Gillian Weir - Royal Albert Hall grand organ

[Contratrombone64]

Someone asked me for a link to a recording I own of the newly renovated grand organ at the Royal Albert Hall, London.

Here's a link:

http://www.gillianweir.com/cds/rah.shtml

I also didn't realise that Dame Gillian is an expat New Zealander, there you go.

[Corno Dolce]

Hi CT64,

Thanx for the info - I'm getting that CD of Dame Gillian.

Cheers,

CD

[Contratrombone64]

Sweet Corn - you're welcome. It's a motley collection I must say, and I bought if just because of the instrument, not because of what's on the CD. That said, the Liszt is very fine as is the Lanquetuit Toccata and the other Liszt work, St Francis of Paola walking on Waves.

[Flute'n'Pedal]

Thanks, CT, for the link. I was very excited to read an interview with Gillian Weir, since I'm going to hear her in live concert in just two weeks time.

LlL

[Contratrombone64]

Where are you hearing her? She rarely comes to my part of the world unfortunately.

[Flute'n'Pedal]

Believe it or not, she's coming to "my" island, Bornholm, and performing on the organ on which I take my lessons. Go into this website, look at the menu on the left and click on "Organ Festival 2008."
www.sctnico.dk

[Contratrombone64]

Flute!! Are you a Dane? (I have a little Danish).

[Flute'n'Pedal]

No, I'm a Canadian, but I'm married to a Dane, and that's why I'm stuck out here in the Baltic.

[Contratrombone64]

OK - forstaa De dansk, en lille?

[Flute'n'Pedal]

Jo, jeg kan dansk, men ikke bornholmsk, den lokale dialekt.

CT, nobody says "De" anymore; only "du" is used, even in formal situations.

What prompted you to learn some Danish?

[Contratrombone64]

Bornholmsk, meget interesant!

What prompted me to learn Danish? ... an inquisitive mind.

[Flute'n'Pedal]

Yes, the natives here have their own dialect which ordinary Danes like my husband can't understand. However, my children can because they were born here.
I'm amazed that you learned Danish simply because you felt like it. There are immigrants who've been living here for many years who can't speak any Danish. But then, if they did learn the language, they'd have to go to work and lose their social security. That puts a damper on inquisitiveness.

[Contratrombone64]

Ouch, that's a blanket observation, which I could make about Australia's immigrants, but I hate politically motivated threads so I won't enter into that sort of dicussion.

Back to Ms Weir, I'd love to know what you think if and when you see her playing at your church (?). Speaking of which, do you have a photo you'd like to share?

[Flute'n'Pedal]

I'll write a report on the concert. I'm just worried about what kind of seat I'll get, since you can't buy tickets in advance. Hope I don't end up perched in a window sill.
Last year there were really good photos of the 4-manual Frobenius on the Sct. Nicolai website, but they aren't there now. And the page for "Billeder" seems to be empty. Sorry, I don't have anything.
But if you would like to see photos of two smaller organs on the island, look here:

http://pandea.simplenet.com/organeng.html

[Soubasse]

Would very much like to hear what she manages at the Albert Hall - she's a formidable performer and tutor. I had the immense privilege of playing for Dame Gillian at a masterclass, and it's an experience I've yet to forget as I still draw upon it. Her enthusiasm for performance presentation and technique was, at the time, most inspiring, particularly since she was able help with a Messiaen piece that I was learning. In the space of 1 hour, she ironed out months worth of problems I'd been facing with this particular piece.