Organist's Wedding Stuff-Up

This article submitted by David McLeod on 8/10/00.

Topic: Give your tale a brief descriptive title

The Tale:

Although a wedding isn't strictly a concert performance- any musicians present are operating under fairly similar conditions- with just as public exposure of any flaws. Twenty odd years ago in Western Queensland (Australia) I was to play for a wedding in a large Catholic church. The electronic organ was underpowered for the big building so I took my Leslie cabinet so it would fill the church (blunder number one). It's upper register was heavily attenutated, so I decided to play the main theme of Mendelssohns Wedding March (the bit wot comes after the fanfare) down the octave (blunder number two). The appointed moment for the soloist came, and then went, and the old Irish priest just thundered on regardless with nary a mention. "You missed it" hissed the soloist. "How the hell was I to know I had to just launch into it!!" I snarled. The next time the priest stopped to draw breath I planted this huge introductory chord and away went the soloist. It was all down hill after that. As the register signing concluded I never even got the chance to cadence off the last voluntary- the priest just pushed 'em down the aisle. I stopped in mid-passage- literally threw the music over my shoulder- and the music rack was blank. I had become so flustered I had forgotten to put up the wedding march!! Here was the soloist and I frantically scrabbling around the choir loft on our hands and knees looking for it. I was so rattled when we finally found it that I hit the fanfare (fine) went to reach up the octave for the main theme and came back down (remember the weak upper octave??) Missed the chord- absolutely stuffed it. Another go- stuffed it again. I think it was the third time I got it right. By then the couple were almost out the door! I quietly gathered my gear and crept out the back door where no-one would notice me. For weeks I was hardly game to set foot in the main street because there was always someone to make mileage on my huge gaffe (small towns being what they are!!) Dave McLeod museduca@telstra.easymail.com.au

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