dealing with impolite congregations

[JONESEY]

I recently attended a Volunteer Organists course over here and it included a Choral Evensong at the local Cathedral.
The order of service said in bold letters - sit during the Organ Voluntary. The service is not finished until this is complete.

No-one talked, we all listened to a superb piece of Organ playing and then left quietly afterwards.

[John Watt]

You have my deepest musical sympathy. As a self-employed electric guitarist-singer my profound might not be deep enough, and as a descendant of Scottish Highlanders, being an Aaronic Priest, your Catholic music and equipment legacy might be unknown to me, but people continuing to talk while the prelude starts, or through the entire piece, should be predictable.
Look what you have shown and broacast at you waking up in your residence, entering theatres or concerts. In public, opening acts are sacrificed for the audience's entrance pleasure. The pipe organist or symphony is not the loudest audio experience for many people now. And upgrading your technology and extending it's portability is what's hot and advertised through every access to your eyes and ears.
From a public point of view, I don't like broadcast contests where there's no mail-in or simple email, but specific audio-video compositions, where you can meet the star, programming young minds and excluding lower income users. I also don't like international television broadcasts with online entrants that only includes the host country.
And if you have ingrained ideas of religious ownership and superiority with edifices of historic interest, it's time for men of God to speak to congregations, to say The Words Of Jesus to be understood by all, and follow Him.
If you're the type of organist who looks around, you might get agitated with me, looking up so sorrowfully, so sad in remembrance, at fanciful depictions of a crucifiction, as His Voice continues to say "make no graven images unto me", using now the invented English of King James of Scotland, The Return Of The Scion, translator of The King James Holy Bible, not Aramaic, the regional language of Jesus of Nazareth. I type Your Name and feel shame.

May All Worship Be Bestowed Upon You,
by adult baptism recognating Him,
from the laying on of hands,
Jubal as our musical host.
Peace & pure harmonics.
as always, John Watt.

[QFE]

There is one advantage to having a loud congregation prior to the start of a service, you can really get to grips with improvising in public and not worry about the outcome.

[philomela]

It's sad that so many churches now are not places of worship; they
are simply social venues for various people and have a very thin
veneer of real religion or spirituality to them.

[branchporter]

I am not an organist but this bothers me. I would like to listen to the prelude and postlude without a lot of noise, but ours is a "noisy" church. Our minister is no help at all, instead, he is a big part of the problem. He wanders the sanctuary and talks with people during the prelude. We probably lost an excellent organist because of this. I've talked to him about how much this bothers the organist and others, but I guess he thinks people conversing is important, and that the prelude is just some background music like in a store or in an elevator.

[Krummhorn]

Branchporter's posts reminds me of a story I read once about the late E. Power Biggs. He apparently detested long sermons so much that he suggested there should be a special piston on the organ called "Pulpit Cancel" or for the Anglican churches "Rector Ejector".

Biggs also envisioned a service that would honor the organist. The sermon would be comprised of organ music and at the end of the service the organist would be standing at door greeting parishioners while the pastor was preaching.

I personally bet another organist friend that I could play "Yankee Doodle Dandee" during the prelude and nobody would notice. I won the bet, btw ... yes, I actually played that tune albeit in a "reverent" rendition.

In JS Bach's days, the prelude was always begun after the opening announcements. Unfortunately, today, everyone is watching the clock and starts screaming at the worship committee members when the service time goes beyond 60 minutes.

[Mat]

I personally bet another organist friend that I could play "Yankee Doodle Dandee" during the prelude and nobody would notice. I won the bet, btw ... yes, I actually played that tune albeit in a "reverent" rendition.

It's not the first time you say that you can play a tune like that. I wonder if you'd be able to play the Oops, I did it again fugue that became popular on youtube sometime ago??

[Krummhorn]

I'll have to look that one up, Mat.
Now I'm intrigued to learn it ... and ... try it .

[JONESEY]

I played yesterday for a Morning service and the prelude went very nicely, not too much chattering and people listening to what I was playing. Hymns all went OK, and as the final blessing was being given I got myself ready for the postlude ... ... ...

... and then it happened - the final words from the Vicar and then someone from the congregation pipes up (no pun intended) "I'd just like to say a couple of things" which ended up in him announcing his daughters had baked some cakes which started being handed round. 2 or 3 minutes had gone by now, so I just turned the organ off and packed my music away.

Shame really, it was going to be a nice piece of Bach - and then they could have talked all they liked!!!!!!

[Mat]

I'll be waiting for the result impatiently. Let us know how it went, Lars