Silver Octopus Studios
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Silver Octopus Studios
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DAILY DIARY ARCHIVE N.B. In transferring the old diary into this archive, sometimes direct picture links get lost. Clicking on the red X should bring up the original 30th. September 2008 Drove into the city and parked the van on the outskirts. Cuenca is a very attractive city and I walked up to the Plaza Major where I bumped into a couple from Albarracin whom I had also bumped into at the Nacimiento de Cuervo yesterday. They offered me a coffee which I accepted before we moved off into the cathedral. No photos allowed but since there were also no photos available to purchase, I ignored the rules like most Spanish and quietly took a few (albeit with some difficulty). As you can see, the Gospel organ is being restored whilst the Epistle one was done a couple of years ago. From what I gather, both are very fine instruments. There was also a small chamber instrument in a rear chapel with a duplicate split specification. The city was very pleasant to walk around in but all other churches except one were closed and that had an electronic. The views from the city are impressive but I searched for ages to find the classical hanging houses. Eventually I did after a long walk and they are impressive but not quite as impressive as I had expected. I thought there were loads of them but in reality there are only a few. There are two rivers in the city; the Jucar and the Huecar. The Jucar is not particularly dirty but also not overly clean however, the smaller Huecar was remarkable for a city, being crystal clear. All in all a pleasant day, nice and warm with a typically deep azure sky.
The cathedral organs:
29th. September 2008 Left Albarracin for the drive over to Cuenca. Very attractive countryside throughout and I stopped at Frias de Albarracin to have a look at the "Sima" which is rather impressive being over 300' in diameter and just as deep if it was ever dug, it should lead into an enormous system. the n it was on to the Nacimiento (birthplace) of the Tagus / Tajo the largest river in Iberia which quite frankly was a terrible disappointment as you can see from the photo. However, the Nacimiento of the Rio Cuervo was altogether different. The resurgence itself wasn't overly impressive but the tufa (travertine) cascades were. For those not familiar with geological terms, tufa type waterfalls are a mixture of calcite deposited from a highly charged river together with vegetation which becomes petrified and eventually build up into a very solid rock. The best examples are at Plitvice in Yugoslavia where a series of tufa dams create 16 lakes. However, they are relatively common everywhere where there is limestone and even the waterfall in my parents garden is identical in form although on a rather smaller scale at about 6' high. This one was about 100' high. As I wandered through the woods, I came across one "rovellone" (Saffron Milk Cap / Lactarius Delicosus)) and a load of Suillus Bovinus (a variety of Cep) toadstools which I quickly picked and which will provide an interesting vegetable for dinner. I drove down towards Cuenca rather worried at the state of the gas tank which was very low - there not having been a petrol station for 70 miles but finally found one a few miles outside Cuenca. Drove into the edge of the city looking for the campsite but then drove back out to one I had passed on the way in which proved to be the one I was looking for. Unlike most cities the town hall doesn't allow signs for campsites in the city which makes it a bit difficult. The campsite is about 5 miles outside the city and I look forward to visiting both it and the Ciudad Encantada. Met up with a bloke in the camp bar and started chatting. He turned out to be an expert in fungi - complete with identification book. So I brought in my haul from earlier where he confirmed that they were what I had thought but also showed me how to prepare them properly. I've been eating ceps and other boletes for years but I had never been shown the correct way to prepare them before cooking and I must say that either raw or cooked, the new technique will end up in a much better result. For those who shy away from toadstools, what they don't realise is that pretty much all commercial mushroom soups (Cambells, Heinz etc.) have a considerable amount of ceps etc. in them for flavour !
26th. -28th. September 2008 Quietly working away on celestes and other things 25th. September 2008 Albarracin is a very attractive medieval walled city and I walked the kilometre or so into it from the campsite. Sadly, the cathedral is closed for restoration and the other churches are not open to the public at all. However, I spent a pleasant morning and early afternoon wandering around the tight medieval streets. There is much to see in the area which lies at the eastern end of the Serrana de Cuenca. this huge limestone block encompasses the Montes Universales and is also the source of several rivers including the great Tajo which flows into Portugal and exits into the Atlantic at Lisbon. I'm not sure how long I will stay here and certainly I will be visiting places such as the Ciudad Encantada - a strange landscape of weird rock formations half way between here and Cuenca. It's only a week and a bit before RDS arrives in Madrid and I am now within easy striking distance. Various views of Albarracin:-
24th. September 2008 The weather was marginally better today but not set to continue for long. Mountains are all very wonderful but there isn't much point when you can't see them.
I decided to move southwards and drove down typical U shaped glacial valleys towards Ainsa. On the way, there was a rather forlorn village which had been abandoned when they had plans to build a big dam. The dam never got built and the village remains. Ainsa looked quite attractive but I didn't stop and continued on to Huesca which wasn't very inspiring. Thence on to Zaragossa with its two very famous organs. Zaragossa is huge and not very attractive but there is no campsite otherwise I would have stayed. Unfortunately the Expo 2008 had finished as well so I continued on. I had expected the great Ebro plain to be very flat at this point and was surprised to find it quite closely ringed by hills. Leaving Zaragossa I drove through some very beautiful countryside which I had not expected and passed through the stunning town of Daroca. Unfortunately also no campsite so I continued on towards Teruel and turned off to Albaraccin arriving half an hour before reception closed at 22.00hrs. 23rd. September 2008 I was awakened by the sound of hundreds of cowbells (attached to cows) trundling down the road to their pastures. The day was pretty dismal with rain and low cloud so the mountains were not in view. If and when it clears at all they will be quite stunning since they shoot up pretty much vertically to 10,000 and 11,000 feet. I walked down into Torla which proved to be a somewhat un-inspiring little village and much was closed in between the end of summer and the start of the skiing season. It is also outrageously expensive being only a few miles from France. It's not overly warm at 70 degrees and drops considerably at night. With the clouds cover and the rain, it is actually quite a depressing place. I won't be staying long.
22nd. September 2008 I left Sanguesa after several coffees and sad goodbyes and drove off on a fairly sunny day. On the outskirts of Sanguesa by the trading estate, I was stopped by the police at a road block. After about ten minutes, I wondered what the hell was going on but happened to notice a crowd so I assumed it must be some sort of strike. Then there was a whoop from a police car and a chain of cars started out from the estate. The cars got bigger until finally a limo came out with a Spanish flag pennant and Juan Carlos inside. They passed within a few feet of the van because I was first in the queue and then raced off into the distance. The journey on took me past the big Yesa reservoir and some quite weird countryside which was very denuded but not unattractive. Arriving at Jaca, it seemed a pleasant enough city but I didn't stop and continued on my way into the mountains until I arrived in Torla. The campsite is attached to a hotel and is pleasant enough with quite a few British vans and for once, really hot showers. Spoke to a couple of people - one couple were from Llandegfan in Anglesey which I know very well having been brought up there to a certain extent. He turned out to be an organist who had attended Manchester Grammar School and been taught in Bangor Cathedral on the old Hill/Compton. Small world. The other couple were from Truro and a very pleasant evening was spent with them. 21st. September 2008 I don't know when I will have internet access again so this may be the last entry for some time. Quiet day gradually preparing the van for onward travel and working on a Clarion 4'. It was Oscars birthday today and I was invited across to the bar for a drink with everyone. The campsite has gone REALLY dead and although it now remains open all year I doubt it will get any busier from now on. Of course the bar and restaurant will remain open as well so it won't die completely as many do. It really is peculiar that everything is mad until the last day of August (and exceptionally because of the fiesta, continues on in Sanguesa until mid September) and then it all stops. The weather is still warm, the tinges of autumn haven't even started to show, yet half the places shut down and each places retreats into itself come the first day of September. Many campsites shut and many that don't, only remain open until the end of October. However, the great influx of the nearly departed (and otherwise) in their myriad caravans and motor-homes are about to descend towards the Costas for the winter. I will be joining them. Down there, it's a bit closed up in certain quarters but much goes on and many businesses look forward to the bonus influx of the quieter months. 20th. September 2008 I feel rather sad today because I know that on Monday, I will move on. I was very happy in Trespaderne with Antonio, Dami and the other friends that I made there and certainly I was made to feel very much part of a family but Navarra has proved to be a cut above. I can honestly say that I have met more nice people here than anywhere else on my travels. Would that the climate here be like it is in the areas further south. Trouble is that up here, when it gets cold in winter, it gets REALLY cold. I always believed that when I got into the northern areas of Spain, that I would find what I was looking for and certainly Navarra takes one hell of a lot of beating. However, I still have so much of this peninsula to see. Yes, I have found many answers here and if "push came to shove" I could do worse than make my future life here. I have spoken to Roberto and asked if it would be possible next year, to come and work for him on the site here - in other things apart from music; he seems to be in favour of the idea. We shall have to see. One thing is certain; both Trespaderne and Sanguesa will remain indelibly printed in my mind no matter what happens in the future. However, I travel on, on Monday, to different areas and who knows what I may find: It may be worse, it may be better but whatever way one looks on it, this last couple of months or so have resulted in me really realising that Spain is definitely the country that I would be happy to live out my days in. I went to the supermarket today and they had lobster on offer. It's years since I have been bothered to consider lobster but since it was on offer, I decided to get one. I cooked it just as my mother has always done but then realised that I had forgotten how to sort it out. So I went into the restaurant and asked "Txuxi", he spoke to the ladies in the kitchen who demanded that I bring the lobster in which I did. Then I was told in no uncertain terms to depart. Ten minutes later, a beautifully presented plate with salad and marie-rose sauce appeared together with a glass of Navarran white. It was very good but having said that, I am still of the opinion that lobster tends to be somewhat overated and normally; excessively expensive to boot. This wasn't an exception that would sway my notions in any other way. I suppose it's like many of these things that carry the label (and price) of luxury. Many luxury foods and drinks are non-exceptional and often simpler, less luxurious things are preferable. Like foie-gras and truffles they are pleasant but nothing to sell the family silver for. However, I will make one exception.......... My mother brought back some REAL caviar from Russia and I must admit that the difference between lumpfish roe and other substitutes was unbelievable. real Belluga and Sevruga are really something quite special (if you like that sort of thing - which I do). I suppose it's also like champagne, I have had many champagnes in my life and generally I am not excited by the prospect. However, a really good one does make one realise that all champagnes are not equal. I don't like whisky but having said that, a taste of some of the rarer and rather more select whiskies in the world makes one realise that it is but a an all encompassing name and a specialist single malt from an obscure little distillary is a very different animal to a tumbler of Johnnie Walker ! 19th. September 2008 Despite the fact that I've been here for nearly two months, I haven't really driven out into the surrounding countryside so today, I set off to do so. My first stop was in Javier where there is little else but the castle and a Jesuit college. This was the birthplace of St Francis Xavier who then met up with Ignatius and travelled throughout Asia spreading the Word. Then it was on to Sos del Rey Catolico which turned out to be the most charming medieval village. The castle wasn't much and consisted of just a tower. Crossed over the pass into the next valley where the Bardenes Reales are and took the road signed for the National Park which turned out to be a dirt track. The Bardenes Reales is an area which is pretty much desert with some strange sedimentary hills which have been sculpted by wind and water. Unfortunately the majority of the park is only accesible by foot or dirt bike so I didn't get to see the main bits. Actually, it's not the most attractive area all told and I travelled on. Arriving at Olite the fiesta was in it's last day and a stroll around the town was very pleasant. Fantastic castle and all in all, a lovely little town. Then it was on to Ujue - pretty much an unspoiled medieval village with fine views over the surrounding countryside The church is being restored and there were some old ladies cleaning. After a chat, they asked if I would like to see the organ up close and provided a key. Sadly, they didn't have the keys to the organ which was a most interesting design and obviously very old. I particularly liked the painted mouth Flautadas. Obviously a small instrument as per usual from what I could see plus some very fine choir stalls. Then it was back to Sanguesa. Photos of some of the area:-
18th. September 2008 Sample work 17th. September 2008 Well, the fiesta finishes tonight - it's been a good week. Much will now start to wind down for the autumn here in the north ready for winter though there is always something going on. I plan to move on at the beginning of next week and then gradually make my way southwards towards Madrid to pick up RDS in October. Otherwise for the moment just a few photos taken in the last few days.
16th. September 2008 Lovely warm sunny day with clear blue skies as is fairly normal. I spent a mainly quiet day doing my washing and working on samples. At 18.00 hrs I went to the bar to see the TV interview of yesterday but nothing appeared. Roberto reckoned it would be on the main 9 o'clock news (if at all) so I went back to the van to continue with the samples. Returned at just after 21.00 hrs. where the news was in full swing - pretty much like UK TV. All the important news stories from around the world came and went and then a tiny little few seconds of me playing which I thought was it. Couldn't really hear the TV because Spanish bars tend to be so noisy. However, I was told to hang on because the announcement had actually said "coming up after the break" Suddenly there I was on the big bar screen. A big cheer went up and there were not a few double takes as people realised that the guy on TV was the same guy standing in the bar. I didn't hear much and certainly I'm not sure how good or bad my Spanish interview came across in retrospect. I don't like being photographed because I'm far from photogenic but I must admit I didn't look as bad as I thought I might. The whole slot lasted about 1.5 minutes. I spent a considerable time cleaning the outside of the van last week - not because of the TV which was unexpected, but because it needed it. The one thing that really pissed me off in the TV interview was in the final part with me and the van, - some bloody crow had done a whoopsie down the side of the van and it showed up on national television. Otherwise, my pedaling looked slightly messy - well after all, I've never watched my pedal work before from that angle. I really must change my seating position as well because it goes against all of the classical rules but is one I have adopted since falling off the seat onto the pedals with a rather loud combination during a sermon some years ago. All in all, it was pretty weird and a little other-wordly. It's like being in a different dimension not like looking in the mirror at all, entirely different. 15th. September 2008 - Later Spent the siesta time when the church was closed just running through everything for the recital and also sampling the Open Diapason bass which I had missed previously. Tuned up one or two reeds that had slipped and left at 4 for a shower and to change into something more formal. Finally, was driven down by Roberto, the campsite owner to the church at about 5 and retouched one or two reeds that had slipped again. The people then started to arrive........... I expected only a handful despite the newspaper article but they kept on coming in about 70 ish in all which is really good for any organ recital. Then the really big "fly in the ointment" arrived in the shape of a TV crew with cameras etc. Oh shit !!! Now, I have been on TV as a tiny 11 year old singing in a choir for Songs of Praise and the documentary "Jesuit Child" (doing the same thing) but never otherwise and the thought of having to give a recital whilst being filmed together with interviews was something not to be expected. We started off with Roberto introducing me and then I took over to announce each piece with a small description etc. Obviously, it had to be in Castellano (normal Spanish), and then I commenced playing. The recital went pretty well apart from the odd cipher and late stop change and there was appreciative applause between pieces. After the initial fright of being filmed playing, I settled down to being a little more confident. Even got an encore at the end. Concert over, everyone came up to shake my hand and thank me and everyone seemed to have enjoyed it. Some people had travelled 50 Km. Then, the TV crew wanted to interview me in Castellano. All questions were asked - rather fast and I did my best to respond in kind. It's bad enough to be interviewed for radio or TV in ones own language but really nerve wracking in a foreign one. In addition, it's not for some little country programme, it's going to be on the main news tomorrow. We then went back to the campsite where the TV lot wanted to continue the interview outside the van with a parting shot of me driving off in it. So, that was that. It's been a different experience to say the least and all in all, I can't say that I didn't enjoy it. So many people will do anything to get on TV or in the papers but for me, it's not something I crave. However, I must admit that it is quite exciting . According to Roberto, my Spanish was pretty good overall and 99% understandable both in pronunciation, words and grammar, so I reckon I haven't done too badly. 15th. September 2008:Earlier Today's the big day with the recital at 5.30. I don't know quite what to expect and hope that the organ doesn't play up too much. Nobody could turn up or it could be well attended. It's going to be "fun" addressing an audience (if any) in Spanish.......... 14th September 2008 Went into town at midday to see the "gigantes" and returned to work on yearly accounts and samples. Dinner in the bar restaurant for a change and back into town to watch the firework display. Quite a stir with the article in the papers and lots of people recognising me from the article. I got pretty much half a page including photo which is pretty good in the regional newspaper. Unusually and a refreshing change; the reporting was pretty accurate unlike the UK where most interviews get it wrong somewhere and what you really said is misquoted utterly. 13th. September 2008 A reporter and photographer came from the regional newspaper of Navarra to interview me etc. they were quite fascinated to be up close to an organ for the first time and asked loads of questions about how it worked. They were also somewhat amazed to see the inside of the organ. A couple of language difficulties over things like the word for tin etc. but otherwise no problems. Played in the bar in the evening to 100 people who were all singing along then went out on the town with a couple of friends which was somewhat noisy. 10th.-12th. September 2008 Spent most of the last two days sampling the organ in Santa Maria and practicing for the recital on Monday. 9th. September 2008 Turned out to be a really good day in the end: I went to the church at 09.00hrs. so as to avoid as many tourists as possible - to no avail since as soon as one bunch had come and gone, the next lot arrived. I really expected to get very little done but did open up a panel on the swell box which meant I could get my microphones in with the box shut. One of the problems I came across in the samples from yesterday was this awful clicking throughout which was obviously caused by the hard drive being written to. RDS mentioned some time ago that he had the same problem when tying to record in England. The thought of having to cart the desk top into the church was not appealing so I looked around the settings and played around with the buffers - problem solved and no clicking. I haven't had this problem with my normal capturing software but it can't sample at 48/32 and I recorded directly into Cooledit. This is the first time I've used a laptop to sample with and it is just so much more convenient. Managed to persuade the tourist office to lock me in the church for the siesta and was able to sample the swell, both tremmed and non-tremmed. As per usual, what sounds good at the console isn't quite the same up close and despite the fact that the pipework is in relatively good condition, there are occasional notes on all stops which aren't good. However, overall, I am really pleased with the results - relatively quiet samples versus action and blower noise and a nice stereo image together with all of the nuances of the pipework. Finally left the church at 19.00 hrs. having spent a solid 10 hours in the church. 8th. September 2008 Decided to try an initial sample trial and also decided to do it at 96 / 32 bit just to see what a difference it would make. Tried various settings from coincident to near coincident to ORTF and spaced pair and the results weren't that bad apart from a somewhat noisy Lauckuff "Ventus" blower which although quite modern isn't in a soundproof casing and sits directly beneath the Great organ. Listening back to the samples this evening I'm afraid that nice stereo recordings are out of the question really and I will have to go down the mono route of very close sampling like about 2' and create the stereo field myself. It's not what I really wanted but I have no choice. Likewise, the tremulant is just too noisy to get away with although I might manage it on the swell reeds. Roberto, the site manager has produced a very nice advertisement flyer for my recital next week and corrected some of my bad Spanish spelling and grammar - I may be able to get away with this in normal conversation but official writing is rather different. I'm in several minds as to what I can get away with playing because the action is both slow and uneven in response. Bach is certainly out of the question because I will tie myself in knots due to the non- preciseness of the action. There is nothing worse than playing a fugue and finding that everything is out of sync. so it looks likely that I will be "doing" a romantic cum orchestral concert. I should be able to get away with the Boellman "Suite Gothique" without too many problems, Bonnet's "Elves" works fine, VW's Rhosymedre will be OK, and along with a couple of transcriptions and relatively simple pot boilers it will suffice. I reckon that I will also get away with the Widor Toccata V because I tend to play it just a little faster than Widors' own speed so that the phrasing doesn't disappear - it's not and never has been a race though so many believe it to be so. I CAN rattle it off at great speed but what's the point since all musicality of the piece is lost and it just becomes a pedal solo with a indistinguishable blur of accompaniment. It should be fun- it's been advertised in the papers and it is during the Fiesta. I don't expect many will turn up as is the norm for these things but it will put me in good stead for the future. A few more photos whilst actually in the organ (the others were taken from outside the instrument) and one of the altar.
4th. - 7th. September 2008 Fairly steady few days with a mixture of work on the existing samples and getting the main parish church organ operational. Santa Maria is proving to be a little frustrating at times because many of the faults are transitory. There are some pretty bad pipes with regards to speech and these are mostly the harmonic flutes of which there are several. Some just hit their hidden fundamental but others sound like Jethro Tull. The reeds have remained well in tune despite knocking them about apart from the odd one which is to be expected. My main concerns at the moment are one or two notes which just won't speak 99% of the time. the pipes are OK, the pneumatic starter valves operate but it looks likely that the real problem is in the windchest itself which I am not about to start taking to pieces. 3rd. September 2008 An early start with the first thing in mind to obtain something suitable to make a reed knife out of. Local hardware shops proved to have nothing but directed me to a bicycle shop which had the required material. The bloke allowed me to use his grinder and I was able to fashion a suitable tool to do the job - I must remind RDS to bring over my tuning cones when he comes. Solo tuning is a pain but I managed to get the Trompeta tuned. Despite my best endeavours, some notes just wouldn't accept regulation so one or two notes have been left with a bit of chuddering in tone until I can reseat and clean the tongues and shallots. Sorted out a couple of other problems with pipes shooting their octaves and discovered where some of the problems lie in the action. Their main problem is an active infestation of woodworm. This is leaving sawdust which in turn is causing some valves to leak where the sawdust gets in between the pallet and the surface. The wooden 16' isn't in too good a condition (a Gavioli frein Harmoniqued affair0 to the extent that the worm has so weakened the wood that the beard on one pipe had become detached. For the moment it's fixed back in place with a piece of tape and the pipe speaks again. Otherwise, the metal pipes are in good condition thanks mainly to being slotted tuning as opposed to cone tuning. The Swell Oboe isn't an oboe at all but a small trumpet and all of the reeds have French type shallots. Lots of harmonic rollers on many pipes and the pipework is well laid out for sampling (and tuning) in the majority of cases. Sorted out the swell box which now works. The Tremulant works on the whole organ and when active, provides a very passable imitation of a cinema organ. Now THAT would be amusing - a Spanish Theatre Organ........... 2nd. September 2008 Toddled off down to Santa Maria to practice and make a note of what minor problems there might be. Obtained the keys from the sacristan so that I could access the insides and managed to sort a couple of problems like the odd reed not speaking. There are one or two occasional ciphers that occur which should prove possible to remedy. The whole action is exhaust pneumatic so I won't be getting into anything serious since I certainly haven't got any materials to sort out any major repairs. If it's just a case of dust or a pallet not seating correctly then that is easily sorted. I also discovered why the swell box wasn't working as you can see from the photos - it should be an easy enough repair. I went through the instrument with a fine tooth comb and there is really some very nice stuff in it. Access is a doddle and there is plenty of room to mount microphones either for stereo or mono sampling. Not sure about the swell since I didn't have time to take of the front boards or gain access to the interior but it shouldn't be too difficult. The Open is a bit rattly on certain bass notes and 3 notes on the Trompeta need the reed re-seating properly. The Swell has a nice Harmonic Flute which is speaking badly on a couple of notes, very nice 4 and 2' flutes, an excellent String and Celeste with one or two notes slow and a very nice Oboe and Vox - yet again with the odd note not speaking well.
30th August - 1st. September 2008 Apart from playing on Saturday in the restaurant, the rest of the time has been spent quietly working. However, I did take the opportunity to wash the van on Sunday and it looks better for it. However, one or two minor little blemishes will need to be sorted. It can't be because I've hit anything because I haven't but there are a couple of minor surface cracks. They have probably always been there, it's just when the thing is really clean, one tends to notice them. 29th. August 2008 Having spent the day working on the mixtures, I toddled off in the early evening to play the organ in Santa Maria which proved to be a much nicer instrument. both the instruments in the town are by the same builder:- Amezua of Donostia and possess similar specifications though the Santa Maria instrument has a Voz Humaine and the Trompeta (upright not en chamade) is on the Great rather than the Swell. Not only is the Santa Maria instrument much nicer but it's in better condition apart from the odd reed flying off tune. The acoustics in the very beautiful church are fairly small and the organ is in a gallery rather than at floor level. Amezua was a well known builder in the northern parts of Spain and modeled his instruments with a decidedly romantic quality to the extent that he is known as the father of the Spanish Romantic organ if such a thing can be described as such. Both instruments are somewhat out of tune in parts so I have offered to touch them up since organ tuners charge the earth out here. Once that is done, I have offered to give a small (safe) recital during the upcoming fiesta. When I say "safe" I mean nothing too demanding since lack of practice over the last year has left me unable to play certain pieces with confidence - especially before an audience. However, I also have full access to either instrument to practice. The other bonus of all of this is that I will be able to make sure that both instruments are in the best possible condition and hopefully, I will be able to get a decent sample set(s) from them. They are really quite interesting and the reeds are certainly very good as well as the Celestes and Flutes. I'm not so sure about the Flautadas which are quite strange - the one in Santiago could almost be used as a reed. The mixtures aren't fantastic on either, amounting to just a couple of ranks in each case at 12:15 but then these are fairly small romantic instruments so it is to be expected. 22nd.-28th.August 2008 I'm back to mixtures and having a rather hard time of it all over the last few days. It's rather hot at the moment and temperatures often reach 100 degrees Centigrade in the van whilst I am working. Otherwise, had a pleasant evening with a couple of Saphic ladies from Exeter the other night and met up with a Scot who was holding off going south for a few days because of the costs but otherwise doing pretty much the same as myself. Yesterday, got in to play the Santiago organ and took Roberto the site manager with me. The instrument is not fantastic but makes an acceptable sound and the acoustics are quite resonant. However, they give the organ a rather metallic and hard sound. Things were somewhat curtailed by the funeral of the stepmother of Jean-Luis who works on the campsite. They funeralise folks quickly out here since she only died yesterday. 21st. - 25th. August 2008 Quiet days spent working. Managed to get 10 stops of the Swell Organ of up and running as well as several Choir Organ stops. Initial results are fairly favourable but it also makes one realise just how the overall effect of the Willis organ sound was achieved. The individual choruses - especially on the Swell leave little to write home about until one adds in a mixture then the whole effect changes beyond recognition. Of course many of the individual quieter registers are very fine but the overall effect of the flues in say the Swell is not mind blowing - in fact, in many ways it's very disappointing. However, add in the reeds and the mixture and the effect is quite different. Without the flues, the chorus is still very fine but the addition of these otherwise rather mundane flues contributes to and makes the Swell what it should be. It's all quite an education since playing is one thing, working down to the individual harmonics of every sampled pipe is quite another. I can now quite understand why certain well known builders and organists dismiss much of the work of Willis along with the misconceived average quality of some of his voicing..........The big picture emerges when it all goes together and then it is quite something else. There are a myriad of individual stops that are better made and voiced than many Father Willis ones but their overall effect in combination usually leaves something to be desired no matter how beautiful they may be on their own. The opposite applies to the great Henry where many stops of seemingly little consequence add together to combine into that sublime sound that few others have ever and will ever achieve. 20th August 2008 Finally made the effort and caught the bus into Pamplona (there are only 3 a day). The journey passed through some very pleasant countryside and Pamplona itself proved to be rather a pleasant city. The cathedral isn't that impressive and the other churches are far better. Pleasant architecture for the most part and a typically Spanish city all told. Loads of bars along the San Fermin run and the variety of the Pinxos in most bars was stunning. Pinxos are like tapas but generally consist of a piece of bread with something spread on it which can range from a bit of crab stick salad, to eels in a sauce, to aubergines and an anchovy with cheese and so on. Most bars had at least 20 varieties available and whilst they tend to be a bit on the expensive side, they are certainly delicious. The big surprise of the afternoon came when I found a tiny church door which led into a large church which was not in evidence from the street. Inside was a stunning organ. There was a recital to be given that evening which started at the same time my bus left unfortunately, so I couldn't stay. Spoke to the sacristan who took me up to the loft where the recitalist for the evening was posing for photos. I was introduced to him - a pleasant young man who judging by the programme notes seems destined for great things. His name is Santiago Banda. He played a few bits and bobs for me and I must say that the instrument does indeed sound as good as it looks. I didn't play myself due to the forthcoming recital but I do have an invitation to go back and play it sometime. The organ has 2 manuals plus the ubiquitous half dozen toe studs. 4 ranks of chamades including an Oboe. All in all quite a sizeable instrument for Spain. Obviously restored fairly recently since everything was very clean and neat. All in all, a pleasant day. Some of the city is shown below:-
Various organs in the city:-
18th +19th August 2008 Much the same as the previous 2 days Apart from meeting a nice Dutch couple in the bar who were doing the Camino de Santiago. A pleasant evening. 16th. + 17th. August 2008 Carrying on working..........Actually, I'm not really doing anything else at the moment. It's pretty hot, Sunday everything is closed, Monday,; all museums etc. are closed so I didn't bother going out. It remains moderately quiet on the site despite being the height of the holiday season which is a bonus. I can't wait until September when the discounts kick in and I can start moving around again. The north is very nice but it does tend to lack the luminosity of the south and I haven't had the chance to cover the Spanish side of the Pyrenees because of the current high season camping costs. Likewise, pretty much anywhere apart from where I am is going to prove expensive at the moment. sadly, Sanguesa although a pleasant little town, has little to offer in the long term really. There are actually only 2 restaurants which is surprising for a town of this size - not that I tend to eat out in restaurants these days because it costs an awful lot to get something that I can do better myself. Perhaps I need to travel out to Pamplona or around the surroundings a bit because I'm stagnating somewhat. However, I am getting a fair amount of work done. also managed to get my tax disk and insurance sorted out courtesy of RDS and was pleasantly surprised to find my insurance had almost halved in price ! I must admit that I am finding work on the samples hard going.........there is just so much work to be done and end results tend to be elusive. They are generally good but they just aren't quite right yet. Perhaps I need a holiday ? No, I think the real problem is that I have settled into the "manana" state when it comes to doing anything exciting and then who can I do it with. 15th. August 2008 At last a couple of demos of some of the Great and Pedal stops together which is the first time that I've heard them myself. they can be found on the News page. They aren't brilliant and much work needs to be done still but they are getting closer. They haven't been finely regulated or finely tuned yet and the balance in parts is a bit awry. More demos of individual stops and combinations should be uploaded in the next few days. 11th.-14th. August 2008 Just working quietly away. 10th. August 2008 After much mucking around with HW3.11 I took the simplest of files and compared the original samples with those coming out of the HW3 software, and they were really different. I decided that there must be some very stupid little fault in the reams of text required to get even one stop to work and set about going through every single line of text to try and find out what it could be. Finally found it - a silly little line for each stop that states what audio format the samples are to be played in. It was set to play back mono samples and thence create a quasi stereo field through the software. My samples are of course, all in stereo so there were some very weird things going on. Once this had been altered, things were a much improved. Otherwise a pretty quiet day though slightly hot. The clear skies should enable me to see the Perseid shower later on which is always stunning. 9th. August 2008 After a day working on the samples, played for a couple of hours in the bar. One couple had come in especially and they even danced. The only problem at the moment is the acoustics which are horrendous. I can hear a conversation from the other end of the room and they can hear the piano rather loudly yet I can barely hear it at all. We are going to try moving it to another spot to see if we can sort the problem out. Roberto the site manager would like me to stay until mid September when the local fiesta is on and since this would save me several hundred euros, I may very well do so. He is off to Cadiz today (1200 Km) away for a few days with his wife and kids. We seem to have a fair amount in common since he is also a musician and in addition to running this site, has an adventure company in Toledo dealing with many outdoor pursuits so he is familiar with caving and canyoning. 8th. August 2008 Have come to an arrangement with the site boss..........Being council run, there is little budget for anything and in fact, the site loses most weeks. Thus there are no funds to play for any "animation". However, although he has no funds to pay me for any music, he can at least give me free camping which doesn't affect his budget but does affect mine. So, a couple of hours on a couple of nights each week is not too much hardship for me and probably works out at about 25€ an hour in real terms. I played tonight and it was successful - even managed a few euros in the pot. According to the barman, people round here are very mean (known as having noses like "boquerones" (boquerones being anchovies but differeng from "anchoas" in that they are not salted but rather preserved in vinegar or lemon juice). The remainder of the night was a bit of an eye opener where I was dragged off into town by a local in the bar to "go out on the town". Ended up in an apartment which was his mates and who turned out to be the local drug dealer. Talk about living dangerously in a foreign land.............and here, we are talking about more serious drugs than just a bit of marijuana. I wasn't particularly worried but remained very much on my guard in case anything untoward might happen. Lots of questions (all in Spanish) were asked before I was even allowed over the threshold and I entered with some trepidation. Drugs were offered but politely refused. All part of life's rich tapestry I suppose. They all turned out to be very nice and hospitable people though obviously showing signs of their habit. Nice Yorkshire Terrier and a pleasant cat. At no time did I feel threatened or in any danger and I suppose in many ways that I should feel honoured that I was trusted enough to be invited into an environment which 99% of the population would be denied access to. (I thought it prudent not to mention that at one time, I was a police officer..........). I always intended to immerse myself in Spain away from the tourist side but I suppose that one can't get more immersed than to be invited into such a scenario. I eventually escaped and was escorted back out of the maze of backstreets (via a late bar) until I was on known ground. 7th. August 2008 Nowt much happening here 4th.- 6th. August 2008 The very hot weather where it was hitting up to 40 degrees was somewhat cooled by tremendous thunder storms which according to the newspapers dropped the temperature down to about 24 degrees in a matter of a few hours - that's some drop. Roberto, the site manager has managed to get me an adapter for the piano since I have mislaid mine. He said it wasn't easy and the shop had to get it in specially but it's here now so I won't be playing one sided tomorrow when I next play. Otherwise, a walk around the town again and another church visited. This one had an organ slightly bigger than the other one that I played by a couple of stops but was by the same San Sebstian builder. According to the lady in the tourist office, there used to be a very fine baroque instrument but it got destroyed like many others. Still, I suppose they are lucky to have any instrument at all in vies of the dearth of instruments elsewhere. Sample sets not going to well with a number of problems occurring - none of which are impossible to fix but yet again, require more time going back over the files once again. I suppose that I'm a little downhearted since I had hoped to get some stunning demos up and running, but I am far from pleased with the current results. I seem to have lost the authenticity that I had achieved. It is down to over editing and fastidious analysis but I will not put anything up for public analysis until I am much happier with the results. 3rd. August 2008 Awakened at 09.00hrs by some bloody kid bouncing a football. Initial requests to desist had zero effect so I spoke to the father in no uncertain terms, pointing out that there was a complete leisure complex adjacent to the site where his kid could bounce his ball to his hearts content without pissing anyone off. Problem solved and no more bouncing balls. Otherwise, spent all day trying to get my head around HW3 again with the CODM aspect. It really is rather complex despite it supposedly being simple in comparison to the full definition file format. No rhyme or reason behind much of what goes on but by the end of the day I was getting somewhere. I can get a custom organ to load and work but I suppose that I will not be able to use the voicing tools until I cache the samples which it isn't set to do at the moment. How the hell Martin ever devised the software in the first place is mind boggling and even touching the edges with the "simple" CODM is for someone like myself, really difficult. Previously I have just imported HW files to get an idea which was easy but now I'm going directly into HW3 which is a whole new ball game. Otherwise very, very hot with temperatures in the van at over 100 degrees Fahrenheit despite all of the windows being open and the fans running. 2nd. August 2008 Quiet day playing around with the samples and taking ages to download HW3.11 which kept on getting to 80 or 90% then reporting corrupted files. Finally managed it. Managed to get 1/4 of a suckling pig on offer in the local supermercado which I cooked this evening before popping into the bar. When I arrived, they asked where the keyboard was at which point I said it was a bit late but they came back with the reply that the bar was open until 1.00. Finally got the piano and one amp in place and commenced to play. A very different reaction here and whilst no monies were forthcoming as yet, I at least established that I could play and it went down well despite having only one channel. On speaking to the site manager afterwards, he remarked that he knew I had been playing one of the organs in town - news travels fast -and the reports that he had got back were that someone who had been listening said that it made the hairs on her / his arm stand on end. If I can do that within a day or so, then maybe there is hope here. We shall see. When I'm good, I'm very, very good but when I'm bad I'm really, really crap....... Just a few photos from recent days:
The spec of the organ is a bit difficult to read so here it is: Pedal: Subbass 16', Contras 8'. Teclado I: Violon 16', Flautado 8', Violon 8', Octava 4' Lleno 2' (12:15) Teclado II: Armonica 8', Gamba 8', Celeste 8', Octaviante 4' Nazardo 2,2/3' Picolo (sic) Fagot-Oboe 8' Trompeta 8' Normal couplers plus octaves 1st. August 2008 Still very hot. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
