That Minx

There's a reason for everything, Hector! The SofP on 'The Organ' was commissioned as an 'archive' programme (i.e. a very low-budget show where the music items have already been used for previous programmes, but are now being re-used with a completely new editorial). The St Seps Harrison broke down completely - without warning - literally the day before 'Jerusalem' was recorded (for an Songs of Praise on St Sepulchre's Church which transmitted in February last year), and a digital organ had to be brought in overnight or the whole enterprise would have had to be postponed at the cost of many thousands...all the camera positions and lighting had been rigged with the (immovable) Harrison in shot, and so the organist had to do the whole sound recording on the movable electronic; followed by playback 'vamping' on the Harrison, thereby avoiding disaster! When filming for the Organs programme, the Harrison got a temporary repair, getting back on its feet just long enough for Huw to demonstrate a few stops and play a few bars of the Songs of Praise theme tune. So that's why the fact that the church also had an electronic organ was made clearly visible in one of the shots, and there was deliberately no reference to using the Harrison when introducing the hymns.

Extremely unlikely that The Great Dame's excellent show would be repeated. 'Excuses' might include: "Would look dated as it was made before the days of 16:9 'widescreen." "All those musicians' repeat-fees would be prohibitively expensive." "Not 'accessible'** enough for a general audience." **buzz-word of the moment in broadcasting generally - actually means, "Even though we make sure we don't actually mix with any of them, we know our audience have neither intelligence nor taste, and as we're not allowed to broadcast the 24-hour public executions and pornography they really want, we'd better at least not alienate them with anything that might involve thought." 'Reasons' might include: "Esoteric, bourgeois minority interest." "Contains no-one featured in the gossip pages of either the red-top tabloids or 'Heat' magazine." "Couldn't easily be re-titled, 'Celebrity-Strictly-Come-X-factor-Get-My-Millionaire-Fat-Organ-Swap-Out-of-Here-On-Ice." "Our audience probably don't even know what an organ is!" "Even organists didn't like that Songs of Praise about the organ." There is a slight possibility that Channels 4 or 5 (who now are to culture what the BBC used to be) could show one of Howard Goodall's 'Sideways-Glance-But-Still-Authoritative' -type shows (and even the Beeb might put him on if it were a 'Triumph-Of-Style-Over-Substance-Extreme-Sideways-Glance'). Realistically, there's not much danger of incoming pigs at one-o'clock - though spare some (sweet) thought for those of us who intend to continue with our mission to feed the hands that bite us!

Funny creatures, pedants - not altogether sure I don't quite like them most of the time, as we all make slips-of-the-brain and typo's so should all help one another to get it right - but it's when it seems motivated by the assumption that it's because you're either ignorant, arrogant or haven't checked with an expert that I find it a bit disappointing. Some of it's just people being a bit too literal (i.e. not 'getting' the Gedeckt/Gedacht play-on-words, which was about the only 'in-joke' in the whole piece); some is correct - like the Trumpet tune/voluntary mix-up - seemingly caused by a cut & paste error; some is just nit picking of titanic, stratospheric, universal proportions - worthy of masters, nay, very gods of Pedantry..................!

Did you know that Songs of Praise is the only religious music programme, and the only weekly music series on BBC TV? The 'pro-organ-only-accompaniment-minority-of-one' on its staff wasn't dissuaded by nearly 9 years of complete lack of interest in an organ programme, nor by the enforcement of unusually tough budgetary, staffing, and scheduling 'compromises' - so I don't think that the pedants' (entirely predictable) nitpicking will result in any retaliatory comb and paper vendettas. I'll make sure your generous remarks and thanks get passed on to the appropriate people!

I can enlighten you as to the fact that at least 3 professional organists (who shall remain nameless) were given sight of this programme's script for checking technical facts. You'll find with most TV programmes that 'experts' are consulted as you suggest, but of course no mere mortal can claim to be omniscient and with the added dangers of electronic cutting-and-pasting and subbing-down, the odd 'rogue' addition or subtraction often works its way in and is missed by everyone at every stage. Sometimes the presenter's availability means that a 'take' where he/she didn't quite stress the right emphasis ends up having to be used, and given the tight schedule and tiny budget, the producer has to judge whether the result is trivial or a serious misrepresentation. Sorry to sound like an anorak, but I have worked in TV and Radio production for years, and once something has been recorded in a particular acoustic, audio can't just be 'spliced in'. Interesting that so few people seem to have 'got' the Gedeckt/Gedacht pun - I've made recordings of many organs over the years and I have heard this joke made by organists both in England and Germany (especially the latter where, given our love of the 'Wortspiel', there are linguistic reasons for believing that the spelling 'Gedackt/Gedacht' is deliberate). This programme on the Organ was first suggested in 1999; and thereafter several times yearly until it was finally commissioned. Despite its early transmission time (resulting in low audience figures) I am happy to report that it seems to have been greatly appreciated by BBC1s non-organist audience.