Organ Anecdotes For Book Wanted

[Vox Humana]

I'm afraid that I simply cannot put it down.

Me neither! It really is very entertaining. Some of the stories are so unlikely they just have to be true!

[chrisb]

My copy arrived Christmas Eve (thanks Jenny).

Wife grabbed it to wrap as present to go under the tree.

I came downstairs at 4.00am for a drink of water.

Spotted newly wrapped book under tree.

Unwrapped book, started reading, was discovered by wife at 6.30am, attempting to re-wrap book.

Accused by wife of inserting decimal point to my age of 63 years

Accused by wife of unreasonable behaviour, for not allowing her to open presents until after church.

 

Hope you all had a blessed Christmas

 

Chris Baker

[churchmouse]

Update on second printing! Just to let you all know that the second run of "Organ-isms: Anecdotes from the World of the King of Instruments" is now available. Sorry for the delay to those of you who have been waiting so patiently...

Details from here

Church (pass the cheese please) mouse

[William]

Many thanks MM - have sent you a PM. If the book got banned, that's the best selling device of all!

Back to my trawling the archives here.

 

Thought for the day:

 

Is it my imagination or do organists generally have a better developed sense of humour than many other species of musician? Hmmmmmmm . Could it be something to do with putting up with corny and inexhaustible supplies of wisecracks about organs? Sigh......

 

Jenny

I would love to write a book about organ builders and the things they get up to to in the workshop and on site, now that is a definate book that could get banned...! and im speaking with a great knowledge about this.

[churchmouse]

Please forgive me for the following, but it might just forestall yet more emails asking for information - and since several of you (including, bless them, the Mander family) have been directly involved in contributing, I thought it useful to post that "Organ-isms: Anecdotes from the World of the King of Instruments" is now available from Allegro Music in the UK. Either online at www.allegro.co.uk or from the postal address at 43 The Hop Pocket Craft Centre, New House Farm, Bishops Frome, Worcestershire, WR6 5BT, UK. Contributors in the States can go directly to Lois Fyfe Music .

And yes, to answer other questions, I'm still collecting stories for "Son of Organ-isms!"

And soon ( Contributors and God willing) the volume will be available in Germany - in German. Am just hoping nobody wants a Swahili version.

 

Churchmouse

[Vox Humana]

Ormond was apparently also very forgetful. It is said that - more than once - he would drive somewhere to go shopping, do his shopping, forget that he had driven there, and return home by train. Subsequently, on finding his car missing, he would 'phone the police to report the "theft" of his car!

I heard a couple more tales about Guillaume Ormond today.

 

One morning Philip Liddicoat, the former long-serving organist of St Andrew's, Plymouth attended a service at Truro Cathedral. Afterwards Ormond offered to take him home for lunch, so they got into Ormond's car and set off. Outside the house Ormond stopped. He then hesitated for a moment, said to Philip, "Just wait here a minute," and got out of the car. An increasingly puzzled Philip saw him go to the house and proceed to walk all round it, looking in every window. Eventually he came back to the car, got in and said, "I didn't tell my housekeeper that I would be home for lunch and she's gone home for the afternoon. I don't have a key myself." Ormond then drove Philip back to Truro and treated him to a very fine lunch at a hotel.

 

Then there was a Saturday afternoon when Ormond decided to go for a drive to enjoy the picturesque Cornish countryside. He ended up looking around a village and came across an attractive, little church. Outside the church he noticed a large poster advertising an organ recital that evening. Curious to know who was playing, for he couldn't quite make out the player's name, he went to have a closer look and found that it was himself.