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Cumbrian Society of Organists |
[This has been an annual event for many years.]
Saturday August 6th was a day to remember. The warm and sunny weather brought a good number of visitors to Cartmel to enjoy six hours of continuous organ music in the Priory. Starting at 11.00, Mike Town, Ian Hare, Stephen Mott, David Shingler, Anthony Milledge, Chris Price and Colin Dean presented fine performances of a wide variety of organ music, both serious and light-hearted. We heard Rheinberger's Ninth Sonata, Liszt's BACH, a Handel overture, Mendelssohn's G major Prelude and Fugue, Reginald Porter-Brown's Tuba Tune and a Dance by Tylman Susato amongst others. We were treated to a large number of unfamiliar but very attractive short pieces by J H Reginald Dixon, Cecil Armstrong Gibbs, Alec Rowley, William Wolstenholme, Herbert Brewer and Basil Harwood. Amazingly, only one piece (the Folk Song by Armstrong Gibbs) received two performances.
Each organist who plays at Cartmel seems to discover a whole array of different tone colours and on more than one occasion I felt compelled to rush up to the console to see what stop or combination was producing a particularly ravishing effect.
This was a real treat for everyone fortunate enough to be there and a fine total of £140.00 was raised in the donations bowl, of which £110.00 has been sent to the IAO benevolent fund and £30.00 to the Priory for the use of the organ.
A particular thank you is due not only to the organists, but also to Pam Self who kept us all well supplied with tea, coffee and biscuits, and to Alison Mott for her splendid chocolate cake!
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