The organist librarian

Mass, art, interfaith lunch, Corpus Christi at Caterham. 5 in choir sang Schubert setting and Elgar Ave verum. Lovely to have incense. Played Boellmann Adoro te and Peeters O saving victim. Enjoyed Secret life of 5 year olds. Liz sang at Upper Norwood an impressive carpet of flowers. Vierne.

A great turnout for Umberto's funeral and delicious cream tea. He will be much missed. The music was pretty awful - hymns we did not know, Lamb of God Israeli Mass? no sung Alleluia. James Gough replaced Doug Tang at Sloane Square Bach, Howells and Dupre. Henry Fairs played superbly at the cathedral Bach, interesting Alain, Franck, Schumann, Mozart and best of all the Bairstow sonata. BRAVO!

Heavy rain. To Mass. Henry came for an hour then to the GP - he played well with the ball and the rocking horse. To Hanover Square for recital by Janette Fishell. She plays well and is from Indiana. Bach, Beethoven (!) Ethel Smyth and Lionel Rogg. Simon Williams pleased to see me. Only 16 there. To quiet time. Liz went to Cadogan Hall Tallis scholars freebie with Elizabeth, Invite came for Carol and Kevin's wedding - there is to be a canal trip from Wigan! MM at Romsey is off. Watched TV on Sir Kenneth MacMillan, He died at 62. Skype meeting did not work well but chatted to John Rayer and on phone to Mike Reidy. Grammar schools programme very interesting. 

Fantastic cast in Lear on BBC2. I can never watch the blinding of Gloucester.

Watched Simon Reeve in Burma, Pohan Ormuk and Come dine with me. 

This year we celebrate Claude Debussy, Rossini, Tchaikovsky and Leonard Bernstein. None of them wrote anything for the organ but there are some transcriptions! Charles Gounod is perhaps best known for “Ave Maria” based on the Bach prelude and the opera “Faust”. However Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry 1st Baronet (1848- 7 October 1918) did write a great deal for the organ including some very difficult chorale preludes on hymn tunes and the towering Fantasia and Fugue. I can play the preludes on “Rockingham” (“When I survey”) and “Melcombe” (“New every morning”). His Bridal March and Finale from The Birds of Aristophanes is little played nowadays but there is a beautiful Elegy composed for the funeral of Sidney, 14th Earl of Pembroke April 7th, 1913 which I will be playing in November. Parry is probably best known for “Jerusalem” and the tune “Repton” for “Dear Lord and Father of mankind”. He also composed the splendid “Laudate Dominum” for “O praise ye the Lord” (A and M 753). Also ...

Glorious day - is it really Bank Holiday Monday and it's not raining? To Bromley Parish church to hear Daniel Moult give an excellent recital. Harvey Grace interesting, did not care for Brian Brockless and Jacques van Oortmessen (Flor Peeters is better) but a rousing Widor Finale. Next time the camera will be further back so we can see the pedals as well!  A very English scandal was excellent! Hugh Grant can really act!