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This reminds me of what used to be a famous (infamous?) story of Clitheroe Parish Church. In 1961 Nicholsons did a very extensive rebuild, with the organ in the North gallery and the console in the South gallery. The cable connecting the two went underneath the chancel floor. One Christmas, the organ pistons started operating of their own accord when the organ was being played. It turned out that the problem was that the cable to the (flashing) Christmas tree lights was interacting with the organ cable. The organ was subsequently destroyed in a fire. I still have - somewhere - the programme for the great Fernando Germani's opening recital. Ian

I've given up on the Proms website until they get their act together, but I see that they've timed Widor 5 at 6 minutes and the Franck Trois Pieces at 11 minutes, and goodness knows what the Bax arrangement of BWV 572 is supposed to be, but my bet is that the reference is to an orchestration of it. Ian

I once wandered into Sheffield Cathedral and found a pianist practising for a lunch-time concert at the same time as an organist was practising (on the digital instrument) into headphones. Ian

This, from 2015, explains on page 11: http://stnicholascathedral.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Cathedral-Notes-March-May.pdf Ian

Oops! Sorry. Ian

On my reckoning, four former Organ Scholars at King's,Cambridge are involved in the Proms this year: Andrew Davis and David Butt as conductors, Robert Quinney as organ soloist, and Adrian Partington as chorus master of the BBC Welsh. Have I missed any? And what conclusions, if any, might be drawn? Ian

Am I right in thinking that Daniel Cook made a Hauptwerk set there and, if so, will they be using it while the organ is out of commission? Ian

I see that I bought my copy in the seventies. It was published by OUP. Ian

There's a famous old recording of the Easter Hymn in which the organ is played by Denis Brain FRCO. Ian

Sorry to intrude on Advent, but - like in Holy Week - church musicians need to be a bit ahead of the calendar. I wanted to share a little trick I figured out a few years ago for a Carol Service (or similar) postlude. HW Gray publish a volume of "Seven Trios on Christmas Hymns" by David Lasky. I find all of them useful, though some are based on the tunes used in the USA and the Caribbean rather than the ones we're used to in the UK. However, the third of them is a trio on the regular tune to "Hark The Herald angels sing". Ignore the composers suggested registration and play the left hand on the biggest available reed, with right hand and pedal to balance. At the end, go straight into David Willcocks' Postlude on the same tune, starting at bar 9. IMHO it works really well. Best wishes to all. Ian

Didn't one of his predecessor only last a few days because his vertigo couldn't cope with the organ loft? Ian

Am I alone in finding this topic both bewildering and utterly fascinating? Ian

Sorry to spoil a good story, but "My song is love unknown" didn't appear in the 1906 English Hymnal. The Companion to Hymns and Songs (the 1983 British Methodist Hymnal) says that the tune was composed at the request of Geoffrey Shaw for these words in the Publc School Hymn Book (1919). Ian

He gave a recital for the IAO Congress in Paris, and played brilliantly. At the end of the recital Ian Tracey said he didn't usually do this, then praised him to the skies. Good to see that the boy done good. Ian

Having heard Mr Binns play (he's the Organ Scholar at Southwark Cathedral), I can say with confidence that it would have to be very tricky indeed to cause him any problems! Ian