Have you ever witnessed one or been involved in one yourself?
Share your misfortunes with us!
Personally, I've probably done what virtually every organist has done...started music at the wrong time during service, played wrong hymn (not my fault on both occassions, blame my music list) etc.
It would be interesting to hear about concert/recital disasters by professional recitalists. Any big bloopers you've witnessed? They must make some big mistakes occasionally, after all they are only human like the rest of us.
1971 Allen Organ TC-3S (#42904) w/sequential capture system.
Speakers: x1 Model 100 Gyro, x1 Model 105 & x3 Model 108.
I've performed many recitals on one particular organ (which shall remain nameless) that seems to be jinxed. Atfive differentrecitals one of these things happened:
- Swell to Choir shorted out, and had to be permanently soldered "on" minutes before the recital.
- The arm that moved the Swell shutters became detached and was swinging wildly about the chamber; the temporary solution was to nail downthe Swell shoe- of course I wasperformingromantic music.
- The ending of my recital was spoiled when I couldn't use the Chamade - the low D-flat was nowhere near the right pitch, and I couldn't avoid playing that note. That was the only pipe that had a problem.
- Another recital was spoiled when I couldn't get the tutti button to engage;A major work was the sole feature of this recital, and at the very end (the "big finish") the 32' reed and chamade were to have come on. I kept hitting the tutti during the last line of music - it would disengageevery timeI took my finger or toeoff of the tutti button! [:@] I finally got it to lock "on", but I was very distracted.
- The pedal light burned out during the service immediately prior to my recital, so I was obliged to guess where the toe pistons were.
[/list]
[:|]
There are other organs too, and some near-disasters (sorry if a bit O.T.): I played a very British program (with Tubas blazing, etc...) on an organ with a lovely Tuba Mirabilis. When I arrived for my first practice session I was told "Oh, our Solo division is being repaired - no Tuba." [:O]
At yet another venue I had prepared a recital that contained an transcription of a symphony movement - lots of registration changes. When I arrived at the venue the combination action was explained to me: There were over 2,000 memory settings; you set each registration change as you go. "Very good", I thought...
The problem was that it was a blind system that didn't move any stops. [:O] The other problem was that it could only go forwards, so if you hit a button too soon, you were out of luck! It was also very tricky to move it to any given registration as it was sequential, and slow.
The deal-breaker was that as long as the combination system was engaged, manual registering was disabled. "Forget that!" I said!
We did the recital with two registrants. They were very busy. [
]
At my own church I did an all-Vierne program. We had spent a couple days tuning the organ to a state of near perfection - it sounded absolutely magnificent! The day of the recital we had a huge heat wave. Unfortunately, the boiler was programmed to come on and nobody could find the fellow who knew how to pull the plug properly. It was probably near 100 degrees in the room, and the organ sounded like a sad accordion. [
]
We were able to re-tune the reeds in a huge hurry, but I was wiped out mentally/emotionally - and I was wiped out physically from another full day of tuning - and the heat.
I have a recording of that recital - the organ didn't sound quite so bad;only one Trompette pipe flew off pitch. I know just how it felt.
More later...
Two items offhand:
I was turning pages for an organist -who shall remain nameless- playing the Bach P&F in D. (Yes, that one.) The last note he played at the end of the fugue was a loud, booming C. (Then followed by a whispered expletive.)
At a recent sub gig I was playing an electronic with one of those "handy" transposition knobs. Shortly before the service the soloist asked if I might take her solo down a whole step. Well we get to the solo and I totally spaced it. I begin in the original key, she starts singing, I come to a prompt halt, we begin again. Rather awkward, but she otherwise might have shot me.
She said to take her down a step, not a peg! []
Latest gaffe in a wedding Recessional:
In the opening bar of Karg-Elert's "Nun Danket" I managed to play it in the minor key - The bride burst out laughing and thought I was expressing a little piquant humour.
Oftentimes it is not the disaster thatis memorable, but the performer's handling of thesituation.
I remember an incredible performance ofSowerby's Pageant - an extremely large organ in a very prominent church. It was a capacity audience.
The performer (who shall remain nameless) dove into the piece with abandon, only to realize the "big reed" was on. Within a few measures she stopped, whirled around the bench and stood up!
She said "I would be remiss to play this piece, without sharing a little story"...
The story was anything but little, and it had absolutely nothing to do with anything. [*-)]
During the course of the story, I happened to notice her hand went right to the offending drawknob, which she unobtrusively pushed in.
Then thestory came to an abrupt end; she sat downand started the piece again. Of course, it was without the big reed.
An example of a true professional. [
[quote user="soubasse32"]
I've performed many recitals on one particular organ (which shall remain nameless) that seems to be jinxed. Atfive differentrecitals one of these things happened:
[*]Swell to Choir shorted out, and had to be permanently soldered "on" minutes before the recital.[*]The arm that moved the Swell shutters became detached and was swinging wildly about the chamber; the temporary solution was to nail downthe Swell shoe- of course I wasperformingromantic music.[*]The ending of my recital was spoiled when I couldn't use the Chamade - the low D-flat was nowhere near the right pitch, and I couldn't avoid playing that note. That was the only pipe that had a problem.[*]Another recital was spoiled when I couldn't get the tutti button to engage;A major work was the sole feature of this recital, and at the very end (the "big finish") the 32' reed and chamade were to have come on. I kept hitting the tutti during the last line of music - it would disengageevery timeI took my finger or toeoff of the tutti button! [:@] I finally got it to lock "on", but I was very distracted.[*]The pedal light burned out during the service immediately prior to my recital, so I was obliged to guess where the toe pistons were.[/list]
[:|]
There are other organs too, and some near-disasters (sorry if a bit O.T.): I played a very British program (with Tubas blazing, etc...) on an organ with a lovely Tuba Mirabilis. When I arrived for my first practice session I was told "Oh, our Solo division is being repaired - no Tuba." [:O]
At yet another venue I had prepared a recital that contained an transcription of a symphony movement - lots of registration changes. When I arrived at the venue the combination action was explained to me: There were over 2,000 memory settings; you set each registration change as you go. "Very good", I thought...
The problem was that it was a blind system that didn't move any stops. [:O] The other problem was that it could only go forwards, so if you hit a button too soon, you were out of luck! It was also very tricky to move it to any given registration as it was sequential, and slow.
The deal-breaker was that as long as the combination system was engaged, manual registering was disabled. "Forget that!" I said!
We did the recital with two registrants. They were very busy. [
At my own church I did an all-Vierne program. We had spent a couple days tuning the organ to a state of near perfection - it sounded absolutely magnificent! The day of the recital we had a huge heat wave. Unfortunately, the boiler was programmed to come on and nobody could find the fellow who knew how to pull the plug properly. It was probably near 100 degrees in the room, and the organ sounded like a sad accordion. [
We were able to re-tune the reeds in a huge hurry, but I was wiped out mentally/emotionally - and I was wiped out physically from another full day of tuning - and the heat.
I have a recording of that recital - the organ didn't sound quite so bad;only one Trompette pipe flew off pitch. I know just how it felt.
More later...
[/quote]
Were these organs built by the famous firm of "Bodgeit & Sons" [
My worst calamity wasn't playing for a recital but page turning for one. When I was a teenager I was asked by my piano teacher's husband to turn the pages for his organ recital. The digital organ was placed centrally in the chancel in full view of the audience. Everything was going fine until we got to the Vierne. He was using a very old dog-eared copy. He had warned me to be careful when turning pages. Well it got to the Intermezzo and it was very fast and I couldn't keep up reading it and had no idea where to turn, Suddenly he said "turn" and I did, but a bit too forcefully and the whole lot came down off the stand on to the pedals as he was playing, to audible gasps in the audience. It didn't help that I swore. But the organist kept going as I was retrieving the music whilst dodging his feet. For the rest of the recital I hung my head in shame. [:$]
At a recent sub gig I was playing an electronic with one of those "handy" transposition knobs.
Been caught out a couple of times with that at weddings, transposing down two or three tones for a solo singer then not putting it back for the following hymn, wondering why the singing sounds totally turgid.
I had forgotten about this until I saw the postings.
I went to a Virgil Fox concert at the Fox Theater in Atlanta many, many years ago and as he began playing one of the pieces the organ sounded as if something had gone very wrong.
Mr Fox stopped playing, turned around and faced the audience and said "I think Bach would want me to start this over".
And he did!
Allen T 12B
I only witnessed one but it wasn't organ. At the premiere of a new percussion piece, they started playing...after a few minutes one of the guys just stopped and stared n space.Then the other stopped, they started laughing and announced they would start over, this time with the gong in place.
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