So, I am now single. The house, it would appear, is just the perfect size for me and my things. If only life could stay like this, and I didn't have to move into a room somewhere...
The wedding, it has to be said, did not go all that well. The bridal march fell apart in a reasonably spectacular fashion, when I lost my place and couldn't work out which notes to play. I played some notes, but there was no way and no circumstances in which they could have been described as well-combined notes.
And Granddad died a couple of days ago. The parents didn't tell me yesterday because they didn't want to mess up this wedding for me (just as well?), but they did tell me when I called today.
And there is a random little insect on my settee. I hope that this is not a bad thing. Ah well - it's a random little squashed insect now.
So, it has been a busy day. I am tired. I still don't know what the hymns are for tomorrow, but at least the bed settee no longer lives in the front room and I can access the piano in the usual fashion; this will aid my practice. Tonight I get to sleep on a proper bed! Yay!
On which note, I shall start the going to bed process. It will be a long one today. I predict a nap tomorrow afternoon.
Showing posts with label Wedding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wedding. Show all posts
Sunday, 2 August 2009
Sunday, 19 July 2009
A wedding
So, there's this wedding for which I am playing on 1st August. When I was asked whether or not I would be interested, it seemed many months away. Now, it is actually quite close.
The wedding will be very traditional, insofar as the entrance music will be the Bridal March (except that it sounds much more expressive when I play it, I reckon. Oh, the joys of narcissism. But I have more wrong notes, so it's swings and roundabouts, really), and the exit music will be the Wedding March (again, a little staid. Still more right notes than my attempts, though). It's good repertoire to acquire as an organist, and will stand me in good stead.
There are hymns, also: Lord of all Hopefulness, Make me a channel of Your peace, and Jerusalem (none of mine comes up to the standards here - why is it that YouTube has really good hymns but not such good playing? I particularly dislike the second hymn - no idea why. You might like it - this is quite a nice little arrangement here).
Anyway, to get back to the point, it has been quite a struggle to prepare for this wedding, as my concentration has been, shall we say, somewhat lacking these past few months. Progress has been slow, to say the least. The pieces are finally coming together, mostly. There is still an awful lot of tidying up to get through, but it seems as though getting there in time for the wedding might now be possible!
Alas, progress has not been consistent. Lord of all hopefulness was fine last week, but now I seem unable to find the correct notes with my feet. This is often considered to be a disadvantage. Only by those who want correct notes, of course, but they do seem to be the majority of people who listen.
It is very frustrating to play a hymn correctly, then find that it is deteriorating. I am sure that it is a learning experience, and all that, but I had jolly well better have learned whatever experience I need by the time this wedding comes along.
I have just realised that this entry is particularly dull. I had hoped to come up with some witty insight about playing for weddings, but perhaps one should have some idea about the insight itself before making such plans. Methinks 'tis after my bedtime, and that I should be heading bedwards. HWSNBN is away tonight, so I get the real bed! Hooray!
Oh, and as I have been looking around YouTube, I found my favourite piece (because it seemed quiet when I had found all of the pieces I wanted to find, so I went searching). You really should listen to this. I hope one day to find a piece of music I like more than this, but don't really think that's going to happen.
The wedding will be very traditional, insofar as the entrance music will be the Bridal March (except that it sounds much more expressive when I play it, I reckon. Oh, the joys of narcissism. But I have more wrong notes, so it's swings and roundabouts, really), and the exit music will be the Wedding March (again, a little staid. Still more right notes than my attempts, though). It's good repertoire to acquire as an organist, and will stand me in good stead.
There are hymns, also: Lord of all Hopefulness, Make me a channel of Your peace, and Jerusalem (none of mine comes up to the standards here - why is it that YouTube has really good hymns but not such good playing? I particularly dislike the second hymn - no idea why. You might like it - this is quite a nice little arrangement here).
Anyway, to get back to the point, it has been quite a struggle to prepare for this wedding, as my concentration has been, shall we say, somewhat lacking these past few months. Progress has been slow, to say the least. The pieces are finally coming together, mostly. There is still an awful lot of tidying up to get through, but it seems as though getting there in time for the wedding might now be possible!
Alas, progress has not been consistent. Lord of all hopefulness was fine last week, but now I seem unable to find the correct notes with my feet. This is often considered to be a disadvantage. Only by those who want correct notes, of course, but they do seem to be the majority of people who listen.
It is very frustrating to play a hymn correctly, then find that it is deteriorating. I am sure that it is a learning experience, and all that, but I had jolly well better have learned whatever experience I need by the time this wedding comes along.
I have just realised that this entry is particularly dull. I had hoped to come up with some witty insight about playing for weddings, but perhaps one should have some idea about the insight itself before making such plans. Methinks 'tis after my bedtime, and that I should be heading bedwards. HWSNBN is away tonight, so I get the real bed! Hooray!
Oh, and as I have been looking around YouTube, I found my favourite piece (because it seemed quiet when I had found all of the pieces I wanted to find, so I went searching). You really should listen to this. I hope one day to find a piece of music I like more than this, but don't really think that's going to happen.
Sunday, 31 August 2008
Back Again
So, my incredibly busy weekend is over. All in all, I rather enjoyed it.
On Friday, I managed to get 3 1/2 hours of organ practice done. I also managed to hurt my wrist learning Pachelbel's Canon in D. That piece has some interesting note combinations in the right hand. I also had a lovely conversation with my little brother, who very conveniently interrupted my organ practice for half an hour. It was great to catch up with him - haven't spoken to him for ages.
On Saturday, the wedding went very well except for the second half of every verse of the second hymn. Alas, my decision to add the pedals in was not vindicated.* The bride and groom were signing the register in a different room at that point, so I probably didn't ruin their special day, but it was embarrassing nonetheless. On the plus side, none of the 35 minutes of music I played before the service went horribly wrong, including Pachelbel's Canon, which I only started to learn on Tuesday. This indicates that I may be slowly creeping towards being justified in calling myself an organist. In fact, I am probably as good an organist as this sentence, and the one before it, is, or are, well-constructed! So now you know.
This morning was the vicar's last service. Having stayed overnight with Heather, who lives close to church, we arrived about 20 minutes before my usual arrival time. This meant that there was a lot more time than usual for me to play before the service - I normally play for three to five minutes. Today I played for fifteen, recycling much of my repertoire from the morning before.
Normally when I play before the service, I make sure that it is nice and quiet, so as not to disturb anyone's conversation. This morning, I did not. I wanted to play something wonderful and memorable for the vicar, so I played Barber's Adagio for Strings.** Listening to some of the recordings on YouTube, perhaps I played it a little fast (mine lasted about 5 1/2 minutes), but it seemed to lack something when I played it slowly - either I do not have the musical skill to make it work at this speed, or I need a better organ, with a bit more of a dynamic range. I suspect it is the former, but am happy to hide behind the latter. Certainly, this music would benefit from all of the notes on the organ working, and stuff. Anyway, if you listen to this piece (which I recommend that you do - it really can be beautiful), you will probably observe that it gets loud at the end. I did this, too. This is the first piece I have played on this organ with any actual stop changes - just like a real organist! The climax was comparatively spectacular,*** and made me feel happy.
I also played a pretty little piece after the service, and that also did not fall in a crumpled heap - I played most of the right notes in the right order at the right time. I look forward to a time when that is not blogworthy.
Alas, there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth when the vicar left. He will be missed rather a lot. His choice of hymns wasn't always brilliant, but they were either nice or easy (sometimes both), and I'll take that; much as I love to play beautiful music, I have rather a weakness for the simple stuff. Aside from the vitally important issue of the music, he has also been a great father figure to the children at church, and has made a big difference to the community as a whole.
I don't know what will be happening about a vicar for us now. I'm not sure that anyone does. I daresay we will find out over the next few weeks...
Coming soon (if you're lucky) - an interesting post.****
*Am I using that correctly? Can a decision be vindicated, or would it be the person making the decision who was vindicated?
**This was the recording I found which was the closest to how I played it. I played it slightly faster, and not quite so excessively rubato (this guy is making me giggle a bit). You could also look up this version - it's played by an actual orchestra, an I reckon it sounds better. However, my organist friend, Dave the Organist, plays it beautifully (although it hurts my ears during the loud bits - he has rather a mighty organ ;-) and it is rather wonderful.
***For best effect, compare it with everything else I ever played, rather than with anything good. And, of course, you didn't hear it - you'll just have to imagine it. Imagine it well for me, please. Also, imagine that I got all of the notes right, without a lapse in concentration resulting in me forgetting what I was supposed to be doing. Thank you. That was kind of you.
****Ha! In your dreams...
On Friday, I managed to get 3 1/2 hours of organ practice done. I also managed to hurt my wrist learning Pachelbel's Canon in D. That piece has some interesting note combinations in the right hand. I also had a lovely conversation with my little brother, who very conveniently interrupted my organ practice for half an hour. It was great to catch up with him - haven't spoken to him for ages.
On Saturday, the wedding went very well except for the second half of every verse of the second hymn. Alas, my decision to add the pedals in was not vindicated.* The bride and groom were signing the register in a different room at that point, so I probably didn't ruin their special day, but it was embarrassing nonetheless. On the plus side, none of the 35 minutes of music I played before the service went horribly wrong, including Pachelbel's Canon, which I only started to learn on Tuesday. This indicates that I may be slowly creeping towards being justified in calling myself an organist. In fact, I am probably as good an organist as this sentence, and the one before it, is, or are, well-constructed! So now you know.
This morning was the vicar's last service. Having stayed overnight with Heather, who lives close to church, we arrived about 20 minutes before my usual arrival time. This meant that there was a lot more time than usual for me to play before the service - I normally play for three to five minutes. Today I played for fifteen, recycling much of my repertoire from the morning before.
Normally when I play before the service, I make sure that it is nice and quiet, so as not to disturb anyone's conversation. This morning, I did not. I wanted to play something wonderful and memorable for the vicar, so I played Barber's Adagio for Strings.** Listening to some of the recordings on YouTube, perhaps I played it a little fast (mine lasted about 5 1/2 minutes), but it seemed to lack something when I played it slowly - either I do not have the musical skill to make it work at this speed, or I need a better organ, with a bit more of a dynamic range. I suspect it is the former, but am happy to hide behind the latter. Certainly, this music would benefit from all of the notes on the organ working, and stuff. Anyway, if you listen to this piece (which I recommend that you do - it really can be beautiful), you will probably observe that it gets loud at the end. I did this, too. This is the first piece I have played on this organ with any actual stop changes - just like a real organist! The climax was comparatively spectacular,*** and made me feel happy.
I also played a pretty little piece after the service, and that also did not fall in a crumpled heap - I played most of the right notes in the right order at the right time. I look forward to a time when that is not blogworthy.
Alas, there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth when the vicar left. He will be missed rather a lot. His choice of hymns wasn't always brilliant, but they were either nice or easy (sometimes both), and I'll take that; much as I love to play beautiful music, I have rather a weakness for the simple stuff. Aside from the vitally important issue of the music, he has also been a great father figure to the children at church, and has made a big difference to the community as a whole.
I don't know what will be happening about a vicar for us now. I'm not sure that anyone does. I daresay we will find out over the next few weeks...
Coming soon (if you're lucky) - an interesting post.****
*Am I using that correctly? Can a decision be vindicated, or would it be the person making the decision who was vindicated?
**This was the recording I found which was the closest to how I played it. I played it slightly faster, and not quite so excessively rubato (this guy is making me giggle a bit). You could also look up this version - it's played by an actual orchestra, an I reckon it sounds better. However, my organist friend, Dave the Organist, plays it beautifully (although it hurts my ears during the loud bits - he has rather a mighty organ ;-) and it is rather wonderful.
***For best effect, compare it with everything else I ever played, rather than with anything good. And, of course, you didn't hear it - you'll just have to imagine it. Imagine it well for me, please. Also, imagine that I got all of the notes right, without a lapse in concentration resulting in me forgetting what I was supposed to be doing. Thank you. That was kind of you.
****Ha! In your dreams...
Friday, 29 August 2008
Busy weekend
This weekend promises to be uncomfortably busy. I no longer have to go climbing this evening, which frees up several hours to practise the organ and bake a cake for the vicar's leaving do on Sunday, but I shall be out of the house between 10.00 tomorrow and about 15.00 on Sunday. I think that I might invite HWSNBN's mother round for dinner on Sunday, too. That will ease the pressure.
In 'Other News', I am struggling with the hymns for tomorrow's wedding. I really hope they become firmly embedded in my psyche this evening. The problem with them is that I have decided to play the bass line with my feet, which I have not quite mastered yet. If I get it right, it will sound much better with feet than without, but if I get it wrong it will be very embarrassing.
Will update on Sunday. If I get sufficient sleep over the weekend, I may even be able to get it together sufficiently to say something interesting...
In 'Other News', I am struggling with the hymns for tomorrow's wedding. I really hope they become firmly embedded in my psyche this evening. The problem with them is that I have decided to play the bass line with my feet, which I have not quite mastered yet. If I get it right, it will sound much better with feet than without, but if I get it wrong it will be very embarrassing.
Will update on Sunday. If I get sufficient sleep over the weekend, I may even be able to get it together sufficiently to say something interesting...
Wednesday, 27 August 2008
A wedding
This Saturday, I shall be playing for my first wedding. Judging by the fact that they are having a CD to enter and leave, and for the signing of the register, they have heard my playing already, and are not taking any chances. The vicar will be leaving on Sunday, too, so I shall have to pull spectacular music from somewhere by then.
I started playing the organ about ten years ago, having started the piano a decade earlier. Alas, my progress has not been consistent. Between the ages of 17 and 18 I practised reasonably regularly, but stopped when I went to University.
When I was 21 I got an organist job at a local church, which lasted two weeks; I wasn't very good. Also, they didn't pay me, so I was acceptable value for money.* As they didn't let me know they didn't want me back, I had no specific opportunity to return the hymn book of theirs which I was using, which is now a really useful staple in my collection (it saves me about once a month, by having some inane kiddy song no other book has). Never trust an organist with your hymn book.**
My current organ job is good in oh so many ways.
It started on the evening of the lunar eclipse, a Saturday in March 2007. HWSNBN, The Guy Who's Not Russian and I had gone to Serena's house to drink moderate amounts of alcohol and to eat her rather tasty food. And to see her, of course.
Halfway through the meal, I got a phone call. Apparently the organist at St Isidore's had left, and they had nobody to play for the service the next morning. Would I play? I said that I would, vowed not to drink too much that evening, and hoped that I had the necessary hymns within my small hymn book collection (one of which was actually bought for me: I say that three of them belong to me).
On returning home, having failed at the not drinking too much task, I had a play through of the hymns on my fake piano,*** and found that I was less bad than I expected. I played the next day, and nobody died.**** They asked me back the next week, and I have been playing there ever since.
St Isidore's is a friendly church, and they do not mind when I mess up an introduction, or the organ stops working again (until they are required to help move the piano, which is heavy). Their service starts a whole hour later than that of their mother church, which I attended previously. This means I both get extra time in bed and make it to the service before it starts.
The organ is rather dodgy, it has to be said. It isn't actually an organ at all; rather it is several organs put together in a way which is acceptable given the circumstances... I'm sure that the, erm, ingenuity with which different elements are combined would fascinate any reputable organ builder. It fascinates me.
The organ benefits from being played regularly, insofar as if it is not played regularly it loses notes. This is inconvenient when it happens in the middle of a hymn, and will probably be rather embarrassing when it happens during this wedding on Saturday. I played it for a few hours today, and the temperamental pipes were enthusiastic, while the pipes with a reputation for working went quiet in alarming places. This does not bode well.
Wish me luck, dear reader.
*Until I didn't return their hymn book.
**I do actually feel rather remorseful about this. Unfortunately, by the time I realised that they were not going to ask me back, I had rather missed the window for returning the hymn book (I can be rather slow sometimes). The more I procrastinated, the harder it got. I will discuss the situation next time I play there.
***Possibly the best investment I ever made.
****Once when I played, somebody nearly died. I don't think it was my fault...
I started playing the organ about ten years ago, having started the piano a decade earlier. Alas, my progress has not been consistent. Between the ages of 17 and 18 I practised reasonably regularly, but stopped when I went to University.
When I was 21 I got an organist job at a local church, which lasted two weeks; I wasn't very good. Also, they didn't pay me, so I was acceptable value for money.* As they didn't let me know they didn't want me back, I had no specific opportunity to return the hymn book of theirs which I was using, which is now a really useful staple in my collection (it saves me about once a month, by having some inane kiddy song no other book has). Never trust an organist with your hymn book.**
My current organ job is good in oh so many ways.
It started on the evening of the lunar eclipse, a Saturday in March 2007. HWSNBN, The Guy Who's Not Russian and I had gone to Serena's house to drink moderate amounts of alcohol and to eat her rather tasty food. And to see her, of course.
Halfway through the meal, I got a phone call. Apparently the organist at St Isidore's had left, and they had nobody to play for the service the next morning. Would I play? I said that I would, vowed not to drink too much that evening, and hoped that I had the necessary hymns within my small hymn book collection (one of which was actually bought for me: I say that three of them belong to me).
On returning home, having failed at the not drinking too much task, I had a play through of the hymns on my fake piano,*** and found that I was less bad than I expected. I played the next day, and nobody died.**** They asked me back the next week, and I have been playing there ever since.
St Isidore's is a friendly church, and they do not mind when I mess up an introduction, or the organ stops working again (until they are required to help move the piano, which is heavy). Their service starts a whole hour later than that of their mother church, which I attended previously. This means I both get extra time in bed and make it to the service before it starts.
The organ is rather dodgy, it has to be said. It isn't actually an organ at all; rather it is several organs put together in a way which is acceptable given the circumstances... I'm sure that the, erm, ingenuity with which different elements are combined would fascinate any reputable organ builder. It fascinates me.
The organ benefits from being played regularly, insofar as if it is not played regularly it loses notes. This is inconvenient when it happens in the middle of a hymn, and will probably be rather embarrassing when it happens during this wedding on Saturday. I played it for a few hours today, and the temperamental pipes were enthusiastic, while the pipes with a reputation for working went quiet in alarming places. This does not bode well.
Wish me luck, dear reader.
*Until I didn't return their hymn book.
**I do actually feel rather remorseful about this. Unfortunately, by the time I realised that they were not going to ask me back, I had rather missed the window for returning the hymn book (I can be rather slow sometimes). The more I procrastinated, the harder it got. I will discuss the situation next time I play there.
***Possibly the best investment I ever made.
****Once when I played, somebody nearly died. I don't think it was my fault...
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