The downside of deputising
It's not often I feel so dispirited I have no wish to play, but after Sunday's service I couldn't face even a run-through of some choral accompaniments coming up all too soon.
I will leave the church unidentified. The Director of Music was off sick and the choir had been cancelled as no rehearsal could take place during the week. Two children and adults turned up. The person taking the service had a strong foreign accent, was wearing the microphone either some distance from his mouth or under some thick clothing, and the acoustics prevented me from understanding more than one word in 10. At zero notice it was suggested I play something during communion - fortunately I had brought a piece which I had prepared, in case - and the full music, harmonised edition of the service setting was only found for me on the day, not one which I knew. And the voluntary: it went ok until my great, flat, left foot plonked itself on bottom e on the last chord. The piece was, of course, dear reader, in d. I really cannot forgive myself that one.
I won't go into details of misunderstandings caused by the service music having introductions which were apparently left out by the regular DoM (but not crossed out in the copy provided). Complete cockup springs to mind, and not all my fault. Why is it some churches never have service booklets for visiting organists, with or without annotation? The usual "we've always done it this way" is not helpful when one plays at about 10 different churches of three or four different denominations.
Oh well. At least I earned my fee by playing.
I will leave the church unidentified. The Director of Music was off sick and the choir had been cancelled as no rehearsal could take place during the week. Two children and adults turned up. The person taking the service had a strong foreign accent, was wearing the microphone either some distance from his mouth or under some thick clothing, and the acoustics prevented me from understanding more than one word in 10. At zero notice it was suggested I play something during communion - fortunately I had brought a piece which I had prepared, in case - and the full music, harmonised edition of the service setting was only found for me on the day, not one which I knew. And the voluntary: it went ok until my great, flat, left foot plonked itself on bottom e on the last chord. The piece was, of course, dear reader, in d. I really cannot forgive myself that one.
I won't go into details of misunderstandings caused by the service music having introductions which were apparently left out by the regular DoM (but not crossed out in the copy provided). Complete cockup springs to mind, and not all my fault. Why is it some churches never have service booklets for visiting organists, with or without annotation? The usual "we've always done it this way" is not helpful when one plays at about 10 different churches of three or four different denominations.
Oh well. At least I earned my fee by playing.
Well dearest P, at least it might be a story for my book?
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