Vox Humana Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 Well... Sorry to take issue, M'sieur, but... That's fine if you want to add a post to the same forum that you are reading. Otherwise, it's best to go first to the home page for all the forums, enter the forum you want to post the thread to and click the "new topic" button (in the same location as the ones above). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handsoff Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 I suppose that one could adapt an idea of S.S. Wesley and simply hold a C major chord on full organ for as long as it took for the bride to turn up. The threat of this, especially if demonstrated beforehand, could concentrate the hearts and minds of the bridal party most effectively. Of course, there are other chords which could be even more effective. David Harrison :lol: ...or how about continually playing the staccato "pom pom pom pommm" from the start of "The Bridal March" until she arrives?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiffaro Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 I had been booked for a wedding today where the bride didn't come - the wedding was canceled six days ago. Wouldn't I love to know why!!! I once played for a Japanese Wedding Blessing where the couple were not talking to each other. All the communication, what little there was, was relayed by the harried translator. And then there was the bride who booked 'my' church for her wedding, two years in advance, with no name for the groom on the booking form. Now, there was one dangerous lassie for any eligible male she chanced on in those two years. You could safely bet that on the appointed day, she was not going to run the risk of the male being given any more time to consider by her causing the wedding to begin late! Back to the topic, and again a Japanese Wedding Blessing (JWB), where the couple was considerably late. The photographer let me know what had caused the delay. The company that was running the package deal targeting the JWB market was run by a dress designer, and the center of attention before the ceremony was on ensuring that the bride was picture perfect, assuming that the groom could fend for himself. The groom for this JWB had never dressed in tails previously, and being somewhat shy, couldn't bring himself to ask for help, so he was eventually discovered in his room with only his underwear on, caught by his lack of experience with formal wear and his reticence to ask for help. Between the various board (bored?) correspondents, there must be a book on wedding anecdotes just waiting for compilation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Patrick Coleman Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 The bride this afternoon arrived ten minutes early. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Carr Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 The bride this afternoon arrived ten minutes early. Mine was on time, well actually I could see her at the west door 2 minutes early! And the nice parish secretary not only brought me the organ key over to the console on my arrival, but a cup of coffee too!! (Perhaps she thought I looked like I needed keeping awake?! ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DQB123 Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Mine was on time, well actually I could see her at the west door 2 minutes early! And the nice parish secretary not only brought me the organ key over to the console on my arrival, but a cup of coffee too!! (Perhaps she thought I looked like I needed keeping awake?! ) Mine was a full half hour late - no apology. :angry: When 25 past the hour came round I went back to The Vicarage - to simmer in peace! After having kept the bellringers ringing for about 50 minutes, I told them to stop. The silence was SCREAMING!!! When the service finally got going I was so vexed sore, that I forgot the first hymn! But I did calm down after a while, and they all went away with a smile.... Service was through and I was home in 20 minutes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbouffant Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 I still remember with no fondness the wedding at my regular gig where they brought a whole Welsh male voice quire with them (we are in Kent). Expecting them to sing one or two pieces during the signing of the register, the gentlemen gave us a full half hour concert. It was excellent entertainment but didn't do anything for my stress levels, as I had another wedding half an hour away... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Morley Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 I still remember with no fondness the wedding at my regular gig where they brought a whole Welsh male voice quire with them (we are in Kent). Expecting them to sing one or two pieces during the signing of the register, the gentlemen gave us a full half hour concert. It was excellent entertainment but didn't do anything for my stress levels, as I had another wedding half an hour away... I think that I'd have told the accompanist that he was playing the exit music and taken my leave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Kemp Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 The latest a bride has ever been, in my experience, was at St Mary's Kemp Town in Brighton many years ago when the bride (elder sister of a choirboy and living not more than 50 yards from the vestry door) was nearly an hour late. After about half an hour I sent a message to the Vicar (who was waiting at the other end of the church) that I was not going to play another note until the bride arrived. Years later I was organist at the neighbouring church - where the Vicar is a friend of a regular contributor to these columns - and I never had such problems there! My current problem with weddings is over hymns and it reflects the problem I have over hymns at our monthly family Mass. Over the next couple of months I am playing for six weddings, spread between two Brighton churches. I have spoken about the music to all the couples involved and none of them have the foggiest idea about hymns. We live at a time when neither wedding couples nor their parents have ever sung hymns at school so they ask for hymns like "Make me a channel of your peace", "One more step along the road I go" (which mentions neither God nor religion), "Morning has broken" or "Give me beer in my mug, keep on boozing". I tell them they are entitled to have what hymns they like but that they might want to consider what older friends and relations might know (ie Praise my soul or Love Divine). I also point out that "Make me a channel" is extremely difficult to bring off without a choir in attendance and with a congregation made up largely of people who are not regular church attenders. At least I get paid for it!!!......... Malcolm Kemp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cynic Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 The latest a bride has ever been, in my experience, was at St Mary's Kemp Town in Brighton many years ago when the bride (elder sister of a choirboy and living not more than 50 yards from the vestry door) was nearly an hour late. After about half an hour I sent a message to the Vicar (who was waiting at the other end of the church) that I was not going to play another note until the bride arrived. Years later I was organist at the neighbouring church - where the Vicar is a friend of a regular contributor to these columns - and I never had such problems there! My current problem with weddings is over hymns and it reflects the problem I have over hymns at our monthly family Mass. Over the next couple of months I am playing for six weddings, spread between two Brighton churches. I have spoken about the music to all the couples involved and none of them have the foggiest idea about hymns. We live at a time when neither wedding couples nor their parents have ever sung hymns at school so they ask for hymns like "Make me a channel of your peace", "One more step along the road I go" (which mentions neither God nor religion), "Morning has broken" or "Give me beer in my mug, keep on boozing". I tell them they are entitled to have what hymns they like but that they might want to consider what older friends and relations might know (ie Praise my soul or Love Divine). I also point out that "Make me a channel" is extremely difficult to bring off without a choir in attendance and with a congregation made up largely of people who are not regular church attenders. At least I get paid for it!!!......... Malcolm Kemp I totally sympathise but maybe the hymns you suggest may be more realistic than the ones that well-intentioned church folk try to choose for them! At today's wedding for which I played in East Hull a fair-sized congregation muttered their ways through Praise my Soul, Guide me O thou Great redeemer and Now thank we all our God. I suggest a challenge to solve this problem. We need a two-pronged approach : 1. more media to work proper hymn tunes into adverts or theme music for TV and film 2. those with a gift for words should try combining uplifting new texts with tunes people actually know! otherwise, in a very few years time, we will not even get away with Colours of Day and Give me Oil in my Lamp! Along with Amazing Grace, Jerusalem and I vow to Thee my Country the only hymns the great un-churched now seem to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vox Humana Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 At today's wedding for which I played in East Hull a fair-sized congregation muttered their ways through Praise my Soul, Guide me O thou Great redeemer and Now thank we all our God. As a general rule, a faint, embarrassed mumbling is all you can expect today (except on the rare occasions when it's a church member getting spliced). Unfortunately, even if people do happen to know the tune it by no means follows that they will sing it. Apart from the fact that singing is perceived as "uncool" there will also be a faction - and probably a majority at that - that takes the view, "I'm not a Christian and there's no way I'm going to appear hypocritical by joining in". In the absence of a competent choir, if the bride and groom really want hymns it would seem sensible to ask them, "Will your congregation actually sing them?" If the hymns are not going to get sung, what useful purpose will they serve? Would it not be better to replace them with readings or organ music? The battle is already lost. Why do we go on fighting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazman Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 If the hymns are not going to get sung, what useful purpose will they serve? Would it not be better to replace them with readings or organ music? The battle is already lost. Why do we go on fighting? Yes, indeed. A very valid point, alas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Clark Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 The bride this afternoon arrived ten minutes early. Mine was 25 minutes late.... Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cynic Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 Mine was 25 minutes late.... Peter Brides are a law unto themselves. I'll never forget the bride who got all hoity when I tried to decline to play the whole of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor for her to walk in to. I pointed out that the complete piece takes 7 minutes and a slow procession up the nave only took 40 seconds. She said 'It's my wedding and I'll have it if I want it' to which I felt my only possible response was 'then you'll have to find another organist'. These days the fact that they are paying makes them feel (not very surprisingly, to be frank) that they can totally dictate what happens. Good sense, good taste, manners, decorum, appropriateness etc. can all go and plait themselves! Now I think about it, certain brides have a lot in common with certain of God's Local Representatives IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Harvey Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 I'll never forget the bride who got all hoity when I tried to decline to play the whole of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor for her to walk in to.... I'm still bemused by women who want their bridal procession accompanied to music normally associated with Count Dracula... My heart goes to the poor groom. Or did she mean the Dorian T&F? Today, I played Lemmen's Truimphal March for the first time at a service. Although musically it's not complex (to my taste it borders on the banal), it was fun and effective. I wondered whether it would make an alternative to the Mendelsssohn Wedding March at the end - has anyone tried try it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJJ Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 I had a good one last week - not at my regular church - rather filling in where a friend is Curate. They all arrived 1/2 hour late (really nice people though) - no one knew except the Vicar (and presumably the Bride, Groom etc.) that the time had been changed - I was there for about an hour with the 'putter out of books' chap before we found out. They wanted the Ride of the Valkyries to come out which is not at present in my repertoire (even though I do have a rather neat version arranged by my friend and former choirmaster David Patrick) so they had a CD instead. The funny part was when half way through this I shut the console and prepared to leave - some of the congregation still left looked totally aghast as they thought that I had been playing it. OK the organ was a vast electronic machine but all the same.....! AJJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vox Humana Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 They wanted the Ride of the Valkyries to come out I feel sorry from the groom already! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Harvey Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 Maybe he wore a winged helmet and carried a trident at his own wedding? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJJ Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 Maybe he wore a winged helmet and carried a trident at his own wedding? 'Didn't notice but I did check my hub caps on the way out!! AJJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Clark Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 A couple of weeks ago I reported a bride 25 minutes late ; yesterday's was 20 minutes. How about a competition, and the one with the latest recorded bride at the end of the year gets a prize? (A case of something liquid perhaps! ) Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Contrabombarde Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 In Namirembe Cathedral, Kampala, where I have been able to play the organ from to time, they have hourly weddings from 8am through to 5pm every Saturday. With that schedule they can't afford to run late, but they have a "timeliness deposit" of 30,000 Ugandan schillings, refundable if the bride is less than 10 minutes late. That works out at £10, but is a sizeable sum to many people. Perhaps we should introduce the concept here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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