The beautifully conceived and executed case takes its inspiration from its Gothic surroundings

C&O - March April - FEATURES - Gallery T.indd 24 11/02/2014 15:19:08

www.choirandorgan.com

2016/17

MEDIA PACK

Innovative and dynamic opportunities to promote your brand

www.choirandorgan.com

ABOUT CHOIR & ORGANEstablished over twenty years ago, Choir & Organ is the leading independent magazine for all those interested in the choral and organ worlds.

In each bi-monthly issue:» beautifully illustrated, in-depth features about

newly built and restored organs

» profiles of leading organists, choral directors, and composers & their repertoire

» international news, topical coverage of festivals, symposia and other events, and free, newly commissioned sheet music

» exclusive reader offers and competitions

» specialist reviews of the latest sheet music and CD releases

» regular tutorials on choral direction by David Hill, chief conductor of the BBC Singers and musical director of the Bach Choir

» Jeremy Filsell, artist-in-residence at Washington National Cathedral, reflects on life in the States

“A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION AND SCHOLARSHIP … IF YOU ARE NOT

A SUBSCRIBER, YOU SHOULD BECOME ONE RIGHT AWAY!”

Philip Brunelle, Artistic Director of VocalEssence and Vice President of the International Federation for Choral Music

WHY ADVERTISE WITH CHOIR & ORGAN?This bi-monthly title is the ideal opportunity to reach a highly targeted and unique international audience of 12,000 for your products and services.

Regular articles focus on new and restored instruments as well as unparalleled access into the careers of leading organists and choral conductors. This sees us in partnership with key influential organisations in the industry.

The digital editions embed audio and video clips for heightened user interaction and are viewable on any device – computer, tablet or smartphone.

THE FACTS» Frequency: bi-monthly

» Readership: 12,000

» Regular advertisers: Mander Organs, Harrison & Harrison Organ Builders, Royal College of Organists, British Institute of Organ Studies, Westminster Choir College, Yale Institute of Sacred Music, Oxford University Press, Naxos, Linn Records

» Geography: Choir & Organ magazine’s audience is truly international, with more than 50% of our total readership residing outside the UK. 60% of our print audience are based in the UK, while over 70% of our digital audience are based outside the UK www.choirandorgan.com www.choirandorgan.com MARCH/APRIL 2014 CHOIR & ORGAN 2322 CHOIR & ORGAN MARCH/APRIL 2014

GALLERY

end up being bland and tonally insipid in

their quest to be all things to all people.

Worse, some end up sounding hectoring or

even aggressive, as if to make up for their

confused identity.

The moment I heard the Great 8ft princi-

pal (Open Diapason II), I realised that here

was an instrument confi dent in its own skin

and beguiling in its own rights. The sound

was warm but clear, not massively powerful

but able to envelop rather than attack the

room. In fact this sums up the whole instru-

ment, as I realised when building up the

Great chorus. The Swell is at the top of the

case and sings wonderfully into the Quire.

Dynamically, it is almost the equal of the

Great, although the chorus is a little lighter

in effect, despite a pleasantly darker feel to

the 8ft and 4ft diapasons (another Victorian

legacy)? The Choir chorus confi rms that it

is very much the tertiary division, but with

suffi cient presence and having more impact

than many such divisions on 19th-century

English organs. The pedal sounds are

pleasingly weighty without losing clarity.

As importantly, the touch feels different

between the divisions, giving vital musical

feedback to the player: a fi rm but very

responsive Great, a slightly deeper Swell and

a light Choir action, speaking a little nearer

the top of the keys without compromising

the control of releases. The pedal touch

is superb and well-sprung, avoiding that

overly fragile feel encountered on many

instruments. I wondered whether the Swell

might be regulated to be just a little heavier

to match its depth (the instrument is still

awaiting some fi nal tweaks before its offi -

cial inauguration) – certainly the coupled

weight of all three manuals together could

take this.

So much for the instrument’s backbone:

what of the individual registers? Flutes are

beautifully contrasting and characterful,

from the full and pleasantly nasal edge of

the Swell fl utes to the more neutral Choir

Gedeckt and the broad Great Chimney

Flute. The Harmonic Flute is appropriately

large and wide, while able to take its part

in the chorus to form a fi rmer plenum if

desired. The Great Trumpet is very much

a chorus reed, and a well-blended one at

that, whereas the Choir Major Trumpet is

halfway between a bright orchestral trumpet

and a smaller-scale Tuba. It is able to stand

alone as a solo register (albeit against a

judiciously balanced accompaniment) or

sit with the tutti without dominating. The

excellently effective swell boxes – the Choir

division is enclosed, too – add to its versatil-

ity, as I also discovered when registering the

Full Swell. Here, the reeds seem to take their

tonal inspiration from Father Willis, with

fi re and body, and the swell box enables a

wide dynamic range. The Swell Oboe, to

quote John Panning (Dobson’s vice presi-

dent and tonal director), ‘is carefully treated

to blend with the fl uework while remaining

characterful for solo use – a nod to Stanford

rather than Franck.’

Other examples of this versatility and

blend are apparent in two of the Choir

registers. The Corno di Bassetto might

take its nomenclature, like the rest of the

organ, from English traditions, but is rather

chameleon-like. Used alone or with the

Gedeckt and with the box half-open, it is

an English 19th-century clarinet. When

combined with the Diapason and with

the box open, it can act as a Cromorne in

earlier French repertoire, albeit a rather

polite example. The Geigen Diapason itself

is similarly versatile. It can function either

as a Cavaillé-Coll-type Salicional or, with

the box nearly closed, as a more anglicised

Dulciana. With the (American-inspired)

Geigen Celeste, it can be used as an Unda

Maris in romantic French repertoire.

Of course, even a fi nely voiced and

intelligently conceived organ such as this

has to take compromises if it seeks to be

versatile. For instance, the Great cornet

séparé is a winning, mellifl uous sound,

but one which lacks the bite and scale of

either a north Germanic solo stop or the

breadth of a French baroque example.

This is not a criticism – any organ which is

more than a mere copy of one particular

specifi c school cannot and should not try

AMERICAN BEAUTYDaniel Moult is beguiled by the new Dobson organ in Oxford University, built as part

of the 750th anniversary celebrations of Merton College. MAIN PHOTOS BY COLIN DUNN

There’s a good reason why organ cases are photographed in glori-ous sunshine, so my expectations were not too high as I opened the Merton

College Chapel door on a dark and

dank January evening. Any reservations

were blown away as I saw the beautifully

conceived and executed case, taking its

inspiration from its Gothic surroundings

but having the solidity and size more akin

to some of the Victorian additions in the

Chapel. Even from the most disadvanta-

geous angle it pleases the eye, not least as

the side panels are decorated with sten-

cilled Pedal Bourdon pipes (a Victorian

trait). Designed by the organ builder Lynn

Dobson, the case is a wonderful creation

and one which manages to assert its place

in the room without dominating (although

it houses quite a large instrument) or

appearing too slight (a possible criticism

against the 1968 Walker organ it replaced).

The same philosophies of seeking inspi-

ration from the past without belonging

to any one school and of a scale avoiding

extremes seem to apply to the instrument

itself. Again, I had reservations before my

fi ngers fi rst touched the keys. The console

looked handsome and ergonomically sensi-

ble, although the stoplist suggested a rather

eclectic organ. Eclecticism has perhaps

received a bad name in organ circles. Many

instruments seeking to be versatile often

The reeds seem to take their tonal inspiration from Father Willis, with fire and body

‘A wonderful creation’: the new Dobson organ in Merton College

JOH

N PA

NN

ING

/DO

BSON

PIPE ORG

AN

BUILD

ERS

View of the medieval chapel from the organ

SLUG

www.choirandorgan.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015 CHOIR & ORGAN 85

‘A n ensemble of consummate artistry’, ‘compelling, fascinating and thoroughly entertaining’, ‘superhuman pitch accuracy, clear diction and angelic musical phrases’

– the plaudits are stacked high for the Houston

Chamber Choir, now entering a celebratory 20th

season. For its founder and artistic director Robert

Simpson this brings deep satisfaction; yet as well

as fashioning a choir at ease in a wide variety of

repertoire, commissioning new pieces and making

imaginative recordings, Simpson has also promoted

and supported the work of local music educators

and pioneered an educational outreach programme.

It makes for a hectic yet immensely rewarding work

schedule – how has it been achieved from a standing

start in just two decades?

When Simpson moved to Houston in 1993, as

organist-choirmaster at Christ Church Cathedral,

conducting and making music with others was

a major interest. That the city once had a fine

professional choir that many were anxious to see

restored proved a strong incentive to building

a new choir, but for Simpson there were other

drivers at work. First, it would offer employment

opportunities for some of the area’s best vocal

musicians, comparable to the combined teaching

and professional performance career long enjoyed

by instrumentalists. ‘In addition,’ Simpson says,

‘it was important to provide Houston, America’s

fourth largest city, with the same excellence in choral

music that it had come to expect from the Houston

Symphony and Houston Grand Opera.’

And so the Houston Chamber Choir was

launched, giving its first concert in 1995. From there

it has gradually established itself at the forefront

of choral music in the United States, dedicated to

increasing the appreciation of choral music through

performance, outreach and education. One of a select

elite of professional, stand-alone choirs in the US,

it has collaborated with an eclectic range of leading

musicians, appeared at national conventions for

the AGO, ACDA and Chorus America, and toured

internationally. Under Simpson’s direction, the choir

has become a prominent part of Houston’s cultural

landscape, offering inspiring music delivered with

great technical skill.

A central part of its success is surely its imaginative

programming. From Brahms to The Beatles, Russian

partsongs to Broadway hits, a period instrument

performance of Bach’s Mass in B minor (Houston’s

A MAN OF PURPOSEWhen Robert Simpson launched the Houston Chamber

Choir 20 years ago, he brought a fresh cultural impetus

to the city. He talks to David Blackwell about their

eclectic repertoire and outreach programmes.

PHOTOS BY ADRIAN PITTMAN

Houston Chamber Choir founder Robert Simpson: ‘It was important to provide the city with excellence in choral music’

COND15_085-088_F_Houston Chamber Choir T.indd 85 12/10/2015 15:34:58

www.choirandorgan.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015 CHOIR & ORGAN 27

Drawing on the past

Evolution is a concept we take for granted when objectifying trends in organ history. In the Netherlands, nevertheless, organ evolution has tradi-

tionally been a slow business. This was

especially true in the 19th and even the

early 20th centuries, as was sometimes the

case in lesser-industrialised nations. In the

post-war period however, as traditions were

turned on their heads by a reform move-

ment characterised by concepts of ‘neue

Sächlichkeit’ in the first instance and by

the revering of old organs in the second,

the workshop of Orgelmakerij Reil estab-

lished a distinctive and colourful profile in

a country where world-class organ build-

ing has almost always been a sine qua non.

A family business, now led by the third

generation of the dynasty, the workshop

was founded in Rotterdam in 1934 by the

German Johann Reil as an industry supply

house. Three years later, he moved the

business to the pretty Gelderland village of

Heerde, where he had met his wife-to-be.

His own initial organ building activities

focused on electric action instruments but,

perhaps anticipating the market trend, the

first all-mechanical organ was built as early

as 1948. Following Johann’s untimely death

in 1960, the workshop was taken over by his

two young sons, Han (responsible for tonal

matters) and Albert (dealing primarily with

design and technical issues), then aged just

20 and 17 respectively.

The gregarious son of Han, Hans Reil

has been in charge since 2001. ‘In the 1960s,

we built Orgelbewegung organs. I wouldn’t

even call them neo-baroque. In those days

the organ everyone wanted to see and to

copy was the [1956] Marcussen instrument

at the Nicolaikerk in Utrecht, and organ

builders would go there and measure every-

thing they could. The church knew what

they had and charged 15 guilders an hour to

visit the organ. Not everyone could afford

the money.’ The brothers quickly became

dissatisfied with the artistic dead-end

represented by the first wave of reformist

ideologies and, with the encouragement

of Klaas Bolt, set out as one of the first

Dutch builders to emulate historic models.

Initially those models were restricted to the

Schnitger aesthetic, their first notable essay

a copy of the Uithuizen instrument for the

Julianakerk in Scheveningen, completed

under Bolt’s advice in 1973. ‘Bolt was the

visionary,’ says Reil. ‘We were copying things

without really understanding what we were

doing.’ Nevertheless, the question of style

began to become entrenched: ‘Whatever

the architecture of the church, we made

Schnitger-style cases. Because we were Reil.

We would never make a swell box. Because

we were Reil.’

The impasse was broken by the compa-

ny’s restoration projects, and especially

that completed in 1996 to revitalise the

1643 Bader organ in Zutphen with its

The Bodegraven organ provides the focal point in an otherwise austere modern church

CO

LIN H

ARV

EY

Based in the Dutch village of Heerde, Orgelmakerij Reil have gained a reputation for

building historically inspired organs of flair and originality. Chris Bragg visits their

latest instrument in Bodegraven

COND15_026-030_F_Reil Organ Builder T.indd 27 13/10/2015 11:16:52

www.choirandorgan.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015 CHOIR & ORGAN 41

HANDEL & CO.

group (although Delany and Donnellan

were close), but rather more of a wheel-

and-spoke pattern around the composer.

The affinities among these six friends

paint a striking picture. Most lived close

to Handel in the neighbourhood of St

George’s, Hanover Square. Not surpris-

ingly, all possessed deep musical interest

and talent. Most were independent in

terms of religion, ranging in belief from

Catholicism through dissenting Protestant

sects to heretical versions of Anglican

doctrine: few adhered literally to the

normative creed of the Church of England.

The six friends also stand apart in terms of

marital status. Only Mayne had children,

but her husband died after four years of

marriage, leaving her a widow for the rest

of her life. Handel, Goupy and Donnellan

remained single. Those who married,

including Delany, Hunter and Palmer, were

either forced to marry or made matches

strongly opposed by their families, result-

ing in varying degrees of disinheritance.

All experienced serious financial problems

in the 1730s and 40s, and many as a result

were engaged in litigation or bankruptcy.

Nevertheless, all, like Handel, were gener-

ous with what they had.

Handel’s music does not depict any of

these friends directly, but as a reflection

of the society for which it was written,

it engages their beliefs and concerns.

Handel’s operas set in the Middle East

(Rinaldo, Tamerlano) would not have

seemed remote to James Hunter, who

was an international trader and later in

life worked directly with the British East

India Company. The tension between a

forced marriage and true love (Floridante,

Imeneo) was not limited to exotic or

fantastical climes but common to many:

Mary Delany had both experiences. False

accusations and legal problems (Solomon,

Susanna) plagued Delany and her

husband, while Hunter and Goupy both

endured long court battles. Issues of reli-

gious toleration (Esther, Judas Maccabaeus,

Theodora) touched them all.

Mary Delany, née Granville, was forced

by her uncle, who provided the financial

stability for the extended family, to marry

at the age of 17. He chose for her a politi-

cal crony, Alexander Pendarves, who was

nearly 60. Years later she described her

visceral aversion to him and her uncle’s

demand that she comply regardless: ‘How

can I describe to you,’ she wrote, ‘the cruel

agitation of my mind!’ But she submitted.

‘I was married with great pomp. Never was

woe drest out in gayer colours, and when

I was led to the altar, I wished from my

soul I had been led, as Iphigenia was, to be

sacrificed.’ Pendarves died seven years later,

in 1725, leaving Mary a young widow but

not a rich one. Having not signed a will

leaving his property to his wife, the bulk of

his estate went to his nearest blood relative,

a niece. Mary made do, and the years she

spent in London as widow Pendarves were

happy ones.

From 1733 to 1741, Delany (as I will

continue to name her) lived at 48 Upper

Brook Street, not far from Handel’s

house at 25 Brook Street. She had first

met Handel at the age of ten, when the

composer had visited another of her

uncles with whom she was living, and

he had ‘performed wonders’ on her

‘little spinnet’. As Mrs Pendarves she

had attended performances at the Royal

Academy of Music, and her brother

Bernard Granville was a subscriber. One

imagines that she knew where Handel

lived when she moved to Upper Brook

Street, given that he sold opera librettos

and printed music from his house. Delany

was an accomplished keyboard player,

and she often played through Handel’s

music together with her good friend

Anne Donnellan, a renowned amateur

singer. She also hosted music parties

which Handel attended and at which

he performed. In 1734, she wrote to her

mother of such an event at which Handel,

who was ‘in the best humour in the world’,

JAM

ES BARTO

N ©

THE H

AN

DEL H

OU

SE TRUST LTD

© TH

E HA

ND

EL HO

USE TRU

ST LTD

© TH

E HA

ND

EL HO

USE TRU

ST LTD

‘Mr Handel [visited] two or three mornings ago and played the overtures, which are charming’

Door to door: the homes of (from left) Mary Delany (48 Upper Brook St), Anne Donnellan (8 Charles St) and Handel (25 Brook St), in Mayfair

COND15_040-043_F_Handel and Freestyle T.indd 41 12/10/2015 14:58:48

SLUG

www.choirandorgan.com26 CHOIR & ORGAN NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015

CH

RIS

BRA

GG

COND15_026-030_F_Reil Organ Builder T.indd 26 12/10/2015 14:44:53

www.choirandorgan.com40 CHOIR & ORGAN NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015

SLUG

I’ve been travelling with Handel for most of my adult life. When I’m in my car with Handel’s music on the CD player, I sometimes literally envisage him

riding with me and wonder what he would

think of the speed of traffic on our motor-

ways, or the oddity of his music sounding

out of nowhere. Mostly, however, it’s his

music that engages me, the energy of his

choruses sometimes affecting my pace (at

least until I recognise what’s happening),

the aching beauty of his arias leaving me

hoping for a delay so that I can linger over

the sound (or listen again), or the throb-

bing power of his instrumental suites

giving me a chance (on a nice spring day

with the windows open) to compete with

the rap music in the adjacent car. Who was

this man who wrote music three centuries

ago that can still make our hearts race and

bring tears to our eyes?

Handel the man has remained some-

thing of a mystery. Unlike Beethoven, he

had no Immortal Beloved; unlike Mozart,

he left no letters that show him enjoying

bathroom humour into adulthood; unlike

Bach, he didn’t write cranky complaints to

superiors about being undervalued. With

no obvious path to follow into Handel’s

life, the way seemed blocked – until I real-

ised that in his will Handel had left gifts to

friends and neighbours about whom very

little was known.

Handel’s will. It may appear an odd

place to begin a biography, but it seemed

reasonable that finding out about the

people Handel remembered on his

deathbed could reveal something of the

man. So I doggedly pursued these largely

unknown neighbours through all avail-

able documentary sources, including

Bank of England accounts (think what

might be learned by looking at your

chequebook and credit card accounts…),

legal documents (chatty depositions were

particularly useful as ‘captured speech’),

and personal letters (Handel’s friends

wrote letters, even if he didn’t).

I focused on six friends. Four of them –

James Hunter, Anne Donnellan, Elizabeth

Mayne and Elizabeth Palmer – were

remembered by Handel in his will. Two

more were not included, but known to

have been close to Handel: Joseph Goupy,

a painter and colleague of Handel, is said

to have lost a bequest in Handel’s will after

he painted the vicious caricature of the

composer as a hog seated at the organ,

while Mary Delany had moved to Ireland

by the time of Handel’s death and was no

longer in his immediate circle. By and large

these six were not friends of one another

– that is, they do not form an interactive

Portrait of the Wesley family with Anne Donnellan, by William Hogarth© STRATFIELD SAYE PRESERVATION TRUST

HANDEL & CO.As many choirs are gearing up for an annual performance of Messiah, a new

exhibition sheds light on the composer’s friends and acquaintances. Baroque scholar

Ellen T. Harris shares her research

COND15_040-043_F_Handel and Freestyle T.indd 40 12/10/2015 14:58:27

www.choirandorgan.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015 CHOIR & ORGAN 37

COMPOSING FOR ORGAN

‘There are great opportunities for composers to write for organ today with the many wonder-ful instruments available. It’s the duty of

composers to exploit them!’ So said Master

of the Queen’s Music Judith Weir during

the first ever Choir & Organ ‘Composing

for Organ’ workshop held in London on

10 September and promoted with support

from the Royal College of Organists.

The venue, St George’s Church, Hanover

Square, contains one of these ‘wonderful’

instruments: a Richards, Fowkes organ

of 2012. Undaunted by thoughts of the

church’s most famous parishioner, Handel,

looking over our shoulders, the workshop

– attended by some 40 participants and

observers – looked in detail at seven of

the 17 pieces submitted for performance

and critiquing by Weir and internationally

acclaimed recitalist Thomas Trotter.

The afternoon began with Miriam

Mackie’s Kept burning, based on the hymn

tune ‘Hereford’ and which the composer

told us took Malcolm Williamson’s Vision

of Christ Phoenix as its starting point.

Judith Weir described it as having a ‘big,

clean, athletic sound’. Robert Crehan’s

‘Celestial Echoes’ (the first movement of

Hymn to the Martyr) is, according to the

composer’s note, based on the concept of

religious revelation, in particular the divine

revelation of St Alban. Here Judith Weir

enjoyed the use of 20th- and 21st-century

idioms. David Loxley-Blount’s ‘Limadie

meets London’, which followed, comes

from a three-movement collection that

exists in two forms: Truro Triptyque, which

exploits the pedal-divide function of the

Truro Cathedral organ, and Travelling

Triptyque for performance on the majority

of organs which do not have this facility.

Judith liked the idea of an album of pieces

that, as here, can be performed complete

or individually.

Andrew Kirk’s Ostinato 45 followed, the

title both referencing the composer’s age

and the preponderance of the intervals of

the fourth and the fifth. Kirk told us that

the pedal line was inspired by Dupré’s

Prelude & Fugue in B major, while the

motoric rhythms resulted from his having

witnessed an audience member spontane-

ously improvising a techno-style dance

to a performance of Vierne’s Carillon

de Longpont! Judith commented that it

was good to hear a new piece written in a

secular style, going on to say that contem-

porary composers are longing to hear

what the organ can do away from styles

associated with church music or otherwise

laden with counterpoint: ‘There are lots of

contemporary styles waiting to find their

way on to the organ.’

In Elizabeth Winters’s Evening Voluntary

Thomas Trotter much enjoyed the atmos-

phere created by the clusters and the

filigree quality of the writing. Christian

Morris told us that his ‘Warum sollt ich’

from Four Chorale Preludes was inspired by

Bach’s Schübler Chorale Preludes and by

Ligeti’s vocal piece Aventures. Both Judith

and Thomas found the composer’s use of

instructions such as ‘playful’, ‘unsure’, and

‘increasingly annoyed’ at various points in

the score to be very helpful. The workshop

FRESH VOICESA composition workshop with Judith Weir and Thomas Trotter gave some useful

markers for writing for organ. Simon Williams reports

Workshop leaders Judith Weir and Thomas TrotterMAG

GIE

HA

MIL

TON

COND15_037-039_F_Organ Composition Workshop T.indd 37 13/10/2015 11:21:52

www.choirandorgan.com www.choirandorgan.com MARCH/APRIL 2014 CHOIR & ORGAN 2322 CHOIR & ORGAN MARCH/APRIL 2014

GALLERY

end up being bland and tonally insipid in

their quest to be all things to all people.

Worse, some end up sounding hectoring or

even aggressive, as if to make up for their

confused identity.

The moment I heard the Great 8ft princi-

pal (Open Diapason II), I realised that here

was an instrument confi dent in its own skin

and beguiling in its own rights. The sound

was warm but clear, not massively powerful

but able to envelop rather than attack the

room. In fact this sums up the whole instru-

ment, as I realised when building up the

Great chorus. The Swell is at the top of the

case and sings wonderfully into the Quire.

Dynamically, it is almost the equal of the

Great, although the chorus is a little lighter

in effect, despite a pleasantly darker feel to

the 8ft and 4ft diapasons (another Victorian

legacy)? The Choir chorus confi rms that it

is very much the tertiary division, but with

suffi cient presence and having more impact

than many such divisions on 19th-century

English organs. The pedal sounds are

pleasingly weighty without losing clarity.

As importantly, the touch feels different

between the divisions, giving vital musical

feedback to the player: a fi rm but very

responsive Great, a slightly deeper Swell and

a light Choir action, speaking a little nearer

the top of the keys without compromising

the control of releases. The pedal touch

is superb and well-sprung, avoiding that

overly fragile feel encountered on many

instruments. I wondered whether the Swell

might be regulated to be just a little heavier

to match its depth (the instrument is still

awaiting some fi nal tweaks before its offi -

cial inauguration) – certainly the coupled

weight of all three manuals together could

take this.

So much for the instrument’s backbone:

what of the individual registers? Flutes are

beautifully contrasting and characterful,

from the full and pleasantly nasal edge of

the Swell fl utes to the more neutral Choir

Gedeckt and the broad Great Chimney

Flute. The Harmonic Flute is appropriately

large and wide, while able to take its part

in the chorus to form a fi rmer plenum if

desired. The Great Trumpet is very much

a chorus reed, and a well-blended one at

that, whereas the Choir Major Trumpet is

halfway between a bright orchestral trumpet

and a smaller-scale Tuba. It is able to stand

alone as a solo register (albeit against a

judiciously balanced accompaniment) or

sit with the tutti without dominating. The

excellently effective swell boxes – the Choir

division is enclosed, too – add to its versatil-

ity, as I also discovered when registering the

Full Swell. Here, the reeds seem to take their

tonal inspiration from Father Willis, with

fi re and body, and the swell box enables a

wide dynamic range. The Swell Oboe, to

quote John Panning (Dobson’s vice presi-

dent and tonal director), ‘is carefully treated

to blend with the fl uework while remaining

characterful for solo use – a nod to Stanford

rather than Franck.’

Other examples of this versatility and

blend are apparent in two of the Choir

registers. The Corno di Bassetto might

take its nomenclature, like the rest of the

organ, from English traditions, but is rather

chameleon-like. Used alone or with the

Gedeckt and with the box half-open, it is

an English 19th-century clarinet. When

combined with the Diapason and with

the box open, it can act as a Cromorne in

earlier French repertoire, albeit a rather

polite example. The Geigen Diapason itself

is similarly versatile. It can function either

as a Cavaillé-Coll-type Salicional or, with

the box nearly closed, as a more anglicised

Dulciana. With the (American-inspired)

Geigen Celeste, it can be used as an Unda

Maris in romantic French repertoire.

Of course, even a fi nely voiced and

intelligently conceived organ such as this

has to take compromises if it seeks to be

versatile. For instance, the Great cornet

séparé is a winning, mellifl uous sound,

but one which lacks the bite and scale of

either a north Germanic solo stop or the

breadth of a French baroque example.

This is not a criticism – any organ which is

more than a mere copy of one particular

specifi c school cannot and should not try

AMERICAN BEAUTYDaniel Moult is beguiled by the new Dobson organ in Oxford University, built as part

of the 750th anniversary celebrations of Merton College. MAIN PHOTOS BY COLIN DUNN

There’s a good reason why organ cases are photographed in glori-ous sunshine, so my expectations were not too high as I opened the Merton

College Chapel door on a dark and

dank January evening. Any reservations

were blown away as I saw the beautifully

conceived and executed case, taking its

inspiration from its Gothic surroundings

but having the solidity and size more akin

to some of the Victorian additions in the

Chapel. Even from the most disadvanta-

geous angle it pleases the eye, not least as

the side panels are decorated with sten-

cilled Pedal Bourdon pipes (a Victorian

trait). Designed by the organ builder Lynn

Dobson, the case is a wonderful creation

and one which manages to assert its place

in the room without dominating (although

it houses quite a large instrument) or

appearing too slight (a possible criticism

against the 1968 Walker organ it replaced).

The same philosophies of seeking inspi-

ration from the past without belonging

to any one school and of a scale avoiding

extremes seem to apply to the instrument

itself. Again, I had reservations before my

fi ngers fi rst touched the keys. The console

looked handsome and ergonomically sensi-

ble, although the stoplist suggested a rather

eclectic organ. Eclecticism has perhaps

received a bad name in organ circles. Many

instruments seeking to be versatile often

The reeds seem to take their tonal inspiration from Father Willis, with fire and body

‘A wonderful creation’: the new Dobson organ in Merton College

JOH

N PA

NN

ING

/DO

BSON

PIPE ORG

AN

BUILD

ERS

View of the medieval chapel from the organ

SIZES & PRICINGPrintDouble Page Spread – £2,800Trim size 420 × 276mm Bleed size 426 × 282mmFull Page – £1,650 (covers £1,950)Trim size 210 × 276mm Bleed size 216 × 282mmHalf Page Vertical – £880Trim size 88 × 252mm

Half Page Horizontal – £880Trim size 182 × 123mmQuarter Page – £550Trim size 88 × 123mmRecruitment advertising – £44 per col/cm

InsertsAll copies – £750 / Subs copies only – £570

www.choirandorgan.com www.choirandorgan.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 CHOIR & ORGAN 5554 CHOIR & ORGAN NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

CANDÉ CANDÉ

Willis director who came from London to

work for Skinner in July 1927, returned to

England in June 1928 to collect his wife and

two sons. While across the pond, he went

to Candé to measure for the new organ

(pencil sketches of which still survive).

Candé’s stoplist is more orthodox than the

usual Skinner player, containing not only

the colour voices, harp and chimes the rolls

require (save an Echo department) but also

independent diapason and fl ute choruses.

At Candé, the roll player asks for every stop

individually except the Piccolo, Octave and

III Mixture. But even those stops are heard

when the player’s crescendo or full organ

devices engage. Completed in Boston in

March 1929, the organ was installed and

ready for inauguration at Candé by Marcel

Dupré that August.

Dupré would return in June 1937, when

the Bedauxs offered Candé to Edward and

Mrs Simpson for their wedding. Bedaux

had become friendly with the Windsors,

and after the wedding attempted to

increase the connection by sponsoring a

US tour for them. A barrage of negative

publicity turned on both parties, however,

such that the Windsors never went to the

US and Bedaux returned to France and

suffered a breakdown. After the second

world war began, Bedaux worked with

the Germans as an economic adviser;

he remained a US citizen, and as such in

January 1943 was captured in Algeria.

He was transferred to a Florida jail, and

committed suicide 13 months later await-

ing trial on charges of treason. His wife,

Fern, died in 1972, leaving Candé to the

French government.

The library was remodelled with simple English Gothic-style

panelling, which the console cabinetry was built to match

The organ is located above the library into which the tone emits

JOSEPH

DZED

A

JOSEPH

DZED

A

Although the house lay empty until the

later 1990s, in the last decade Candé has

been the object of renewed attention. The

regional consul general, the dedicated Guy

du Chazaud, has taken Candé to heart. The

ground and fi rst fl oor rooms have been

conservatively cleaned, and set up in a self-

guided tour. An exhibit on the Windsors

includes even Mrs Simpson’s wedding

dress. Best of all, the organ has been

overhauled. After Yale University Skinner

experts Joseph Dzeda and Nicholas

Thompson-Allen were brought in to

advise, Manufacture Bretonne d’Orgues

was awarded the project. With great gusto

and wonderful respect, the fi rm’s director

Nicolas Toussaint tackled an organ that

– with its duplexed pitman soundboards,

percussions, and fussy player mechanism –

could not be more un-French.

Toussaint’s approach entailed a more

preservationist bent than most US work in

this fi eld. Where perishable materials had

obvious life left, they were left untouched.

The pipework was conservatively treated,

including preservation of cone-tuned

trebles. In a nod to today’s visitors, windows

were fi tted to allow both pipe chambers and

player relay to be seen. A modern record-

playback device permits the docent to run

the organ without damage to the fragile

paper rolls. Thompson-Allen and Dzeda

remained involved through the project,

coming to France four times to advise on

technique and approach.

The restored organ was celebrated in a

weekend of festivities on 13-15 September

this year. To an invited audience of 100

(half of whom had to be seated in the next

room), Vincent Warnier opened with a

recital of both original and transcribed

music. Warnier’s concluding improvisation

featured a short but passionate affair with

the celesta. Lectures and demonstrations

took up the Saturday, to a solid audience,

particularly given torrential rain. Warnier

gave informal demonstrations throughout

Sunday. Thanks to the generosity of the

consul general, Dzeda and Thompson-

Allen returned to take part in the weekend

and give lectures.

Alas, no one got married.

Jonathan Ambrosino is an organ technician, consultant and journalist in Boston.

Letter from Marcel Dupré to Ernest Skinner on 27 August 1929, praising the fi rm’s organ at Candé

CO

URTESY JO

SEPH D

ZEDA

London Symphony OrchestraLiving Music

LSO Singing Days

020 7638 8891 lso.co.uk

Sat 4 Jan 2014 Haydn The Creationwith Simon Halsey

Sat 25 Jan 2014 Rachmaninov Vesperswith David Lawrence

Don’t miss the chance to sing with a world-class choral conductor this January. Join LSO Choral Director Simon Halsey in a workshop on Haydn’s The Creation, or sing Rachmaninov’s Vespers with LSO Community Choir Conductor David Lawrence. Each Singing Day ends with an informal performance which friends and family can watch.

Whether you sing regularly, or haven’t sung since school, LSO Singing Days are a unique opportunity to get to grips with a classic choral work. Some sight-singing ability is required.

Sung in English, with piano accompaniment Tickets £17 (includes music hire) Afternoon spectator tickets £5 (from 3pm) 11am–4.30pm Jerwood Hall, LSO St Luke’s, London

‘Simon Halsey gave such an insight into the work. It was so inspiring!’

2012/13 Singing Day participant

Untitled-8 1 21/10/2013 16:59:28

II. GREAT (71/2" wind, enclosed), 73 pipes

Diapason 8

Chimney Flute 8

Cello 8

Cello Celeste 8

Flute Harmonique 4

Piccolo 2

Bassoon 16

English Horn 8

Corno d’Amore 8

Clarinet 8

Vox Humana 8

French Horn (10" wind) 8

Tuba (10" wind) 8

Tremolo

Chimes (25 tubes, G to g)

III. SWELL(71/2" wind, enclosed), 73 pipes

Diapason 8

Rohrflöte 8

Salicional 8

Voix Celeste 8

Flute Celeste II 8

Octave 4

Mixture (15.19.22) III

Cornopean 8

Tremolo

Harp (from Celesta) 8

Celesta (61 bars) 4

I. SOLO GREATAll Great stops available

via duplex action

I. SOLO SWELLAll Swell stops available

via duplex action

PEDAL(Flues 6", reed 10")

Contrebasse (metal, in Gt.) 16

Bourdon (wood, in Sw.) 16

Cello (ext. Contrebasse) 8

Gedeckt (ext. Bourdon) 8

Trombone (10" wind) 16

Bassoon (Gt.) 16

Chimes (Gt.)

Bass Drum

Tympani (Bass Drum with roll action)

Château de Candé, Monts, Indre-et-Loire, FranceSKINNER ORGAN COMPANY, OPUS 718 (1929); REST. NICOLAS TOUSSAINT (2013)

C&O - November December - FEATURES - Cande T.indd 54-55 12/05/2014 10:36:22

PRINT DISPLAY APP BANNER

www.choirandorgan.com72 choir & organ May/june 2013

kenneth leighton

‘When Kenneth Leighton died, Britain lost one of its fi nest contemporary composers, who never received in his life-

time quite the recognition that was his due.

He died at the peak of his powers, and I

have no doubt that we have been deprived

of some enriching music.’ This was the

view of Gramophone magazine, a year or

so after Leighton’s untimely death at the

age of 59 on 24 August 1988. In this 25th

anniversary year of his passing, there is an

opportunity to reassess Leighton’s position

among Britain’s 20th-century composers,

and in particular his contribution to the

fi eld of organ and choral music.

Born in 1929, Leighton was a chorister

at Wakefi eld Cathedral, and later studied

Classics at Oxford University, staying

on in Oxford to study composition with

Bernard Rose before travelling to Rome on

a Mendelssohn Scholarship, to study with

Petrassi. He held positions at Leeds and

Oxford universities before becoming

Reid Professor of Music at Edinburgh

University in 1970, a position he held until

his death.

During his lifetime Leighton received

several prizes for his compositions, and

published more than 100 works. To most

readers, he is doubtless known primarily

as a composer of organ music and over 50

choral works, ranging from small-scale

unaccompanied carols to large choral

symphonies; but in fact he composed many

fi ne works in a wide range of genres – the

orchestral and instrumental works are

well worth exploring. An accomplished

pianist, he wrote many solo works for the

instrument, and used it extensively in his

chamber music. His opera Columba was

completed in 1978, and he wrote several

acclaimed symphonies and concertos,

including one for the organ. Readers

whose perception of his style is based on

an anthem such as Let all the world, for

example, might be taken aback by the

instrumental colour in his orchestral works,

© SH

aLITH

the city of edinburgh, where leighton spent the last 18 years

of his life as Reid Professor of Music at the University

Twenty years after the founding of the Kenneth Leighton Trust, greg Morris assesses the

contribution this often neglected composer made to British choral and organ music

Touching the numinous

PRINT ADVERTORIAL WEB BANNERS E-NEWS BESPOKE ESHOT

Contact us today on +44 20 7333 1733 or email george.slater-walker@rhinegold.co.uk

www.choirandorgan.com

DigitalHow it worksOption 1: choose to show your MPU (300px x 300px) advert on all pages relating to one magazine (Band A)

Option 2: choose to show your advert only on content pages relating to specific categories (Bands B and C)

Option 3: choose both!

Band A Band B Band C

Magazine tagChoir & OrganClassical MusicEarly Music TodayInternational PianoMusic TeacherOpera NowTeaching Drama

Content tag; Artist; Brass; Choral; Classical; Competitions; Composer; Conductor; Contemporary; CPD; Drama education; Early music; Festivals; Manufacturers; Music education; Opera; Organ; Percussion; Piano; Recording; Rock & pop; Strings; Summer schools; Technology; Vocal; Woodwind

Content tag; Agents/managers; Audiences; Broadcasting; Careers; Chamber; Film & TV; Folk; Funding; Jazz; Lifestyle; Musical theatre; Performance practice; Politics and policy; Promotion/PR; Repertoire; Song; Travel; World music

MPU (online, per month)Band A only Band B only Band C only Bands A & B Bands A & C Bands A, B & C

£550 £400 £300 £750 £650 £850

E-news banner large – £750600px × 150pxE-news banner small – £550294px × 200pxAdditional media in digital editions – from £75

Audio from £75Specs on request Video from £150Specs on request

Image gallery from £45 per imageBanner (app, per month) – £250Sizes and templates available on requestSplash page (app, per month) – £325iPad 768px × 1024px / iPhone 320px × 480pxApp sponsorship (banner + splash page, per month) – £500Bespoke solus e-shot to the Rhinegold database – POA

SCHEDULE 2016-17 Issue Copy deadline Publishing date Issue theme

May/June 2016 8/04/2016 22/04/2016 Festivals

July/August 2016 9/06/2016 23/06/2016 Pipe Organs

September/October 2016 9/08/2016 22/08/2016 Scholarships and Voice Trials

November/December 2016 13/10/2016 27/10/2016 Education

January/February 2017 8/12/2016 22/12/2016 Competitions

March/April 2017 8/02/2017 20/02/2017 Summer Schools and Short Courses

IMPORTANT INFORMATION PrintDimensions are shown as width x height in millimetres. Artwork should be at least 300dpi and measure, at least, the actual size to be printed.All colour artwork must be supplied as CMYK PDFs.All fonts should be embedded within the PDF.Vital information should be positioned 15mm from all edges.INSERTS: magazine inserts should be sent to the printer as specified on your insert booking sheet. The insert booking sheet must be completed in full and emailed as per the booking sheet instructions.

DigitalArtwork should be 72dpi and measure the actual size.All artwork must be supplied as RGB.Digital artwork formats acceptable: PDF, TIFF, JPG, EPS, designed to the correct size in pixels.

All formatsAdvertisers are fully responsible for supplying advertising artwork as per the above specifications.If you have booked Rhinegold to design your artwork, please supply all content a week before the briefed copy deadline.

For all production queries, please call us on +44 20 7333 1735 or email production@rhinegold.co.uk

ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIESDuring the year, the C&O editorial team creates a choral supplement – which is distributed free of charge to subscribers and is available to non-subscribers to buy as both printed and digital products from the Rhinegold Online Shop.

The C&O team also produce a pipe organ calendar which is usually available from mid-November and contains images and details of 12 beautiful organs from across the globe.

SponsorshipAdvertisers have the opportunity to sponsor these supplements, which includes a logo on the front cover, the opportunity to be involved in the production of the supplement, and the chance to distribute the finished product to your customers.

AdvertisingWe offer full page, half page and quarter page advertising in these supplements, as well as digital enhancement opportunities. Please contact us on +44 20 7333 1733 or email george.slater-walker@rhinegold.co.uk for more information.

www.choirandorgan.com

RHINEGOLD MEDIA & EVENTS Rhinegold Media & Events Ltd is an associate company of Rhinegold Publishing Ltd, and specialises in live events and digital media.

Our events include Music Education Expo, now the UK’s largest conference and exhibition for music education, and Rhinegold LIVE, a free concert series at London’s Conway Hall which aims to bring exceptional classical music to all in a relaxed and informal environment.

WHAT RHINEGOLD MEDIA & EVENTS CAN OFFER YOU

» Innovative sponsorship & branding opportunities

» On-site advertising in programmes and showguides

» Exhibition floor space with direct access to your target market

RHINEGOLD PUBLISHINGChoir & Organ is published by Rhinegold Publishing, a leading music and performing arts publisher that produces a range of magazines, directories, supplements, guides, handbooks and teaching materials.

WHY WORK WITH RHINEGOLD PUBLISHING?One of the leading UK publishers for music and the performing arts

A brand that has been built up over the past twenty years

Reach all parts of the music sector:» Industry professionals » Competitions and venues» Educators and students» Enthusiasts and specialist interest groups» Suppliers» Multiple routes to market

WHAT RHINEGOLD PUBLISHING CAN OFFER YOU

» Print advertising » Digital advertising » Embedded video & audio links» Online advertising » Recruitment» Listings» Product and website sponsorship» Advertorials» Bespoke email marketing» Media partnering & promotion» Co-marketing opportunities

CONTACT US TODAY TO FIND OUT HOW RHINEGOLD CAN HELP YOUCALL US ON +44 20 7333 1733 OR EMAIL ADVERTISING@RHINEGOLD.CO.UK