Over the next few weeks I am filling in at a church where I have not played before but I have tried the organ. I felt I ought to go to choir practice last night as there is a big anthem on Sunday which I will come to in a moment.
I took all the music which has been issued to me and I had already learnt or revised most of it. After a few warm-up hymns we tried the Franck anthem for this coming weekend. After that we went over more of the up-coming anthems including some of those which I am not down to play (as I have to be at another church, so 3 organists are covering the organist's sabbatical).
I had a real blast using my sight-reading skills and was pleased that I am still able to cope with whatever is thrown at me. "The Father's Love" by Simon Lole is really lovely but I had not encountered it before. It starts in E major and suddenly goes to 7 sharps, a few bars later [enharmonically] changing to 4 flats. That kept me on my toes.
I also played "Give us the wings of Faith" and "Be thou my vision" (on the organ which makes it a little harder). To be honest I was in 7th heaven but I could not help remembering the skills passed onto me and encouraged by my organ teachers. I have been extremely lucky to have been taught by them.
When I took up the organ it really mattered if one played the correct notes and it became a matter of pride that I would strive to do so. Consequently, when I won an organ scholarship to a university in the south-west I felt the responsibility of the position. I do not think church music is as highly regarded in some places/parishes as it once was although there are many pockets of excellence around the country and our cathedrals still foster high standards.
In my youth we sang Franck's Psalm 150 at Peterborough and I had wanted to do it at university. The choir laughed and poured scorn on the piece so we never did do it. I have not played or sung it in 50+ years. I do agree it is, perhaps, a little turgid but that was Franck's style: it is good fun.
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