A bumper collection of 19 organists of all ages, and at varying stages of development, played to each other in Penge Congregational Church on Saturday 25 February 2017. Faciliated by the ever helpful Marilyn Nicholson, the whole event ran like clockwork. It was genially introduced by Richard Pilliner who read out notes provided by all the players, and added a few comments of his own. This eased the transition between each player, each of whom required the bench in a slightly different place, taking time to ensure that registrations were properly set. From my vantage point near the console, I saw one player prop the bench up on copies of Mission Praise, and another opened a rather beautiful little box which looked like an old telephone bell system, placed strategically by the console. This was a portable cymbelstern, which graced the last few bars of the Bruhns E minor Praeludium. The audience numbered nearly 70, and everyone enjoyed the tea provided most generously by Marilyn’s colleagues from the church.

It was especially good to hear a wide range of music including Buxtehude, Bach, Weelkes, Bruhns, Stanford, Boëllman, Elgar, Fasch, Hindemith, Widor, Smart, Wesley, Tambling and Peter Smith playing his Toccata of 2011. Including a short break, the concert lasted 2 hours 15 minutes.

Marilyn Harper

To see the program click here.

To see the program notes – who the organist are, and what they played, click here

I have recordings of all the music and will put them up on the web in the forthcoming months. Martin