The wandering organist

I can't believe how long it has taken for bookings to start coming in again after the 2020 lock-up of every church in the Kingdom. However, at long last I got  asked to play somewhere other than Brighton. OK, I have played here before, but it's still a change of scene. I played at Heene Church   on Sunday last. Heene is  a part of Worthing that predates Worthing. The word apparently means "high", it is the site of the old windmill (long gone) and is on the only high ground for some distance around. About 30' above sea-level, since you ask. The organ is still working, still uncleaned (last work was done in 1966, so it's a bit dusty in there), but the electronic "concert organ" has been taken out of service, and there seem to be no plans to plug it in again. (Just a couple of photoes to entertain. The organ facade was redesigned in 1966 to allow maximum sound to percolate from the chamber to the nave, as there is almost no egress from the west side. Al...

Well, not quite free, but playing at a church again. After 4 months, I finally got my little fingers on the keyboard of a real organ. And it was the lovely Bevingdon of St Mary, Kemptown . I've been attending services, but only via the internet. Not the same. Better than nothing, but not the same. I've posted photoes of St Mary's before, but this time I took some pictures during the service (still only virtual for the congregation) as I was able to wander around without disturbing anyone. So here's a small selection. And, just to show we're an inclusive church, the 'concelebrant', Magnus, who's a sweety, and very good in church.

Since January this year, I have been titular organist at St Botolph's church, Heene, in Worthing, so my wanderings have been reduced somewhat. My monthly wander to Holy Spirit , Southsea continues, and on the Sunday after Easter (known as "Low" Sunday, probably because of the number in the congregation is low) wandered with Cantores Vagantes to Salisbury Cathedral, one of England's gems. A "Father" Willis, built in 1876 and rebuilt with minimal change in 1934. Taking choir practice every week is a tie, but can be very rewarding. Today, I managed to overcome the missing pedal note (booked for repair in a week) and played a piece before the service on the extra organ, an electronic by Eminent. Widor's 5th Symphony, the 4th movement, a quiet one for strings and a solo 4' flute which can't be played on the pipe organ (no 4' flute). On this site , scroll down the page til you see 4 Adagio. It's the most gorgeous miniature and should be be...

A few weeks back the Churchwardens of St Botolph's, Heene, slightly twisted my arm and I agreed to take over as Organist & Choirmaster from next January, carrying on with the 2nd & 4th Sundays I had already agreed to do, with choir practices before those Sundays. Last night I turned up, having been told that the PCC would be meeting the previous Tuesday to confirm my appointment, and that they would tell the choir. I had also said that a 6-month trial period - for both parties - would be sensible. Bless them, they've only gone and appointed me from 1st October, whilst letting me carry on with the other churches who have already booked me. This flummoxed me a little, and I didn't get off to the best start with the choir practice. Very kind, but perhaps asking me? I am not complaining, just expressing the flummoxisation. Their website is this one: http://stbotolphsheene2015.com/ and beware of imitations. There are at least two other sites which purport to be the ...

There really isn't much you can say, other than nowadays the C of E would make them take it down and re-do it straight. The organ pipes, on the other hand, were straight. At least, the bits on display. It's a bit of a cheat, actually, because the side towers' pipes should poke over the top of the case, but Henry Willis (I imagine it was HW 4, his firm put the organ in in 1963) mitred the pipes so they didn't. It was impossible to get a picture of this, but at the top of the pipes they put a 45-degree mitre back into the organ so the pipes were full-length but not poking up. I suspect an architect who didn't ask and didn't believe in talking to organ builders. The photo of the church (Chesterfield PC) and the organ (north transept) were taken this last weekend when I wandered up there (207 miles).That's almost olympic-class wandering. The organ is quite loud by the altar under the crossing, but by virtue of its position, in the nave it's almost subd...

I have spent two-and-a-half hours putting together a dossier of documents from the internet to find out if I and the Revenue have been wrong these last 21 years that I've been filling out (or in? In, I think.) the self-assessment forms. This, together with the other hours I have spent talking with priests and a diocesan employee, has convinced me that the commandment to describe me (and all other organists in the Diocese of Chichester) as employed by every church we play for, is based on a very one-sided opinion . There has been no change of interpretation by HMRC, no new guidelines. I spoke with the employee, who was unwilling to meet or change his mind without a decision in writing from HMRC, something I don't know how to achieve as HMRC only allows you to phone them, and it costs 12p a minute whilst you spend 3 minutes listening to their exhortations to "do it online" and 40 minutes waiting to speak to a real human. Not a postal address anywhere on their site. ...

Back again to St John, Findon this morning, and a Fambly Service which, with voluntaries (Bach, von Paradis arr Macdonald, and Charpentier) thrown in free, worked out at £12.50 per hymn. To dark and wet to take a picture of a splendid pine tree with all its cones on, so will try to pop back soon and get it before they get blown/rained off their branches. Lovely to look at whilst I sat in the car, listening to A Point of View, with Howard Jacobson on Difficulty . Update on the Revenue situation: Despite having called them twice, and been promised a 72-hour (3-day, to you and me) callback twice, I'm still waiting for them. Apparently they don't have enough Technical Experts any more. Bearing in mind my own experience of DWP Voluntary Release schemes, this doesn't surprise me. Recently they offfered VR to all the computer experts whilst advertising for more. We now have no-one actually closer than 20 miles away to sort out any server problems. Oh well. Only 21 months to go.

A trip to London one hot July afternoon, to play for that high art form, the service of Choral Evensong, with Wyndcliffe Voices and Philip Drew. St John, Holland Road was the destination, invited by the church's organist, Paul Joslin. I had visited the church about 30 years ago and knew it as the last stone-vaulted building to be built in London. Built from 1885 to 1910 the website is worth a look, and explains some interesting little oddities, like the floor-level. Walking in, the immediate impression is "wow". We arrived after another service had finished and incense was still lingering. In the history of this church, that was nothing new! An estate agent's blurb about a flat for sale next door: " Holland Road is close to the green open spaces of Holland Park and the Shepherd's Bush's Westfield shopping centre " which made me smile. The organ has no case, and is almost unphotographable, being 50' above floor-level. The origina...

A friend of mine chooses the ties he wears on Sundays by the liturgical colour of the day - predominantly green in the Sundays of Trinity, gold for Easter and Christmas, red for Martyrs - and, nowadays, Whitsunday - and so on. Whilst I have a large number of ties, they don't seem to have a predominating colour, being mostly musical notation or instruments (Christmasses became a little predictable a while back!). And then, about three years ago, I spotted a multi-pack of socks in Marks and Spencer and my problem was solved - liturgically appropriate socks. Unfortunately, the green pair has had rather more wear than the others and has gone into holes, so here is a tribute to the set before they start, one by one, to go through. I had thought to take pictures of them actually being worn, but it was an unusual day, quite summery and warm.

Danehill, Parish Church of All Saints'. Now, that's not something you might expect to find in a small parish church in the depths of East Sussex. Taken from the east the console is behind the red ochre doors. The manual compass is an octave short of normal (nipped off the top end) and the pedals only have two rather than two-and-a-half octaves. Despite this, it was pretty standard, the builder (in about 1892), Wordsworth of Leeds, aligned the pedalboard so that it is almost in the standard position. Because of the lack of depth in the loft it is impossible to get a view which shows both manuals and pedals. From the console you get a superb view of the reredos, a pretty stunning creation with more gold leaf. This was taken from just beside the priest's stall in the choirstalls, return stalls to save length. The service was BCP Mattins, straight from the book, with Ferial responses (accompanied), Venite and Jubilate to chants, and four traditional hymns. A ...

Well, not quite, in fact that headline contains about as much truth as a tabloid red-top article. The badge However, the Bishop of Portsmouth did - in effect - cancel the Choral Evensong planned for Pentecost at the Church of the Holy Spirit, Southsea, by scheduling the presentation of the first ever St Thomas Awards in Portsmouth Diocese on the evening of Pentecost at 6pm. My friend, Philip Drew, was one of the first 12 to receive one of these, and over 30 people from his church went along to see him receive it. Post-service, just before the bun-fight Very pleased that Philip should have this, well-deserved. Not eating, talking! Choral evensong resumes on 5th June with Walford Davies' Chant Service setting.

The lack of the fine organ in Finedon was the only regret. It was lovely. Path from gate to the North Door . A fine day, lovely weather, and up to 23 C. Only days ago it was 8 C. The organ behaved itself, as did the electricity supply, and a nice, very ordinary parish eucharist was celebrated. The only thing of note was that a bee landed on Revd Bucqué and seems to try to have some fun with the wireless microphone she was wearing. Nothing else to report. Just have a couple of photographs. I am so lucky to live so close to such lovely countryside. View of Lych gate towards the Downs Tree in blossom

It's 6:40pm and I've taken my pullover off, it still smells of the incense at this morning's service. Feast of Title fo r St James' North Lancing , so they pushed the (incense) boat out. Heaven knows how the choir sang, they were disappearing behind the cloud of holiness at the high altar. One of the choir had his surplice on back-to-front. And the organ greeted me in its usual way, when I switched it on, with a careful "parp" from 8' C on the Swell Cromorne. One day it will just carry on, not just the little 1-second musical fart. Looking in the tuning book, the chest is inaccessible for maintenance so when notes stick on, the tuner just slips something under the pipe to stop it sounding. But the thurifer certainly made sure we were in the odour of sanctity today. The bipolar cherry tree was in blossom again. Someone stuck a twig from a different tree into a crack, so it now produces blossoms of two colours. Rather nice. Photograph copyright (c) ...

Friday's post brought the first bill from the new managing agents of the flats where I live. Paying half-yearly, I was expecting it to be about £900-1,000 as there is a lot of work which the previous managing agents just didn't do, we've a lot of catching up to do. I had enough saved, but not much extra. How does this relate to holidays, I hear you ask? Well, the bill was just under £500, which means that I have the money to go with Cantores Vagantes to Derby Cathedral for a week in August. (BTW, not the Estonian one, the one run by Philip Drew.) I like that church, the organ is a classic Compton rebuild of a Hill (with a little tinkering since)  http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=N02750  with a lovely little 2-manual by Cousins in the Retro-Choir (that doesn't mean a choir which looks or sings in a 1950s way)  http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=N05294  which is used for weekday services. A small specification, but every stop counts. It needed a little ...

I played at a church which has featured here before, which again I will not identify. Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa maxima est, but I was away last weekend (in BSE) and preparing for that occupied my thoughts in the Octave of Easter. Thus I didn't bother the Director of Music to let me have the music for today until 7am on Wednesday morning. (I switch off of an evening, especially after a heavy day to work.) When it arrived, with a chilly reproof for not asking before if I needed it before, it was photographs (not scans) of copies from a phone, which had (undetected) stripped out half of the stuff I needed, probably because of the size of each one. These sent by the DoM at gone 10pm on Thursday night.  It was only today that I pointed this out, having had that chilly email already I didn't want to bother the DoM because it seemed that the DoM thought that these were all I needed. It was then that the DoM phone was checked and corroborated my story. I mean, there's sca...

Found some Easter joy at Holy Spirit, Southsea. Stanford in C and Walford Davies' O Sons and Daughters, followed by Preston's Alleluyas, resurrected after some years' neglect. Thank you Philip Drew for letting me play. A picture from Easter Day, 2014.

Where's Easter gone? Even the normal fourth Sunday (trad. lang., Martin Shaw) got displaced for a Family Service this morning. The 8:30 said service over-ran by 15 minutes, the 9:30 started 10 minutes late, I didn't know the hymns til the board was put up two minutes before the service started, the Gloria was sung to the Thorne setting but the words in the service book were the "Peruvian" Gloria, and the Agnus Dei was sung (metrically) to Repton. About the only thing we didn't have was "If I was [were! Conditional!] a wriggly worm". The Clergy are throwing away the Church's traditional music without noticing or caring. There were five hymns in all, three were generic "alleluia" type, so where were The Day of Resurrection, Jesus Lives, Love's Redeeming Work is Done, The Strife is O'er, Ye Choirs of New Jerusalem, to name only a few? (Quite pleased Hail Thee, Festival Day didn't make it.) All classics, and unless we introduce th...

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 ...

Some weekends, there's time to be leisurely, do some practice, read a little, cook something. Others just turn into mayhem. But even in the mayhem, there can be little oases. Yesterday was one such. As I rushed round and tried to get everything done the day before yesterday, I looked forward to an afternoon where I could just chat about organs and everything or nothing with one of my oldest friends. And so it turned out. From about 4pm yesterday til he had to depart to play for the Marian devotion which was replacing Evening Prayer (Mothering Sunday), we talked organs, I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again , the editing of the organ part by the previous organist to play Blow in F (coming up at Low Sunday on the new Harrison organ in St Edmundsbury Cathedral) from that particular copy and, ooh, all sorts. It seemed longer than a couple of hours, and made me so grateful that I could stop for a while. One of the things I was asked to do over the weekend was to transpose the Iri...

It would seem that I have started a race to summer. A church for whom I play asked me for dates up to June, and I thought they were getting well ahead and nicely organised. I looked in my diary and found that, between then and today, I have only four Sundays free. The same church has got back to me today, and asked for dates through to August! Now that is  organised - no pun intended. I do enjoy playing for different churches. For decades I was attached to one console or another, from my first job at St Peter's, Acton Green at age 14, to the last at St Bendybus, Hove. The variety of organs was huge: from 2-manuals and 10 stops (Peter Collins, 1974) to three and 70 stops (Noël Mander, 1964). They've been far too loud, too soft, on the west wall, buried in a chancel cavity, and, just occasionally, right. My favourite organ was St Augustine's, in Brighton. With three manuals, 42 stops it was certainly not small, but the sounds it produced belied the nameplate on it - Morga...