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    Frederik Magle
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April 1st

Krummhorn

Administrator
Staff member
ADMINISTRATOR
I'm curious ... any organists planning anything "special" for April Fools Day?
There was a spark of curiousity late last year on Piporg-L, and I thought it would be an interesting fun topic here, also.

I'll go first ... Planning to do Marche Grotesque from Four Dubious Conceits by Richard Purvis as part of my service prelude. Tongue in cheek, however.

Years ago I actually did "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandee" in very strict and slow liturgical form and it was only caught by one parishioner :crazy: .
 

Thomas Dressler

New member
I don't have any plans yet, but I'll tell you something I did years ago to my choir when April 1 fell on Sunday.

Before the choir Mass of the day, we'd get together to warm up and rehearse. We were planning to sing something like "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" or something like that. Well, we had just started rehearsing a piece which was very difficult for them, could have been Palestrina, I forget. Anyhow, they knew it would take months to learn. So that morning when we were beginning to warm up, I very seriously told them I had thought it over and the new piece fit so well with the liturgy of the day that we were going to sing it. HAHA, the stunned looks of horror on their faces. . .kind of like a deer caught in headlights. . .HAHA, I watched them for a couple beats, and then said "APRIL FOOL'S!" Hehe, they were going to kill me! LOL
 

Krummhorn

Administrator
Staff member
ADMINISTRATOR
That's a great one, Thomas ... I can picture the scenario ...

After weeks of debate on this myself, I'm going to do an arrangment of The Toy Parade for a postlude on April 1st - my congregation has assumed that I'm going to do something off the wall that day, so I have to oblige them ... LOL! BTW, The Toy Parade for those in the US anyway, was the theme song for an old TV series "Leave It To Beaver" broadcast 1957-1963.

Any other organists up to the challenge? :crazy: :cool: :rolleyes:
 

falcon1

New member
How about playing Twinkle Twinkle for a postlude - I'm sure the congregation will think that I had too much wine before the service. :D
 

Serassi1836

New member
1) I would like to play organ with these stops: Noli me tangere, Nihil, Pro Forma, Ductus Inutilis.
2) I would like to play organ with only reed stops
3) I would like to play organ with only the mixture
4) I would like to play organ using all the stops
5) I would like to play Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor when the priest is doing the sermon
6) I would like to play song that people isn't singing
 

methodistgirl

New member
Aren't we a little late for April 1st? This month has already came and
went. This is the middle of May. Right now I'm thinking about what
to do this summer which is just around the corner. I plan to play the
organ again for my birthday if things are allright.
judy tooley
 

Krummhorn

Administrator
Staff member
ADMINISTRATOR
Well, the thread did begin in January ... :rolleyes: ...

Hey, great that you want to get back to playing the organ again. Like I've been saying all along, you need to keep up the fingering work which can be done on any organ keyboard.
 

daisymac

New member
The organ in the Terry Pratchett books has a stop called Vox Dei. That's one I want installed on my organ for April Fool's day!
 

Udyret

New member
If I had it, I would activate the effet d'orage (a thunder effect.)

Perhaps while playing during the communion (I have to do that). Man, the vicar would

kill me.
 

Krummhorn

Administrator
Staff member
ADMINISTRATOR
I sorta did something like that just today - not by choice though ... my church instrument has rocker tabs on the stoprail, and the 16' Reed stop (what else, eh?) switch contact needs adjusting and it likes to engage with the slightest effort.

There I was, playing (with the shades open of course) and added a flute stop during communion, and that 16' reed stop decided to engage suddenly without any warning. Blaaaaaatttt!! Of course, I was also playing in the lower registers.

It's on my list of things to fix for the technicians next tuning/maintenance visit.
 

Contratrombone64

Admiral of Fugues
There I was, playing (with the shades open of course) and added a flute stop during communion, and that 16' reed stop decided to engage suddenly without any warning. Blaaaaaatttt!! Of course, I was also playing in the lower registers.

Did you scare the knickers off the old ladies?
 

Krummhorn

Administrator
Staff member
ADMINISTRATOR
I suppose it did, CT64 ... although being in an upstairs side gallery (the altar is central in my church) my view of the pews is limited ... :lol: ... the choir giggled, though.
 

Contratrombone64

Admiral of Fugues
LOL - that's sooooo like a choir. I remember a chorister falling backwards off the pew once, we were sitting on wooden benches that were backless, she leant back to gossip with a fellow chorister behinder her and over balanced, tits and fee a kimbo. We all fell about laughing ... thank goodness it was during rehearsal.

I also remember when I was singing with a choir at St. Paul's Anglican, Burwood (Sydney). A truck thundered up Burwood Rd (next to the church) and sounded its horn, which just happened to sound like one of the heavy reed stops (16') on the pedal. The music director, who was standing with his back to the organist (in front of his bench) turned around to see the organist with his hands in the air ... as if to say "mea culpa non, mea culpa non!!" ... the choir (myself included) then giggled silently so much that the wooden flooring wobbled and some of our music scores fluttered about ... most amusing on both counts
 
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