Tag Archives: David Baker

by | April 4, 2020 · 2:46 pm

A Month of Murder

1 May 1986. Thirteen-year old Margaret ‘Minnie’ Hargreaves is murdered, and her body half buried on a building site at the edge of Holme Hill, a village in West Yorkshire where she lived with her parents. David Harrison, a near-neighbour, is convicted of the crime and sentenced to life imprisonment. He dies in prison.

43 years later, Holme Hill becomes the scene of two more murders. The first to die is Rhys Williams, a lonely old widower, who is found sitting on a bench by the village cricket ground. One week later, as the long-redundant Methodist Church is being cleared out prior to conversion to luxury flats, the verger finds more than he bargained for: Squire Haley, former choirmaster, face down at the keyboard of the chapel organ. Both corpses have a quotation from the Bible pinned to them, along with four dates – the first two the days on which Williams  and Haley were murdered, the last two, dates in the future. Dates on which two more people will be killed, perhaps?

Detective Chief Inspector Donald May is called in to head the investigation. Holme Hill was his boyhood home and the chapel the place where his family worshipped. At first, the murders seem inexplicable: two old men who had lived blameless lives – no reason to kill them; but the same murderer by the looks of it, so they must have something in common. A darker past begins to emerge as May and his team of DS Viv Trubshaw and DC Charlie Riggs investigate. Then a third murder, on the date forecast, again with a quotation from the Bible about the body. May knows when the fourth murder wil lbe committed; but who will the victim be and who is the perpetrator?

The Detective Chief Inspector has seven days to stop a murder and catch the criminal. May will discover much more than he expected when he started on 1 May 2019: the victims and the murderer; his own father; the chapel and the village; his marriage and his love for Detective Sergeant Trubshaw. All in one month; a month of murder.

David Baker’s murder mystery novel is now being serialised on https://channillo.com/series/a-month-of-murder/

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by | March 20, 2019 · 11:36 am

STAINER’S CRUCIFIXION

Stainer’s Crucifixion will be performed at St Michael’s Church, Mytholmroyd, Saturday 30 March, 2019 at 6.30 pm. Free admission, retiring collection.

St Michael’s Church Choir; Zachary Smith (tenor); Malcolm Rogers (bass);

David Baker (conductor)

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by | September 19, 2018 · 7:44 pm

William Herschel’s Organ Concertos edited and transcribed for organ by David Baker and Christopher Bagot now published

The Octagon Chapel, Bath, where Herschel became organist in 1767

William Herschel’s Two Organ Concertos, edited and arranged for solo instrument by David Baker and Christopher Bagot, have now been published by Fitzjohn Music Publications (https://www.impulse-music.co.uk/fitzjohnmusic/)

Herschel’s life and Career

Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel was born in 1738 in Hanover, Germany, one of ten children (only six of whom survived to adulthood) of Isaac and Anna Herschel. Along with his elder brother Jacob and younger brothers Alexander and Dietrich, William (as he later became known in England) received a sound musical education from his father Isaac. At the age of fifteen, Herschel was in the local militia, visiting England in 1756. The following year he resigned and came to London with brother Jacob on a more permanent basis. By this time, he was proficient on the violin and the oboe as well as a good linguist.

By early 1760, William was head of a small band of two oboes and two horns in the North Yorkshire militia. Dr Edward Miller, Organist of Doncaster Parish Church, saw Herschel’s potential and he soon become well known across the region, composing many symphonies and concertos as well as performing on the oboe and violin and directing prestigious concerts. Herschel was also sought out as a teacher of nobility and gentry, often giving up to 40 lessons a week. He became director of concerts in Leeds in 1762. This resulted in further success as a performer, but he later decided that having a post as organist would give greater financial security. He was regularly practising on the organ at Leeds Parish Church by early 1766. In August of that same year, he became organist at Halifax Parish Church, where Johann Snetzler had recently completed a large three-manual organ. He left only three months later to become Organist of the Octagon Chapel in Bath.  

The Octagon Chapel

Herschel arrived in Bath (having gone via London) on 9 December 1766. His first performance in his new home was at a benefit concert in the Assembly Rooms on 1 January 1767. A notice which appeared in the European Magazine for January 1785 gives an interesting picture of his life at this time.

‘His situation at the Octagon Chapel proved a very profitable one, as he soon fell into all the public business of the concerts, the Rooms, the Theatre, and the oratorios, besides many scholars and private concerts. This great run of business, instead of lessening his propensity to study, increased it, so that many times, after a fatiguing day of fourteen or sixteen hours spent in his vocation, he would retire at night with the greatest avidity to unbend the mind, if it may be so called, with a few propositions in Maclaurin’s Fluxions, or other books of that sort’.[1]

Herschel went on to carve out a highly successful career as a musician and composer. The fact that he was in lucrative and steady employment meant that he could devote himself increasingly to science and astronomy, which he did on a full-time basis from 1782, when he retired from the Octagon Chapel, moving to Windsor in 1785.

Herschel’s earlier musical career necessitated that he composed and performed music on a substantial scale. Aside from his works for organ, his compositions – mostly written by the late 1760s – included symphonies, concertos, harpsichord sonatas, an opera, an oratorio, instrumental and secular vocal music as well as pieces for the choir of the Octagon Chapel, the latter written from 1767 onwards.  John Herschel’s catalogue of his father’s musical output lists over 80 works for organ, including two organ concertos. Until now, little has been published or recorded.

This edition of the two organ concertos, arranged for solo instrument, is intended to complement the five-volume edition of the solo organ music, edited by David Baker and Christopher Bagot and published by Fitzjohn Music Publications.  

The Bath Snetzler

It is not clear whether Snetzler had been appointed as organ builder to the Octagon Chapel before Herschel became Organist either there or at Halifax Parish Church.  However, the organ had not yet been set up when Herschel started work in Bath and installation by Snetzler did not begin until 29 June 1767. Herschel records in his diary that he was obliged to write to the organ builder to speed things up. The correspondence between the two men does not seem to have survived.

What appears to be Snetzler’s original long-compass keyboard, removed during work on the organ in the early nineteenth century, and a few pipes fixed to a plaque are all that remain of the instrument, now in the Herschel House Museum in New King Street, where William lived (with his sister and then his wife) until he left Bath.[2] 

No record of the original stop list survives, though the last page of the autograph score of the 12 Full Organ Pieces (first set) contains the specification of what appears to be a two-manual organ typical of the period: 

Gr[eat]

Open Dia[pason]

Stop’d Dia[pason]

Princ[ipal]

Flute

12th

15th

Sesqui[altera] [Bass]

Corn[et] [Treble]

Trump[et] [Bass]

Trump[et] [Treble]

[Swell]

Open D[iapason]

Princ[ipal]

Trump[et]

Hautb[oy]

This matches the stop list – reconstructed by David Shuker from markings in the performing parts of Herschel’s two organ concertos[3] – of the Octagon Chapel organ.

The Two Concertos

The Snetzler organ was in a gallery at the west end of the Chapel. It was opened at two concerts on 28 and 29 October 1767 when, as at the inaugural performances at Halifax Parish Church the year before, William was the leader of the orchestra. Jacob (who had arrived back in Bath on 9 October 1767) played the organ, which included a performance of Handel’s oratorio Messiah (again as at the Halifax organ opening). William took over as solo organist for the performances – which took place in between parts I and II of the oratorio –  of the two concertos that he had presumably written for the occasion. Jacob played the harpsichord.[4]  The virtuoso keyboard writing – including the cadenza for organ and harpsichord at the end of the second movement of the second concerto – would have allowed the two brothers to show off their technique as performers at a time when they would have been keen to impress the citizens of Bath. The huge chords in the slow movement of the first concerto hark back to Herschel’s experimentation in 1766 at Halifax, when he was auditioning for the post of organist and was aiming to give the impression of pedals by using lead weights to hold down the two lowest Gs on the Great keyboard.[5]

The first concerto is scored for organ, harpsichord (by implication), strings, two oboes, bassoon, two horns, two trumpets and one timpani (a similar orchestration to the Symphony in C published in 1768). The trumpets and the timpani (tuned to D and A) only play in the middle movement. This seems strange (why not play in the outer two movements?) until one remembers that the main item on the programme – Messiah – had choruses and solos that also required trumpets and drums and the performers would therefore already be on hand. The horns are in G for the first and last movements and in D for the middle movement. The second concerto is for organ, harpsichord (by implication) and strings only. It is interesting to note that at least part of the orchestra plays for much of both concertos; there are few places where the organ is truly playing solo. Even where the orchestral parts are not marked ‘Tutti’ there is typically some instrumental accompaniment supporting the organ.  

Other Performances of the Concertos

At the opening of the Halifax Snetzler on 28-29 August 1766, Joah Bates – the prime mover behind the installation of an organ at the Parish Church – played a concerto on the organ each morning between the first and second parts of Messiah.[6]  No further information is available about the concerto or concertos that were performed. A reasonable assumption would be that the pieces were by Handel, whose own organ concertos were often performed between the acts of his operas and oratorios. However, it is well known that Herschel had settled in Halifax well before the organ opening at the Parish Church and was already teaching, rehearsing singers and perhaps even practising on the Snetzler organ. Could it be that Bates commissioned Herschel to write one or more concertos for the opening celebrations? As evinced by his 32 Voluntaries, Herschel was obviously composing music to be played at his audition for the post of Organist at the Parish Church and to fulfil his duties once appointed. He had already gained a reputation as a composer in the north of England with many of his symphonies and concertos having been performed, as for example in Leeds at the concerts which he directed. It would not be unreasonable for Bates to ask Herschel to write some music for the opening concerts that would show off the new organ.

If this were to have been the case, and, given the fact that there were only four months between the completion of the Octagon organ and its grand opening on two successive days, it may be that the present concertos built on earlier works that Herschel already had to hand from the Halifax celebrations. Similarly, Herschel again performed Messiah at the Octagon in 1770. Might at least one of the concertos been performed between the two main parts of the oratorio?  

Source for the Present Volume

This edition has been transcribed and arranged for solo organ from the autograph orchestral parts and the solo organ scores now in the British Library and catalogued as MSS Mus 88-89. The manuscripts of the two organ concertos were acquired at auction at Sotheby’s on 17 June 1958 from the Herschel Estate by Maggs Bros, Berkeley Square, London. Later that year (letter of 17 October 1958) they were purchased by Lady Susi Jeans, the well-known organist and musicologist, who bequeathed them to the British Library on her death in 1993. The manuscripts had previously been owned by Mrs EC Shorland, niece of Sir John Herschel. The front page of the organ score for the first concerto is dated 28 October 1767 and the second concerto is dated 29 October 1767, the date of their first performances in Bath. At two points in the G major concerto (bars 109 -118 of the first movement and bars 46 – 58 of the last movement) the music of the organ part is repeated on extra pieces of paper to facilitate page turns. The cadenza in the slow movement of the D major concerto is on a separate piece of manuscript from the rest of the organ score. Though in the same hand, it shows evidence of being written in a hurry, perhaps shortly before the performance.  At the end of the MSS is a free-standing single movement in G major, scored for organ and strings, as with the D major Concerto. This may be an alternative slow movement to the B minor one of the second concerto or, as David Shuker has surmised,[7] a substitute for the challenging middle movement of the first concerto, whose immense chords may have been too much for the wind system of the Octagon Chapel organ. This movement might also have been used at a later performance of one of the concertos, as for example in 1770, when there may have been fewer resources and no second keyboard player.        

Editorial Approach

The organ parts have been transcribed from the original scores as faithfully as possible, though passages notated using C clefs have been transcribed using either G or F clefs as appropriate. The orchestral parts have been transcribed and added into the present organ score at their original pitch as far as is feasible. These notes are in smaller type so that the performer can choose to play them or not, as desired. The aim has been to replicate the orchestral score as fully as possible, alongside the organ solo part. In a small number of places, where the instrumental parts duplicate the organ score, the instrumental version is clearly the more accurate and this has been used in the present edition.  No attempt has been made to add a pedal part to simulate the double bass line, though given that the organ part was written for a GG compass organ with Swell manual but without pedals, notes below bottom C on modern instruments have been incorporated.

Other editorial additions are denoted by [ ] or () in the case of added or cautionary accidentals. The original registration instructions have been reproduced and, where appropriate, regularised and expanded where there is inconsistency. Additional dynamic markings, ornamentation and phrasing have been added from the orchestral parts, as necessary. In the last movement of some parts of the first concerto – including the organ part – there is a dal segno instructing the players to return to bar 10 and play to bar 23 to conclude the movement; in other instrumental parts, these bars are repeated rather than a dal segno being inserted. This section has been written out in full in the present edition. The ‘alternative’ slow movement in G major has been included as an appendix.

Performance Practice

The music is best performed on G compass organs, of which there is an increasing number today. On C compass instruments a soft 16’ stop could be coupled to the main manual so that the lower notes GG-BB can sound when required. The performer should feel free to omit the editorially-added instrumental parts, as preferred, though in some passages, the music makes better sense with this ‘filling out’. In some bars, the pedals will need to be coupled to the Great manual for all the notes to be played if the instrumental lines are to be played along with the organ part. Herschel and his contemporaries would no doubt have added more ornaments than marked in the score. There is also scope for double dotting some rhythms.

Concerto in G major

The registration for the first and third movements should alternate between a full registration and a softer combination of stops for organ solo or ‘echo’ effects. It should be noted that while the full orchestra is playing in the sections marked ‘Tutti’, some of the orchestral instruments are also playing in other passages not so marked. Only where the score is marked ‘solo’ is the organ sounding on its own. The player should consider whether imitation of the instrumental solo sections (Hautboy, Horn) should be reproduced in performance on the organ.

The slow movement harks back to Preludium XV of the 32 Voluntaries with its use of lead weights on the lower keys to obtain the effect of pedals. Herschel does not give any indication as to how the movement should be performed, other than to indicate that the top part should be played on the Swell manual.  Lead weights could be used for the lower notes, or a third hand borrowed for the occasion (it is possible that Jacob and William played the movement as a duet). A cadenza is suggested in bar 94.

Concerto in D major

The registration for the first and third movements should alternate between a full registration (including the Trumpet stop where indicated, but possibly excluding the Cornet stop, except where noted) and a softer combination of stops tor organ solo or ‘echo’ effects. It should again be noted that the full orchestra is playing in the sections marked ‘Tutti’, and that some instruments are also playing in some other passages not so marked. As with the first concerto, only where the score is marked ‘solo’ is the organ sounding on its own.

The slow movement requires fewer stops. Herschel writes: ‘all in except the top and bottom’ and ‘all in except the lowest’ stops at the end of the first movement in readiness for the Adagio. The cadenza is optional; the held bass note could either be played with the foot or a weight placed on the key, as the composer is likely to have done. The use of the Swell Hautboy and the Great Stopped Diapason are indicated in the solo sections of this movement. It is suggested that the Stopped Diapason would also have been used for the sections where the orchestra is also playing. Only the Great manual on the Octagon organ was of full compass and only quieter passages (or those requiring a crescendo or diminuendo) that were in the upper part of the keyboard range would have been played on the Swell.

‘Alternative’ Slow Movement in G major

The performer should feel free to use the ‘alternative’ slow movement printed here as an Annex as either an alternative or additional movement (preferably in the D major Concerto, given the relative keys) or as a separate piece. The approach to performance should be similar to that adopted in the B minor slow movement of the D major Concerto.

References

[1] Holden, E.S. (1881), Sir William Herschel: his Life and Works. New York: Scribner, p.27.

[2] Barnes, A. and Renshaw, M. (1994), The Life and Work of John Snetzler. Aldershot: Scolar Press, pp.149-50. 

[3] http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=E01258. See also Organists’ Review June 2013 p.36

[4] Lubbock, C. (1933), The Herschel Chronicle: The Life-Story of William Herschel and his Sister Caroline Herschel. Cambridge: CUP, p.40.

[5] Preludium number 15 from the 32 Voluntaries (published by Fitzjohn Music Publications). The editorial introduction to this volume discusses Herschel’s use of lead weights at Halifax.   

[6] ; Cowgill,R. (2000), ‘The most musical spot for its size in the kingdom’: music in Georgian Halifax’. Early Music 28 (4): 557-576

[7] Shuker, D., (2008) The Development of William Herschel as a Composer and Organist from 1757 to 1767.  MA dissertation, Open University, pp.6,31.

 

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by | February 25, 2018 · 1:27 pm

HALIFAX MINSTER ORGAN RECITAL BY PROFESSOR DAVID BAKER, 8 MARCH, 1.00PM

RECITAL AT HALIFAX MINSTER

8 MARCH 2018

BY PROFESSOR DAVID BAKER

PROGRAMME

           

            Fanfare                                                                                              Percy Whitlock

            Elegy in A flat                                                                                   Hubert Parry   (100th anniversary of his death 

            Chorale Prelude on ‘Dundee’                                                        Hubert Parry

            From the ’32 Voluntaries and Pieces for Organ’                        William Herschel[1]

                        Preludium I in D major

                        Preludium IV in D minor/F major

                        Preludium XX in C major

            Chorale Prelude on ‘St Anne’                                                        Hubert Parry

            Dance with the Saints                                                                     Colin Mawby

            Sanctus and Benedictus from the Messe pour les Paroisses  Francois Couperin  (350th anniversary of his birth)

            Rhapsody in C sharp minor                                                           Herbert Howells      (composed March 1918)

[1] On the Snetzler organ – to celebrate the completion of the edition of all Herschel’s organ music by David Baker and Christopher Bagot and its publication by Fitzjohn Music Publications

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by | January 8, 2018 · 9:07 pm

William Herschel’s Voluntaries for Organ now published

 

The final volume in the new edition of William Herschel’s organ music, edited by David Baker and Christopher Bagot, has now been published by Fitzjohn Music Publications. Further details are available at http://www.impulse-music.co.uk/fitzjohnmusic/. http://www.impulse-music.co.uk/fitzjohnmusic/ 

Herschel’s life and Career

Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel was born in 1738 in Hanover, Germany, one of ten children (only six of whom survived to adulthood) of Isaac and Anna Herschel. Along with his elder brother Jacob and younger brothers Alexander and Dietrich, William (as he later became known in England) received a sound musical education from his father Isaac. At the age of fifteen, Herschel was in the local militia, visiting England in 1756. The following year he resigned and came to London with brother Jacob on a more permanent basis. By this time, he was proficient on violin, oboe and organ (having perhaps been taught by Jacob) as well as a good linguist.

By early 1760, William was head of a small band of two oboes and two horns in the North Yorkshire militia. Dr Edward Miller, Organist of Doncaster Parish Church, saw Herschel’s potential and he soon become well known across the region, composing many symphonies and concertos as well as performing on the oboe and violin and directing prestigious concerts. Herschel was also sought out as a teacher of nobility and gentry, often giving up to 40 lessons a week. Herschel became director of concerts in Leeds in 1762. This resulted in further success as a performer, but he decided that having a post as organist would give more financial security. He was regularly practising on the organ at Leeds Parish Church by 1766. In August of that same year, he became organist at Halifax Parish Church, where Johann Snetzler had recently completed a large three-manual organ.  Herschel only stayed for three months, however, leaving on 30 November 1766 to be organist at the newly-established Octagon Chapel in Bath.

Herschel went on to carve out a highly successful career in what was then one of the premier and most fashionable cities in England. The fact that he was now in lucrative and steady employment meant that he could devote himself increasingly to science and astronomy, which he did on a full-time basis from 1782, when he retired from the Octagon Chapel, moving to Windsor in 1785. His organist appointments in Halifax and Bath encouraged and indeed necessitated that he should compose and make music on a substantial scale. Aside from his works for organ, his compositions – mostly written by the late 1760s – included symphonies, concertos, harpsichord sonatas, an opera, an oratorio, instrumental and secular vocal music as well as pieces for the choir of the Octagon Chapel, the latter written after 1767.  John Herschel’s catalogue of his father’s musical output lists over 80 works for organ, including two organ concertos. Until now, little has been published or recorded.

Herschel’s Appointment at Halifax

Herschel’s audition for the post of Organist of Halifax Parish Church is supposedly described in detail by Miller, though Herschel makes no reference to either Miller or Snetzler in his own brief record of proceedings. In Miller’s account, the seven candidates for the post of organist drew lots as to the order in which they would play.

Herschel drew the third lot – the second performer was Mr. Wainwright [1748-1782],[1] afterwards Dr Wainwright, of Manchester, whose finger was so rapid, that old Snetzler, the organ-builder, ran about the church exclaiming, ‘Te tevel, te tevel, he run over te keys like one cat, he vil not give my piphes room for to shpeak.’ During Mr. Wainwright’s performance, I was standing in the middle aisle with Herschel. What chance have you, said I, to follow this man? He replied, ‘I don’t know; I am sure fingers will not do.’ On which, he ascended the organ loft, and produced from the organ, so uncommon a fullness – such a volume of slow solemn harmony, that I could by no means account for the effect. After this short extempore effusion, he finished with the Old Hundredth psalm tune, which he played better than his opponent. ‘Aye, aye’, cried old Snetzler, ‘tish is very goot, very goot indeed, I vil luf tish man, for he gives my piphes room for to shpeak.’ Having, afterwards, asked Mr. Herschel by what means, in the beginning of his performance, he produced so uncommon an effect? He replied, ‘I told you fingers would not do,’ and producing two pieces of lead from his waistcoat pocket. ‘One of these’, said he, ‘I placed on the lowest key of the organ, and the other upon the octave above: thus, by accommodating the harmony, I produced the effect of four hands instead of two’.

This story is taken from Robert Southey’s semi-fictional The Doctor. However, apart from denying his friendship with Miller, Herschel later accepted the story as largely correct. It is suggested that Preludium 15 composed in late July 1766) seems to fit Miller’s description of the piece that Herschel played to win the organ competition on 30 August.   

The Present Volume

This edition has been transcribed from the autograph score in Edinburgh University Library.  The title page of the autograph score reads: ’32 Voluntarys/and Full Pieces/ for the/Organ’ though each piece is titled either ‘Preludium’ or Praeludium’. 33 pieces are included according to the numbering used in the collection, though some pieces are either missing or incomplete, as noted below:

1          D major          Andante

2          C major          Andante

3          F major           Andantino

4          D minor          Andantino – Allegro

5          G major          Andante – Allegro

6          G major          Vivace

7          C major          Adagio – Allegro

8          C major          Andantino

9          A major           Vivace assai

10        G major          Vivace

11        C major          Andante         ‘Arbitrary Modulations’       

12        A major           [Andante?] – Allegro

13        C major          Adagio

14        C major         

15        C major

16        Blank Page

17        B flat major     

18        G major           

19        G major                     

20        C major                     

21        D major

22        E minor          [Andante?]  – Allegro

23        D major

24        C major 

25        E flat major

26        D major

27        Blank Page

28        C major

29        C major         

30        C major          Adagio – Allegretto (‘Grazioso’)

31        D major         

32        G major

33        G major          Incomplete

There are references in Herschel’s own Memorandums to his playing the organ in 1766; towards the end of July that year, many days are marked simply ‘organ’. Not only was he deputising at Leeds and Wakefield Parish Churches, but he had persuaded the organist of Leeds to let him practise there in readiness for the Halifax organ trials. Various days during the period 22 July – 8 November 1766 (by which time he was organist at Halifax) are annotated with notes such as ‘composed Prel 13’ or ‘Prel 31’. His diary also notes: ‘[July] 28 &c. Organ every day by way of practice at Leeds. Prel 16’. An analysis of the watermarks in the paper on which the 32 Voluntarys are written suggests that the music was composed over a short period of time.  

No record of the Leeds organ as it was in the 1760s survives, but the original specification of the Halifax organ is well known. An analysis of the registrations of the 32 Voluntarys with the stoplist as completed by Snetzler, noted below, suggest that this group of pieces was to be used at the Parish Church once Herschel became Organist.

 

Stops used in the 32 Voluntaries compared with the Halifax Stop List

Stops referred to in the manuscript scores are marked with an ‘x’.

Choir

Open Diapason                    x

Stopped Diapason               x

Principal                                x

Flute                                       x

Fifteenth

Cremona      

Bassoon (‘up to c’)               x

Vox Humana                        x

 

Great

Open Diapason                    x

Open Diapason

Stopped Diapason               x

Principal                                x

Twelfth                                   x

Fifteenth                                x

Sesquialtra IV [with tierce]  x

Furniture III [without tierce] (x)[2]

Cornet V (from middle c)    x

Trumpet                                 x

Bass Clarion                         (x)[3]

 

Swell (enclosed)

 

Open Diapason                    x

Stopped Diapason               x

Principal                                x

Cornet III                                x         

Hautboy                                 x         

Trumpet                                 x

 

Compasses: Choir and Great – GG (no GG#) – e3 57 notes; Swell g – e3 34 notes; no couplers

 

 

Herschel must have been keen to exploit the expressive powers and the sonorities afforded by the Halifax organ. 13 of the Voluntaries contain crescendo and/or diminuendo marks, indicating that a swell section is required. Two pieces need a ‘sforzando’ effect, where there is a sudden and rapid crescendo and diminuendo. 20 works indicate – or the music suggests – echo effects. 18 pieces require movement between two or even three manuals for the composer’s indications to be realised correctly. Four works use a solo Cornet; one the Great Trumpet; and one a 4’ Flute stop (on the Choir).

Herschel also has a penchant for the softer reed stops: Bassoon and Vox Humana on the Choir and Hautboy on the Swell. Out of the 35 detailed registrations,[4] 11 use the Hautboy, 8 use the Vox Humana, 11 the Bassoon and 5 use the Vox Humana and the Bassoon in combination. The Swell Trumpet is referred to in 8 pieces, while ‘Tutti’ (all the stops) on the Swell is required in 8 compositions.

Voluntaries 2-6 require a ‘half chorus’, 9 and 18 a ‘full chorus’, 25, 26 and 28 a ‘chorus’ and 19 ‘full organ’. The term ‘full’ implies that the music was written for ‘full organ’ as employed at the time. This would typically have involved the main flue chorus including, in the case of Halifax, one or other mixture (with or without the tierce rank) or both, with or without the Trumpet stop. Snetzler only provided a bass half to the 4’ Great Clarion at Halifax; this would have been complemented by the treble – only Cornet which together may therefore have formed a final addition to the full organ. It is assumed that a ‘half chorus’ is less than one or other of the ‘full’ chorus combinations. Diapasons 8, 4, 2 and the Twelfth are suggested.  

Many of the compositions are not written for a full combination of stops, as Herschel indicates in the score. Even those that are ‘fuller’ in texture typically have a good deal of dynamic variation, whether through use of the subsidiary manuals (Choir, Swell) or the Swell pedal.  In many pieces, there are obvious opportunities for ‘echo’ effects. It should be noted that only the Great and Choir manuals were of full compass and only quieter passages (or those requiring a crescendo or diminuendo) that were in the upper part of the keyboard range would have been played on the Swell.

It should be noted that in pieces such as Preludium 20, 24 and possibly 23 of the 32 Voluntarys the left hand is sometimes on the Great at the same time as the Cornet is being played. This would be possible, given that the Cornet would not extend below middle C. No indication as to which stops would have been drawn on the Great for the left hand are given, however. Preludium 20 has the following instruction: ‘The last [section] over add the Trumpet and conclude upon the same’.

Filling the Gaps

In the other collections of Herschel’s music published by Fitzjohn it has not easily been possible to fill the gaps found in the original manuscript sources. However, in the case of the 32 Voluntaries we have chosen to include two miscellaneous pieces to complete the collection and preserve the original numbering. The sixth sub-folder of Herschel’s organ music in Edinburgh University Library is titled ‘12 Voluntaries/for the/Organ/F.W.Herschel’. Sadly, there is little in this folder: number 3: just an incomplete Adagio and Andante in G minor and an unnumbered Adagio and Andante con moto in B flat.  The complete sections of this music have been included as number 16 of this present collection. Similarly, piece 27 is taken from the folder containing the first set of full voluntaries. An appendix to the present volume includes a piece from the second set of full voluntaries. This would seem to have been begun by Herschel but completed in a later hand.        

Editorial Approach

The original scores use C clefs in places. Passages noted in this way have been transcribed using either G or F clefs as appropriate. Registration instructions have been regularised where there is inconsistency. In some passages, Herschel adds horizontal lines to the notes of the bass line, indicating that these should be played in octaves. In this edition, these additional notes are all written out. Other editorial additions are denoted by [ ] or () in the case of added or cautionary accidentals. Notes in smaller type are also editorial. 

Performance Practice

The pieces were written for a G compass organ with a swelling mechanism but without pedals, though there is occasional evidence that Herschel was imitating the organs of his homeland – with pedals – in his writing for the left hand, and especially in the case of Preludium 15.

The music is best performed on G compass organs, of which there is an increasing number. On C compass instruments a soft 16’ stop could be coupled to the main manual so that the lower notes GG-BB can sound when required. Preludium 15, which must be unique in the 18th century English organ repertoire, could be played either by using the pedals for the bass notes or by following Herschel’s original approach and employing weights or wedges on the relevant manual keys, especially where a GG compass instrument is being used. 

 

The player should also think about places where dynamic changes not indicated by the composer might still be introduced. In many pieces, there are obvious opportunities for ‘echo’ effects. It should be noted that only the Great and Choir manuals were of full compass and only quieter passages (or those requiring a crescendo or diminuendo) that were in the upper part of the keyboard range would have been played on the Swell. Herschel and his contemporaries would no doubt have added more ornaments than marked in the score. There is also scope for double dotting some rhythms.  

 

[1] He was the son of John Wainwright and older brother of Richard. He succeeded his father as organist of the Collegiate Church, Manchester (1768-75). He graduated from Magdalen College, Oxford (BMus, DMus, 1774), before moving to St Peter’s, Liverpool, where he was organist from 1775 until his death (in both posts he was followed by his brother Richard).

[2] Assumed to be part of the ‘full organ’ registration.

[3] Assumed to be part of the ‘full organ’ registration.

[4] Four pieces have more than one set of instructions.

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by | November 29, 2017 · 1:06 pm

William Herschel’s Fugues for Organ now published

 

 

William Herschel’s Fugues for Organ 

The latest volume of William Herschel’s organ music – containing Six Fugues – edited by David Baker and Christopher Bagot has now been published by Fitzjohn  Music Publications.  Further details are available at http://www.impulse-music.co.uk/fitzjohnmusic/. http://www.impulse-music.co.uk/fitzjohnmusic/

Herschel’s life and Career

Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel was born in 1738 in Hanover, Germany, one of ten children (only six of whom survived to adulthood) of Isaac and Anna Herschel. Along with his elder brother Jacob and younger brothers Alexander and Dietrich, William (as he later became known in England) received a sound musical education from his father Isaac. At the age of fifteen, Herschel was in the local militia, visiting England in 1756. The following year he resigned and came to London with brother Jacob on a more permanent basis. By this time, he was proficient on violin, oboe and organ (having perhaps been taught by Jacob) as well as a good linguist.

By early 1760, William was head of a small band of two oboes and two horns in the North Yorkshire militia. Dr Edward Miller, Organist of Doncaster Parish Church, saw Herschel’s potential and he soon become well known across the region, composing many symphonies and concertos as well as performing on the oboe and violin and directing prestigious concerts. Herschel was also sought out as a teacher of nobility and gentry, often giving up to 40 lessons a week. Herschel became director of concerts in Leeds in 1762. This resulted in further success as a performer, but he decided that having a regular post as organist would give more financial security. He was regularly practising on the organ at Leeds Parish Church by 1766. In August of that same year, he became organist at Halifax Parish Church, where Johann Snetzler had recently completed a large three-manual organ.  Herschel only stayed for three months, however, leaving on 30 November,1766 to be organist at the newly-established Octagon Chapel in Bath.

Herschel went on to carve out a highly successful career in what was then one of the premier and most fashionable cities in England. The fact that he was now in lucrative and steady employment meant that he could devote himself increasingly to science and astronomy, which he did on a full-time basis from 1782, when he retired from the Octagon Chapel, moving to Windsor in 1785. His organist appointments in Halifax and Bath encouraged and indeed necessitated that he should compose and make music on a substantial scale. Aside from his works for organ, his compositions – mostly written by the late 1760s – included symphonies, concertos, harpsichord sonatas an opera, an oratorio, instrumental and secular vocal music as well as pieces for the choir of the Octagon Chapel, the latter written after 1767.  John Herschel’s catalogue of his father’s musical output lists over 80 works for organ, including two organ concertos. Until now, little has been published or recorded. The organ compositions often include detailed registrations that may have been for the organs at Leeds and Halifax. No specification of the former instrument in the 1760s survives, but that for Halifax is given at the end of this editorial note as an aid to registration of the music.  

The Present Volume

This edition has been transcribed from the autograph score in Edinburgh University Library.  The title page of the autograph score reads: ’Six Fugues for the/Organ’, although the individual pieces are all marked ‘Sonata’, but then after a slow introduction each work is marked ‘Fuga’. There are no registration or dynamic markings in any of the pieces; nor are there many indications as to which manuals are to be used, although the fugue in Sonata III refers to use of the Swell manual and forte and piano effects are marked in the fugues of Sonatas V and VI.  All but one of the pieces is in the major key; every introductory movement is in 3/4 time (pieces I-III and VI also being marked ‘Adagio’); only one of the fugal movements (number I) has a tempo marking (‘Presto’). Apart from the first Fuga, which is in 6/8 time, all the fugal movements are in 4/4 time.

The opening sections of each piece are written in a slow-moving, lilting triple-time style, with full chords, not least in the left hand, where there is much doubling of the bass line. Sonata III differs from this approach with less than characteristic left-hand arpeggios.  The fugues all follow a similar pattern. Rarely is the music in ‘strict’ counterpoint for other than a few measures, even in the opening sections. Fugue III is a good example of this approach. This is even the case in fugue II, where in the original manuscript the composer draws attention to his augmentation of the opening subject without then developing it significantly. But then, Herschel was known to ‘love melody and hated fugues’.[1]

Was this a case of composing in this form because he felt that he had to? Despite the titles of the pieces, and the implication that the writing will be contrapuntal, there are long, often chordal, interludes which employ sequences and pedal or inverted pedal points. Modulation is to the expected keys – dominant, relative major, relative minor, and so on. Rarely is there any ornamentation, though the last bars of fugues IV-VI offer a pause, where (as would be customary at the time) the performer can improvise a cadenza, as desired.  All the pieces have sections where the left hand is doubling the bass line, as if compensating for the lack of pedals. Sonata IV is notable for ending with low-pitched chords. 

Editorial Approach

The original scores use C clefs in places. Passages noted in this way have been transcribed using either G or F clefs as appropriate. Registration instructions have been regularised where there is inconsistency. Cautionary or suggested accidentals have been added where appropriate. In some passages, Herschel adds horizontal lines to the notes of the bass line, indicating that these should be played in octaves. In this edition, these additional notes are all written out. Other editorial additions are denoted by [ ] or () in the case of added or cautionary accidentals. Notes in smaller type and dotted slurs and ties are also editorial.

Performance Practice

The pieces were written for a G compass organ with Swell manual but without pedals, though there is occasional evidence that Herschel was imitating the organs of his homeland – with pedals – in his writing for the left hand. The last page of the autograph score of the 12 Full Organ Pieces (first set) contains the specification of what appears to be a two-manual organ typical of the period:  

 

Gr[eat]

Open Dia[pason]

Stop’d Dia[pason]

Princ[ipal]

Flute

12th

15th

Sesqui[altera] [Bass?]

Corn[et] [Treble?]

Trump[et] [Bass?]

Trump[et] [Treble?]

 

[Swell]

Open D[iapason]

Princ[ipal]

Trump[et]

Hautb[oy]

 

This matches the stop list of the Octagon Chapel in Bath reconstructed by David Shuker from markings in the performing parts of Herschel’s two organ concertos played during the opening of the Chapel.[1] This fact, together with the lack of registration instructions, might suggest that at least some of the organ music was written with the Bath organ in mind.  It should also be noted that Herschel taught private pupils, some of whom might have had chamber organs in their homes. Could some of the music. have been written for secular rather than sacred purposes? However, the Six Fugues are substantial pieces that would have tested both the organist’s technique and the resources of the instrument. Perhaps these compositions were therefore intended for a much larger and more versatile instrument of three manuals such as that at Halifax Parish Church.

Choir

Open Diapason

Stopped Diapason

Principal

Flute

Fifteenth

Cremona

Bassoon (‘up to c’)

Vox Humana

 

Great

Open Diapason

Open Diapason

Stopped Diapason

Principal

Twelfth

Fifteenth

Sesquialtra IV [with tierce]

Furniture III [without tierce]

Cornet V (from middle c)

Trumpet

Bass Clarion

 

Swell (enclosed)

 

Open Diapason

Stopped Diapason

Principal

Cornet III

Hautboy

Trumpet

 

Compasses: Choir and Great – GG (no GG#) – e3 57 notes; Swell g – e3 34 notes

 

No couplers

[1] Lubbock, C. (1933), The Herschel Chronicle: The Life-Story of William Herschel and his Sister Caroline Herschel. Cambridge: CUP, p.36

[2] http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=E01258. See also Organists’ Review June 2013 p.36

 

 

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by | October 18, 2017 · 10:02 am

William Herschel: Sonatas for Organ

The third set of William Herschel’s organ music, edited by David Baker and Christopher Bagot, has now been published by Fitzjohn Music Publications.  Further details are available at http://www.impulse-music.co.uk/fitzjohnmusic/. 

Herschel’s life and Career

Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel was born in 1738 in Hanover, Germany, one of ten children (only six of whom survived to adulthood) of Isaac and Anna Herschel. Along with his elder brother Jacob and younger brothers Alexander and Dietrich, William (as he later became known in England) received a sound musical education from his father Isaac. At the age of fifteen, Herschel was in the local militia, visiting England in 1756. The following year he resigned and came to London with brother Jacob on a more permanent basis. By this time, he was proficient on violin, oboe and organ (having perhaps been taught by Jacob) as well as a good linguist.

By early 1760, William was head of a small band of two oboes and two horns in the North Yorkshire militia. Dr Edward Miller, Organist of Doncaster Parish Church, saw Herschel’s potential and he soon become well known across the region, composing many symphonies and concertos as well as performing on the oboe and violin and directing prestigious concerts. Herschel was also sought out as a teacher of nobility and gentry, often giving up to 40 lessons a week. Herschel became director of concerts in Leeds in 1762. This resulted in further success as a performer, but he decided that having a regular post as organist would give more financial security. He was regularly practising on the organ at Leeds Parish Church by 1766. In August of that same year, he became organist at Halifax Parish Church, where Johann Snetzler had recently completed a large three-manual organ.  Herschel only stayed for three months, however, leaving on 30 November,1766 to be organist at the newly-established Octagon Chapel in Bath.

Herschel went on to carve out a highly successful career in what was then one of the premier and most fashionable cities in England. The fact that he was now in lucrative and steady employment meant that he could devote himself increasingly to science and astronomy, which he did on a full-time basis from 1782, when he retired from the Octagon Chapel, moving to Windsor in 1785. His organist appointments in Halifax and Bath encouraged and indeed necessitated that he should compose and make music on a substantial scale. Aside from his works for organ, his compositions – mostly written by the late 1760s – included symphonies, concertos, harpsichord sonatas an opera, an oratorio, instrumental and secular vocal music as well as pieces for the choir of the Octagon Chapel, the latter written after 1767.  John Herschel’s catalogue of his father’s musical output lists over 80 works for organ, including two organ concertos. Until now, little has been published or recorded. The organ compositions often include detailed registrations that may have been for the organs at Leeds and Halifax. No specification of the former instrument in the 1760s survives, but that for Halifax is given at the end of this editorial note as an aid to registration of the music.   

The Present Volume

This edition has been transcribed from the autograph score in Edinburgh University Library.  The title page of the autograph score reads: ’Sonate per/L’Organo’. It seems clear that the composer was compiling a volume of pieces for possible publication, with pages set aside for each work. The collection was never finished, however, and Sonatas 11-20 were never added.  The extant compositions are as follows:

1          Allegro                                   D major

2          Allegro Assai                         E flat major

3          Allegro                                   F major

4          Allegro                                   C major

5          Allegro ma non troppo         D minor                                             

6          Allegro Assai                         F major

7          Allegro Assai                         D major

8          Moderato Assai                    B flat major

9          Allegro                                   C major

10        Allegro Spiritoso                   D major

11-20                                                  Missing

21        Allegro Assai                         F major

22        Allegro                                   A major          

23        Allegro Assai                         D major

24        Allegro Assai                         F major

Sonata 4 is the same (with only very minor variation) as number 11 of the second set of full voluntaries. All the sonatas have the same two-part format, with each part repeated. Faster-moving sections and phrases are typically written in two parts only; chordal writing is generally reserved for slower sequences. The pieces are arguably more chromatic than in the other volumes (with the exception of some in the book of 32 Voluntarys), as for example the downward sequences in Sonata 2, while in Sonata 20, in F major, we have the kind of enharmonic transition into C flat major, repeated, that Herschel refers to (with relish) in his unfinished Theory of Music, also in the University of Edinburgh Library. 

Editorial Approach

The original scores use C clefs in places. Passages noted in this way have been transcribed using either G or F clefs as appropriate. Registration instructions have been regularised where there is inconsistency. Cautionary or suggested accidentals have been added in brackets where appropriate. This has not been reproduced in the present edition. Given the gaps in the original score, Herschel’s numbering of the pieces has not been replicated.

Performance Practice

The pieces were written for a G compass organ with Swell manual but without pedals, though there is occasional evidence that Herschel was imitating the organs of his homeland – with pedals – in his writing for the left hand. The last page of the autograph score of the 12 Full Organ Pieces (first set) contains the specification of what appears to be a two-manual organ typical of the period:  

 

Gr[eat]

Open Dia[pason]

Stop’d Dia[pason]

Princ[ipal]

Flute

12th

15th

Sesqui[altera] [Bass?]

Corn[et] [Treble?]

Trump[et] [Bass?]

Trump[et] [Treble?]

 

[Swell]

Open D[iapason]

Princ[ipal]

Trump[et]

Hautb[oy]

 

This matches the stop list of the Octagon Chapel in Bath reconstructed by David Shuker from markings in the performing parts of Herschel’s two organ concertos played during the opening of the Chapel.[1] This might suggest that at least some of the organ music was written with the Bath organ in mind.  It should also be noted that Herschel taught private pupils, some of whom might have had chamber organs in their homes. Could some of the music, such as the Sonatas, have been written for secular rather than sacred purposes? However, Herschel’s music often suggests the music was intended for a much larger and more versatile instrument of three manuals such as that at Halifax Parish Church.

 

Choir

Open Diapason

Stopped Diapason

Principal

Flute

Fifteenth

Cremona

Bassoon (‘up to c’)

Vox Humana

 

Great

Open Diapason

Open Diapason

Stopped Diapason

Principal

Twelfth

Fifteenth

Sesquialtra IV [with tierce]

Furniture III [without tierce]

Cornet V (from middle c)

Trumpet

Bass Clarion

 

Swell (enclosed)

 

Open Diapason

Stopped Diapason

Principal

Cornet III

Hautboy

Trumpet

 

Compasses: Choir and Great – GG (no GG#) – e3 57 notes; Swell g – e3 34 notes

 

No couplers

[1] http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=E01258. See also Organists’ Review June 2013 p.36

 

 

 

 

 

 

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by | September 6, 2017 · 2:01 pm

Improve Your Playing Masterclass with David Baker – 14th October 2017

Click here for the RCO Event Page & to book tickets.

 

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Upcoming RCO Events

Please see the attached link for upcoming RCO events – The Huddersfield event advertised is being ran by Andrew Cantrill, and HOA’s own David Baker will be in attendance.

 

RCO Events Poster

 

 

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by | August 23, 2017 · 1:18 pm
by | June 9, 2017 · 1:44 pm

William Herschel: Full Organ Pieces, Second Set

The second set of William Herschel’s organ music, edited by David Baker and Christopher Bagot, has now been published by Fitzjohn Music Publications.  Further details are available at http://www.impulse-music.co.uk/fitzjohnmusic/. 

 Herschel’s life and Career

Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel was born in 1738 in Hanover, Germany, one of ten children (only six of whom survived to adulthood) of Isaac and Anna Herschel. Along with his elder brother Jacob and younger brothers Alexander and Dietrich, William (as he later became known in England) received a sound musical education from his father Isaac. At the age of fifteen, Herschel was in the local militia, visiting England in 1756. The following year he resigned and came to London with brother Jacob on a more permanent basis. By this time, he was proficient on violin, oboe and organ (having perhaps been taught by Jacob) as well as a good linguist.

By early 1760, William was head of a small band of two oboes and two horns in the North Yorkshire militia. Dr Edward Miller, Organist of Doncaster Parish Church, saw Herschel’s potential and he soon become well known across the region, composing many symphonies and concertos as well as performing on the oboe and violin and directing prestigious concerts. Herschel was also sought out as a teacher of nobility and gentry, often giving up to 40 lessons a week. Herschel became director of concerts in Leeds in 1762. This resulted in further success as a performer, but he decided that having a post as organist would give more financial security. He was regularly practising on the organ at Leeds Parish Church by 1766. In August of that same year, he became organist at Halifax Parish Church, where Johann Snetzler had recently completed a large three-manual organ.  Herschel only stayed for three months, however, leaving on 30 November 1766 to be organist at the newly-established Octagon Chapel in Bath.

Herschel went on to carve out a highly successful career in what was then one of the premier and most fashionable cities in England. The fact that he was now in lucrative and steady employment meant that he could devote himself increasingly to science and astronomy, which he did on a full-time basis from 1782, when he retired from the Octagon Chapel, moving to Windsor in 1785. His organist appointments in Halifax and Bath encouraged and indeed necessitated that he should compose and make music on a substantial scale. Aside from his works for organ, his compositions – mostly written by the late 1760s – included symphonies, concertos, harpsichord sonatas, an opera, an oratorio, instrumental and secular vocal music as well as pieces for the choir of the Octagon Chapel, the latter written after 1767.  John Herschel’s catalogue of his father’s musical output lists over 80 works for organ, including two organ concertos. Until now, little has been published or recorded. The organ compositions often include detailed registrations that may have been for the organs at Leeds and Halifax. No specification of the former instrument in the 1760s survives, but that for Halifax is given at the end of this editorial note as an aid to registration of the music, discussed later.  

The Present Volume

This edition has been transcribed from the autograph score in Edinburgh University Library.  The title page of the autograph score reads: ’12 Full Pieces for the Organ/2nd Set.’ As with the first set of ‘full’ organ pieces, it seems clear that the composer was compiling a volume for possible publication, with pages set aside for each work. The collection was never finished, however.  The extant compositions are as follows:

1          Allegro in G major

2          Allegro – Adagio in D minor

3          Allegro in B flat major

4          Allegro in A minor

5          Allegro in C major

6          Allegro in G minor

7          Allegro in E minor [incomplete]

8          Allegro in D minor

9          Allegro moderato in B minor [incomplete]

10        Allegro ma non troppo in G major [incomplete]

11        Allegro in C major

12        Missing 

Editorial Approach

The original scores use C clefs in places. Passages noted in this way have been transcribed using either G or F clefs as appropriate. Registration instructions have been regularised where there is inconsistency. Editorial additions are denoted by [ ] or () in the case of added or cautionary accidentals. Notes in smaller type are also editorial. Given the gaps in the original score, Herschel’s numbering of the pieces has not been replicated.

Performance Practice

The pieces were written for a G compass organ with a swelling mechanism but without pedals, though there is occasional evidence that Herschel was imitating the organs of his homeland – with pedals – in his writing for the left hand. The last page of the autograph score of the 12 Full Organ Pieces (first set) contains the specification of what appears to be a two-manual organ typical of the period:  

 

Gr[eat]

Open Dia[pason]

Stop’d Dia[pason]

Princ[ipal]

Flute

12th

15th

Sesqui[altera] [Bass?]

Corn[et] [Treble?]

Trump[et] [Bass?]

Trump[et] [Treble?]

 

[Swell]

Open D[iapason]

Princ[ipal]

Trump[et]

Hautb[oy]

 

However, Herschel’s registration instructions suggest the music was intended for a much larger and more versatile instrument of three manuals such as that at Halifax Parish Church.

 

Choir

Open Diapason

Stopped Diapason

Principal

Flute

Fifteenth

Cremona

Bassoon (‘up to c’)

Vox Humana

 

Great

Open Diapason

Open Diapason

Stopped Diapason

Principal

Twelfth

Fifteenth

Sesquialtra IV [with tierce]

Furniture III [without tierce]

Cornet V (from middle c)

Trumpet

Bass Clarion

 

Swell (enclosed)

 

Open Diapason

Stopped Diapason

Principal

Cornet III

Hautboy

Trumpet

 

Compasses: Choir and Great – GG (no GG#) – e3 57 notes; Swell g – e3 34 notes

 

No couplers

 

The term ‘full’ implies that the music was written for ‘full organ’ as employed at the time. This would typically have involved the main flue chorus including, in the case of Halifax, one or other mixture (with or without the tierce rank) or both, with or without the Trumpet stop. It should be noted that Snetzler only provided a bass half to the 4’ Great Clarion at Halifax; this would have been complemented by the treble – only Cornet which together may therefore have formed a final addition to the full organ. Despite the title of the collection, many of the pieces are not written for a full combination of stops, as Herschel indicates in the score. Even those that are ‘fuller’ in texture typically have a good deal of dynamic variation, whether through use of the subsidiary manuals (Choir, Swell) or the Swell pedal.  The player should also think about places where dynamic changes not indicated by the composer might still be introduced. In many pieces, there are obvious opportunities for ‘echo’ effects. It should be noted that only the Great and Choir manuals were of full compass and only quieter passages (or those requiring a crescendo or diminuendo) that were in the upper part of the keyboard range would have been played on the Swell. The music is best performed on G compass organs, of which there is an increasing number. On C compass instruments a soft 16’ stop could be coupled to the main manual so that the lower notes GG-BB can sound when required. Herschel and his contemporaries would no doubt have added more ornaments than marked in the score. There is also scope for double dotting some rhythms.   

 

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