Organs (cinema, theatre, church, etc)

I'm going off topic here, introducing my true love of musical instruments. I was classically trained to play piano, (as was my Michael) which is really my true love. I love the freedom & flexibility of piano. What is a piano. The truth is nowadays, there are not many of them. Most of them are electronic representations of a piano. What most folks imagine as a piano, is the sound of one being played inside a concert hall. Not an upright glued to a room wall. That's where we part company. Our chapel electronic piano is I believe, the most romance of all pianos, anywhere nowadays. I'm classed as a romance pianist. The thing is, the chapel piano takes up more space than the chapel organ. That's the problem of having a piano. An eighty four note piano takes up far more space than a double 61note organ with pedals. It comes down to practicality. Particularly being sited in my lounge. I don't own a concert hall or a village hall.

It sounds as if you have got yourself sorted, Philip. If it is what you really want, go for it. As our son keeps telling us, there are no pockets in a shroud. Yes, Belgrave is not far away, our two went to Belgrave School.

Now then, Anne, Before I get carried away. Until last decade, that's in the short time that I have had the pleasure of knowing you, I had never owned a home organ. I never liked them. I have owned keyboards, synths & I've until recently never been without a piano. The Yamaha that I bought eight years ago, was a quarter of a century old when I bought it, & that was for it to be a mother keyboard to drive my sampled software. So stepping out now to buy a home organ, even though I've researched the whole idea, I just wonder if I've a piece missing out of my think-tank. No joke! I used to think years ago, even when folk learned that I never owned a home organ, I get invited to play on fabulous instruments all over the UK, including Westminster Chapel, folk paying me for my pleasure, why do I need a great lump of electronic furniture in my home? I prefer my trainset! So, if & what I have now, comes down to, 1, my own amusement, and 2, what will fit into my lounge. The limits on my sight ability, plus mobility, mean that I rarely get asked to play out anymore. Arr!

Philip, for what it is worth, Geoffrey Holyroyde, first head at Sidney Stringer School and former Director at Coventry University, has a church organ in his basement, complete with pipes. It's small but gives him tremendous pleasure!

Thank you, BK, The father of a King Henry VIII physics tutor had an elaborate instrument installed in his home in Earlsdon. I played that on several occasions, to invited guests. The teas were nice. For me the best bit.

Hi all, I've got a new toy coming tomorrow. It's coming into my lounge. I'm done with entertainment. Just delight. It's going next to the oak corner unit. It's a two manual, full poly pedal (that means a two-footer job).

brill, recitative, brill brill brill

What a lovely looking instrument, I can see your smile from here. Enjoy.

Just a taste. Earphones if possible.

I call it the Mother Superior, as we have her baby brother Dominick in our chapel. The lower manual is a variable split manual, so giving the facility as though it were three manuals. Obviously it's not new, but a long warranty. Before it was released for sale, a couple of years later in the UK. Sadly the pretty accessory does not come with it tomorrow. Nice. Earphones please.

Impressive, but what are you having for Christmas? Have you room for a symphony orchestra?

Hi Argon, There are, on this instrument, eight banks twice, then 16 combination pre-sets, that are coming to the point, where like computer chess has virtually eliminated the amateur board game, the same may be happening here. I thought only five years ago that computer music sampling was the ultimate in electronic generated music, but the technology here uses sampling, but surpasses it because it joins up the cracks. A sound version of paint by numbers, but completely wipes out the the false structures. I don't know how this can be improved upon.

Very excited for you Philip.

It's arrived.

Just in time for Christmas, Phil. Brill, Brill.