The other thread was about the pedal variations.

I do actually have bad dreams about being an organist. Often I'm at the console of a large cathedral organ about 30 seconds before the Magnificat starts and I discover that all the pistons have been reset to useless combinations. No amount of flicking through all the other channels will locate my own settings!

In real life, about 25 years ago, I turned up to play for a friend's wedding and found I'd left the music 35 miles away. Luckily there was a spare in the cupboard!!

Anybody else want to own up to nocturnal or real-life troubles??

I'm a beggar for putting up the wrong hymn number, or putting up the number then realising I either can't play the music, or don't have the music!

i have one every sunday

especially in the gloria. i get really nervous and i hate it when the order of service changes and i dont get an order of service, or im not warned and im sitting there,as the congregation stare waiting for the gloria!
im stuck in lent!

yes it has happened
but i usually do stuff wrong all the time

ill get better with experience any how

i hope!

In the run up to Christmas once I dreamed that I was playing Bach's 'Wachet auf' but someone had removed the organ stool so I was trying to do it standing on the pedals - and the organ had about 6 manuals with the lowest one at chin height! Fortunately I woke up quite quickly - what a relief!

Again the Gloria.

I once came in before the prayer (During the absolution)

and so get nervous at this point of every ****** service

I once had one hymn showing as 364 on the left side of the church, and 346 on the right!
The minister spotted it an announced that those on the left of the church would sing 364 and those on the right 346. Just to embarrass me I think

I felt sorry for the organist at Emmanuel URC before their lovely organ had a rebuild by Harrison and Harrison. The Open Diapason developed a cipher on Eb and the keys of the hymns meant that this clashed with everything.

The organ at Kennett often runs out of air, but as its a little church even though you've only got 5 stops to use, if you limit yourself to three its fine.

Other nightmare: walking into church and being greeted by the Churchwarden with the words "Are you the lady whose playing the organ today?" I had no music, had never played that organ yet fifteen minutes later was commencing on the first hymn.

Why didn't you just say no?

I've had the occasional glitch, for example the vicar announcing a hymn which (due to a typo on the hymn list) we hadn't practiced at quire practice. Fair enough, but then looking at it I immediately saw that no-one knew the tune (one of those annoying 'worship songs' which is written out in Mayhew-style as a very awkward and rhythmically peculiar arrangement - fine for me, not so fine for The Gathered Faithful). I had to get off the console and wander around to the front of the nave (in my stockinged feet) to tell the vicar we couldn't sing it because no-one knew it. A rather bizarre situation in the middle of Divine Worship. He huffed and puffed and went onto the Gospel Acclamation without further ado...

I had been "volunteered" by the priest taking the service! Obviously my husband has more faith in my playing than I have and knew I wouldn't let the Church down. Even the DoM said he knew I would do it. Have I got "mug" tattooed on my forehead.

I had a slightly similar experience in my teens, playing at a big, important town-centre church where I knew nobody - my teacher had volunteered me to play a midweek service. I was given a list of hymns from a big hard-back hymn book. No problem sight reading any of this - but just hope there are no queries - no time to check.

Service starts ok and about 10 minutes in Vicar announces second hymn and I play over. Halfway through the first verse it becomes painfully apparent that no-one knows this hymn, much less the tune. Vicar calls a halt.
"They don't know this tune " (oh really ?!)

"Play the next one"

(Does he mean the next hymn? or the next tune in the book - surely not?)

"The tune on the next page"

(oh no - how do you explain this if he hasn't realised...)
(me) erm - it's not in the same metre ...
"what do you mean ?


I kid you not.

How about sounding the Contra Fagotto while mounting or dismounting the bench? (Funny thing that, didn't realise it smelled like the after effects of baked beans and pork!!!).

Made the saints' eyes water, what with it clouding the quire rather like incense clouds!!!



Then GC awakes and it was all maya... just a dream...

Nitrous-ly,
GC

Oh dear my cuz, I hope the varnish was left untarnished! No greater sin than sullying the church fabric methinks. Get thee into the confessional and give me 20 Hail Marys.

Wot only 20 hail marys?

*Note to self - No more liver and onions before mass*

Remindingly,
GC

I used to hate the Gloria moment, too, but I have trained our ministers to announce it now. Makes life much easier.

The other thing I had to train them to do was not to interrupt my playing before the service with a loud "Good Morning" into the microphone. It tended to make me jump and I would instinctively take my hands off the keyboard in the middle of whatever I was playing, and then I felt embarrassed because it sounded stupid. I asked them why they didn't just wait until I had finished, and they weren't even aware they were doing it - I'm quite happy to be background music that no-one listens to, but I would like the chance to play a perfect cadence at the end!

[quote name='Alison' date='Apr 19 2007, 10:24 AM' post='498124']
[quote name='AntonPiano' post='496724' date='Apr 17 2007, 06:37 PM']


... I have trained our ministers ...

[/quote]

GC should be so lucky - you get to train your ministers!!! Sounds like a new thread topic.

Wish you well.

Admiringly,
GC

Guildford Cathedral, 1975. My first cathedral evensong. Sumsion Mag and Nunc and suchlike. No real problems - until the Nunc. I press Swell 2, expecting nice quiet 'lieblichy' sound to emanate. No chance. Out came the tuba et al. Total panic on my part; hadn't a clue. Couldn't see where the tuba stop was and it didn't seem to be where you'd imagine it would be, so it stayed on until the Gloria. Apparently, it turned out that a chorister had flicked a switch just below the console when admiring the instrument before the service. I learnt my lesson: no choristers under the age of 21 allowed anywhere near the console before services!

What makes you think that those of us over 21 are any better?

Altogether now: "What does this button do?"

A fellow organist's bete noire used to be the minister who would walk up behind him two minutes before the service was due to begin, (and while he was in the middle of either a voluntary or an improvisation) and want a vital word about something. On one occasion he was heard to stop on a diminished 7th chord, turn round and say "and how would you feel if I did that to you in the middle of your sermon?"

That's excellent! Lesson no 1, don't worry that the priest is in the middle of putting Vestements on have the conversation and make it very clear that when you are playing before the service that is not the time for a "quick word".

On Easter I had set the organ up for the last hymn, registrations all prepared when a book came flying off the music stand and hit the manuals during the dissmissal! ooops.

Aagh!

It appears that a number of orgainist nightmares involve relationships with clergy, then you ask the clergy the same question and its a case of nightmares with organists. Now is this a case of Organists are from Venus and Clergy from Mars? I'm sure a number of these things arise due to the fact that both parties want to do things at their very best, and there are differences of opinion.

IMHO The best relationships cme where the day-to-day running of music is in the DoMs hands with the understanding they've got to listen to the imput of the clergy, particulary the incumbant who can step in if there is a problem. Likewise Clergy need to listen to any advice that the DoM gives eg, yes we can do this with a months notice, but not this Sunday.

It sounds like most of you have good working relationships with your ministry team. It just seems a pity that there are these two terribly dedicated teams who keep clashing over things.

jod, give it up. we've had this discussion before and the threads got locked. please don't try and start another flame war by stoking this up again. if you persist, I shall be forced to alert the moderators to your (probably unintentional) trolling.

When that happened to me it bounced off the lower manuals with a 'squawk' and landed on the pedal board.
I then leaned over to retrieve it , hit my head on the lower manual, and there was another squawk !

So these "squawks" were they diatonic or chromatic?

Definingly,
GC

Cacophonical

Sorry... I've just had a gutful of hubby slating Church Musicians this week. My Church musician Bete Noir!

QUOTE

On Easter I had set the organ up for the last hymn, registrations all prepared when a book came flying off the music stand and hit the manuals during the dissmissal! ooops.

Don't worry I did the same thing too. And the Mass before that i put my hand on the great while trying to retreve a pencil i'd dropped through the pedals

And once i actually forgot to turn the organ on.

Yes, I've done that - and forgotten to draw stops.. LOL

I was once singing in a uni chapel choir when the organ, though off, ciphered loudly in the middle of the sermon. The organist and master of music held his hands high in the air, while one of the tenors had to dash round the back to switch off at the mains.


And I was at another uni chapel a few years ago when the blower failed in the middle of the second hymn and the organ died an agonising death. The organist was frantically pushing in stops to make the air last out and just got to the end, but it sounded dire - funniest thing I have ever heard. It finally convinced the uni to go ahead with a £2million rebuild.

Great (or is that Swell). My organist nightmare(s) on a Sunday morning are aged 6 and 8 and as their dad is taking the service could start WW3 in the back pew (where they're watching DVDs) at any moment.

I was singing the solo part of the boy in Elijah some years ago with a local choral society, when the organ failed completely, and we sang the first few numbers with the grand piano, not knowing if the *cough* temperamental instrument *cough* would start again.
I sing with the same organ regularly now and it behaves itself most of the time ... I think it's had some attention in the meantime.

Well done for getting through that one noodle, and you've pointed out hee that what looks like an organist nightmare can quickly proove to be one for the whole choir.

I don't think you need time off, sounds like after the glitches you coped admirably.