Guide me, O thou great Redeemer

The Organ Project - before restoration
Established in 2017, The Organ Project set out with a mission to interpret, restore, enhance, and celebrate the heritage associated with 130 years of music-making in St Mary's Church, Portsea, UK. At the heart of the project is the nationally significant 1889 J.W. Walker & Sons Ltd. pipe organ, which was in a dire state and expected to last only a few more years with patching repairs. With limited parish funds for any level of restoration, the project sought assistance from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
In April 2020, The Organ Project received the exciting news of a successful application, securing £764,000 in funding towards a comprehensive restoration and community engagement initiative. The meticulous restoration of the pipe organ, undertaken by the skilled team at Nicholson & Co. Ltd., has now been completed. Over the course of the project, more than 90 activities have been delivered, sharing heritage with over 50,000 visitors, raising £44,000 through a Make a Joyful Noise pipe sponsorship campaign, and collaborating with 174 dedicated project volunteers.
As we approach the conclusion of The Organ Project, we eagerly anticipate our final Organ Festival, in July 2023. The event will feature Heritage Workshops with three local schools and a hotly-anticipated Victorian Tea Dance. By the end of 2023, The Organ Project will have successfully completed its programme. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all of our supporters and volunteers who have made this project possible. This website will remain active for the foreseeable future, serving as a testament to our collective efforts and as a resource for similar heritage projects and enquiries.
Matt Dixon - Project Manager
[e-mail] | theorganproject.org

[@AECEntertainment]

Phenomenal. I've been a church organist for 16 years on and off. I still take inspiration from other organists and their arrangements

[@Knappa22]

Great Welsh hymn tune :)

[@cherylafrica3428]

Love the organ beautiful hymn inspiring and brings me closer to the Lord

[@BertLPople]

That’s the hymn of assurance . Just love it 🥰

[@alfredpreston5731]

Great organ, and absolutely brilliant organist!!!!!!!!!

[@craighuston2629]

Kindly ignore the singular “thumbs down” from the obligatory clown. . That, my friend, was nothing short of GLORIOUS!!

[@johanwydiamartadamping7432]

I love that sounds

[@ibrahimbiobonlomije3428]

Beautiful accomplishment of the organ.

[@31Alden]

Glorious!

[@Goodchappy]

Lovely sound and I liked your last verse.

[@wileyparker2429]

Glorious! Gigantic and glorious!

[@davidthompson3415]

There is not enough of these church organ videos 😶

[@rheailiarome2287]

That's was beautiful ! Thank you and may God bless your endeavours 🙏

[@secondtimeround]

Fantastic playing and good luck with your organ project. There is a large 4 manual Walker in the cathedral of Barbados where I live. This sound reminds me of it.

[@brendinho1993]

St Michael's cathedral?

[@chapsnaps1]

Magnificent!

[@marioribeirodeazevedoneto311]

Fantástica apresentação. Parabéns ao pessoal do The Organ Project, principalmente a este organista. Rio de Janeiro, Brasil!

[@JoaoBatista063]

Hino maravilhoso.

[@sidneylanna2399]

Lindo! MARANATA!

[@helenloong501]

Great ! ! A good rhythm would make it even better.

[@joshualukonge2168]

I agree with you about rhythm

[@tobysherring1369]

The rhythm was played as written. If you mean tempo, did you think it too fast or too slow?

[@Rl469]

You rush the eighth notes. Your end harmonization is good and the organ sounds great.

[@jb9652]

@@tobysherring1369 No, the rhythm was objectively sloppy in places. IMO, the organist was not feeling the rhythm, and therefore it was unstable at times. The human core brain (not cerebellum) is not great at operating accurately in real time, so it's necessary to engage locomotory (movement related) machinery to stabilize the beat. Certain cultures / genotypes etc seem to me to be substantially better than others at this. Classical musicians tend to be worse than pop musicians in my experience, and organists tend to be worse than everyone else. The (surely) great Peter Hurford lamented this in his famous book on making music on the organ. IMO, the notes should hang on the rhythm, not the other way around as is happening here. Congregations get this: they might not understand harmony well but they do know rhythm. Play rhythmically and the congregation will lift the roof, in my experience.

[@jb9652]

@@tobysherring1369 Example 02:22 That dotted note was massively shortened. Congregations go muffled if you play like this because they can't unite rhythmically.

[@clivesawers8270]

Get a metronome which has a distinctive tick on the downbeat and work through the whole hymn including your playover and don’t stray from that until you’ve got it sown up; then allow yourself a bit of fun in varying the harmonies and a steady rallentando to round the hymn off. It will come with practice.

[@cescah1948]

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@joelhacker8767]

Isn't the title 'Guide Me Now, O Great Jehovah'?

[@Wanamaker1946]

This pipe organ isn’t an Austin, but it sure sounds like one.

[@user-dg3uj7ig7q]

Can I get last verse sheetmusic

[@MarthalieThurstonSachemPiper]

A favorite hymn.I was uncomfortable with the tempo in several measures. Otherwise, good.

[@timdaugherty5921]

I see he has a wedding ring on

[@tobysherring1369]

Well spotted. Does it surprise you?

[@paulg8148]

The beginning few bars aren't quite right. Plus Is it me or is the timing slightly off...maybe a little rushed in places.

[@clivesawers8270]

Correct; there are certainly timing errors there. Not only that but the space between verses is also not timed; the congregation will not be restarting the verses with the organ; similarly the closing bars are overdone and once again the congregation singing will become fragmented.

[@amirhanif4928]

inpaindaily

[@rylan76]

Magnificent!!