammond. Our church has lost its uniqueness, the ‘Hampstead' sound was no more.

Restoration

News had spread within the Adventist circle that our organ was out of action. I began to be invited to play other Adventist churches more regularly which I was grateful for as this kept my skills up. When I visited my home church Members shared with me how much they missed the sound of the classical organ and likewise I too missed playing at my church.

ORGAN OUTREACH

This encouraged me to approach the church leadership to seek permission to source a replacement instrument which they agreed too.

Due to various reasons we knew that a pipe organ would be out of the question. During the lockdown essential building work took place so our funds were greatly depleted. I drew upon my experiences playing on a number of digital organs. and got in touch with Liz and Paul from Allen Organs. After visiting their showroom in High Wycombe I knew that I had found the perfect instrument for our church. Audio files and specs were sent to the music department and church members, and excitement grew. The church agreed to the purchase on the condition that we were able to raise the majority of the funds. The Hammond organ that was used only part time was sold, concerts and fundraisers were put on to help towards the organ project.

Present and Future

The Allen MDS60 organ was installed in August 2022 with its dedication service taking place the following week. Since then the organ has been that missing piece in our worship experience. The sound music fills the sanctuary again and draws visitors passing by on the road. This year I created my Music instagram page (after some encouragement) to share my love for church music. It is my hope that the organ will inspire the next generation of musicians at church in the same way it inspired me.

“My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.” Psalm 57:7

WILLIAM MCVICKER THE ENGLISH ORGAN, UK

Dr William McVicker is Organ Curator at London’s Royal Festival Hall and teaches Organology at the Royal Academy of Music. He is an active recitalist and church musician and served as Director of Music at St Barnabas, Dulwich for thirtyone years. William is Chairman of the Association of Independent Organ Advisers (AIOA), Organs Adviser to the Diocese of Southwark, a Music Adviser to the Hamish Ogston Foundation, a Trustee of the ON Organ Fund, and former organ adviser to the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England (CFCE). An Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Musical Instrument Technology, William was recently elected an Honorary Associate of the Royal Academy of Music.

ENGLISH ORGAN

Our latest project is The Tonal Architecture and Music of the English Organ; tell us about it.

Perhaps twenty years ago I began writing a book. It was inspired by some conversations with Ian Bell and Dr Harry Bramma. We used to meet regularly in pubs before the pandemic and formed a club named Omphiangelon – after the obscure stop provided in the 1870s for an organ in St Martin’s, Scarborough. I was interested to explore a specific question: What makes a ‘Father’ Willis organ of the 1870s sound so different from examples by William Hill & Son or T.C. Lewis from a similar period? As a group we agreed we could tell the difference – but the answers as to ‘how’ and ‘why’ seemed elusive.

I also realised that there have been landmark studies of the organ, including Peter Williams’s The European Organ (London: Batsford, 1966), Nicholas Thistlethwaite’s The making of the Victorian organ (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990), and Stephen Bicknell’s The History of the English Organ, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996). These are examples of authoritative, scholarly works which are now cornerstones of organ literature. Off the beaten track there are important, detailed studies by David Wickens and others. But what seemed lacking is an examination of how the sound of the pipe organ relates to the music written for it.

The German music historian and organologist Gustav Fock (1893-1974) posed (and answered) a question in relation to the North German and Brabant organs of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries:

ENGLISH ORGAN

The old conundrum ‘Which came first the chicken or the egg?’ is answered very clearly: first came the chicken (the organ) and later came the egg (organ music)’.

I’ll come back to this in a moment, but as a corollary to the above, an example can be cited in which the music clearly came first and the organ followed: in the work of ClaudeBénigne Balbastre (1724 –1799) the composer sometimes asks the performer to press down groups of notes to form thunderous effects; only later did organ builders in France provide effet d’orage pedals to cater for this musical development. Were there similar questions to be addressed in relation to the English organ? Our understanding of various aspects of native eighteenth-century performance practice is sketchy. In fact, I have heard foreign organists give a better account of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century English music than some British players. Few seemed certain how to execute the ornamentation, what to do with short- or long-octave keyboards, or which stops to use. In nineteenth century organ music, should one use mixtures before or after adding the reeds? The tonal philosophy of the Organ Reform Movement had a significant impact on organ-building, registration styles and performance practice in general, as well as encouraging new music for the instrument.

Some of the technical developments of the Organ Reform inevitably spilled over into performance practice (and viceversa). This radical tonal outlook has considerably sanitised the registration of late Romantic English music.

Hotly debated issues include the use of ‘toes-only’ in the pedalling of so-called Baroque organ music; fingering patterns and the use of thumbs in this repertoire; the permissibility of ‘gapped’ registrations; ‘skeletal’ plenum chorus structures; and the apparent sensitivity and control of mechanical keyactions. Central to teaching was the idea that Bach used strict choruses of principal tone (‘male’ stops), and that flutes (‘female’ registers) were not mixed in ensembles; it was permissible to use an 8ft flute with a 4ft Principal, but not the other way around. The relationship between organ-building and performance practice in relation to some of these matters does not seem to have been explored in any depth. These subjects are often dealt with quite separately as different disciplines, some of which examine organ-building, whilst others are concerned only with performance practice. And yet these are the very topics which shaped the ways in which the organs were used, both historically and during the Organ Revival. Some of these subjects stray into European organ performance practice but have their roots in what was and is taught in England.

Why in 2023 is this project necessary?

We now have almost half-a-century’s worth of detailed study of the English organ, through the Journal of the British Institute of Organ Studies, and there have been some notable explorations of keyboard music by Wili Apel (The History of Keyboard Music to 1700 (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1967, R/1972)) and John Caldwell (English Keyboard Music before the Nineteenth Century (Oxford: Blackwell, 1973)), but few have attempted to map how the organs relate to the repertoire

answering Fock’s question, but in relation to English organ music. The time is right to attempt to draw these two topics together.

What does a typical writing day look like?

I don’t have a typical writing day – at least, not one devoted entirely to my book. Such days have been rare. I am able to get around to writing once the general thrust of the day is over. I need silence to think: no music, no doorbells, no barking dogs.

When does your book come out?

I think we are still some way off publication. There are lots of things to sort out, including obtaining permissions for the use of photographs and the inclusion of musical quotations from scores. I’m hopeful that within two years we will see the book in print.

What advice would you give to a new organist looking at getting to grips with subject-specific Organ literature?

The subject is very wide – and, perhaps as a result, we tend to stick with what we like. There is a distinct interest amongst young players in the music of Romantic French repertoire, but I would encourage a student to learn repertoire from all periods and styles of organ literature and to try to understand the conventions which surround the performance practice of each school. This is not easy to do; in some cases, it requires advanced levels of study. It is sometimes useful to have lessons with a variety of teachers, and I think this is a good thing! Go on some courses and expand your mind!

CRITICAL REVIEW ESSAY

Review Essay Bach & Expression

Dr.Rebekah Okpoti

FSFDVD015 – Fugue State Films – Bach and Expression

https://fuguestatefilms.co.uk

https://fuguestatefilms.co.uk/product/bach-and-expression/ Item Number: FSFDVD015

Release Date: November 1st 2022

EAN / Barcode: 0793072034522

Artists: Daniel Moult, Martin Schmeding

Contact: will@fuguestatefilms.co.uk

Price: 2xDVD 2xCD High (rrp £42.50)

Introduction

As an avid and long-term documentary film viewer, I was excited to be asked to review this substantial new work. Bach and Expression has been produced by Fugue State Films with organists and presenters Daniel Moult, Martin Schmeding, and Christine Blanken.

REVIEW ESSAY

This DVD-CD boxset includes a 7-part documentary film lasting approximately 3.5 hours along with further demonstrations of the organs Bach played in Rötha, Sangerhausen and Waltershausen. You will also find 2 CDs of selected performances of Bach’s organ music -over six hours of film and audio content.

Expectations

When starting the review process, I had no fixed expectations. Perhaps there would be an intricately woven narrative with sympathetic performances? Or perhaps this would be a documentary offering a stoic glimpse into a time gone by where Bach’s organ music acts as a sumptuous cashmere blanket enveloping previous understandings of Bach and Expression in the safe hands of Moult and Schmeding. Either way a documentary evidencing the richness of Bach’s organs, music and sound world appeared realistic.

Who’s who?

Daniel Moult is Head of Organ studies at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, concert organist, recording artist, and presenter.. Martin Schmeding is a German based concert organist an educator. Christine Blanken is a musicologist at the Leipzig Bach Archive and manages the Research Section II ‘The Bach Family’. In this role, she oversees issues connected to the documents and musical editions as well as the ‘Bach digital’ portal.

7-part documentary

The film opens with a single question: ‘What is

expression?’

The narrative quickly progresses to Moult and Schmeding playing excerpts of Bach, demonstrating stylistic interpretations through the centuries with a healthy variety of registrations and articulations.

REVIEW ESSAY

The 7-part film narrative progresses

by unlocking Bach’s Music then moves through Bach’s travels, relationships, scores, controversies with his choirs and clergy, focusing then on Bach in his middle years and later years. The 7-part film is a permissive and static evaluation of theology, passion, death, architecture, sound and ultimately richness in terms of performance, composition, instrument, skill, heritage, and pedigree. These topics would have benefitted from a progressive approach with regard to Bach and Expression. As you move through the sections there is discourse covering aspects of Bach and atmosphere; the limitations of the instruments available, both then and now; discussion around definitions of personal expression where the organist is both participant and listener; historically informed performance and its benefits and limitations; presenting the Chorale Prelude as a common currency in the time; liturgical language and its affect on the compositional process; investigating perceptions of Bach’s Organ music as a sermon in sound and craft. All this supported throughout by practical musicianship score analysis with detailed explanations and examples.

By part 3 we are introduced to Blanken who shows us some of Bach’s original scores. From this point forward these observations are interspersed throughout the documentary. This offers the viewer the real personal Bach: manuscripts worn around the edges due to heavy use, changes in articulations, the way today in practice musicians write markings into their personal music copies. These scores provide heartfelt observations of the father-like role Johann Christoph Bach (Brother) played in collecting Bach’s scores, akin to a parent putting a child’s painting onto the refrigerator. Blanken offers examples of ‘the tale a document can tell from merely its physical existence irrespective of the content of the parchment’. It was good to have this element of 'Bach the man’.

REVIEW ESSAY

CDs and Performances

There are some 31 recordings covering a range of BWV numbers. Once again both Moult and Schmeding provide listeners with penetrating, fresh and sparkling performances for the listener. You will not be disappointed by the pure joy and excellence demonstrated by both Moult and Schmeding throughout the documentary. Moult’s performances offer an eclectic palette of colour, tone and humour drawing you into the quirks within Bach’s composition. By contrast, Schmeding makes a transtemporal offering to the sisyphean interpretation that comes with performing Bach’s organ music, inviting the listener to contemplate the expressive narrative of the context. Moult’s performance is the waterfall to Schmeding’s forest: a delightful pairing.

Who is this for?

This is a comprehensive series on the performance and compositional interpretation of Bach’s organ music, performed using some of the organs Bach played. It is an invaluable educational resource for higher education and should be mandatory for all academic music course reading/watching lists when studying Bach. Fugue State Films have created a documentary that has almost ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) value. It is a series that requires regular revisiting. Bach and Expression is a companion for life.

The documentary is complex, and the writers clearly have significant prior knowledge about Bach and the organ, as well as understanding of what expression and historically informed performance means within Bach.

REVIEW ESSAY

Technology and accessibility

It would be misleading to say this is a production of the highest quality in technological terms. When reviewed against contemporary documentary films, this one is lacking in sophistication. Camerawork, scripting, or more often lack of, sound design and shot variation are not at the appropriate industry standard expected for such excellent content. It would be fair to say that in the digital age, where most things are accessed by subscription services or digital platforms, making a DVD-CD boxset is something of the past. Many homes no longer possess the technology to play a DVD-CD. Fugue State Films should consider dissemination by other means to ensure the legacy of this documentary through widely accessed platforms.

Challenges

It is a fair comment to question why there were not more voices within this production. For example it would have been valuable for Bach and Expression to include a specialist in Lutheran Orthodox tradition and Bach’s legacy within the Lutheran church. It would have been valuable to hear from the organ builders maintaining the instruments, referring to issues the instruments are/will go on to face in the years ahead. It would be appropriate to suggest that in today’s western society that broadly possesses an individuality mindset, there should have been more explicit context to Bach and religion. Arguably we can only observe an historic understanding and interpretation of Bach’s music and a musicologist would have been able to expand the social impact across generations of interpretations. These topics were skirted around which did not do justice to Bach or the search for the meaning of Expression within the documentary.

REVIEW ESSAY

There was a lack of diversity in demographic throughout this presentation, it is not a suggestion to be woke rather a comment on the appropriateness of tone and its impact on the engagement and legacy of the work. For such an extensive work it would not be unreasonable to expect input from key figures to support each topic in the documentary. The first question ‘What is Expression?” was not answered satisfactorily. Additional voices for such an extensive work would have offered incalculable value; at times the narrative was lost in favour of practical analysis and related demonstrations.

Conclusion

My congratulations must go to those involved in this extensive work, here’s to the preservation and revitalization of interest in Bach’s Organ works. You will find a sufficient overview of the music and ideas supporting expression within Bach. It is safe to say that this series has elevated Fugue State Films to a contemporary guardian angel status of Bach’s Organs.

CRITICAL REVIEW ESSAY

Fanfare: Organ Music of Percy Whitlock: Harvey Stansfield plays the Compton Organ of Southampton Guildhall.

Percy Whitlock is rightly acknowledged as a major 20th century British composer of music for the organ. This CD is being released to celebrate the 120th anniversary of his death using an instrument that he knew well, having played at the opening (along with George Thalben-Ball) in January 1937. The pieces are performed on the Compton organ of the Southampton Guildhall, where Whitlock played a programme showcasing the two consoles (church and theatre style) including the Bach G minor on the ‘Grand’ console and his Shanty Selection on the ‘Variety’ console. Later that year, Whitlock gave a recital consisting of the Overture to Otho (Ottone) by Handel, Delibes’s Suite Le roi s’amuse and his own Fidelis and Fanfare on the same instrument. This last piece begins the CD, ‘bringing it back to where the composer played it himself.’

REVIEW ESSAY

Harvey Stansfield is a player of much potential – that is obvious from the opening notes. The organ responds well to his interpretation: his playing is more deliberate in the Fanfare than I am used to, but the performance is enhanced as a result, not least because it gives the music time to breathe. His articulation is impeccable throughout. At times I felt that the chorus reeds dominated, but the entry of the Tuba put paid to any concerns overall!

As Stansfield points out ‘the Sonata in C minor is a landmark in Whitlock’s compositional development, and as one of the greatest sonatas in the 20th century organ repertoire. This is a fine performance, especially in the more reflective sections, where the softer registers of the Compton evince the builder’s mastery of the art of voicing. The Two Fantasie Chorals of 1931 complete the CD. In the performer’s words ‘they mark an advancement, in terms of both musical structure and harmonic content, on the earlier Five Short Pieces (1929). Again, the performances are of a high quality.

Just occasionally, I found the tutti thin and the overall sound harsh, but I do not blame the organist for that! Stansfield provides informative sleeve notes which add much to the listener’s appreciation of the recording. It is good to be reminded of Whitlock’s genius as a composer of some of the great organ music of the 20th century by such an up-andcoming player.

Prof. David Baker