to be considering postponing DS3's Christening (again) - because I can't find a half decent organist???

[FAQ]

DS3 was going to be Christened in May - but our vicar was off ill, I wasn't well either, and it was cancelled.

It's now been re-booked for the 30th November. I've got the church hall booked for the afternoon so we'll have a faith lunch (bring and share) afterwards. Nothing else has been done yet, invites haven't been sent out, cake hasn't been made etc etc.

I'm the organist normally - but due to the position of the font - I can't really play for the service. I'm not a great organist - but I consider myself to be half decent. I had a fantastic organist that played for DS2's Christening and want someone of a half decent standard for DS3's.

So far my only 2 options can't do it, a 3rd may be able to (but tbh he's really not that good and lots of the congregation have to come up to me and commented about the slow hymns/wrong notes etc when he's played) - he's a really lovely guy though so I don't want to upset him.

My only other option is someone who is really a guitar player, with a little bit of piano knowledge, when she's covered for me before she plays the piano (and she herself admits piano isn't her thing and she struggles with it - and it shows).

I really want an organist, have some fantastic hymns in mind (the perks of being the organist - I get to pick all the hymns for my DS's christening ) , but don't want them played on the piano/badly.

I'm sorely tempted to postpone until I can get someone decent (my 2nd option would have been delighted to do it - but will be Norway and Sweden examining for the ABRSM)......

If I cancel now the only thing that has to be done is the extra reading added in (they usually drop one for the Baptism service) and un-book the hall........

lol kitbit

This is my favourite organ blunder - hope it works!

AND SHOULD ADD IS NOT ME!!!!!

That is brilliant tortoise - I'm sure I've sung with whoever that was

Sorry FAQ forgot to respond to your op. If you can't find someone you're happy with postpone. If it goes wrong it will spoil all your memories of what should be a very special day. DH and I met through church choirs and our wedding was referred to a 'the concert', but for us the music played a very important part of the day, so know how you feel.

We had an organ/organist quandry for our wedding. The normal organist was terrible - often resorting to a single line when his lh 'gave up' due to the number of wrong notes. He was quite happy to stand down - so we asked a friend. He recommended organ pieces appropriate for the likely quality of the organ (which he had not seen and was 200 miles from home town, near my parents' house) and we went with quite simple works, even though he was quite capable of playing something very complicated and flashy on a 'proper' organ.

We checked the organ out a couple of weeks before the wedding - we noticed that one note was sticking a little, but it was going back up again without too much problem - we informed organist and he was OK.

Wedding went fine.

We later found out that he had arrived early for the wedding and had a go on the organ - unfortunately it had been raining quite a bit in the two weeks previously, and the wood had swelled even more, so that the note (a B flat, quite essential to a number of hte works he was playing) not only stuck down, but also took the adjoining A down with it. The only thing he could think to do at short notice was to disable the key - internal parts of the organ weren't very accessible and he ended up poking around underneath with the Church Warden's staff to try to push off a key connector. It dropped off a bit more than he had anticipated, but at least it stopped the key sticking down and taking the A with it. Unfortunately, the key didn't work, but we didn't notice (neither did very musical inlaws)

There must be someone around who you could find at this amount of notice that would be able to play well for you. Unfortunately, too far away for any of my contacts to be able to help - try through Cambridge colleges, Organist society etc.

Best of luck

LOL Tortoise - that's funny

It's immense isn't it Cali! Every so often I listen to it if I feel depressed and it never fails to cheer me up! The last chord is the best bit as the page turner or organist finally relocates the 'transpose' button, and the chord slides up to D major!

I have to play the "abridged" versions of the Widor - as my hands aren't big enough to play the proper version

and I can't for the life of me remember the name, or the composer (possibly Messaien??)

but it starts

E flat E flat F G flat F E flat D flat E flat D flat E flat (right hand only) - was on the Grade 8 organ syllabus about 12yrs ago......then gets horrendously difficult with lots of 3/4 note chords played very quickly with both hands........seem to recall we had to cut a few notes out of that for my Grade 8 exam too

or maybe it was Langlais??

It was French anyhow

I LOVE the organ cockup thanks for that! I've also saved it for future chortling! I particularly love the stunned silence immediately after the last chord - every performance I've ever heard has seen the audience leap up and applaud practically before it's over, but obviously this lot were too gobsmacked to move!

Alain - Litanies from Trois Pieces.

ah well I was close - how could I possibly have forgotten - took me ages to learn.

Looked at it a year or two ago thinking I would "relearn" it - took one look at it and wondered how the hell I'd managed it in the first place

One day when the DS's are older I will start going over to the church and actually start practicing again.............

Actually I got the first notes wrong didn't - just watching it here - damn can't believe I used to be able to play that!!!!

that's the first time I've actually heard/seen it played all the way through - obviously my teacher played bits of it to me - but never the whole thing.

Best thing I've ever done organ wise was played Apparition de l'Église Éternelle on the St. Gile's Cathedral Organ in Edinburgh - I remember feeling the vibrations of the organ around me as I played was awesome

Alain never intended those big chords to be playable I understand - the bit with the big diminuendo - it's more of an effect!

just as well really - as my hands couldn't do it

just as well really - as my hands couldn't do it

have not read the entire thread, but OP reminded me of dds christening

we had a lovely private service at local church and paid for an organist.

Well it was hilarious.....we picked some lovely hymns but the organist was absolutely useless full of duff notes and out of time and oh how we chuckled.
Bringing back some happy memories

But hey its your special day and if its not run perfectly, then YANBU to postpone it.

Have a lovely day x

actually I was in regular letter contact with Peter Hurford once upon a time, we shared a taxi from the RCO (I'd been on a day course there) to the train station once. And it was him who introduced me to Herrick Bunney and arranged for me to sit in the organ loft at St. Giles just weeks after the Reiger had been installed.

I shall never forget page turning for Bunney, and during the last hymn in the last verse, at the main Sunday service he put the Whitechapel Bells on - and told everyone afterwards it was me (I was 12 at the time).

Then there was the LOVELY Dennis Townhill (who I amazingly bumped into while in Edinburgh earlier this year), he taught me for a while, after I fell out with Byram-Wigfield (what's he up to these days???) and he became good friends with my parents, remaining in letter contact for a long time. I even have a personally signed copy of his auto-biography that he wrote .

Gosh those were the days, I was hob nobbing with some of the best Organists in Scotland for several years...........and now I hardly know any half decent ones - let alone great ones

My dh has a very special copy of the Langlais Te Deum which Langlais gave him after he page turned for his pupil (who I think he later married) at St Albans Organ Festival. Langlais altered the printed metronome mark, because he said he had 'changed his mind'!

T Byram-Wigfield is DoM at Windsor if I remember correctly!