[rodgersorgan] Re: Registrations
- From: "Simmons, Erik" <erik.simmons@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <rodgersorgan@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 30 Jun 2003 12:06:46 -0700
There are only a few guides to registration that I'm aware of (like the =
Goode work mentioned by Noel), which is a real problem for newcomers to =
the organ. However, it's not just beginners that struggle. I have =
several friends who have played for years and still have questions about =
drawing stops. OTOH, registration must not be automatic or rigid, so we =
can't expect to read all the right answers any more than we could read =
about how to paint without trying it out. I've been studying the =
instrument for more than 30 years now, and won't claim to have mastered =
the art. And no, I can't paint, either...
The best advice I can give to individuals that want to learn more about =
the art of registration is do develop, and then trust, your ears. Learn =
to recognize stops by their sound, and take advantage of concerts, =
experimentation, the myriad CDs available to train your ear to the =
possibilities. Fortunately, many CDs now contain not only the =
specifications of the organ, but registrations used on each piece =
(especially recordings of historic organs). Listen to CDs of Widor at =
St. Sernin in Toulouse, and Bach on historical instruments in Germany =
and The Netherlands. You will no doubt hear things you like very much, =
and things you don't like just as much. Then, always let your ear be =
your guide as you sit at any instrument you come across, Rodgers or =
otherwise. Every specification has strengths, weaknesses, and =
limitations. What works well in one situation may not translate to other =
instruments at all. Don't just follow simplistic rules; even some =
composers' registration indications might need to be modified to get the =
sound he or she was intending. Editors' suggestions are just that, no =
more.
Now, since older music is a particular passion of mine (let's not forget =
that JS Bach is near the midpoint in organ literature, not at the =
beginning):=20
One great source is The Registration of Baroque Organ Music by Barbara =
Owen =
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0253210852/qid=3D1056994774=
/sr=3D8-1/ref=3Dsr_8_1/103-7645773-0704603?v=3Dglance&s=3Dbooks&n=3D50784=
6. It is very well written, organized by geography and time so it makes =
a good reference when questions arise. The author takes pains to =
describe both the registration practices on historical instruments and =
how to translate those practices to modern instruments. (BTW, I'm not =
asserting here that there is only One True Way to register historical =
works, but I do believe that one learns much about the music when it is =
heard the way the composer would have heard it. I'm eternally grateful =
to Rodgers for providing tools like historical temperaments to help me - =
what a great feature.)
Depending on the model you have, the Rodgers stoplist contains some very =
nice historical sounds, especially when combined with the old =
temperaments. The extensive Voice Pallet stops frequently contain stops =
representative of different schools of organ building (French versus =
German, for example). I've spoken with several Rodgers owners that =
haven't gone behind the stops on the surface of their instruments. =
Experiment! Of course, if you have a PR300, Hector's miraculous =
adaptations of MIDI sounds contain yet more wonderful stops (including =
his legendary Dulzian).=20
On a related but slightly different topic:=20
One often hears claims that a large specification can "play music from =
all periods". Well, I suppose it's true to some degree, but I don't =
think those instruments can play all periods well. For one thing, the =
tuning makes a huge difference. I recently heard the Bach Passacaglia =
played in equal temperament in a concert. It's still a beautiful piece, =
but get your hands on a recording in a historical temperament and listen =
to what happens near the end when Bach hits the D-flat section (where =
the performer in the concert did a wonderful cadenza, by the way). The =
music goes from C minor to the roughest key in the tuning (D flat) to C =
major in only a few bars, and the effect is wonderful. C major never =
sounded so grounded. When D flat sounds the same as C, the effect is =
much reduced. Try playing Bach's Herzlich tut mit Verlangen from the =
Individually Transmitted Chorales (the one in F# minor) in Kirnberger =
rather versus equal temperament. The piece sounds remarkably different, =
and Bach's decision to set it in that key is no accident. The F# major =
ending is the "peace that is no peace", and it totally befits the text. =
There are many other examples.
Conversely, I listened to a CD of the Stanford Magnificat and Nunc =
Dimittis on the way to the beach yesterday, and the organ was tuned in a =
Kirnberger derivative. It's a truly beautiful organ by any standards =
(and sounded great in Buxtehude), but the Stanford was just a bit =
unsettling when compared to a good English cathedral instrument in equal =
temperament. So, in the quest for good registrations, let's not forget =
the role of tunings.
Thankfully, we play instruments in Rodgers organs that have perhaps the =
strongest claim to be able to play music of all periods. Between Voice =
Pallet stops, outstanding MIDI implementation, and changeable tunings, =
and they are unparalleled in flexibility. As Hector put it in a recent =
workshop: "This is not a toaster... It is a tool to make beautiful =
music." Yes, it is.
Cheers.
-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Amenta [mailto:richarda@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]=20
Sent: Monday, June 30, 2003 10:32 AM
To: rodgersorgan@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [rodgersorgan] Registrations
Anyone know of any lists of suggested registrations for the Rodgers =
organs.
Other than the factory defaults, the owners manual and the Instant =
Organist I can't find any.
Any recommendations for untrained old folk like myself for various =
styles including=20
church service, baroque, french, etc.?
Rich Amenta, Amateur
Rodgers 805
Palmdale, CA
!
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