Choral music at QEII's funeral at The Abbey and the committal at St George's

[ardcarp]

In the Parry from WA it was quite an unusual choice to have the short "O my soul, awake!" section taken so fast

Yes, that stood out as being a bit OTT. The only thing I found not quite right amid the great music-making.

[oddoneout]

Stars for me in the Funeral were the coffin-bearers. Those STEPS.........wow!

I found myself holding my breath until the coffin was safely deposited each time they made transfers but yes those steps. As is often the way I thought how small the coffin looked but then the commentary mentioned that it was lead-lined, at which point I thought - good thing HM was small. Up and down steps with such weight(not just of responsibility) on your shoulders.

[Petrushka]

I found myself holding my breath until the coffin was safely deposited each time they made transfers but yes those steps. As is often the way I thought how small the coffin looked but then the commentary mentioned that it was lead-lined, at which point I thought - good thing HM was small. Up and down steps with such weight(not just of responsibility) on your shoulders.

I remember watching Churchill's funeral in 1965. The steps of St Paul's posed as much of a problem, if not a bigger one, for the bearer party as the ones at Windsor. There was a worrying moment when one of the young Guardsmen slightly stumbled on the way up causing the nation to hold its breath.

[Old Grumpy]

I found myself holding my breath until the coffin was safely deposited each time they made transfers but yes those steps. As is often the way I thought how small the coffin looked but then the commentary mentioned that it was lead-lined, at which point I thought - good thing HM was small. Up and down steps with such weight(not just of responsibility) on your shoulders.

The coffin is said to weigh in the region of 550 of yer English pounds (otherwise known as A Rees-Mogg).

https://www.forces.net/royals/queen/why-queens-lead-lined-coffin-weighs-same-about-dozen-55lb-bergens

[Vox Humana]

As for the Bach Fantasia à 5 - a fittingly solemn choice, though I wasn’t sure about the notes inégales applied to the first pair of quavers in each repetition of that recurring phrase. Other organists apply this unevenness to all four quavers.

Technically they weren't notes inégales but short appogiaturas. There are a few performances on YouTube that interpret them that way and play the following quavers (more or less) equally. At the slow speed we heard from Westminster I'm afraid that it made the piece sound incoherent and unrhythmical. It took me a good half-page to work out what the organist was doing and the result left me cold - which is a shame. because I consider BVW 562 one of Bach's most intense and poweful organ works. Not that my views are of any importance, of course, but I did wonder whether that piece was responsible for the negative comments on Twitter.

https://imslp.hk/files/imglnks/euimg/9/95/IMSLP533125-PMLP152889-Bach-orgelwerke05_fantasia-et-fuga-C-minor_BWV562_pp54-57.pdf

Then there is the extra ornamentation thought to be provided by JSB for performance on the pedal harpsichord. Is this all or partly necessary for organ performance

Is there any evidence to support the pedal harpsichord theory, or is it just some organist's incredulity at so many ornaments appearing in an organ piece - and, if so, do they also think that Couperin's organ music was written for a harpsichord? Just wondering.

The Fantasia did not find favour with the Twitterati with the playing compared to that of Les Dawson.Slightly unfair I thought.

Extremely unfair, I'd say, and very ignorant. Perhaps if our politicians (of all colours) stopped to ponder what it took to produce the stunningly professional standards of music they heard on Monday, whether such talent is worth preserving, and whether confining its nurture to those with private means really is a sensible way forward, perhaps we might be better placed to educate these types.

[Ein Heldenleben]

I’d say very unfair. Some of those are proper Twits. I try to avoid their grinding axes.

Try explaining notes inégales to the Twitterati!

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11227319/Royal-fans-poke-fun-sinister-music-played-tune-instrument-Queens-funeral.html

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Indeed . One does not look to Twitter or the Mail for an understanding of the finer points of organ playing.

[Keraulophone]

Technically they weren't notes inégales but short appogiaturas. There are a few performances on YouTube that interpret them that way and play the following quavers (more or less) equally. At the slow speed we heard from Westminster I'm afraid that it made the piece sound incoherent and unrhythmical. It took me a good half-page to work out what the organist was doing and the result left me cold - which is a shame. because I consider BVW 562 one of Bach's most intense and poweful organ works.

Is there any evidence to support the pedal harpsichord theory, or is it just some organist's incredulity at so many ornaments appearing in an organ piece?

You’re quite correct VH, the ‘little notes’ are appogiaturas, though the effect does sound French, especially at the very measured speed chosen by Peter Holder. The slow tempo must have been carefully chosen to match the progress of the nave procession, so it may not have been his choice. If you are the ‘Vox Humana’ contributor to the Mander message boards, I read with interest your contributions re BWV 562 (back in March 2008!) especially when quoting Peter Williams (‘the taste hints at le goût français’) whose books I’ve got somewhere but can’t locate right now.

No, I can’t find any evidence that the ornamentation was meant for pedal harpsichord; it’s probably a myth. It’s more likely that the ornamentation in Bach’s manuscript really was meant for organ.

It’s a piece that so many organ students beginning their discovery of JSB must have learnt early in their studies, many from that famous Novello Book 3 which has the ‘straight’ quavers. Having learnt it so early on, it’s one of the few pieces of Bach I can play from memory, which has proved useful on occasion. I first discovered the appogiaturas and other ornamentation in the Widor-Schweitzer edition, which was a handsome reprint by Schirmer of the old Bachgesellschaft edition, including amusing Cavaillé-Coll-influenced suggested registrations from C-M Widor alongside deeply felt notes on the music from Albert Schweitzer (which become even more deeply felt when discussing the chorale preludes).

The fugue à 5 is intriguing, whether or not it belongs with the Fantasia. An ex-chorister of Truro Cathedral, who went on to take the highest starred First in music in his year at Cambridge, returned to give an organ recital which included his own completion of the fugue. It was an extraordinary feat of ingenious composition but it went on a bit too long for most listeners. Now he’s more into jazz…
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[Vox Humana]

You’re quite correct VH, the ‘little notes’ are appogiaturas, though the effect does sound French, especially at the very measured speed chosen by Peter Holder. The slow tempo must have been carefully chosen to match the progress of the nave procession, so it may not have been his choice. If you are the ‘Vox Humana’ contributor to the Mander message boards, I read with interest your contributions re BWV 562 (back in March 2008!) especially when quoting Peter Williams (‘the taste hints at le goût français’) whose books I’ve got somewhere but can’t locate right now.

Goodness, I'd forgotten that! The book by Prof Williams that I was quoting from was a slim little BBC guide - and very excellent it was/is too, although long out of print.

The fugue à 5 is intriguing, whether or not it belongs with the Fantasia. An ex-chorister of Truro Cathedral, who went on to take the highest starred First in music in his year at Cambridge, returned to give an organ recital which included his own completion of the fugue. It was an extraordinary feat of ingenious composition but it went on a bit too long for most listeners. Now he’s more into jazz…

There's a facsimile of Bach's autograph, including what there is of the fugue on IMSLP: https://s9.imslp.org/files/imglnks/u...ach_P_490-.pdf
It would seem from these photographs that the manuscript consists of just two pages, with the fugue occupying the back of the second page. I had always assumed that Bach had just left the fugue incomplete, but now I'm thinking that maybe he did complete it and we have lost the remainder.