When the organist becomes mischievous.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Sometimes an organist will have a feeling and play little tricks. When I was a church organist, I would struggle against the congregation in "All Glory Laud and Honour" when I played Bach's version, and they insisted on singing the version they had learnt before. I did everything I could to persuade them otherwise, including playing a choral prelude I'd put together myself, that emphasised the characteristics of the JSB melody line.

But it made no difference.

So the entered into me. (I was young and foolish in those days.) In a "lifeboat" service, one of the hymns was Eternal Father, Strong to Save, so I played this version:



They were completely taken in, though one person did say afterwards that it felt "rather low".

[ahinton]

This reminds me of a certain organist who should perhaps remain nameless (yours truly being the soul of discretion and all that) who got so fed up with being asked to play "Widor's Toccata" as wedding outro music (not that he has any objection to the piece per se) by couples who know it only as this that, on one occasion, he played the Toccata from Widor's Sixth Organ Symphony (and on another occasion, he was dumbstruck when asked by another couple to close their service with "the toccata finale from Widor's organ symphony no. 5, Op. 42 No. 1"!). But play the last movement of No. 5 he did, on many such occasions (as organists almost all do, I imagine), but I'll never forget one occasion at a wedding that was running late that he played it not only rather faster than it usually goes but also in F# major - and, as a coup de grace not appreciable by anyone else present but as another means of allevating the ennui, with the hands reversed! Now that takes some doing but it ain't impossible (I don;t know if he did this on a whim or whether he'd practised it beforehand but, if the former, he'd have been taking quite a risk, methinks).

[ardcarp]

in F# major - and, as a coup de grace not appreciable by anyone else present but as another means of alleviating the ennui, with the hands reversed!

Now doing it with the feet reversed would have been a real, er, feat. My late-bride procedure was largely confined to improvisations over 'O why are we waiting' hidden in the pedal part. The choir knew about it...even hummed along sotto voce...but I don't think the congregation or vicar ever twigged.

That 'Eternal Father' version is a bit naughty.

[ahinton]

Now doing it with the feet reversed would have been a real, er, feat.

A most uncomfortable one, I imagine - especially for male organists...

[Serial_Apologist]

A most uncomfortable one, I imagine - especially for male organists...

...without a cross leg ever being uttered...

[EdgeleyRob]

Why do some single notes have an upward and downward pointing stem ?
I've noticed this before,been meaning to ask.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Why do some single notes have an upward and downward pointing stem ?
I've noticed this before,been meaning to ask.

It's short-score vocal writing. The sopranos amd altos share the upper stave, with soprano stems rising and alto ones falling. Tenors and basses share the lower atave.When a note has stems going both ways, it means both parts sing that note.

[EdgeleyRob]

It's short-score vocal writing. The sopranos amd altos share the upper stave, with soprano stems rising and alto ones falling. Tenors and basses share the lower atave.When a note has stems going both ways, it means both parts sing that note.

Doh ! Yes I understand now,obvious really.
Many thanks EA.

[Pabmusic]

It's short-score vocal writing. The sopranos amd altos share the upper stave, with soprano stems rising and alto ones falling. Tenors and basses share the lower atave.When a note has stems going both ways, it means both parts sing that note.

Absolutely. It's more important to the writer (or publisher) to keep the individual voices identifiable - usually because people will sing from them. Look in a hymn book (I've got the New English Hymnal in front of me): no. 37, A Virgin Unspotted, harmonised by Martin Shaw, begins with the sopranos and altos singing a unison D - written stems up and down. Now compare this with no. 197, RVW's great Sine Nomine (For all the saints - great title, by the way: 'without a name'!). It's a unison song, so there's no part-writing and the accompaniment is written more 'naturally'. But RVW does supply an alternative harmonised 4-part verse, written with stems up and down to delineate the parts.

[Vile Consort]

Some years ago the organist at Halifax Minster ran a series in the monthly Friends' newsletter of one hymn tune per month, going through the alphabet on the names of the tunes. I suggested he would have some difficulty with "Z" but he merely smiled. The hymn tune "Zambia" duly appeared - composed specially for the occasion - commencing in E flat and modulating effortlessly to E for the last line. It was, of course, the April edition.

When he played out the choir he used to smuggle the first phrase from the song "Myself when young" into his improvisation. It was a party piece of one of the choirmen, who used to complain if he didn't spot it. I don't believe many of us were in on it.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Absolutely. It's more important to the writer (or publisher) to keep the individual voices identifiable - usually because people will sing from them. Look in a hymn book (I've got the New English Hymnal in front of me): no. 37, A Virgin Unspotted, harmonised by Martin Shaw, begins with the sopranos and altos singing a unison D - written stems up and down. Now compare this with no. 197, RVW's great Sine Nomine (For all the saints - great title, by the way: 'without a name'!). It's a unison song, so there's no part-writing and the accompaniment is written more 'naturally'. But RVW does supply an alternative harmonised 4-part verse, written with stems up and down to delineate the parts.

Unfortunately, there are publishers of choral music who do not respect this very helpful convention. The culprits are a mixed bunch, but most those I've come across are American. There may be three voices on a single stave, all sharing a single stem. The middle note is the contentious one - is it to be sung by the 2nd tenor or by the 1st bass? After some time wasting in the rehearsal this is eventually sorted out - time that could have been saved had the publisher not been lazy and inconsiderate.

[ardcarp]

Absolutely. It's more important to the writer (or publisher) to keep the individual voices identifiable - usually because people will sing from them. Look in a hymn book (I've got the New English Hymnal in front of me): no. 37, A Virgin Unspotted, harmonised by Martin Shaw, begins with the sopranos and altos singing a unison D - written stems up and down. Now compare this with no. 197, RVW's great Sine Nomine (For all the saints - great title, by the way: 'without a name'!). It's a unison song, so there's no part-writing and the accompaniment is written more 'naturally'. But RVW does supply an alternative harmonised 4-part verse, written with stems up and down to delineate the parts.

It's still a requirement of Associated Board Grade V Theory to transfer short score to open score and vice-versa. Only two things to get right...the 'sticks' going the right way up and the tenor line being written in a different clef (and at the right octave).

Would that GCSE music still equipped kids with the basic nuts and bolts of music. One of my daughters is head of music at a large city VIth form college. Most students beginning their A-level course are completely ignorant of such things.

[EdgeleyRob]

Thanks again everyone for the fascinating comments.