handsoff

Mmmm. From the BBC SO website. No mention of an organist. Funny that... http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/sXnJWD6dprbBG2LK4wN9Cj/whos-who

My advice would be to pick an area in which there are organs that you would be interested in seeing and then, using the "A Church Near You" website, ask the contact listed for each church if you might be able to arrange a visit to see and perhaps play the organ. I use this approach when going on holday and have, without exception, been made welcome. I have always made a generous donation upon leaving. My particular interest is village church instruments and I have little interest in playing the much larger multi-department organs and suspect that on occasions access to these might be more limited anyway. A loud tuba or big pedal reed is a tiny part of the experience of being an organist and constant loud playing is tiresome to any audience and will win the player few friends. The pleasure, to me at least, of discovering little used small organs and exploring their resources beats into a cocked hat the "Full Organ" large instrument approach. As has been said elsewhere on this forum the quieter stops on a organ usually provide the most beautiful and expressive sounds and small organs often have some real gems.

This is terribly sad news for music in Wales. I can't help but think that the problems lie here... Earlier this year, new facilities – costing more than £600,000 –were opened. A third of a million-pound extension and refurbishment of the cathedral’s vestries created a new Translators’ Tearoom, gender-neutral toilets and a community meeting space. The project was funded by more than £130,000 of grants secured from various bodies, including WREN – £50,000 – and the Garfield Weston Foundation, £25,000. The rest of the money was raised by the cathedral or had been left as legacies. A £286,000 grant from the National Lottery went towards the creation of a major interactive project that features interactive displays. All this points to the low regard in which church music and musicians are held in this country. The exceedingly wealthy, in terms of invested assets, Anglican church is, in my very humble opinion, appallingly badly run. Two of the churches in my own benefice are set to be abandoned within the next 2 or 3 years. The tiny congregations are expected to contribute over £4000 each per annum to the diocese. For what? We see nothing other than pastoral letters and last year another Bishop appointed. There is no "backflow" of support and is hard to see where our money goes. In most forms of business the "branch offices" are supported by "head office". Not so in the Anglican church...

I have certainly not been offended in way or form at all. It takes an awful lot to do that and nothing here has come with a light year of it!

I'm flattered to be described as a Director of Music which although strictly true I suppose, does over-inflate my role as organist of a tiny church with a tiny organ on the point of total failure and no money to fix it. I suspect too that the church will close within 2 or 3 years thanks to the ridiculous amount of money demanded each year by the diocese. The church is in a minute village of perhaps 15 homes and has a congregation of between 8 and 15 souls, all of whom with 2 exceptions come from outside the village solely because of our usage of the BCP and NEH; one family of 3 travelling 20+ miles from Coventry. The mean age is probably 70 and we utterly rely on retired priests to perform the services. I have no objection to some worship songs; there are indeed soome very good examples, but I do know that they would not be accepted at All Saints'. I know this because the Benefice of 4 churches has a Benefice service on a rotating basis on 5th Sundays and in 2 of these, for which I sometimes play, these songs are scheduled. The faction from All Saints' always say that they don't like or want them (or the music group which also accompanies them) when it's our turn. I regularly introduce unfamiliar hymns to them, sometimes to a well-known tune rather than the one set and this seems to go down well. A recent example was "Thee we adore, O hidden Saviour Thee" to the tune of "Abide with Me". This went down really well and I've been asked to repeat soon. (The exercise reminds me of the BBC comedy, still thankfully extant, "I'm sorry I Haven't a Clue" in which my favourite tune swap was "A Whiter Shade of Pale" to the tune of "My Old Man's a Dustman"). It is absolutely true to say that there are some dreadful old hymns. I had to play the tune of "I Vow to Thee" (to alternative words for a wedding last week) and used my school days copy of "Songs of Praise". Some of the dross in there is beyond belief...

I choose the hymns for my church and use both an online lectionary and the "Hymns Suggested for Sundays" in the indices; this helps ensure their relevance. We use the BCP and New English Hymnal which in turn discourage and completely preclude worship songs.

How things come home to roost. I played for a wedding** yesterday at which the hymns were Morning Has Broken, Jerusalem and Shine. I clearly couldn't object to the latter's use so had to grin and bear it but was pleased enough when the congregation really belted it out; so much so that I had to use the rather loud 2' Fifteenth in the final choruses to support them. What has amused me about Shine this time around is the way that it installed itself as an ear worm while practising; to the extent that I have caught myself humming it out loud in public. As my wife is fond of saying, "God always gets his own back..". ** The highlight of the event was the departure of the bride and groom in a hired Lamborghini Aventador convertible - and watching the bride getting into the passenger seat in full meringue and heels. ?

I'm just back from playing for a wedding at my regular church on the single manual + pedal hotpotch under the West End tower. Playing 3 of Bach's Short Preludes and Fugues beforehand didn't sound too bad but the final chord of Pachelbel's Canon on the Stop Diapason 8' + 4' Open Flute had more beats than an egg whisking competition. It was fine last Sunday so I can blame the weather over the past few days. Telephone call to the tuner diaried for Monday so as to be ready for next week's repeat...

Thank you David, yes that's the organ - I tried to post the photo directly but my allocatiion was used up. The organ sounds very good in the building and is surprisingly versatile with all manual ranks' pipes being enclosed, and comfortable ; as you can see the bench has a backrest which I find to be rather nice! The short compass pedal board restricts the choice of music a little and the Bourdon drawstop needs a very firm pull/push but it's an enjoyable organ to play.

This is a bit off-topic but not, I hope, too far. One of the organs I play on an as required basis for the occasional funeral or carol service is a single manual Holditch., http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=D04551. It has a Diacton drawstop which acts on an extra 12 pipes per treble rank and thus extends the range of what is otherwise an Octave coupler. It's very effective and allows a real top-end boost when the church is full. I assume that this is a device found only on Holditch organs ; I have never met it before.

When I was learning the organ my teacher was the best source of information about repertoire and tips on technique. He knew where I was in my studies, what I would be able to accomplish at that stage in my career, and be able to suggest new music that would push me without it being too difficult at that point and thus discourage me.

There's a chance to hear Christopher play the PPO organ in the Guild Chapel, Stratford-upon-Avon on 5 May at 5pm.. Very much looking forward to it! P

As organist at a few tiny village churches with single manual organs in the main I can't add anything to the expertise above but would mention that Kevin Mayhew sells a book of hymn tunes transposed down, sometimes a semitone and for some tunes, more. It's very handy until your transposition skills are up to speed.

I just wish that I'd been at Beverley when the Google van with its revolving camera was driving around the Minster...

I thought 4/- was too much and didn't go again. I later heard a whisper that the organist may have used the fees to supplement her gin and tobacco budget

Thanks to those who responded to my note about the booklet. There are a couple of cheques yet to arrive and when they have I'll pass everything on to the author who will send the booklets out. I first played the URC organ about 45 (or+) years ago and can't remember a thing about it about apart from a request to put 4/- (20p in today's money) for the electricity! It seemed quite a lot at the time... I think I would have remembered something such as the stop tabs which would have been quite alien to me at that time as the only stops I had encountered were "proper" ones on the sides of the console. This makes me think that the Nicholson console was perhaps a secondhand unit installed in 1993. I will try to find out more details both at the church and in our excellent local records office. It's a great shame that Nicholsons didn't retain the Hewins company records when they bought it. All these and many other questions would easily have been answered...

David, you're quite right; the organ's builders plate proclaims it to be the work of Nicholson & C0. The URC organ does sound a lot better than the stop list would have one believe and bam, there is a Swell Octave to Great coupler called "Swell Super" grouped with the Great Organ couplers as well as a Great Super in its own right. I have just checked these from the hi-res photo from which I took the shots on the NPOR... Full organ is a bright clean sound with a good 2' tone from the 4' stops and octave couplers. The annual season of Friday lunchtime recitals on the church starts this Friday.

Some members will be familiar with the instruments built by the Hewins company quite a number of which are extant, particularly in Warwickshire although examples can be found around the country. I have played several Hewins' organs over the years and found them to be well built and musical. Some of the original instruments did have a lot of 8' tone and have sometimes had later additions to bring some brightness and to counter the imposition of upholsered chairs and carpets in the churches in which they were installed. This is a typical small organ from the company and is unaltered except for the 2' stop on the Great Organ which was added when the church was enlarged and carpeted. I was in the choir at this church when a young boy and remember that the electric blower failed now and again. There was sometimes an unholy rush from the choir stalls to the vestry in order to used the pumping handle as it meant an extra shilling in the quarterly choir pay for the winner! It was also the first organ I played for a service on a Good Friday when the regular organist was unavailable; I think I was 11 at the time. Richard Mallison, the great great grandson of Thomas Hewins the founder of the company has produced and published a most interesting booklet about the history of both the company and his family and if anyone would like a copy at cost price, £2.00, please contact me by pm to arrange for copies to be provided.

I have seen village church organs in which a bucket of water is left to evaporate to provide humidity. In my church any music left on the organ for more than a day or two becomes damp and musty and such a bucket would gradually fill rather than empty...

Cavaillé-Coll created a scheme for a monster pipe organ for the venue. Would that it had happened; it might have drowned out the most insistent racket of tourists (and nuns...).

I was told by Geoffrey Coffin when on a visit to his works to see progress on the new organ for Stratford-upon-Avon's Guild Chapel that it was especially important not to blow into reed pipes because of the likelihood of causing corrosion to the reed itself, our breath being hot and mildly acidic.

I have just returned from a holiday in North Devon and had a look at the Vowles organ in the parish church at South Molton. The instrument, http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=N07915, is a 3 manual tracker with very attractively painted display pipes but appears to be in a desperately poor state of repair. There is a "Note for Visiting Organists" on the music desk which says, inter alia, that the choir organ is not to be used as it is beyond hope, the organ may lose all wind without notice at any time and that several pedal notes do not work and organists may need to transpose hymns if they wish to use the pedals after exploring which notes work. The church is currently in the throes of major roofing work which may explain why no money is available for the organ. I wonder if any forum members have played the organ in the past and have a memory of how it sounded? There are [hopefully] 2 pictures of the organ below. We were staying in the nearby North Molton and I contacted the church before going and was made most welcome by the vicar and churchwarden who showed me where the key was kept and said to please play whenever I wished. Mrs H. may have regretted their generosity! The organ http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=N12353 here is a Walker and although the blower is a little noisy it makes some lovely sounds. There has clearly been some work since the latest report to the NPOR (whom I shall notify shortly along with photos) and the missing stops on the Swell organ have been added. Do other forum members contact churches via ACNY before a holiday - I always do so...

I wonder if any members of the Birmingham OA are on here still? Paul Carr and Contrebordun were members and may know or be able to find out more details. I think that an organ in such a location would be a splendid idea; Sunday afternoon recitals could be quite a draw - a comfortable environment with no hard pews and a pot of tea with cakes. The cost of restoration to full working order would be a drop in the ocean for the developers although the ongoing problem of tuning and maintenance in a warm hotel might be daunting.

Saturday October 7th at 5pm. The 3rd Anniversary Recital marking the installation of the PPO organ in the Guild Chapel, Stratford-upon-Avon is being given by Roy Massey, Organist Emeritus, Hereford Cathedral. I don't know the programme at the moment but can imagine that it will be very, very good! Note the early start time - very welcome to me at least as 7pm or later on a Saturday just doesn't work...

I'm not so sure. The pose being struck by the cat in the photograph looks worryingly similar to one that visits our garden and.... well, you know.