The Worst Nightmare for the Organist

[NEB]

My worst nightmare was not a piece of music but a living creature of God. While I played at the office, alone in the stand, something ugly creeped very slowly in my back. I could not leave the score from my eyes, nor stop playing because the priest and the crowd were singing.
And the horrible thing continued advancing towards me. I was scared.
By instant it was like a big ball with two kinds of pointed arms.
I saw also two huge eyes which seemed to fix me. The thing was only at 2 feet from me when the song ended. I spring up then far from the console to look at the thing with fear. After several minutes of observing the strange movements of the beast, I understood finally what it was. It was only an old bat coated with dust, fallen from the ceiling.

Not easy for me to tell the story in English. I hope you have understood.

Jean-Paul​

Goodness that would have had me leap off the stool so much earlier!

 

[musicalis]

the monster (suite)

The creeping bat is not the only thing that happened to me in this old church (city of Marennes, France).

One night (happily, I was in my bed), a huge stone fell from the ceiling, beside the seat on the organist. The acces to the organ has been forbidden for months by the mayor of the city.
Finally, the organ was unsettled and installed below near the altar. The vault was much later repaired.

It was not the first time a stone fell in this church. When my wife was 12 years old, a stone fell in the nef at a few meters from the group of children learning the catechisme . My wife still remember the horrible noise of the stone crashing in the path.

About the bat, I do not know what happened to it. I think it died inside the organ.

J-Paul

 

[jvhldb]

I'm living another nightmare as a practing organist. Right now that the
year is still new the top musicians desided not to let me practice there.
They said I could practice at the fireside room. That's a piano and it
stays out of tune most of the time. I feel like my wings have been
clipped where I can't fly no more. What can I do to convence that I
won't hurt this beautiful instrument? There are not many churches that
have a pipe organ here. Other churches have organs like the Hammond.
What can I do?
judy tooley

You have my sympathy. In my case it's not a case of being banned from the organ, it is getting to the organ that's the problem. I have to arrange my practice schedule around church services, the maintenance staff, my work hours and above all around load shedding (power cuts by our utility company), so end up practising at 5am three times a week and 7am ethery other day, lessons are done at 11am on Sundays.

 

[Muza]

wow, I sympathize with all of you... but thats life!

 

[Flute'n'Pedal]

Hi everybody!

Another batty story: Many years ago, I was a page-turner for my older brother when he played an organ concert at a local church (where Virgil Fox had also performed). In the middle of Bach's Toccata in D minor, a bat suddenly swooped out and began darting up and down right above my head. I wasn't scared, though maybe I should have been because of rabies. A deacon came out with a broom and began hitting at the bat, without success. Since this deacon also happened to be my math teacher, I began to laugh and forgot to turn a page. Fortunately, my brother just went on playing as though nothing was going on, and finally the bat was evicted.
I've often wondered what Virgil Fox would have done if the bat had come out when he was giving his concert.

LlL

 

[methodistgirl]

I figured why I can't play the organ right now. They moved the prayer
room upstairs and I happen to know just where it is and I hope it's
temperary. I miss playing this pretty monster.
judy tooley

 

[NEB]

right - I would guess if you ring round the other churches, and explain the situation, then one of them might grant you some practice time? worst they can say is No...

 

[musicalis]

your problem

Dear Judy
About your problem to play the organ, here is my suggestion : tell them to trust you. Tell them you are a friend of mine. They will probably laugh, I am sure they have never heard about me. Then, explain them than when I was a children (from10 to 16 years old), each time I visited a new town, I entered every churchs and asked for permission to play the organ. The priest seldom refused me. So, i have played on magnifiscent organs (for instance, the organ of the cathedral d'Angouleme, with a golden stop of trumpet). However I was an unknown child and I had never taken organ lessons.

They all trust me. I am catholic, and one of the rare people who refused to let me play the organ was the catholic priest of Hamstead (London), who had a very small organ. (When I was 12 or 13 years old my parents send me one month in England in my penfriend family to improve my english.) Near by my catholic church was an anglican church. The organist lived just in front of the church. Not only he allowed me to play his wonderfull organ (3 manuals) as long as I wanted, every sunday afternoon, but more, his wife offered me some tea and cakes when I have finished.
I hope my strange, but true story will help you.

Jean-Paul ​

 

[NEB]

That's a lovely story J-P.

I usually only need make a few phone calls to find something to play quickly. The usual obstacle is someone being around to let me in and out of the building and not objection to playing...

I was recently in Switzerland, and played some lovely instruments there. I simply went and spoke to the priests in those churches and times were arranged for me to visit and smaple the wares. I think they were quite curious to get an Organist from England interested in them. I don't suppose they get many like me visiting...

 

[methodistgirl]

I agree. That was a nice story.
judy tooley

 

[JONESEY]

I've often wanted to go and ask permission to play the organ when we are visiting places.

My problem is that I don't think I'm good enough to play really nice organs until I have a better repertoire.

 

[NEB]

I wouldn't worry too much about impressive repertoire. Mostly I just sit down and Improv when I'm trying something out, and maybe run a few bars of this the coda of that and so forth. It's not about going in an doing a recital - It's about trying the organ out and exploring its possibilities and what it sounds like, feels like and so forth.

Practice facility is another thing again - practice what you're learning and make the mistakes there - that's what practice is for...

 

[Krummhorn]

I've often wanted to go and ask permission to play the organ when we are visiting places. My problem is that I don't think I'm good enough to play really nice organs until I have a better repertoire.

When I travel on vacation, I always take along my organ shoes and a few select pieces that I know well. These are not showy or major organ works ... just a simple garden variety of things - most every organist can play the first 6 or 8 bars of the Bach T/F from memory - that's usually quite enough to get the gist of what tutti sounds like.

One standard piece I will play in situations like that is my own arrangement of the hymn "Come, Come Ye Saints" (aka All Is Well) - it explores the entire dynamic range of any organ in about 4 minutes ... and it's fun to play since it is memorized I can concentrate on the organ stops instead of the music score.

 

[Soubasse]

I've often wondered what Virgil Fox would have done if the bat had come out when he was giving his concert.

He probably would have asked if it would like to do a duet.

Some true nightmarish stories indeed there. Mine are similar and based on my major pet hate which has already been mentioned here - inappropriate presets coming on at inappropriate times. The digital toaster we've been playing at the cathedral here for the past too many years has the infuriatingly unnerving habit of changing presets whenever it damn well feels like it, reminding me of a wise old saying "To err is human, to totally screw things up requires a computer"

What amazes me more so about this particular annoying habit of the Rodgers is that it has always (and I do mean always) happened during moments where I have been improvising quietly during communion. I invariably use soft flutes or voix celestes at those times, but to have it suddenly jump to plenum when you're sitting there minding your own business, and none of your limbs are anywhere near a piston, fair sends you through the bloody roof! What I hate the most about it is that it really can have the effect of making the organist seem incompetent, particularly when truthfully explaining, you hear yourself saying "It was nothing to do with me, the damn thing did it all by itself!!"

I assume plenty of us here have had cyphers during postludes? My best (ie, worst) was at the 'other' cathedral when I was playing a postlude after High Mass and toward the end, a note which had nothing whatsoever to do with the key in which I was playing, sustained until well after the final chord and didn't stop until the blower was switched off. The rank that was cyphering was naturally the high-pressure Tuba. Was I even using the Tuba in this piece? Was I hell!!

When I travel on vacation, I always take along my organ shoes and a few select pieces that I know well.

I do that too, except I'll always do the tutti test with the last two pages of Litanies :grin: (or Dieu Parmi Nous which is also a good test for the wind!)

 

[Krummhorn]

Sounds like a couple pistons have 'hair triggers', Soubasse. That is to say, that the switch contacts are too close and certain vibrations or key movements can trigger them to electrically make contact. I have a few electronics do that to me on occassion - I simply took off the piston rail below the keyboards and adjusted each piston contact.

It could be the setter board itself (memory board where pistons sets are stored) where something is not controlling voltages properly and lets a 'spike' go through the board at random times (always though while you are playing softly) which triggers all the stops to engage.

True - all eyes are cast upon the organist when any music related error happens - it's the cross we have to bear ... :lol:

Just today, another nightmarish thing ... playing a concert at church, half way through the Franck A Minor Chorale (No 3) and my left leg goes into a charliehorse (cramp) - I had consumed a couple bananas an hour before (they have potassium and help prevent cramping) as I usually do before playing a concert. Nothing else to do but grimace and continue on to the end :crazy:

 

[jvhldb]

You people know how to frigten a person. This comming Sunday I will be playing to an audience for the first time (my sister's wedding doesn't count as it was family) and after reading this thread I'm more nervous than usual, especially as I have the knack of pressing one of the thumb pistons when playing sharps or flats.

 

[Contratrombone64]

Nothing like rolling out the bombardes when you're playing a soft, slow, contemplative adagio. It'll make the old ladies in the congregation loose their false teeth.

 

[Krummhorn]

You people know how to frigten a person. This comming Sunday I will be playing to an audience for the first time (my sister's wedding doesn't count as it was family) and after reading this thread I'm more nervous than usual, especially as I have the knack of pressing one of the thumb pistons when playing sharps or flats.

I used to do that too ... was playing deep into the keys - once corrected by my organ tutor early on (40 + years ago) I play towards the outer edge of the keys as practical.

Ahah, nerves ... yup, we all get those no matter how many years one has been playing ... once I start playing, everything calms down considerably ... for my personal programs, I always begin with a piece I know very very well ... Fox had a 'signature piece' as part of his standard program fare that he usually played first. I can certainly understand the benefits of doing that.

First performances are always the most un-nerving ... chances are that you will do just fine. Best of luck to you ... and ... break a nail, ok? :lol: j/k

 

[JONESEY]

Yep - best of luck Johan ... nerves get to all of us, but like Krummhorn wrote, as soon as you start playing, most if not all of the nerves will go.
Just enjoy it!

 

[jvhldb]

Thanks for the good wishes. Maybe I'll follow the Rev advice and keep a bottel of "fotified" water handy.