I have an interview next week for an organ playing job so I need to brush up on my ignorance of stuff like the church year, what special day there are and what hymns they have on those days, and anything else I might need to know.

any advice please.

Thanks

Ben again.

http://www.cofe.anglican.org/worship/litur.../lectfront.html should give you a good start!

To be honest, although its worth knowing all that kind of information, its not the sort of thing you're expected to remember heaps of. If the church is a member of the RSCM, they publish a quarterly guide to suitable hymns/psalms/anthems and organ music suitable for particular Sundays, covering a variety of styles and music suitable as to where your church is 'on the candle'.

I've done a few of these interviews on both sides of the fence, and more important has been how in tune you are with the vicar, congregation and how much of a team player you will be. Above all, my advice would be to be honest in all your questions; much better to admit that that is something you don't know about, that to try and bluff through it. If guitars and worship bands are your real strength and enthusiasms, probably not best to pretend to be enthusiatic for a return of Compline and A and M (1952). And if 1662 and the English Hymnal are your real interests and the church is all singing/dancing Graham Kendrick, you might not enjoy it that much. Remember, that they want to know what you know and what you can do, rather than be looking to trip you up with things you can't do.

Always worth asking how much support they give for the organ in terms of tuning and fault repairs.

Good luck!

If you have one, a decent hymn book like NEH (New English Hymnal) will do. They arrange the hymns in order according to liturgical seasons and give advice on certain hymns for certain times of the year.
Possibly a copy of the church lectionary?

Hope this helps

Those in the know will roll their eyes and tut at you if you are so silly as to worry about preparing canticles when it is a Communion service (or other traps for the uninitiated who come to all this stuff late in life).

I know what you mean about needing some sort of a primer - I think the best way is just to affect indifference if you make a howler as I do, frequently.

Best of luck with the interview. I wish someone would apply for my job.

In most churches that I have been involved with, the hymns have been chosen by the Priest, Lay Reader or some other designated person rather than the Organist. Hymns also tend to be chosen to fit in with particular readings or themes which the Organist may not always know about in advance.

If you are lucky you will have plenty of notice of what is required, (our hymns are generally chosen a season at a time), but if they are less well organised you may not get to find out what you are playing until a day or two before services. Being a quick learner and having a wide repertoire is therefore important.

I don't know what sort of congregation you will have, but many older congregations don't like change, (especially if it means singing more quickly than they are used to), so it is good to be adaptable.

I would also suggest that you attend their Sunday morning service this week if at all possible to see how they do things, how well organised they are, how they like to sing, what sort of music they like, etc, etc.

This may sound like a silly question, but I assume you have past experience of leading hymn singing?

Good luck!

SB

oh Mel

Lots of good advice so far, Junfrauregalbass. One other thing I would suggest,, is this.

If you are familiar with the church and the regular services they have, ok.

If not, find out what they normally do on a Sunday. You may find there is a website and you can do a bit of homework from that. Family communion? free-style service with lots of hymns? occasional matins or evensong? You may of course have already thought of this, if so apologies! But it may help to have some idea of the kind of thing you would need to do.

Regarding the church's year, you can to a large extent learn on the job. I did my first organist job at about 14, and although I was a reasonably competent player, (and had some idea of Advent - Christmas, Lent- Easter ) much of the other stuff I learnt as I went along. A couple of years later I was put in charge of choosing hymns month by month in another church - which was also a great training ground. No internet help in the dark ages!

Good luck. Keep us posted.

Yes, very good advice. At my last post we went for a couple of Sundays, one prior to applying, the other before the interview. We met a number of people (all very friendly), without disclosing who I was or that I had applied for the job. When it came to the interview itself, there was much hilarity among the committee that the only person I hadn't met so far was the vicar.

I wonder, though, how often congregations - and choirs for that matter - really take note of how the music is chosen to fit the theme of the day.

I recall a couple of choir members saying to me a few years ago that they thought it was a terrific coincidence that the words of the anthem we had sung that morning were the same as part of the gospel reading.

Thanks for all your help
I am the organist at a church at the moment and have been for around two years.
I don't think I need to choose the Hymns for the church I have an interview at but I thought it would be good if I know what hymns to expect on some days and other stuff. things like not having the last verse of hark the herald till christmas day... that sort of thing.

Or of "O come, all ye faithful" perhaps?