Norwegian entry: Norsk tidebønnbok

Et tips i den åndelige tørke: Jeg fikk mitt eget eksemplar av "Norsk tidebønn" utgitt av Kirkelig Fornyelse/Oremus i posten for den nette sum a kr 222 inkl. porto. Dette er en bok jeg kan anbefale på det varmeste. Den er litt vanskelig å finne frem i til å begynne med fordi man må hoppe frem og tilbake mellom faste og variable ledd, men det har språklig rikdom som: "Fader vår, du som er i himmelen! Helliget vorde ditt navn; komme ditt rike; skje din vilje..." Heldigvis finnes det avkroker i vårt samfunn som fortsatt er ved det gamle! Merkelig nok heter fenomenet kirkelig fornyelse, men det er vel slik at en fornyelse ikke trenger å være ny i seg selv, men ny i tiden. I boken kan man i alle fall be tidebønnene Ottesang/Matutin, Morgensang/Laudes, Sext, Aftensang/Vesper og Aftenbønn/Completorium hver dag hele året. Den innholder også 4 ulike tekstlesningsforslag med ulike dekningsgrader av Bibelen gjennom året.

Det blir ikke god kirkemusikk uten åndelig påfyll.

My latest hymn (good news!)

I just received an email from a priest in the Nordic Catholic Church saying: "Salmen din slo veldig vel an på patronsfesten. Takk skal du ha!" , which translates into english: "Your hymn was a big hit at the patronal feast. Thank you!". He was probably just being nice, I would not dear to hope that it actually was a hit. Nevertheless, it means that they tried to sing it, which is a good thing regradless of what they actually thought of it.

The hymn has John the Baptist as the theme, and it is the 16th hymn I have made. It has the Norwegian first line "O Israels folk, hør ødemarkens røst". You'll find it at my website (The Organ Amateur Page) by clicking "Music" and "Music by me" in the menu.

Announcement

Aust-Agder Blad, a local newspaper for Risør, Norway, announced that Mr. Jostein Groild and his wife Anne-Christine will leave Risør because Mr. Grolid has accepted a new position i Drøbak, Norway. The Grolids have been organists in the parishes of Risør and Søndeled for several years now. They will be missed. Good luck to you both!

BBC Radio 3 Evensong 23/11-05

I seem to have adapted the habit of commenting the choral evensong broadcasts on BBC 3 radio. I guess this is my way of venting my thoughts and living my dreams since the era of which point in time I lost contact with St. Edmund's Church Choir and Anglican music. Once you have got a taste of the real thing, it is impossible to go back. That's Anglican church music.

And this very Wednesday, this glorious Wednesday, Truro Cathedral excels the realm of radio waves with thier oustanding singing, delicate organ accompaniment (partly thanks to the wonderful Father Willis organ). Of all big and famous cathedrals that have presented their doubtful evensongs on Radio 3 this autumn, Truro stands out like an angel in crowded ancient streets of Gomorrah. Congratulations, Truro!

The introit "View Me, Lord" by Richard Lloyd was one of Mr. A. Smith's specialities (Mr. Smith conducted St. Edmunds Church Choir in Oslo when I was a member of the choir Sept. 2000 - Dec. 2003). I know this piece of music quite well. The Truro Cathedral Choir sang it with divine voices, I am sure.

I think I will refrain from describing this Evensong any further, because I cannot find the adjectives. If only all Evensongs were this good...

BBC Radio 3 Evensong 16/11-05

BCC Radio 3 choral evensong broadcasts have had very varying quality in terms of music this autumn. However, this time I am quite pleased with the chanting of the Lincoln cathedral choir. It has been a while since I heard such relaxed and easy chanting, the words sounding as if they really are trying to be understood, and the organ supporting the meaning of the words (although the organ could have been played even more delicately). The choir is singing quite well all the way through the service.

It is important that the BBC tries to keep the quality on a high level, both in music and in the service itself. The weekly broadcast is the only regular input for overseas anglicans, and friends of anglicanism, outside the commonwhealth and major cities. It is not merely an experimental playground for various festivals and church buildings with obscure congregations. Of course, it is to the discretion of the BBC to think and do whatever they see fit, I am just pointing out that the choral evensong broadcasts are valued by myself and probably many others in parts of the world where anglican worship and music are scarce commodities.

Händel's Messiah in Frydendal Chruch, Risør

Say no more...
http://www.austagderblad.no/lokale_nyheter/article1824558.ece

Finally life is back to normal.

Statoil... (Norwegian entry)

Noen som har lurt på hvor musikken i Statoil-reklamen kommer fra (der hvor verden "stopper opp" uten gass fra Statoil og et kor blir stående med hakk i plata inntil den siste guttesopranen er på plass)? Evensong på BBC radio 3 fra Westminster Abbey den 12. oktober hadde "Os justi meditabitur" av Bruckner som "introit". De som har lurt lenge, trenger ikke lure mer!

O ye of little time

I never seem to get any time for playing the organ, composing or other things I like to do. My fingers are turing stiff. The only musical activity nowadays is the occasional practice for Handels Messiah. "And he shall pu-ri fa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ah-ay the so-o-o-ons of Le-hi-vi" and "His yo-ho-hoke is ea-hea-hea-hea-hea-hea hea-hea-hea-hea-hea-hea-hea-sy" etc. We're going to perform on the 12th and 13th of November.

I listened to the BBC radio 3 evensong today from Manchenster Cathedral, but I did not like it too much this time. The one from Sheffield last week was much better.

So long, folks! I might not get time to write anything in near future. My schedule is not ea-hea-hea-hea-hea-hea hea-hea-hea-hea-hea-hea-hea-sy!

Chruch anagrams

Are there hidden codes (anagrams) in the name of the Norwegian Lutheran Chruch "Den norske kirke"?

- den snorkekirke (the snoring church)
- der ikon krenkes (where icons are desecrated)
- der kikker sonen (the son is looking there)
- der knekk senior (senior is breaking down)
- der koner nikkes (where wives are nodded)

I guess The Anglican Church is even more suspicious:

- anal church etching
- angelic hutch ranch
- caching earth lunch
- chagrin clean hutch
- chain church tangle
- change church Latin
- church ethnic lagan

My reed organ

I inherited a Chicago "The Lakeside" reed organ ("American organ", or "harmonium") from my grandmother who died in 1994, but up until now my aunt has taken care of it. Yesterday I rented a car trailer and drove up to my aunt and took it with me. See pictures of the organ after I have secured it safely on the trailer:
-Harmonium secured on trailer, front view
-Harmonium secured on trailer, side view
The sheet music stand and some detachable decorative wood are not shown in the pictures. These were detached and put in box during transport. So last night I delivered the harmonium at an organ builders work shop to get it repaired and cleaned. He was kind enough to welcome me 10.15 pm on a Saturday. He even showed me around his work shop and invited me into his house to try his pipe organ.

I expect to get my beloved organ back some time during spring 2006. The sound quality and the key action of this organ is very good, so I am looking forward to have this instrument in my living room. It's visual appearance is also nice.

Lutheran issues

Even though my christian journey began in an anglo-catholic-style congregation within the Scottish Episcopal Church, I was baptised and confirmed in the Norwegian Lutheran Church and has always been an official member there. But since the lutheran church was forced upon me and never managed to awaken my interest or open mind, I dicovered the christian faith outwith the church I "grew up" in. I wish to point out that my parents never went to church but once a year, so that would be a feasible explanation why I did not catch up with my religion before adulthood. Now that I am stuck with the Norwegian Lutheran Church I might as well make the best of it.

My main objection against the Norwegian Lutheran Church is that the Holy Communion is not celebrated at every (Sunday) service, but rather once a month. There is nothing "un-Lutheran" about the Eucharist, rather the contrary. It is a mystery why Norwegians can not get this into their tiny little heads.

This article/essay by Pastor Klemet Preus presents quite much that of my own view on the subject:

http://www.consensuslutheran.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=196&mode=thread

Lutheranism isn't a new religion, in short, it should (but seldom does) take all the good things from Roman catholisism only with the native language, take back the parts of the service that the medieval catholics omitted, and do away with the pope. That is Lutheranism in a nut-shell, but so far away from what is practiced in most churches today. I find this upsetting, irritating and demoralising. This has, of course, nothing to do with church music...

Evensong BBC Radio 3 - 7/9/05

The Introit "Holy is the True Light" by Richard Shephard is a lovely piece of music, and the hymn Praise to the Holiest (Gerontius) is also an excellent hymn - very Anglican. The Edington Service composed by Grayston Ives for the 1975 Edington Festival of Music within the Liturgy gave us the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis on this Wednesday's choral evensong, a modern type of music that uses a very simple and illogical progression, but yet predictable in it's own peculiar way - in other words not very interesting to listen to, but some very powerful reeds there in the last Amen of the last Gloria. As for the voluntary by Messiaen (or Messy Ian as I sometimes call him) - either you love his music, or you hate it. It's probably as close you'll ever get to jazz without hearing anybody referring to it as such.

The service was sung by the RSCM Millennium Youth Choir in Beverley Minster, East Yorkshire, and the order of the service was from Common Worship (I'm feeling sick...). Vomit break!

Merriam Webster Online defines vomit: "An act or instance of disgorging the contents of the stomach through the mouth". What about the nose, then? Maybe the editor's nose was stuffed at the time he was testing the integrity of this definition. Merriam Webster Online also defines stuffed as: "to fill or block up (as nasal passages)". See - things are connected!

Evensong BBC Radio 3 - 31/8/05

This Wednesday's evensong was from St. Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh, Ireland. Armagh is the ecclesiastical capital of Church of Ireland, a province of the Anglican communion. They have daily services, including Morning Prayer, Holy Communion and sung Compline (men's choir), Choral Evensong on Sundays with full choir.

See this floorplan of the cathedral with 360 degrees views several places around the building.

An all together good evensong with a contemporary canticle setting.

Finally! Walt Disney?

For a long time an image has been stuck to my brain - an image of a very brave organ design. Crooked pipes that are placed in an almost random manner around the console. Of course, I can see it now - Mickey Mouse playing the organ, dashing around on the bench with his enormous feet (and short legs) going wild in the pipe jungle. The organ of Walt Disney Concert Hall, ladies and gentlemen, built by Glatter-Götz Orgelbau GmbH. Amazing, isn't it?

Non-"organic" stuff

This site lets you simulate Lissajous patterns. This is only fun if you are skilled in maths or electronic engineering (like myself). Otherwise it is completely uninteresting.

Happy Birthday!

Jarle turned 16 years 4 days ago. Congratulations! If I had been more alert I would have written this on his day, but I got this blog only 5 days ago so I am perhaps excused. I admire Jarle for his many talents, playing the organ being one of them. He also likes to play with reeds on swell if he can find any. Norwegian organists usually have a very twisted view when it comes to reeds, and most Norwegian organs don't have a trumpet (or the like) in the swell box, but Jarle is my brother in opinion when it comes to what we'd like for breakfast on a Sunday morning - and that's not eggs and sausages...

One can get an inferiority complex by far less than reading Jarle's website, listening to his recordings, and read his posts on Det Norske Kirkemusikkforum - he is only 16 years old, for crying out loud! I am 32 years old and a complete idiot. Such is life, I am afraid. Have also a look at http://www.organsandorganistsonline.com/. He has several recordings there.

OK, no more! This is no good for my self-confidence. I wish I could say that Jarle sucks, by then I would have to lie.

Evensong BBC Radio 3 - 24/8/05

It is not easy to get information on Edington Priory Church, Wiltshire, but I think this is the church that is referred to. The service of choral evensong this Wednesday was very choral, indeed. Only the final hymn could be sung by the congregation, and everything except this hymn and the voluntary were a capella (choir only). The introit, the office hymn and the anthem had Latin words, which can be too much considering the spirit of the Anglican Church. I did not quite catch the words of the very contemporary magnificat and nunc dimittis, so they might have been latin too. Maybe the narrow bandwidth on the internet broadcast made the diction so poor that I could not hear what they were singing. Being a part of the Festival of Music within the Liturgy, I presume they made a point of presenting diverse and less known music, and also using music as much as possible throughout the service. Unfortunately this evensong put a too large of a barrier between the word of God and the congregation due to the Latin language that nobody understands. In my opinion there should only be one piece of music with Latin words in a service, if anything at all. The musical content may just as well please our senses of hearing while we are gathered in church, but the choralevensong is, and has always been, a service of God.

Book wanted

If someone wants to get rid of a copy of "The Art of Train­ing Choir Boys" by George Clement Martin (1844-1916), please let me know. That book is no fun to read, and old books tend to pile up, collect dust and have a scruffy appearance. In the end, old books like that are potensially hazardous to the environment. You'd better save yourself and your local community from a disaster by giving this book to me, and I'll make sure to keep it from making nuisance.

St Peter's Church, Nottingham with all Saints

Just thought I should share a recent discovery on the world wide web:
St Peter's Church, Nottingham with all Saints
They seem to have choral evensong every Sunday, and the choir has a good and varied selection of music. Several recordings are available on the web page. This is a church that makes an effort to keep the anglican musical heritage in use. This is just an example among many churches in Britain that honour the Anglican traditions. It is not true that only cathedrals have "advanced" music - they might have a higher frequency and more resources, but also the parish churches keep the music alive.

Church life in Norway stinks, and music stinks even more. England, my friend, that's where you want to live!

Evensong on BBC Radio 3

As I live in Norway, far away from heavenly Britain (to capture both England and Scotland) and the even more heavenly Evensongs in cathedrals and churches, I was happy to find out that I could listen to the Choral Evensong programme on BBC radio 3 which is scheduled at 4pm each Wednesday via the internet - anytime within a week after the braodcast. Last Wednesday was from Edinburgh, St. Mary's Scottish Episcopal Cathedral, where I experienced my first evensong ever 7 years ago. It was truly an emontional moment for me, because it has been 5 years since last time I heard those warm and rich sounding reeds of the Father Willis organ. Something special that is (tears are about to burst out of my eyes). One of the hymns was "Lord, Enthroned in Heavenly Splendour" (St. Helen), which I am also very fond of - English romantisism at it's best. Good old (or young) Simon Nieminski never fails, and now that he is in charge after many years as the assistant organist, St. Mary's choir should have a bright and prosperous time ahead. I dig you, Nieminski!