Frank Fowler

As you say, who are `they' and if it comes to that how much are we paying them to come up with such ill thought through legislation? Everyone get to it and sign the petition. Frank Fowler

In the 1920's and 1930's the major firms had quite large factories and the factory staff often had jobs that give them little or no contact with the finished product. This did not bother them as they were far more concerned in being in employment and bringing home a weekly wage, not were not organ nuts. The mill hand spent his time cutting up and planing wood, the bellows hands just made the bellows, the wiring department (in the case of HNB entirely staffed by women) made up the cables, the console hands (often skilled cabinet makers) made the consoles and it was left to the outside building teams and the voicers and finishers to take charge of the installation and actually hear it make music. It also happened that all employees took a great pride in their own particular finished product. While the building team often lacked players the voicers and finishers could usualy manage to play something if not always up to R.C.O. standards. I have always hoped that tuners could play a bit otherwise how can one be aware that while the Fifteenth tunes happily to the Principal it can sound horribly out of tune in the full organ combination full of `wind gobblers' and needs to be `adjusted' to sound acceptable. Apprentices who could play were looked on with great suspicion by the inside factory staff as I well know! Frank Fowler

Yes, "Crimond" in strict waltz tempo works as well! FF

It is said that when Sir William McKie, at that time organist of Westminster Abbey, visited the Cathedral of St John the Divine in New York he was not over happy. Firstly they were calling him “Sir Bill” and secondly they took great delight in pointing out that everything was larger (but not older) than Westminster Abbey. Eventually they finished up beneath the great circular West window, with its battery of en chamade reed pipes. “Say Sir Bill”, they said, “That’s our State Trumpet, I bet you haven’t got anything like that back at the Abbey”. Sir William looked at them rather coldly and replied, “When we want the State Trumpets, we send for them!” Frank Fowler

The big drawback is getting the music and the congregation (often a wayward lot) to keep together. If you have an upbeat hymn and a drummer they can pull a congregation along. If you have to sing "Rock of Ages" you have problems. The old church barrel organ happily coped with the situation, provided the wind feeders were not connected to the barrel handle. Used by a skillfull controller I have heard a psalm successfully pointed on such an instrument. Frank Fowler

I remember when Noel Rawsthorne first started playing this piece and on one occasion, when I was turning the music for him, he was using a photocopy of the music on separate sheets that were not easy to turn and keep on the music desk, so would assume that he would have access to an `original' version. Frank Fowler

Hope that somewhere in you ancestry there is an elephant. Frank Fowler

Many years ago a friend of mine was standing in for an organist who had gone on holiday and as he was intending to play a major piece of music at the end had taken a pager turner with him. The organ, which was somewhat buried in a chamber has a D.I.Y. amplification system to help get the sound into the church. It so happened that this was the Sunday on which the local Lay Reader was given a chance to preach at morning service and being one who thought he was a great scholar and liked the sound of his own voice was dertimined to give the congregation their moneys worth. After 35 minutes, the organist turned to his page turner and said "Hasn't the silly old fool got a home to go to" - only he did not say fool. Unfortunately this was picked up by one of the organ microphones and clearly relayed round the church. No matter how many of the congregation might have agreed with him he was not asked to play there again. Frank Fowler

I remember having a copy of a poem years ago that started: "Its amazing how the thoughts do come, When I plays on my harmonium." Does anyone else know the rest. Frank Fowler

The Royal Warrant was awarded to William Hill in 1835 and the company, in its various guises held it continously until closed in 1998. It was one of the longest Warrant holding companys. I brought this to the attention of those concerned and received the reply that translated into "So what". I was glad that I was well retired by then. The Royal Warrant did not transfer with the sale of the Company name. Frank Fowler

A Point of Interest! Having known John Clough for many years it was a long time before I discovered he was one of greatly respected euphonium plavers in the country. Frank Fowler

A school had a new school hall built and the architect reckoned he had allowed for a suitable rebervation period. He had - but not considered that at assembley and on many other occasions the hall would be filled with boys, when the reverbation period went into a minus mode. Then the organ sounded flat and dull but was exciting in the empty hall. Clothing is a great sound absorber but the suggestion that the boys were stripped naked and painted in gloss paint to help the acoustic was not adopted. Frank Fowler

There was once a new Crem that had a great state of the art effect built in. As the coffin sunk out of sight there was a very realistic dispaly of flames to look as if the coffin was being lowered into the Crem furnace. Shortly after this system was introduced and a coffin decended in the mock flames, an eldery lady stood up and cried out, "There you are I told you the old B----- would burn in Hell". I don't think it has been used since. Frank Fowler

WILLIAM (BILL) DAVIES I got to know Bill some three years by telephone before we met. It started when I was Tuning Manager for J.W.Walker & Sons, who held the Wurlitzer tuning contracts. In those days “The Organist Entertains” was introduced by Robin Richmond who went round the country recording organists from various venues. In many cases I would receive a telephone call from Robin or the producer telling me they were recording a particular organ tomorrow and could I get it tuned in time for the recording! At such short notice this occasionally meant me having to go out early and do the job myself. On one famous occasion I told the BBC that I would be at the Gaumont State Kilburn at 7 am on the next morning to tune for a Gorge Blackmore recording but they would have to provide a key holder for me. They did – it was Gorge himself who was there at 7 am to meet me and held keys for the tuning for his recording. Bill Davies was much more organised and would phone me up well in advance to tell me of any recordings he was doing so that I could get a maintenance visit properly organised. I greatly appreciated his thoughtfulness and we got to know each other quite well albeit by phone. One morning Bill rang me from the Granada Tooting at 9.am, where he was due to make a recording at 10 am. I knew the organ had been tuned the day before so there should have been no serious problems, but there was. The pallet control on the Main regulator had broken causing over blowing with result the Main Chest pipework was sounding about a half a semitone higher than the rest of the organ. There was nothing I could do to get anyone to Tooting by 10 am (this was before mobile telephones invaded our lives) so I suggested to Bill that they would have to abandon the recording. Bill was silent for a minute and then said “I think I can play round it. If I re-register so that I don’t mix any of the Main Chest pipework with anything else and keep the wobblers (tremulants – Ed!) on everywhere at all times it should work.” This he did, the recording was made and unless you knew what had happened and was listening for it you would not notice – I heard of no come backs from the recordings – it was unkindly said by some that Robin Richmond did not notice what had happened either. This was Bill showing his superb musicianship and his tolerance – I can think of many other organists who would have been carried away with the vapours if this had happened to them. Frank Fowler