Confessions of a Parish church organist

by Simon Johnson

Following on from my first article about my time as a chorister at Salisbury, I have felt the urge to write down a number of experiences that I have had since, serving as an Organist/Director of Music in seven Churches over a number of years.

When I left Salisbury and went to my next school I was lucky to become the school organist accompanying the chapel choir at the daily services. This meant that on CCF days I had to play the organ wearing army boots (very good for pedal work!!).

The Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin, Yatton

My first real position was playing the harmonium at a village Church. Unfortunately the Church had installed electric fires around the building to improve the heating, one of which was immediately behind the organ. Playing a service was very good for sweating out a cold or losing weight!

Moving to greater things, I took on a choir and organ at a big parish Church. The choir was large, enthusiastic and skilled. It meant that we could achieve some exciting things together. In the two spells I had there, with time in the middle for a job promotion, a number of memorable events live in the memory.

First, weddings. It was quite usual to have five weddings on a Saturday. In the summer ice creams were given to the choristers after the fourth and before the fifth wedding. This ceased when one of the boys "threw up" during the vows in the fifth wedding!

A further memory is of the occasion my daughters came to sit with me in the organ loft which was situated above the chancel where all the action took place. Whilst looking at the large music edition of hymns Ancient and Modern, my youngest let the book slip from her grasp and it dropped onto the chancel floor, narrowly missing a bridesmaid!

There were, however, many notable events, among them a two-choir festival with a neighbouring Church, two performances of Handel's Messiah with choir and orchestra drawn mostly from local musicians supplementing our own resources, and many wonderful Nine Lessons and Carols on Christmas Eve (very demanding on the choir), together with Advent carols in procession - a service I introduced to every Church post I had.

Every Church choir has its characters. At one Church, a tenor who sat down and refused to sing any hymn from "100 Hymns for Today" and at another a refusal to sing one verse of Deck the Hall as "you cannot sing about quaffing ale in Church".

At another post we had an organ which could only be tuned to just below the standard pitch. We engaged a tenor to sing the main solos in Stainer's Crucifixion, not knowing that he had perfect pitch. He finished the evening in agony!

Another position found me playing the organ continuo for the St Matthew Passion, unfortunately at a console sited where it was impossible to see the conductor or hear much of the soloists and, a further experience, taking part as Director of Music in a live TV broadcast of a Parish Communion. Everything had to be ready weeks in advance, but due to sickness in our choir we had to import boys from a local Prep school at the last minute to ensure the choir was big enough for the cameras!

Simon is at the end of the top row on the right, immediately below his colleague.

I come now to my last post, again, initially with a big enthusiastic choir, but also a very musical Rector. This had its benefits and some drawbacks. However, we managed to produce a very creditable CD with no fewer than five different choirs connected with the Church.

Here later I achieved a long-held ambition to muster a large double choir to sing "I was glad" at the Induction of a new Priest.

​It was now becoming obvious that the writing was on the wall for this large Parish Choir. Young members went off to University and replacements could not be found due to Friday and Sunday sports and other distractions. Tenors got more difficult to recruit and my stress levels increased as the planning of anthems became impossible because of the lack of reliable numbers. The time had come to give up the struggle, and to say a farewell with memorable Advent and Christmas carol services and a very loyal group of choristers, before handing over the reins to others.

The jobs I have had have given me many years of enjoyment, amusement and learning, as well as stress and some disappointments. Despite new hymns and services, music groups, guitars and trendy vicars, there has to be a place for the organist in the future, not just in cathedrals but in the many Parish churches, so that it can still be said that "in quires and places where they sing here followeth the anthem".