So the most famous organist in England has handed in his dinner-pail and the funeral is on Tuesday.
Are they going to have the service in St Stephen's with the understudy playing her predecessor out?

Oh no.

Not good enough for Jill Archer.

They must have no less than the organist of Felpersham Cathedral to do the job.
What kind of a message is this sending?
If 'twere me I would tell them to give him the job full-time - then who'd be sorry?

Sorry Mel but I haven't grasped what's going on here - there are obviously some in-house jokes here. Could you start again with words of one syllable please?

Who is the most famous orgainst in England? Is it that chap Ogden who entertains on Radio 2? Where is St Stephen's? Is it Percy Whitlock's old Church in Bourmouth? Who is Jill Archer? Is she Malcolm's wife? Where on earth is Felpersham?

Oh dearie me - the penny has just begun to drop, and I think I'm miles out. Sorry, it's old age and the inevitable dementia setting in. Would I be better thinking in terms of Patricia Greene?

Is Jill Phil's wife? or should I say widow?

Barwick Green perhaps! I'm just guessing..

Lor'! I've always suspected they broke the mould after me but I thought there might be one other organ-playing Archers addict in the land.

Yes, despite never being known to practice, Phil Archer - or now the late Phil Archer- was apparently considered something of a big cheese in Borsetshire musical circles and held 'Basil' the cathedral organist in high esteem. (I'm sure he is mightily flattered )
Velda the sub at St Stephens is being elbowed aside because she is considered to be a bit rubbishy at the console, to make room for this 'Basil' to have the gig.

I am not at all keen on this development.

Either Phil should have trained his sub better, or not been so sniffy about her shortcomings to his beloved.

Organist storylines are a bit thin on the ground in popular culture; I know this kind of sidelining of church musicians is not uncommon in real life (or RL as hardened messageboarders call it) but I felt the incident should be marked and to register my disapproval.
I presume the equivalent of the hefty fee required by the cathedral chap would not be forwarded to poor Velda.
I wonder if she wants a job.....

Quite! well said.

My mum was at school with Gwen Berryman

The soap scriptwriters always like to keep their scripts as close as possible to reality, and then add a few less plausible extras like murders, drownings, factory fires and planes crashing onto the village.

At first sight the Archers script seems to be a little too far from reality; but is it? Perhaps the scriptwriters have studied this subject closely, or perhaps they have inside knowledge? They may even have been watching this very forum over the past few months.

After all, how many people here could truthfully say that it would never happen at their church?

Whilst on the subject, (and speaking as an occasional bell ringer), has anyone else noticed how often television weddings are celebrated with a peal of eight, or even ten bells, with perfect striking, and yet the church doesn't even have a bell tower?

SB

Wasn't there a wedding on Eastenders the other evening where a wedding finished off with the 'happy couple' (who I guess would never have gone to church, nor ever listened to 'classical' music) walking down the centre aisle to the accompaniment of a choir singing the 'Hallelujah' chorus? Not terribly close to reality there, methinks!

Don't see why that's so unrealistic. Plenty of couples who are not churchgoers still hire a church choir for their wedding - and it's entirely reaslitic that Ricky and Bianca (why is 'happy couple' in inverted commas by the way? And what is 'classical' music?) would choose something cheerful and triumphant rather than some of the funereal stuff that gets sung at weddings, chosen by supposed musicians.

'Twould have been more realistic to have been accompanied by Chaz 'n Dave perhaps? Maybe with their hit Rabbi',Rabbi'!.

Calm down, dear!

In 25 years of playing for weddings, I've never known a couple to go out to a choral item. If they don't want anything out of the ordinary, they always want the Mendelssohn Wedding March, so I think I can speak with some experience about what is more likely to be realistic. Going out to the Hallelujah Chorus really isn't!

If you think that Ricky and Bianca are going to be a happy couple for long, then I think you're underestimating the writers of Eastenders!


Good one!

[quote name='Holz Gedeckt' date='Feb 21 2010, 05:22 PM' post='925530']
[quote name='dolcebaby' post='925516' date='Feb 21 2010, 04:50 PM']
[quote name='Holz Gedeckt' post='925507' date='Feb 21 2010, 04:09 PM']
[quote name='Swell Box' post='925481' date='Feb 21 2010, 02:19 PM']
The soap scriptwriters always like to keep their scripts as close as possible to reality...
[/quote]
Wasn't there a wedding on Eastenders the other evening where a wedding finished off with the 'happy couple' (who I guess would never have gone to church, nor ever listened to 'classical' music) walking down the centre aisle to the accompaniment of a choir singing the 'Hallelujah' chorus? Not terribly close to reality there, methinks!
[/quote]

Don't see why that's so unrealistic. Plenty of couples who are not churchgoers still hire a church choir for their wedding - and it's entirely reaslitic that Ricky and Bianca (why is 'happy couple' in inverted commas by the way? And what is 'classical' music?) would choose something cheerful and triumphant rather than some of the funereal stuff that gets sung at weddings, chosen by supposed musicians.
[/quote]
Calm down, dear!

In 25 years of playing for weddings, I've never known a couple to go out to a choral item. If they don't want anything out of the ordinary, they always want the Mendelssohn Wedding March, so I think I can speak with some experience about what is more likely to be realistic. Going out to the Hallelujah Chorus really isn't!

If you think that Ricky and Bianca are going to be a happy couple for long, then I think you're underestimating the writers of Eastenders!

Genuinely mystified as to why you advise me to calm down! Don't think I said anything particularly heated...I feel perfectly calm, but thanks for your concern.

Anway, in many years singing in churches, I have quite often sung choral items as a wedding couple goes out of church. We are lucky that our MD really encourages couples to listen to a wide range of possibilities, including unusual stuff, but then again if they want the traditional stuff in no way are they discouraged. But I agree that it's less usual than organ music. Doesn't make it unrealistic though! Maybe it just makes it a bit original. I agree that if it had been an obscure choral item it would have been very unlikely. But I can just imagine Bianca, who very probably would have heard the Hallelujah Chorus, telling the vicar she doesn't want a load of boring organ stuff, she wants singers yelling their heads off to celebrate her finally getting her man.

But I can just imagine Bianca, who very probably would have heard the Hallelujah Chorus, telling the vicar she doesn't want a load of boring organ stuff, she wants singers yelling their heads off to celebrate her finally getting her man.
[/quote]

I don't watch EE but have been unfortunate enough to see trailers featuring this hoyden, and I can well believe your last comment.

Going back to The Archers, my view is that they wanted Velda out of the way so they can play some ostentatious piece of organ phantasmagoria that the Veldas of this world are unlikely to have at their fingertips at short notice.
I hope I'm wrong.
Can't wait for the funeral. It is likely to be as fuzzy-edged and improbable as Phil Archer's death scene.
Bring it on.

Should that not be the 'allaayluya corus?

SB

I'm sure there's a rhyme with Rickaaay! in there somewhere!

Still, it's all making a joyful noise unto the Lord isn't it?

You find B'yankaa's voice joyful?

Wuju Adam 'n Eve it. I fawt she 'ad a big norf 'n sarf meself.

SB

..as joyful as a badly tuned Krummhorn

Crisis in Ambridge over non-payal of a stand-down fee to Velda? Ooh, I can't wait.


A good send-off with Lefébure-Wély's Sortie in E flat perhaps? Or an improvised toccata on Barwick Green?

Not that I know anything about this series, you understand, but with the wife being a fan one it's difficult to avoid picking up the odd snippet.


Or as said wife informs me, "Eastenders is just a lot of unpleasant people being thoroughly nasty to each other."

Perhaps I should audition...

Or .......

Crisis in Ambridge ...... Cathedral Organist walks out after being asked to play from Songs of Fellowship.

SB

haha.


Or as said wife informs me, "Eastenders is just a lot of unpleasant people being thoroughly nasty to each other."

VH - my OH says something virtually identical.

I played something along those lines during the communion at my grand-mother's requiem - not that anyone noticed!

I believe you, Vox; thousands wouldn't.

As for crisis, that WOULD be a crisis by Ambridge standards - we must take our thrills when we can.

I don't know why I expected anything other than a damp squib, but that's what we got.

Something to do with respect for the actor's family, I gather. The only characters who get an exciting death are those whose actor is alive, kicking and ready to tick the next part on their cv.

I'm sure Velda could have easily managed anything that we heard in this funeral, probably with one hand behind her back pulling pints in The Bull.
Now she will forever be a byword for uselessness - a sort of organ playing Eddie the Eagle. (I know-he can ski and I can't.)