Ronald Shillingford Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 Crematoriums are huge fun. You get to do tons of practice, can have a cup of tea every 25 minutes, it's lovely and warm, and you can play the same piece 53 times a week. Best of all, mine has a shiny new Allen with a bolt-on midi unit containing 5000 voices.... I wish my experience 20ish years ago had been as comfortable. I did two six week stints during university summer vacs. The timing of the commitals was such that you were lucky to get 5 mins between services...cup of tea every 25 minutes?...pure luxury! Rather than a shiny new Allen, I had to make do with a Wyvern that was pretty rubbish even by 1984 standards. Mind you, it did have its interesting moments, such as arriving at 8.30 am and being told that I was playing '633 Squadron' at 11.00. I never played for a videoed commital, but do remember quite a few instances of mourners appearing at my side in the galley in order to take photographs. Mind you, I'm sure we've all had our fair share occasional offices where some aspect of or incedent during the service has left us with a memory that we can never fully expunge. New topic anyone? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronald Shillingford Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I hold the post as both Church Organist and Chapel organist to a large Crematorium in Birmingham. So I do a a lot of playing for services. One of my pet hates is when the mourners don't sing the hymns whilst your doing all the hard work. So what do you do in that situation especially when you have C & A 9 times in a day ? The answer is to put the organ on auto pilot if you have one or play the bloody hymns faster. You might even get a cup of tea in if your lucky. As Xmas was on a Sunday mercifully It was just two Services So I had more time to spend with my Family. On the pay of Crematorium Organist's I think it's disgusting that Councils won't pay the ISM rates ! We all work hard considering the job is repetitive and in a insenstive environment. I am paid less then £10.00 per service for my job. Some Councils are even paying less then that ! I wish something could be done but I don't know how we can take on these Zealots ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitram789 Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 Sorry, I couldn't resist replying to pcnd5584's visions of bagpipes playing A.G on Top of the Pops, which was in 1972! I was a member of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Military Band (non bagpipes). Although the No1 hit was before my I joined I did spend 16yrs with them, so I do know about some of the difficulties pipers encounter in playing the pipes. Its not easy to control 3 drone reeds plus the chanter reed, tuning can become a problem just like any reed stop. Yes they are very loud close up, and even I at times would have liked to put them all in a swell box and close the shutters but listen to a good band, albeit from a distance it might change your mind. As for Amazing Grace even we used to slip in the odd 7th or 9th if we thought we could get away with it!! I don't care much for the Glasgow kiss either-Scottish wife for the last 23 years-OUCH!! Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcnd5584 Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 Ha! ha! Could they ever sound like the last gasps of a dying haggis? I wonder what Billy Connolly would make of them. (Something quite rude, probably....) Incidentally, apropos an earlier stream in this thread, I have heard of another 'unsuitable' song played at a crematorium: Great Balls of Fire by Jerry Lee Lewis. Oh........ my ........ God. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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