LIGHT NOT SLIGHT

One of the two Radio City Music Hall Consoles

Within the Radio City Music Hall in New York is an organ installed by the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company. Designed to play a wide range of music, it is unusual in having two consoles – one either side of the vast stage.

Whilst such instruments have introduced audiences to the light classics as well as popular melodies of the day over many decades, parish church organists have, by and large, avoided such music. However, an increasing number of organists are discovering that their organ can be almost as versatile and are adding ‘light’ music to their repertoire. And as the BBC has demonstrated through several radio programmes over the past couple of years, ‘light’ music does not mean ‘slight’ music.

An organist that has made a career of playing ‘light music’ on classical organs is Nigel Ogden. Nigel has been presenter of the BBC Radio programme ‘The Organist Entertains’ for many years and it is the longest running specialist music programme on the network.

Nigel is as much at home on a mighty Wurlitzer Theatre Organ as he is on a classical organ housed in a cathedral or a modest Methodist chapel and has composed a number of works that can be played on both types of instrument.

One of his most popular compositions is ‘Penguins’ Playtime’, published by Stainer & Bell (Ref H320 £4.00). The attached video demonstrates one interpretation of the work on a classical organ. And as one person has commented ‘This tune makes me laugh’. – And so it should.

Other works by Nigel include ‘An Art-Deco Three Piece Suite’ (Ref H358 £6.00), ‘Scherzo for the White Rabbit’ (Ref H348 £4.25) and ‘Saints of a Spree’ (Ref H461 £4.25) – a delightful piece based on the spiritual ‘When the saints come marching in’ but with a number of unexpected twists. Listen for yourself with this video recorded at a church in Finland.

In 2012 Nigel’s contribution to music was recognised by the British Academy of Songwriters and Authors in association with the Performing Right Society who presented him with the much coveted Gold Badge Award in the form of a tuning fork.

http://www.stainer.co.uk/ogden.html#h348

LOVE IT OR LOATHE IT Caleb Simper

When Stainer & Bell (by a circuitous route) acquired the catalogue of A. Weekes and Co. Ltd, it greatly increased its selection of church anthems, due, in the main, to one man – Caleb Simper.

To many, Victorian composers of church music are no longer in vogue, and Simper does not feature in the famous ‘Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians’. However, the original publishers proudly printed on copies of his anthems ‘Sung throughout the civilised world’ – as indeed they were. By 1892, about 2.5 million copies of his anthems had been sold. This increased to around 3.25 million by 1895 and surpassing 5 million by 1920. Halcyon days for a publisher!

Although loved by church and chapel choirs who had little musical knowledge and who found the simplicity of the works within their limited abilities, the anthems were derided by others. Ralph Vaughan Williams said about Simper and Maunder (composer of Olivet to Calvary) ‘Composers with ridiculous names: their names are about the one thing these composers couldn’t help; other aspects of their activities are less innocent.’ And when all things Victorian were out of favour and structures such as the Albert Memorial in Hyde Park and St Pancras Midland Hotel were scheduled for demolition and church choir cupboards cleared, Erik Routley, in his book ‘A Short History of English Music’, wrote: ‘From the Crucifixion you go downwards to the underworld of Michael Costa, Caleb Simper and J. H. Maunder’.

One advocate of Simper’s anthems in recent years was the late Christopher Turner, who, in 1995, persuaded us to publish a volume entitled Five Anthems for the Liturgical Year (Ref D85 £6.00) which has sold surprisingly well. Simper’s organ works, unlike his anthems, have never been out of print, and all twelve books Seventeen Voluntaries (Refs 16010 – 16021 £5.75 per volume) are themselves sold in quantity to the ‘civilised world’. Written on two staves, the voluntaries are tuneful and provide the backbone to many church services.

Born in Barford St Martin, Wiltshire in 1857, Simper was largely self-taught. He attempted a number of professions, including piano tuning, before finding his vocation as an organist. He was briefly manager of a music shop next door but one to the Elgar family business. Ten years later he moved to Barnstaple, and there he remained, occupying a number of posts as organist and choirmaster until shortly before his death in 1942.

So, like the yeast extract ‘Marmite’, who promote their product on a ‘love it or hate it’ basis, the choice is yours. Fortunately enough organists fall into the former category to force us to reprint the Voluntaries on a regular basis.

http://www.stainer.co.uk/acatalog/organ_composers_l_to_z.html

ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE

In her 2012 Christmas broadcast, the Queen looked back on a year of celebration and reflected on the importance of public service.

Commencing with the National Anthem, played in the Ballroom at Buckingham Palace by the British Paraorchestra, Her Majesty proceeded to congratulate those who participated in the Olympic and Paralympic games and for the inspiration they had given to our young people. She also mentioned those who were serving the country on Christmas day, including those in the armed forces and working in our hospitals before quoting a verse from Christina Rossetti’s poem ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’. The broadcast concluded with the Military Wives Choir singing a further two verses of the poem to a setting by Harold Darke. We were made aware that the Queen intended the Darke setting to be used in the short programme some two weeks prior to transmission, but were sworn to secrecy.

Voted as the most popular carol by fifty choirmasters and choral experts across the UK and the USA in a survey conducted by the BBC Music Magazine in 2008, the setting, written in 1909, was also used in the famous Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from King’s College, Cambridge where Darke was organist during the Second World War.

The Queen’s 2012 recorded Christmas TV broadcast was unique, being the first to be filmed in 3D and the first by Sky rather than alternating between the BBC and ITV, but it was her grandfather, King George V who was the first monarch to broadcast to the Empire in 1932, albeit on the wireless. The text was written by Rudyard Kipling and began ‘I speak now from my home and my heart to you all; to men and women so cut off by the snows, the desert or the sea, that only voices from the air can reach them’.

The King’s broadcast was live and was scheduled to be aired at 3pm which was deemed the best time to reach most of the Empire by short wave transmitters in Britain. In the event, the broadcast began at five past three (twenty-five minutes to four Sandringham time since the King insisted that all clocks were set half an hour fast) and lasted two and a half minutes. An hour-long programme preceded the broadcast bearing greetings from all over the Empire.

The King’s last Christmas broadcast in 1935 was made less than a month before his death. His son, Edward VIII, never made a Christmas speech to the nation, having abdicated on 11^th December 1936, and no Christmas message was broadcast that year. King George VI’s first Christmas broadcast was in the following year, overcoming, to a large extent, his stammer as shown in the film ‘The King’s Speech’.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s first Christmas broadcast was in 1952. The Queen used the same desk and chair as her father and grandfather had done. ‘Each Christmas, at this time, my beloved father broadcast a message to his people in all parts of the world . . . As he used to do, I am speaking to you from my own home, where I am spending Christmas with my family’. The first televised broadcast was in 1957 and since 1960 the speech was recorded in advance so that tapes could be sent around the Commonwealth for showing at the most convenient time. Most recordings have been made in Buckingham Palace, but Sandringham and Windsor have also been used.

The Queen has broadcast to the nation every year of her reign save in 1969 when a repeat of a documentary on the Royal Family was already scheduled.

In the Bleak Midwinter — words by Christina Rossetti, music by Harold Darke

SATB and organ (Ref CH8) £1.75                            SSA with optional organ (Ref W107) £1.75

TTBB and organ, arr. John Rutter (Ref W223) £1.75

(Optional string parts are also available for all versions)http://www.stainer.co.uk/ch8.html

EQUINOX

EQUINOX - WINNER OF THE 2012 AWARD FOR BRASS COMPOSITION

Equinox

was written by Christopher Bond in late 2011 for the euphonium quartet ‘Euphony’, who gave the premiere at the opening concert of the ‘Festival of Brass’ at the Royal Northern College of Music in January 2012. Since then, the work has been played extensively, including a performance at the International Tuba Euphonium Conference in Austria.
The work is structured from two thematic groups, consisting of sections of equal length. The first is marked Energico, and its character is marked by sustained, lyrical lines unfolding over an accompaniment of rapid and deftly articulated rhythmical phrases. The second section, slow and expressive, offers the strongest contrast both in mood and tempo. This sharp distinction of material could be thought of as representing the frenzy of daytime in comparison with the tranquillity of night. In the third and final section, figures from both the preceding sections are brought together to demonstrate the capabilities of the euphonium to the full.

Ref Y299 £8.95

Avidity



An energetic six-minute showpiece for Brass Quintet



Timothy Wilson and Christian Lindberg



On 28th April 2011, the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama hosted the second Stainer & Bell Award for Brass Composition, open to all students at the RWCMD. Entrants had to submit a work of five to seven minutes for brass quintet, and seven works were shortlisted for a recital final, at which the compositions were performed by students from the college. The first prize of £250 went to composition student Timothy Wilson for his work entitled Avidity.

Avidity is characterised by driving rhythms and angular melodies that sweep the listener through many twists and turns into two brief choral sections, before a return of the eager opening material heralds a downhill sprint to a crashing finale.

Individually, players need to be working to at least Grade 7 level to get the most of the piece. Some of the slide work in the trombone part is particularly demanding, especially for anyone attempting it without the aid of an F valve.

Overall this is a well-crafted composition that would be accessible to a good sixth form group, given the right coaching and support. An energetic six-minute showpiece that would make an excellent concert opener.*

You can find the piece in our online store here.

*Laura Tanner       Music Teacher Magazine

CORONATION GLORIA

Stanford: Coronation Gloria for SATB choir and orchestra



In 1911, the famous composer of church music, Sir Charles Villiers Stanford, http://www.stainer.co.uk/stanford.html was invited to compose a work for the Coronation of HM King George V. Undoubtedly well received, the Coronation Gloria, scored for SATB and orchestra, was subsequently included in the order of service for the Coronation of their majesties King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in Westminster Abbey in 1937 and HM Queen Eizabeth II in 1953.

As we celebrate the accession of Queen Elizabeth II, two performances of this great work are scheduled for 2nd June: at Ely Cathedral, featuring the cathedral choir plus community choirs and at Winchester Cathedral with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and the Waynflete Singers.



Sir Charles Villiers Stanford



A month later, the Coronation Gloria will be performed within the beautiful surroundings of King's College Chapel, Cambridge on 13th July played by the East Anglia Chamber Orchestra.

Newly engraved full score and parts are now available for rental (ref. HL189) along with the vocal score (for SATB and organ) (Ref W227 £2.95)  http://www.stainer.co.uk/ 

The London Olympics 1908 and 2012

To mark the 2012 London Olympics, Andrew Pratt has written the hymn 'Lift high the banner'. It may be freely used in church services. If your church has a CCLI licence, then please record its use in the normal way.

Lift high the banner of these games

in this Olympic year,

that as we forge relationships,

respect might cast out fear.

Whatever name or creed we bear,

we share a common birth,

our skill and our ability

is drawn from all the earth.

Four billion people watch and cheer,

each country hand in hand,

where race, and faith and nation meet,

we pledge to make a stand:

through training we achieve each goal,

the victory is won.

A greater challenge far, for all:

to treat this world as one.

And so, O God we pray for grace,

in each success or loss,

that we might find humility

to bear each crown or cross;

in circles of communion

to share a common task,

to work for peace, to build fresh hope,

is all we seek or ask.

Andrew Pratt

© 2012 Stainer & Bell Ltd

Suggested tune: Kingsfold

In 1908 the marathon was extended in length by around a mile and a quarter - the extra distance being added to allow King Edward VIII and Queen Alexander to view the start from Windsor Castle. The new length of 26miles 385 yards - the distance between the castle and the finish in west London at the White City Stadium - is now the standard.

The winner of that marathon was an Italian confectioner, Dorando Pietri. So exhaused was he when entering the stadium that he initially turned in the wrong direction. Collapsing several times over the last couple of hundred yards, he was helped to his feet and over the winning line by officials, completing the run in 2hours, 54 minutes, 44 seconds. He was disqualified and the gold medal was awarded to and American Johnny Hayes. However, since Dorando was not himself responsible for the disqualification, Queen Alexandra, at the suggestion of Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle, presented Pietri with a special cup on the next day 'for pluck'.

For the first time the Olympic creed that "the most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part" was publicly proclaimed at a service in St Paul's Cathedral on 19th July.