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@Parker6432 A case could be made for saying that the tuning of almost every organ in Sydney that wasn't tuned within the last week needs attention at present. The weather conditions are not at all helpful. We have found instances of very obvious problems that have occurred within a few days of a thorough tuning. Most of the organs we record are well maintained, but we obviously can't ask churches to incur an additional fee for a special tuning visit just because we plan to record. As a number of churches simply fail to respond to our requests for recording permission and others refuse to allow us to record, we are immensely grateful to the churches that allow us access, and in particular to those that positively encourage us to bring along people to play the organ. We are not going to be put off by tuning issues: that isn't what it's about.

The section played on the Great was a bit louder than I had originally hoped for, it was the Open Diapason No.1 stop, in retrospect perhaps I would have searched for something else. But overall I think it sounded ok, a bit more reverb from the building would've also been helpful.

@@nightowldickson Actually it worked very well, Dickson. The middle section is intended to be much stronger than the opening and closing sections, and that big No 1 Open was ideal in context with the style. I think it was the correct choice. The only registration change I’d go for would be a quieter ending, perhaps on Swell string celeste stops, maybe first with the octave coupler, then without, and finally closing the swell box as you did for a whisper quiet ending.

Andrew - I feel your pain, I was organist at Merewether in the early 2000s and I'm infamous as the organist who "removed" the instrument, although it certainly sounds better in the Newcastle Museum. I did have funding in place for a renovation, judicious addition of stops and a better swell pedal but we were warned off by the heritage people. Can't say I didn't try.

@@nightowldickson I think you're right Dickson - a bit of reverb in the building would work wonders. It is an extraordinarily versatile instrument. Great choice of repertoire.

@ Hi Peter, I sought to get something done with the organ in the mid 1970’s but was viciously opposed by the Parish Council, who disliked hearing the truth about the cut-price rebuild they had authorised just a decade earlier. I left there at the end of 1976 having been effectively bullied out by the priest and parish council. I congratulate you on your amazing success at getting that instrument removed to another location and for getting a far better instrument installed at the church. This was a hugely positive outcome for the church and ultimately for that organ. You did well, and should be recognised in a positive fashion for your efforts. That pipe organ was the wrong instrument for that building from Day 1 and should never have been put there in the first place. Although I’ve not yet heard or played the new organ I wholeheartedly endorse its presence as a far better instrument for that location than the pipe organ ever was or ever could have been.

@winneryeahmate Yes, the weather has played havoc even with this organ which had only recently been tuned at the time we recorded.

@@nightowldickson Very good to get your view on this organ. At some point soon, I will follow up your idea of making the comparison by re-hearing yours & Nicholas's - one after the other.

@The-Organised-Pianist I think this hymn provides quite a good demonstration of what the organ is capable of.

@sydneyorgans3250 Yes, good.

@@geriatricyclist1950 Thanks!

@geriatricyclist1950 Glad you enjoyed it!

Agreed, David!

Unfortunately a few minor slips here and there, and also forgot to play the verse 4 with the correct arrangement for some reason

@nightowldickson well I certainly wasn't aware of slips. I do "hear" you though...I just had a 1.5 hr Open Church gig at St Pauls where folks come in and wander around.. not many in an audience. I was frustrated with some slips and skids but mates who came to listen said they weren't aware of anything!! I think we are our own toughest critics!!

Thanks Dickson!

@jamieb2759 Agreed: but I'm sure you'll find the later recording more satisfying!

Thanks so much. Very interesting to know.

A very pleasant piece of music! Thank you Alan.😊

Yes. Thank you for solving the mystery!

Yes, you're right!

@@sydneyorgans3250 My many thanks, again! Rossellini's neorealism also deployed light / darkness, in conjunction with sound. As it plays, the lead actor, a boy, in the sun, turns fatefully into the shadows. "Ombra mai fu ... ", translates to: "Never was a shade of any plant dearer and more lovely, or more sweet."

@@pierpaoloparisi2049 It's interesting that in the film he uses what is almost certainly a reed organ!

​@sydneyorgans3250 Thank you, again. I'm not a musician. The music comes at a critical, dramatic point. Literally on the border of life and death. The film raced to this point. Then, everything, and everyone, stops. It plays, in the sun-drenched ruins, in a broken city, in a roofless, ruined Church. How do you, with musical awareness, characterise the scene? In particular, aesthetically? It seems to be the sole glimmer, or hint, of beauty, in a film that was otherwise an unrelenting depiction of misery. The boy then moves into the shade ("ombra") of a ruined building.

@@danminhsonlangdu Thanks.

you're most welcome!