Our mission is to showcase Sydney's organs and those who play them.
Sydney and its suburbs have a rich heritage of pipe organs. Most are relatively small instruments, built for small churches. Many are well-built with solid tonal qualities but are rarely heard by the general public.
This channel is intended as a vehicle for making such instruments - and the people who play them - better-known. We are seeking to record as many organs as we can. Currently our principal focus is on the Greater Sydney area, but we also wish to record organs in other parts of New South Wales. Our aim is to present competent performances in good quality video and audio.
We hope that this channel will both encourage interest in the organ and play a part in bringing together people interested in the instrument.
Sorry, I should have provided more details here. I've now added a little more information. Philip Reichardt was playing. We didn't record the piece in its entirety: he just tried part of it on the organ, as he mentioned he was currently working on it.
Thanks. Interesting arrangement. It says in the notes "harmonised in the nineteenth century by William Sterndale Bennett'. Is the present version an improvisation on that?
A new tune for me..I must look for it. Again I love your hymn playing Dickson, very secure and imaginative and appealing registrations. Eminently listenable.
Thanks mate, I wasn't totally familiar with this Dutch hymn tune either (thought I'd pick some Dutch hymn tunes for the Pels organ), so played it a tad slow. I think it's well known in the US?
I was reading from a Mayhew publication dedicated to pieces of his, called "Music for Occasions". Most of them are based on hymn tunes, but the subset at the end doesn't specifically mention the common tune SAGINA on which he wrote a trio, a tuba tune, a concertino (or similar) and a playful flute thing, as well as the aria and this one that I tried on the Pels. Philip Reichardt played another Mayhew-sourced piece on the same day which took my fancy. Unfortunately, Mayhew have quite brief print runs, and I wasn't able to locate that one on my search there. But they're also good at returning good material in a different collection, so it's worth a browse!
@NevilleBlom-m3d I have both "Aria" and "Prelude and Fugue" in a Mayhew compilation entitled "An Organ Miscellany." Published in 2000, I'm not sure if it is still available. My copy is a secondhand one that I purchased online a few years ago.
A valid question: but I think the answer comes down to individual expectations of listeners and the intention of the person demonstrating. I did a couple of early tonal demonstrations where my plan was to identify the stops and give listeners an idea of their individual sounds/colours and how effective they were. Pastor's approach has been different, in general involving an improvisation beginning with individual stops and ultimately weaving them together and building up to full organ. I suppose each prefers his own approach, but there is no right or wrong. Each is useful.
I heard this hymn for the very first time on a pipe organ in a church in Knoxville Tennessee. Computer speakers do not do it justice. The lower range/base of the song shook the very foundations and Stainglass of the church. I was just a ninth grader in 1973 and I have never forgot it. One of the most memorable experiences of my life. Thanks for bringing back wonderful memories.
