Church of St Martin, Knowle

Microphone position

I have since found out that this is not the best place to record a church organ. The mic should be two thirds of the way down the church to best capture the ambience of the sound within the building.

The organ at St Martin's was built by J. J. Bins for a church in Wales at the turn of the last century and then moved to the church in Bristol by Percy Daniel of Clevedon. It is played there by a chap called Martin and I had a lot of fun sitting listening to him play. He is a huge organ enthusiast and believer that modern church music, as well as old hymn arrangements, should be arranged and played on a pipe organ. It was while I was listening to him practising carols around Christmas time that I became aware of David Willcocks, as he had arranged the carols that Martin was playing. David Willcocks was a scholar at Clifton College, and so I made a mental note to go and see if I could play the Harrison & Harrison organ at Clifton College Chapel that he would have played in the 1930s.

Martin was kind enough to let me sit down and play the organ once he'd finished his diligent practice and I enclose a hesitant improv here.

Here are some links to Martin's wonderful playing, renditions of All Creatures of Our God and King and an excerpt from Beauty for Brokenness. I find his style to be very soulful and heartfelt.