gazman

But he does list a price of £1.60 for p & p in the UK lower down the page. Perhaps the seller's a bit indecisive?

You edited your reply, David, whilst I was writing mine! Yes, very effective to come in with the syncopated note (the high A) a beat before the first beat of the bar. I think this would be most effective. I might try it next year....

But, if you must have fun with this, wouldn't it be better to hold the C for a minim, and then to go on to the next phrase without a breath to keep the meaning of the words? Or to come in with the A on beat 4, and have a syncopated effect on "Glory..."?

No, best not to, Vox....You'll only get worse!

I thought it was Once in royal we were discussing!

Yes, agreed that it doesn't suffer "excess waffle", Vox. The "simplicity" of the descant perfectly matches the carol. And I don't mean simplicity in any derogative sense. I find it well-crafted, the climax is perfectly matched, and I find the descant totally suitable. However, in my ignorance, I don't know the Cleobury descant. Mental note to self: be sure to listen carefully to that part of the broadcast from Kings!

Yeh, life's just not fair at times! Mind you, depends on whether they're actually listening to the organ, or just concentrating all their efforts in trying to show off.

Why bother? If they feel that their descant doesn't fit, they might just be discouraged from doing it in the future. Descants from people in the congregation can be maddening. I remember a former choir soprano - a bit of a diva who had resigned from the choir in a fit of pique just before Christmas one year - coming along after her resignation to every carol service going where the choir wasn't in attendance in order, it seemed, to sing descants from the congregation. I think she wanted people in the congregation to notice her, and me to notice her absence from the choir. You must be more charitable than I, cornetdeschats, as I actually changed the harmonies to harmonies which definitely wouldn't fit in order to try and dissuade her. It didn't work, though!

Me too! He certainly has the measure of the descant.

However, I was saying to my wife only this morning that Willcocks's arrangement of the last verse of O come all ye faithful (Yea, Lord we greet Thee) sends tingles up and down my spine every Christmas.

Thanks Alastair!

What does the tuning of the mutations sound like on this instrument, Alastair, considering that they're derived from unison ranks?

Hear, hear! Several years ago my elderly toaster (built in the 1970s) had become increasingly unplayable due to a number of faults. I contacted the local chap who seemed to do all manner of things with electronic instruments and amps, and he seemed quite confident in his ability to renovate the instrument. Unfortunately, he and his side-kick managed to make things even worse, and rendered the organ totally unplayable. They wouldn't return to put matters right, and eventually even tried billing me for the time they spent wrecking the instrument. It seemed that it was way beyond their ability. Fortunately, there was a happy ending. I've always had a bit of an interest in electronics and happily the organ wasn't too sophisticated. Consequently, although on a steep learning curve, I managed to totally rebuild the instrument. After hours and hours spent on it, it eventually worked better than it ever had done before in the time that I had owned it. In fact, it worked so well that I sold it on to a pupil of mine, who uses it on a daily basis. And it's still in A1 working condition several years later. However, apart from the basics, I probably wouldn't know where to start with my modern electrone!

I tend to think Once in royal to start the carol service, and O come for Midnight Mass - even if "Yea, Lord, we greet thee" is a few minutes early!

Why, though, would they do a live one AND a recorded one? Or am I missing something? (the latter's quite likely!)

Do I sleep, do I dream, do I wonder and doubt? Are things what they seem, or is visions about? This evening I've just played for my umpteenth carol service thus far, this time for the Sea Scouts. Before the last carol, the Scoutmaster awarded the usual prizes and then turned in the direction of the organ console and said "And I'd like to say a special Thank You to the organist, Mr. Gareth Perkins, who has played the organ so beautifully for our service this evening"! Well, I could almost have fallen off the organ stool! I almost wondered whether he was a lurker on this forum!!! No cheque was forthcoming though, but, as the Vicar booked me to play for the service, I'll chase him up about that...

Have a good and stress-free Christmas folks, and may all your carol services go well! And, for any fans of South Park, take a look at this: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=d66IzbKVEhc

I agree. The Dorian is a really superb fugue.

However, give them a sign of "trouble" in church and they're all over it. A number of years ago when we put one of our very elderly church choirs out to graze, two of our choirmembers went to the press to attack the vicar for introducing some happy-clappies and the publicity was extraordinary after the two issues became confused. I've still got the videos of the local news programmes which were, of course, incredibly biased and tried to make both the vicar and me look as if we were the devil incarnate!

Not yet I haven't, but it sounds a good idea!

Oh yes....!

I see where you're coming from, but a priest can often do more by not only giving an overview of the deceased's life but also by explaining about the death and resurrection of JC and by putting it all into a Christian context. I can think of two awful eulogies I've suffered recently which were given by relatives. Both were in excess of 30 minutes (!), and one of them kept saying something along the lines of "I'm sure I've gone on too long. The vicar'll stop me soon". Both said more about themselves than about the deceased. It was awful.

You must be very unlucky then!

This is entirely sensible. There are 2 issues as I see it. The first is about actually having CDs played at these services. The second is about the family of the deceased seeming to want almost carte blanche in the structure and content of the service. Considering the first point, I have come to accept that a CD of the deceased's favourite song will probably move the mourners in a more effective way than something that I may play on the organ, much as I dislike having CDs played at funerals. As for the second, I think the family's wishes should be taken into consideration at a time like this - after all, as John pointed out, the service is for them. But, of course, the minister should have the final say and should stop anything unsuitable or over-the-top. Unfortunately, they're often too unwilling to risk upsetting the family to do this. I think that allowing a request for a suitable CD on the way out, but insisting on organ music on the way in, is a reasonable compromise. After all, at least the organist will be able to get home sooner! On a similar topic, I've noticed an increased trend for people to get up and speak (often - irritatingly - at great length) at funerals which I don't remember happening 10 years ago. People now seem to think it's the "done thing". I was discussing this with a friend the other day, and we think that it happened in the wake (no pun intended!) of Princess Diana's funeral. What do others think?