[Hate To Brag.....]

Crematoriums are huge fun. You get to do tons of practice, can have a cup of tea every 25 minutes, it's lovely and warm, and you can play the same piece 53 times a week. Best of all, mine has a shiny new Allen with a bolt-on midi unit containing 5000 voices....

 

I wish my experience 20ish years ago had been as comfortable. I did two six week stints during university summer vacs.

 

The timing of the commitals was such that you were lucky to get 5 mins between services...cup of tea every 25 minutes?...pure luxury!

 

Rather than a shiny new Allen, I had to make do with a Wyvern that was pretty rubbish even by 1984 standards.

 

Mind you, it did have its interesting moments, such as arriving at 8.30 am and being told that I was playing '633 Squadron' at 11.00.

 

I never played for a videoed commital, but do remember quite a few instances of mourners appearing at my side in the galley in order to take photographs.

 

Mind you, I'm sure we've all had our fair share occasional offices where some aspect of or incedent during the service has left us with a memory that we can never fully expunge. New topic anyone?

[Hate To Brag.....]

I'd venture that anyone who's ever been a crematorium organist finds even the playing marathon that is Christmas a walk a the park!!

[The Worst Organ In The World]

Regarding Christ Church, Wharton,

 

The builder in question is thankfully no longer practising.

 

I supplied the NPOR update, only the edited highlights made it onto the website.

 

I belive that the instrument is now all but abandoned, a clavinova being used for Sunday services - a considerable improvement, no doubt!

 

Cheers,

 

Paul.

[The Worst Organ In The World]

Hi,

 

I'm sure that all of us can think of a paricularly disgusting organ that we would like to nominate as 'worst ever'. However, I'd hazard a guess that what all of these nominees have in common is that they have either been radically rebuilt, or else were constructed from the remains of an older insrument. I would be very surprised if any organ in its original condition, no matter how weedy, boring, sluggish of action, badly balanced etc, could ever make a worse sound than a truly incompetently executed rebuild.

 

For what it's worth, my nomination in this category is Christ Church, Wharton, Cheshire (NPOR D08196).

 

Christmas greetings to all,

 

Paul.

[Pedalboard Preferances]

Thanks for the clarification, Pierre. I find it quite interesting to consider that double pedalboards belong to the era of Mendelssohn rather than that of Reger.

Regards,

Paul.

[Pedalboard Preferances]

Do any double pedalboards still exist in Gemany/Austria, or have they all been reformed out of existence?

[Practice Policies]

I'm not sure that it is necessarily getting more difficult to practice. I think that there have probably always been churches where the attitude of the incument/PCC beggars belief. Twenty five or so years ago I remember reading an adverisment for an organist's post (note organist, not assistant, occasonal funeral-filler-in or suchlike) in which he chuch authorites proudly procalimed that...

 

'possible use of the organ for private practice will be considered'

 

Why did or do we bother?

[Rco]

It could be argued that the RCO is not so much elitist as snobbish - witness the college's continuing refusal to acknowledge the holding of any diplomas other than its own in members' yearbook entries.

[Holy Trinity Church, Hull]

Sounds intriguing, Barry. I'll have to get myself over to hear for myself.

[Holy Trinity Church, Hull]

Hi,

Some thoughts on John Compton's work, from one with no specialist knowldge or expertise whatsoever...

I remember attending a recital in the early 80's at St George's, Stockport, shortly after the organ had been shorn of most of it's Comptom additions and returned more or less to its late 19C specification (give or take a few mutations and pedal stops). I perused the the programme notes and nodded sagely as they waxed eloquent about how the mistakes of the past had been rectifed, the organ had been retored to its former glory, it used to be far too loud anyway, etc. Then the (first rate) recitalist began his programme. There was, it must be said, clarity and cohesion to the sound, and there were some lovely registrations to be heard. However, full organ sounded as if it was being borne on the wind from the centre of Manchester. One might say that something had been lost in the pusuit of artisitc purity.

I was interestd by the comments made on the effctiveness of JC's extended mixtures. The only monster Compton I've ever played myself is the west end organ at Derby Cathedral. I ended up playing a Bruhns praeludum after the service, mainly because the verger had warned me that ther Director of Music was in the congregation and that he got annoyed with visiting organists who over-did the tubas. The Gt plenum turned out to be a wonderful, sparkly sound that was superbly fit for task.