A bad workman always blames his tools. apparently

[diegoliger]

Today I jointly led a workshop on the hymns of Charles Wesley. Which was interesting. I pointed out how the Protestant hymn-singing tradition is a German one (thanks Luther) and pointed out the bleeding obvious that as most people were illiterate in Britain hymns would have been sung either line by line by a Kantor with the Congregation responding

Comments

[ed_fortune]

I despise that phrase. Anyone who says it should be forced to work with tools made me wax, or better yet, dry themselves with sand paper.

[diegoliger]

I know. It really narks me off as well. But this guy I seem somehow to rub up completely the wrong way, just by having had Organ Lessons and having played a Cathedral Organ it appears. But that's one thing I Have noticed a lot with organists around Manchester. Very proud "self made men", very low church and of the "we dont want all that posh music round here" when I play some Bach or Guilmant. Are they scared of Bach etc? Scared of classical music because theyve never encounted it other than the "classical sunday pops"? Or aware of their own short comings? So very frustrating. ANd the thing is, the Churches seem to agree. They jsut want lift music,musack which doesnt get in the way of their chatting before the service and nothing too long or challenging in the middle or at the end. ARGHGHGHH

[rustyfox]

To be blunt, whenever I read any of your journal postings the last few months, you always end up cornering yourself into a minority of one. Accusations of you being too high-brow, or everyone else inferred simple or stupid, features frequently in your posts too.

So they just want a bit of to you simple music? Is that a crime? To merely enjoy the sound of an organ, even a knackered heretic-of-an-instrument? For fucks sake, let the woefully uneducated proles just enjoy their simple pleasure. Do you have to be, quite frankly, so stuck up about it?

Honestly, I've bottled this up for months now, but I'm just sick of reading this. I'm actually offended, by you of all people who preaches compassion and tolerance. I haven't got a clue about organs or musical notation or history or any of your interests, to me they're superficially great big keyboards with knobs on, so I am one of these simple people. I don't understand these things in anywhere near the detail you do, I understand them in probably the same simple shallow terms that probably

[diegoliger]

I dont *think * I am at war with people. I dont think I am threatened by uneducated people or pride. I dont mean to annoy or upset anyone. I'm desperate to be liked and, well, quite lonely at lot of the times. This blog is a good place to vent steam or froff occasionally.

Goes away for a think.