St Mary The Virgin, Rotherhithe - The Organ

A welcome return to St Mary Rotherhithe with George Herbert (not that one) playing the eighteenth century organ for first time. We go deep into the thought process of a manifest consummate professional as he strives for the best possible sound achievable from this remarkable device (built by John Byfield Jnr in 1764).
Thanks once again to Father Nicholls for the access and support.

[@MichaelJones-es6mp]

It's fascinating to learn how the organist creates the music's colour. Loved this video

[@hereticatious]

Thanks for the kind words - it was a lot of fun to make. Keep watching - more Organ focus coming soon.

[@denisebutler4289]

The organist has so much to think about and I think the congregation probably just takes it all for granted

[@hereticatious]

The depth of thought and professionalism is awe inspiring. There about another hour of stuff on the cutting room floor - all interesting and distinct to a real player. And, we weren't actually preparing for a recital - we were just making a film about preparing for a recital!

[@bobbyjeffrey6648]

Fascinating!

[@gabrielealbarosa412]

You don’t have to pull any stop for the sound to be rather high in this church :) Jokes aside, a great introductions to a complex instrument!

[@hereticatious]

As they used to say in telegrams..., Don't stop stop.

[@keithbutler9994]

Facinating ,enthralling not to be missed.Its quite long, but worth effort and concentraded attention.Persevere and enjoy
KB

[@hereticatious]

I really have a bash at making these shorter - but you get to a point where each cut makes the video worse / less informative. This is the beauty of TH-cam - I don't HAVE to make it short. George was just interesting all the way through and its a pleasure to share all that.

[@Montrose149]

I played this organ in the mid to late 1960’s. It wasn’t in good shape but was a wonderful experience

[@hereticatious]

Very interesting - especially in light of @HowardJohnstone comment.

[@hansbeestman7460]

Geweldig leuk te horen en te zien Hans uit Zwolle Nederland

[@hereticatious]

Het is geweldig om kijkers over de zee te hebben - bedankt.

[@NasCostomano]

Are you coming to Our Lady of Sorrows, Peckham? @norbertines

[@hereticatious]

I'd love to - checking out who to contact as I write!

[@stewarthartley7613]

Try the 1828 organ at the next door parish St. JAMES Bermondsey. Restored to original in 2003.

[@hereticatious]

Noted - I will try to take a look and let you know here if I do (although subscribing is safer)

[@HowardJohnstone]

This was a long time "wreck" of an organ, intill G&G put some character back into it 30 years ago.

[@hereticatious]

Not sure how well it came across in the video - but it felt like a good deal of character in the room now at least.

[@Knappa22]

How very unusual to have an organ that size (three manuals + pedalboard) but with only one pedal stop.

[@hereticatious]

I'm certainly no expert - but I think the organ at Christchurch Streatham was the same? th-cam.com/video/NW0dJelJpuA/w-d-xo.html
Please let me know if I'm wrong!

[@MrBulky992]

Did English organs of the 18th century have a pedal board at all? The organs played by Handel did not. Boyce, Croft and Stanley etc did not write pedal parts. I was given to understand that the pedalboard was a continental feature introduced in the 19th century. I doubt that much German organ music was being played in England until Bach's output was revived by Mendelssohn. Many churches did not have an organ at all until the 19th century and their music was supplied by a small band (as in Thomas Hardy).
I would agree with you that the later alterations neglecting the pedal department seems odd.

[@andryshuma6335]

Я всегда удивлён, максимум балаболбства минимум действий и музыки, одно балабольство!!!

[@hereticatious]

Google translates your comment thus "I'm always surprised, maximum balabolism, minimum action and music, just balabolism!!!"
If I get what you mean - then yes, my videos are very talky talky.
I think recorded music is well catered for on youtube and web (Spotify etc...) but the thought processes and narratives - less so - so no apologies for this.
I have included more music (look here th-cam.com/video/myy9AoxfRF0/w-d-xo.html - where there's a full concert linked in the comments and also the end of this video th-cam.com/video/YhaFh-K47EE/w-d-xo.html)
Если я понимаю о чем вы - то да, мои видео очень разговорчивые.
Я думаю, что записанная музыка хорошо обслуживается на TH-cam и в Интернете (Spotify и т. д.), но мыслительные процессы и повествования - в меньшей степени, поэтому не приношу извинений за это.
Я добавил больше музыки (смотрите здесь th-cam.com/video/myy9AoxfRF0/w-d-xo.html - где в комментариях и в конце этого видео есть полный концерт th-cam.com/video/YhaFh-K47EE/w-d-xo.html)

[@johnrozee2648]

all that effort for a congregation of none

[@hereticatious]

It may not be apparent on the video - but there were quite a few people in the room by the time we got to the service (on a cold winters Wednesday morning). I did get to witness quite a bit of great playing before that on my own - I will admit :-)