The Works of Paul Corfield Godfrey and Volante Opera

[simoncrosbybuttle]

Akallabeth is musically connected - utilising themes from the rest of the Tolkien cycle. A section of it is represented orchestrally in The War of Wrath (where the story crosses that point) but the full work is "Standalone but connected", similarly with the new work "The Passing of Arwen" for piano.

 

[simoncrosbybuttle]

Paul's site (www.paulcorfieldgodfrey.co.uk) is the best place to find out about the music, Volante's Website (www.volanteopera.wales) is best for the recordings - I update both but the content is focussed differently.

 

[Ent]

Zounds, that's quite the pipe organ in the background there... do we get to hear that winded in some stuff?

 

[simoncrosbybuttle]

Zounds, that's quite the pipe organ in the background there... do we get to hear that winded in some stuff?

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Not in the Silmarillion... that's a local church where we perform.

 

[Ent]

Not in the Silmarillion... that's a local church where we perform.

mmm... i'd love to hear it..! Perhaps there's a way. Mind sharing the name of the Church? I can see if they've any recordings available.

I would ask of the people 'which one are you' but I'll save that for later. (We must not be hasty.)

This all seems pretty reasonably priced to an old Ent like me...
I'm going to set e-Pencil to e-Paper (no tree-killing for me) and start calculating. (Will look closely... I'm sure shipping costs are spoken to somewhere for those of us in the forests of the U.S.

Thank you for the links.

 

[simoncrosbybuttle]

mmm... i'd love to hear it..! Perhaps there's a way. Mind sharing the name of the Church? I can see if they've any recordings available.

I would ask of the people 'which one are you' but I'll save that for later. (We must not be hasty.)

This all seems pretty reasonably priced to an old Ent like me...
I'm going to set e-Pencil to e-Paper (no tree-killing for me) and start calculating. (Will look closely... I'm sure shipping costs are spoken to somewhere for those of us in the forests of the U.S.)

Thank you for the links.

That Church is the Vanguard Centre in Caerphilly - a local church but it is used for recordings - most of our churches over a certain age over here have organs like that.

The Volante website automatically calculates the best postage for speed/insurance/weight of the parcel - may be on the hasty side for you but saves me a lot of time working it out... depending on the recipient country there may be extra fees but Trees in most US state, I think, have rather lenient import duties to get things to them than other countries.

 

[Ent]

but Trees in most US state, I think, have rather lenient import duties to get things to them than other countries.

We Trees are appreciative... both of certain human-generated simplifying applications, and of lenient prices!!

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

countertenor guys are rare nowadays.

Off Topic interruption for a personal memory: my first encounter (heh) with a countertenor was as a young teen, when I heard this lp belonging to an older cousin:

Songs Of Henry Purcell : New York Pro Musica : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Tracklist: 1. Hark! The Ecch'ing A Triumph Sings; Love Thou Can'st Hear Tho' Thou Art Blind; Ye Gentle Spirits Of The Air, Appear 2. Overture; Air; Jig 3....

archive.org

I liked "Oh, How Happy's He" (first song on Selection 6) so much (probably because it seemed a bit "naughty") that I learned it. I used to sing it for the amusement ( or was it bemusement?) of friends, and still do so to this day -- though not in so high a register as at age 14!

 

[Ent]

This has been such an exciting thread and discussion, and great place to spend a little time today...
I've found the Church. Have yet to have time to look into any recordings available but I'll get there.

 

[Maedhros_Nelyafinwë]

I'll keep the volume down until I'm certain there is only limited sopranic screeching... I can't afford any more splits in my bark.

Our high ladies are all professional operatic sopranos with many years of training and control. No belting beyond their ranges - they all have at least two octaves of classically trained voice.

This is why I love proper classical technique so much. It's so healthy for the voice and pleasant to the ear. I'm very thankful for my voice teacher of three years, who has taught me to never scream, shout or strain my voice, and to pay attention to how I feel when I sing. So even though I've got a high range, hopefully I would never split your bark, Ent!

 

[Ent]

Well. I've not (yet) found any recordings using Vanguard Centre's organ.
I tried contacting them through the 'contact us' feature on their website, but without success. It keeps saying 'there was an error...try later.'

Being ever-so-hasty, I found an alternative email and just sent one to them, seeking their help to see if they can recommend a recording or two where I can hear their Pipe Organ being sounded.

Meanwhile, the search will continue.
Pipe Organ's have been a particular pleasure of mine since over 7 decades ago, and it could be said played a part in my love for instrumental music, especially the classics.

(Though unfortunately, Bach, though he played on magnificent instruments well worth the hearing, still delivers 'music' sounding to me more like warm-up exercises. But that's just an old Ent's opinion, I fear.)

 

[Andromadus the Invictus]

If anyone wants to do a cover of any of the songs, I'm a base that can sing tenor if needed, and would absolutely love to collab.

 

[Maedhros_Nelyafinwë]

If anyone wants to do a cover of any of the songs, I'm a base that can sing tenor if needed, and would absolutely love to collab.

I would be down for this!

 

[Andromadus the Invictus]

I would be down for this!

What's your voice part?

 

[Maedhros_Nelyafinwë]

What's your voice part?

Soprano. I have a nice lower range too, but I'm happiest and most comfortable in my higher range.

 

[Andromadus the Invictus]

Soprano. I have a nice lower range too, but I'm happiest and most comfortable in my higher range.

Cool! If you have a specific song you'd like to do, we can do that, otherwise, just pick one that uses your range

 

[Maedhros_Nelyafinwë]

Cool! If you have a specific song you'd like to do, we can do that, otherwise, just pick one that uses your range

I'm not really sure at the moment which songs in this work have music for soprano and tenor/bass, but if I find something that works, I'll let you know!

 

[Andromadus the Invictus]

I'm not really sure at the moment which songs in this work have music for soprano and tenor/bass, but if I find something that works, I'll let you know!

Alright, the sooner the better, but take your time!

 

[simoncrosbybuttle]

Well. I've not (yet) found any recordings using Vanguard Centre's organ.
I tried contacting them through the 'contact us' feature on their website, but without success. It keeps saying 'there was an error...try later.'

Being ever-so-hasty, I found an alternative email and just sent one to them, seeking their help to see if they can recommend a recording or two where I can hear their Pipe Organ being sounded.

Meanwhile, the search will continue.
Pipe Organ's have been a particular pleasure of mine since over 7 decades ago, and it could be said played a part in my love for instrumental music, especially the classics.

(Though unfortunately, Bach, though he played on magnificent instruments well worth the hearing, still delivers 'music' sounding to me more like warm-up exercises. But that's just an old Ent's opinion, I fear.)

There’s a committee there that run the entertainment side of things - I’m sure they’ll answer soon.

I’m sad to say I’ve seen many such organs in complete disrepair in my years of performing. There’s one in almost every church here but they are expensive to maintain and tend to come low on the list of priorities…

 

[Ent]

they are expensive to maintain and tend to come low on the list of priorities…

This one is apparently among them.
A fellow has responded. He tells me the keyboard and other apparatus for the Organ were removed in the 1950s.
Only the Pipes and casing remain in situ. Something about the building and interior being ‘grade 2 listed by CADW’ whatever that may mean.

They actually use a different organ now. A digital Rolland classic organ. I’ll need to look that up and see what it is.

So… a lost opportunity to hear what I suspect was a great sound.!