Sam,
Thanks so much for your reply! I printed it and put in the bench so I can try
the things you suggested as I have time. I have used all the orchestral sounds
and love mixing them in. When we first got the organ I spent the summer of last
year using new voices and giving prizes to the congregation for guessing
correctly as I introduced them one at a time. It also allowed me to get a sense
of their musical interest and background. They do continue to remark positively
about the range of voices.
Recently for an offertory I simply put together a 4' flute, organ harp, and
chrysoglot for the triplets in a softly played Hallelujah and used the soprano
ah for the melody. I heard someone sniffling and several asked to hear it again
soon. The hours of practice happily melt away as I determine what I like and
what suits them. I also experiment on their favorite hymns which in some cases
are mine also. A couple weeks ago I made a mix for Let There Be Peace on Earth,
also for offertory. We could use that every week these days unfortunately. I
ended using the chime for the melody which they always love, but this one was
especially poignant.
The choir and the congregation enjoy anthems where, on top of our pianist's
accompaniment, I add in flute, trumpet, or oboe as the music calls for it. I
found a nice organ piece for Lent that adapted well to the string voices using
violin/cello as the solo, then on Good Friday another pastor friend of mine
played his violin and I dropped the violin/cello out of my part for our
community service. The search for where the soloist is never grows old, but on
that day Dave was standing right in front of them! 😉
Nancy A. Holloway, Organist
Faith United Methodist Church
On Oct 13, 2017, at 10:27 AM, (Redacted sender "organmastr" for DMARC)
<dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Nancy,
I use the orchestral voices every Sunday. My congregation LOVES it. I use
the Flute, Oboe, Clarinet and Orchestral Trumpet the most. The trick is
getting the balance right. For me, I turn the touch sensitive off, and use
the expression pedal for volume.
...
Sam DeGeorge
