About anecdotes . . .

When asking for anecdotes from organists I specified that the tales did not have to be humorous. The writers — most of whom were organists — were asked to provide a glimpse behind the scene of their public, performing lives; the incidents or observations could be sad, unusual, amusing, whimsical, or merely diverting. If they bequeathed a humanity to the often invisible figure who makes his or her presence felt Sunday by Sunday in churches around the globe, perfect; if they added a warmer dimension to the remoteness of a two-dimensional character credited on a CD sleeve or music score, wonderful; if they helped to enlighten the non-organist reader, all the better. In short, whatever it took to breathe life into a familiar, but frequently fusty figure, became a welcome offering.

Strictly speaking, anecdote means ‘unpublished, private’, literally ‘not taken out’; it typically refers to a short narrative, usually biographical (readers will recognise many famous names from the music-making world). Other stories have been supplied by a supporting cast of music lovers, on-lookers, friends and relatives who have a privileged insight into the organ world, but prefer to keep their identity in the background.
So when reading these pages, look not for the jokes, although many anecdotes will make you smile or even laugh; look, rather, through these windows of words to understand better what it costs these gifted musicians to bring the magical sounds of the organ to our lives.