Ely Cathedral Pipe Organ Wills Plays Widor
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- Опубликовано: 3 окт 2024
- Cathedral organist Arthur Wills recorded Widor's Marche Pontificale in 1978, just after a major re-build of the (primarily) 1908 Harrison & Harrison. It's a IV/70/95, & was restored again in 1999-2001
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Arthur Wills notoriously always played everything full blast, so his style suits the really rather bombastic Widor. The Ely instrument is a superb beast, perfectly matched to the masculine architecture. It has a beefy, uncompromising edge. I played it a few years ago and it's liking being punched in the face with an anvil.
The comment (below) by "ihadaralf" captures Ely perfectly. Everything about Ely cathedral is monumental, more than life size. I was a layclerk (alto) there under Dr Wills in my twenties, and studied organ with him, and even the choir had to be "full blast", "beefy", "uncompromising". Since Arthur stressed that we were singing to the whole building, not just to the "choir", and given that there were only six layclerks and around 14 boys in the choir, and the acoustic of the vast edifice is anything but generous, we had to give our ALL, all the time. I've sung in choirs that displayed more nuance and finesse, but, Boy oh Boy, was Ely exciting! Even though I was there for only a few years, the building and its music and its liturgy stamped into my young soul a profound awareness of Divine Glory and Majesty and Immensity, which has really charged and defined my subsequent life. Arthur Wills (let's admit it) could be a grumpy sod at times, but I honour and love the guy. He died in 2020 at the venerable age of 94; THANK YOU ARTHUR! "REQUIESCAT IN PACE".
WOW!! WHAT BALLS!! Love it! I have not heard that piece by Widor. Got to find it now.
strange to have a cathedral in a Miss Marple village as I found when I auditioned with DAW!!!! But what a glorious sight over the fens on a frosty winter morning with the mist hanging like disneydust.....
I had the honor of playing this great instrument a couple of days ago and it is the most beautiful sounding organ i have ever heard. This is a piece that uses every part of the organ and i think it sounds amazing maybe a little loud but what are all those stops for if not for a little loudness once in a while. brilliant video
Such a beautiful building and a magnificent organ
what a beautiful instrument very powerful pipe organ
TOO GORGEOUS FOR WORDS.
Brilliant!
@wsanders1 I have a series of premium EMI vinyl recordings done in the late 70s called the "Great Cathedral Organ Series." THe one recorded on the Ely Cathedral Organ included the comment "[T] he Bombardon is audible at three, loud at two, and objectionable at 1 miles' diatance"! I also have a CD of Jeremy Filsell performing French organ music on it, to which it is well-suited, and a recording of orgn with brass band recirded by Arthur Wills, on Hyperion/Helios. It is an outstanding organ.
Now that I would love to get my hands on...
Im a verger at Great St Marys in Cambridge, on a clear day you can see the Cathedral from the tower :)
What a spirited performance!
You don't have to disagree with me too far marsvltor2!! Although I stick with my comment below, I did prefer the Ely Organ BEFORE the more recent rebuild by Harrisons. Today, it sounds like a typical H&H organ, and I don't like the revoicing of the reeds. So there you go, Ely is my local Cathedral (there is no Cathedral in Cambridge, but we do have King's), and they still can't get it right! So yes you're right I'll take the earlier Wills version thanks!!
Potente e grandioso!
The Marche Pontificale is from the 1st Symphony, I believe.
I went there with my grandma and grandad and my sister in 2015, good times
Brilliant sound on good equipment.
+Arthur Dale Hi Mr. Dale. It is a pipe organ not "Equipment". A damned good one at that from the sound of it. Harrison was a good builder. Good grief, there is smog in that place!!
Needs to be heard on Good sound equipment. Not through tinny speakers.
Excellent!
I Knew the Sub Dean Canon Dennis Green before he sadly passed away its a lovely cathedral
Wills actually recorded all of Pictures at an Exposition on this organ in the 80s, I have it on vinyl. It's very nicely engineered: The last movement will send your tonearm skittering across the record if your player isn't up to the task of tracking the huge grooves in the vinyl.
Ely is in Cambridgeshire, in the East of England. The area is called the fens and the Cathedral is locally know as The Ship of the Fens. The whole area is very flat with only one slight hill, the cathedral is built of that hill and can literally be seen for miles, on a clear day 20 miles maybe.
Zetor 7245 You can see it from where I live which is 30 miles.
And an awe inspiring sight it is - unique, dare I write, in the world. May she stay at her moorings for ever.
IT SOUNDS LIKE A VERY FIE ISTRUMENT.
AW's Saga LP of Vierne's 3rd symphonie was superb !
Lived for a couple of years in Ely in 1982-83 when I was stationed at RAF Mildenhall. Can't recall any noteworthy places to eat in the town. We used to go (i believe) a place called The Mill in Tuddenham (sp) -- actually had a water wheel in the place. Cambridge was also decent bet as I recall.
DS - first time I've ever disagreed with you on organ matters! I think that in Will's day Ely's was probably the finest cathedral organ in England - purely BECAUSE he attempted to make the instrument sound French. (As you know I'm very much a Francophile!).
@excitingusername
Not many organs with a Horn Quint 5 1/3' even in France! :)
magnificat ,
Back Hill (the road leading from Barton Square to the station) is not the place to find fine dining however have a look at the centre of Ely. I'm sure you'll find somewhere.
No, no, no! The ultimate aural anvil had to be Notre-Dame in Cochereau's day... and wonderful it was, too...
Sounds OK here in Michigan. There are some dissonant chords in there. Nice tune.
Good acoustics, not too much echo unlike Liverpool.
I like the organ, I can imagine taking out my frustration on it.
Cathedrals don't have echo. What you are hearing is reverberation. Sort of re-vibrating. It amplifies the sounds in the building and carries the sound down the length of the vast cavern of the Nave. It is also the same environment in which most of this music was written. In many ways it depends on the acoustics of the building to have the original effect.
Cathedrals do not have "Echo" it is reverberation which is an infinitely large number of echos overlapping each other until the sound energy is fully dissipated among the columns and arches of these magnificent places. Echos are distinctly indiviuial. Make sound - echo sounds back unadulterated and singularly.
'peace' is the last word that comes to mind here ;)
where da hell is this Cathedral? All deceased buried there are now awake cause of the organ! I shall situate my sarcophagus in a quieter setting! less then ten ranks! I desire true RIP!
Maybe a bit slower than usual. A splendid instrument and indeed the pedal division is very distinctive. I still think Nicholas Kynaston's 1970's Royal Albert Hall rendition is especially fine but you quite rightly need to judge the tempo for the acoustic.
I'll be doing a Piano solo there soon. :)
I hope Ely Cathedral can get Taylor’s permission to make a set of 8 or 10 bells
DGJ P Main tower at the cathedral is unsafe. St Mary’s down the road has a moderate 17cwt 8 however, though it is a shame the cathedral lacks ringable bells.
The Organ at Ely sounds completely different today, as assurmusic says. I think Arthur Wills went a little too far in his pseudo-French rendering of the reeds. Do go and visit the Cathedral by the way, a fantastic monument to Norman and early English radiating Gothic, with the central lantern tower made of solid oak wood, now over 700 years old!
Well, I guess, in that case, it was the Marche "Bishopale" instead of "Pontificale."
;-)
Perhaps March Episcopalis? ;)
Care to give a translation for us non-Latin scholars? ;-)
Sounds like its on vinyl
It was.
"Marche épiscopale" yes :-)
*Pontificale!! :)
where is ely catherdral. ?
onekeypianoplayer north of cambridge, in the east of england, about 70+ miles north of london.
I spot that too, some reeds and flues out of tune
Dislike the composition.