What's your parish?

It used to be that your parish could have been described as local - you went to a church in an area you lived. Small towns had parishes and communities of only several hundred people while parishes in larger cities could boast of having tenths of thousands churchgoers within their reach and influence.

With this locality came the notion of "stability" - you were stuck where you were - not only in terms of financial resources but also in human resources to spread the word of God and faith. Parishes in less culturally developed areas were stuck with what they got (or what was left to them).

Organists were also affected by this - if your parish, church leadership, town, area, or even country was less financially and culturally fortunate, you would really have to struggle even to have a decent level of congregational singing, not to mention of other works of sacred and organ music.

But now, when the industrial age is going away, when the locality matters less and less, when the technology gives you the power and the tools to connect with a person anywhere in the world, the church and parishes are starting to reach and influence people globally.

That's also a wake-up call for organists because it turns out that confining your work within the boundaries of your church and parish is no longer sufficient for a successful career. In fact, this is starting to be true to just about any profession.

Is it good news or bad news?

I think it's bad news, if you are reading these lines and start to feel nervous and worried. But it's good news, if you begin to understand what kind of tremendous opportunity for any organist that is.

It's never been a greater time to be an organist as it is now because the tools available for an ordinary person to make change happen are abundant as never before.

[Thanks to Rimvydas for inspiration]

Sight-reading:
Part III: Finale. Vivace maestoso (p. 14) from Organ Sonata "Appassionata", Op.57 by Johan Adam Krygell (1835-1915) who was a Danish organist and composer of the Romantic period.

Hymn playing:
Hark, Hark, My Soul!