gazman

I played for two funerals in one of my churches today. The verger said to me before the first one that he was concerned because "that motor thing upstairs by the bellows has been on continually for hours on end". After the funeral, I went to investigate, and found the humidifier running. It had obviously been running for a number of hours when the organ blower was off. Whilst I guess that it is normal for it to work when the blower is off, is it normal for it to be on so long? Might there be a malfunction? Could the humidistat be misbehaving? The church wasn't terribly warm, and didn't feel dry. We've certainly had a lot of rain recently. In the end, I unplugged it to stop any risk of the motor burning out, which happened several years ago. Incidentally, after unplugging it (the only way to do this was to disconnect one of these lawnmower-type sockets), I found to my horror that the socket had been wired up the wrong way and that the male socket was the one connected to the mains! I couldn't find any isolator switch for it. I've left it out of the way of idle fingers and, fortunately, nobody goes to that particular area apart from me. But I'm wondering if I've done the right thing. Should I just leave it connected? Is it usual for a humidifier to run for hours on end? Advice, please.

It sounds so tempting! I'm still working hard on persuading my wife.........

The sensible ones are probably all in bed!

Thanks. I just wondered!

Is that hearing it from the console or in the nave?

Oops. Sorry!

Pedant! Yes, of course. That'll teach me not to type too quickly!

Good man!

Franck 3rd Choral at Truro Cathedral. Organ and music matched in majesty and grandeur.

Presumably the Celeste would then have to be put on its own chest and extended to form a stringy Seventeenth, but not a Tierce.

8 Geigen Diapason 8 Stopped Diapason 8 Salcional 8 Voix Celeste TC 4 Principal 4 Triangular Flute 2.2/3 Nazard (harmonic) 2 Fifteenth * III Mixture 22-26-29 16 Double Horn 8 Trumpet 8 Oboe 4 Clarion * If the Piccolo successfully bridges the gap between the Diapasons and Mixture, use that instead. A Tierce would be a sensible addition on its own chest on the main console. Lucky chap!

Yes, I can agree with this. I'm presently recovering from surgery and having to sit down most of the time doing very little and find that when I have a brief attempt at playing the organ, co-ordination isn't quite as it normally is at present.

Tell me you're not serious?! My tongue was slightly in my cheek - but only slightly!

This adds a whole new dimension to the phrase "Thirst after righteousness"....

Fair nuff!

Wot, Vox praising the organ at St. Andrew's, Plymouth??!! Next thing, he'll be saying that John Hele was the greatest organ builder and voicer who ever lived!

And what, pray, is wrong with that? Thank you, Brian. I totally agree.

Yes, but I would suggest that probably most of what is being performed is known mainly to organists, and not to most of the average audience. My only criticism - based purely on my own taste - is the large amount of Messiaen being performed. After that last sentence I shall now put on my hard hat and duck for shelter!

Yes, I've observed this in recitals I've given at several Cathedrals and some of the bigger churches over the past 12 months or so. It seems to have become part of the "tradition" in a number of places. It's quite refreshing not to break up the programme with applause after each item, and saves the audience the embarrassment of knowing when - or when not - to clap.

Thanks, MM. I'm looking forward to it with even greater relish now!

Rest assured that you're not doing anything wrong. Or, if you are, that I'm doing the same thing! I find it does have slight a tendency towards bass heaviness. But, as I tend to copy recordings onto CD (to allow me to use the SD cards again), I just turn down the bass slightly if necessary when I play the recordings. I've not tried external mics with it. Like you, I find it great for making recordings without fuss.

Alfred Hollins, by all accounts, was a very clever blind organist. I recall reading that he travelled something amazing like 600,000 miles mostly on his own with transatlantic tours and tours around Europe. In this country he used to travel on his own on the train and said he could recognize what railway station he was at by the smell, each station having it's own distinct odour! There are several funny anecdotes about him. My favourite is about his party trick. Having perfect pitch, he used to have dinner guests tap glasses and plates after dinner, and he'd announce the pitch of whatever was being tapped, and have somebody sitting at the piano to confirm the pitch he gave. One evening one of his guests thought "Right, I'll fool him" and lifted up a bread roll and banged it on the table. Hollins thought about it for a moment, and then said "Doh"!

I'm giving a recital on that next month and have heard good things about it, although have never heard it myself nor come across any recordings. I'll look forward to it!

I purchased an Edirol R-09 a while back, and am quite happy with it. It's very portable and lightweight, and records onto SD cards. Although the RRP is about £280, they can often be picked up on Ebay for about £200.

I once managed to do it in under 4 minutes, but it cost me a fortune in physiotherapy bills afterwards! And it took months of brain-ache to learn too!