Part of the reason I enjoy sharing, as well as listening to others play, hymns - there's so many incredibly beautiful compositions out there, many of which we don't know about until we stumble across them. St. Denio is one which lends itself to some incredible word painting at the extremes of fortissimo & pianissimo - have a look at the verses, and it'll make sense: hymnary.org/text/immortal_invisible_god_only_wise

You put it so beautifully Roland, and I completely agree <3

Thank you Rien! I do prefer this arrangement over the others - although the Karg-Elert is something I'm working on....

Thanks Scott, and same on all fronts I wonder what she'd think of the world as it is today.... May she rest in peace and rise in glory.

@ I’m sure she would be shaking her head at the United States in pure disbelief. It is a travesty. I am so angered by what’s happened. Trump it’s on a vengeance and Elon Musk is giving the Nazi salute. This speaks a lot of what’s to come. I’m saddened and in dismay ! A lot of Trump supporters haven’t a clue what is in store for them. I’m so glad I no longer live in this f-ed country. Very happy to be living in Canada.

hah :) just trying to follow the Lectionary as best I can But they are fantastic hymns - I'm looking forward to playing them and hearing the congregation rise over the organ tomorrow!!

I can't claim credit for it - just paraphrasing the Karg-Elert with a touch of spot transposition. FWIW, I had the same challenges with Nun Danket for years - the fingers just wouldn't go where they were supposed to, when they were supposed to. I used the slow & backwards method - picking two bar sections from the end and slowing them right down. When the section was ok(ish), I'd move back another two bars and do the same - slow practice but include the last two bars (so a 4 bar stanza), 4 becomes 6 etc....... - so gradually, and while at a slower playing speed, I built up the muscle memory for the piece I still naff it on occasion, I'm human :p

He really does, which is largely why I keep coming back to his arrangements - the congregation can still follow the melody, and the organist can add some flair - I try (as best I can) to register to the verses, but unfortunately the divisionals at St. Johns are hard wired so I can't program them (and the selections aren't the greatest...)

Oh they really are - but my goodness, the sheer number of works and the time investment ... it's mindboggling!!

It was a super interesting read - I honestly wasn't expecting the amount of history and connections I found! More reed organ music when you have time (amongst the kazillion other things you already do!!)

Thank you Francois! Appreciate the kind words!

Thank you Barbara - this is one of my favourites, both listening to and playing. I'm glad you enjoyed it :)

It's such a fun piece!! I'm keeping an eye/ear out for more romanticised arrangements of Stanley's works, but no luck as yet. Thanks for your kind words Francois :)

@@james.flores Maurizio's arrangements are incredibly accessible ❤️

Hah!! aside from the static and crackle..... Most welcome amazing human, look forward to hearing your interpretations!!

Thank you Rien! Have you played this piece before?

@ no! Still on my todo list!

Thank you, both for your kind words and for stopping by!

It's nice getting to play it a few times in close succession - we don't use the hymn as often as we perhaps could Thanks for your kind words Mr Rozitis!

I really recommend checking out Rosalie's works - in addition to organ composition, she's also composed some incredibly beautiful psalm settings and hymns - she was an amazing human

@@DCTOnline will do!

Oh I get it - I love this one too my friend! I'm often in two minds about how much oomph to put into the last verse on these softer hymns - I still want to word-paint, and give the gravitas to the music, but don't want to overpower the gentleness of the hymn... The 400 is an investment - I've got a couple other reharm books, (Harrison Oxley, Colin Mawby, June Nixon), but keep coming back to Rawsthorne for his accessibility and melodic structure.

It's absolutely my intention this year! Ty amazing human <3

I didn't know this, but thank you for sharing Colin!! While our languages continue to mature, it's fair to say we lose elements of the word's/text's origins (ie: Australia's national anthem talks about our land being 'girt by sea' - and I'd venture a guess most people have no idea what this means). As an aside, I looked it up on Hymnology Archive and greatly enjoyed the editor's note: "A modern reader might see the words “welkin rings” and immediately gravitate to something from J.R.R. Tolkien..."

Of the various descants, I love this one too for Irby - it's incredibly beautiful. The passage of time has had a somewhat adverse affect on my ability to sing it a la treble though...

Aside from the descants and 'established' reharmonisations, I think going beyond these puts singing at risk, especially in circumstances where there's no choir support. At least in our corner of the world, Christmas (and Easter) is when we see people come who don't regularly attend church, so I try to make them feel feel welcome musically with the familiar traditional carols (as much as that's possible). Appreciate your thoughts Colin, thank you!

She set the bar exceptionally high, and because of that, she is still remembered very fondly at St. Johns - thank you for your kind words Colin, I look forward to playing through more of her works this year.

Do you have 'Swing- 10 Groovy Pieces for Organ'? Ros was rather surprised when asked to compose such a collection. She provided me with a copy, asking me to review them for a couple of journals. I once included two or three in a recital.

@@colinjenkins8124 no, but I'll keep an eye out - I just bought Processionals & Recessionals from KM to work through a number of her pieces: I think someone close to or in the Ballarat Diocese may have a number of her pieces as well, so I'll ask around!

Thank you! The piece was extremely fun to learn, especially given her connection to our church

Thank you very much Rien :)

She was an incredible composer and musician - I've got some more of her music which I'll be working through this year too

Thank you for your kind words!

@@DCTOnlineNo problem!

thank you for your considered feedback Clive

@@DCTOnlinethe playing was fine in itself; for congregations trying to sing with you the timing is everything; it’s about remembering that you are the conductor too and that’s not so easy. Good luck!

Lots of practice, trust me :p <3

There's other arrangements certainly, but I agree, this is Willcocks all the way

It took a bit to get the rhythm under the fingers, but was well worth it

I agree Rien! Manz has such amazing arrangements

One of my favourite pieces, and was perhaps one which influenced me the most as a wee chorister (waaay) back in the day. Aubrey has done a fantastic job with this arrangement. Thanks for stopping by James, and for your kind words!

Noel Rawsthorne masterfully arranged this and loads of other pieces for organ, maintaining the essence of the piece(s) while also ensuring they were accessible to newer & intermediate players. We lost an incredible musician and composer when he passed. The lyrics to the piece roughly translate to 'Come, sweet death' - while the music sounds beautiful, the words, almost prayerfully, are inviting death and blessed rest to come.

Thank you! While on the smaller side, it's an incredible instrument to play <3

@@peporgan thank you Titus, both for your kind words and for stopping by! ❤️

Oh I'd love to use Old 104th! It may be a regional thing, but the Australian Anglican churches (including several cathedrals) rarely touch the tune, let alone to these words - which is sad because it's such an incredible hymn. I contemplated introducing it, but I don't think the congregation wouldn't cope 😁

Sorry for missing this Michael, and thank you for your kind words! Day, practice and stress-levels depending, I can land D2, but not reliably - I'm more comfortable in the baritone range.